Speaking of giving it five minutes, Matt Alexander discusses online negativity:
In life, immediate negativity is an anti-social and unpleasant trait to boast. When out in the real world, you don’t walk up to someone, look at their clothes or their phone and deride them for their life choices. Nor should you do it indirectly.
Guilty.
(via: The Loop)
John Gruber on a piece from Abdel Ibrahim and Jon Dick about new tablets from Samsung and Sony:
The fact that these tablets are only price competitive with the iPad when they’re bought with a two-year contract is a killer. People aren’t stupid. People hate contracts.
After two years of the iPad, it seems competitors still can’t match Apple’s combination of technology and price. In the words of Mortimer Snerd: “Who’d have thunk it?”
Jason Fried offers great advice about forming opinions:
So next time you hear something, or someone, talk about an idea, pitch an idea, or suggest an idea, give it five minutes. Think about it a little bit before pushing back, before saying it’s too hard or it’s too much work. Those things may be true, but there may be another truth in there too: It may be worth it.
I could certainly stand to heed Fried’s suggestion and become less of a “that’s stupid” person.
(via: Daring Fireball)
I wanted to share this site’s statistics for February 2012, just as I did for January. Visitor information is given for both February and the cumulative totals for 2012. Page views, unique visitors, and international traffic all saw modest increases.
In March, I plan to implement easier ways to find older content and separately locate linked content and original posts. I also plan to implement a few design tweaks and improve overall usability.
Thanks to everyone who has visited this site. I especially appreciate those who have offered feedback via Facebook, Twitter, and email. The audience continues to prove itself well-informed, thoughtful, and engaging. I look forward to yet another month of sharing. If you have any suggestions or comments, do get in touch.
Rands in Repose on the need to take an hour each day to build something selfish:
I break the flow of enticing small things to do, I separate myself from the bright people on similarly impressive busy quests, and I listen to what I’m thinking.
Every day, for an hour, no matter what.
Being in the final year of a Ph.D., I found this article extremely timely. I often find myself paralyzed with never-ending to-dos. To combat this cycle, I’m going to start making use of the precious hour. You should, too.
Tom Warren, The Verge:
The simplification throughout its app strategy, and Microsoft’s message to developers is fresh, and the Metro approach across three screens (Xbox, Windows Phone, Windows) is starting to become a reality rather than a promise. Microsoft now needs the full backing of its Windows developer community to bring Windows 8 to market. If what we have seen in the Consumer Preview is anything to go by then Microsoft’s Metro apps have a chance to redefine Windows as a whole.
Windows 8 really seems like a breath of fresh air in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft is smartly working on consistency and interoperability between device scales. However, as Warren notes, the key to success will be developer adoption. It may be a tough road ahead for Microsoft.
For Apple, the success of iOS devices spurred amazing developer interest. That interest has since trickled to the desktop operating system. The end result is a thriving and integrated Apple experience for consumers. Conversely, Microsoft is having trouble gaining traction in the mobile market with Windows Phone.
To get the company rolling again, Microsoft needs heavy developer involvement in Windows 8. The hope is that a renewed interest in the desktop operating system will trickle down to the mobile side. All of a sudden, Microsoft could have a thriving and integrated experience for customers with Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox Live. I for one hope they succeed. Great competition produces great innovation and consumers win.
Banksy:
Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
Read the whole thing. The awesomeness speaks for itself.
Sarah Lacy, reporting for PandoDaily on Yahoo’s recent threat to sue Facebook over patent claims:
Really? We’re doing this now, Yahoo? You’ve basically just capitulated to being Wall Street’s bitch in one swift move. This blunder is tantamount to a throwing up of hands in defeat. We can’t win on technology, so let’s just scrap Yahoo for parts and see what the lawyers can get for them.
In case you were wondering whether Yahoo was dead or not - yes.
Today, Apple sent out invitations for the expected iPad 3 announcement. Apple invitations are famous for including coy references to what an event might encompass. Today’s invitation is no different, as offered by The Verge.
We have something you really have to see. And touch. That seems innocuous enough. They want to show us an iPad. Since an iPad contains a touchscreen, it would be something for us to touch. Right? Is there more there? Does the invitation contain any clues? Let’s investigate.
Firstly, there are specific apps shown on the dock: Maps, Calendar - showing the 7th, and Keynote. This is on purpose. My guess is that the simple implied message is that in a certain location, on March 7th, Apple will hold a keynote address about the iPad. Well, duh! It isn’t anything groundbreaking, but Apple always tries to make their invitations visually speak for themselves.
Next, consider the first sentence, We have something you really have to see. Given the rumors that iPad 3 will contain a retina display, the reference seems pretty evident. In fact, the screen on the invitation’s iPad looks pretty nice. Gizmodo offers a comparison of the screen shown on the invite with that on the iPad 2. It is immediately evident that the new screen has a higher resolution. This appears to be a nod from Apple that the iPad 3 will indeed contain a retina display.
If you look at the bezel of the new iPad on the invitation, you will notice that there is no home button or camera present.1 Most reason that the iPad is simply in landscape mode. Gizmodo goes on to demonstrate that the icons - in relation to the background image - preclude that scenario. It is possible that Apple removed the home button on the image for aesthetic reasons. However, they did not do so on previous iPads. Why start now?
One could then speculate that the iPad 3 will not contain the iconic home button. Why? This leads back to the second part of the invitation, And touch. What if the touch reference is in regards to a smart bezel - a touch-aware border? In fact, Apple was granted that specific patent in 2010. Additionally, iOS 5 contains mutli-touch gestures that mimic the behavior of the home button. All of a sudden, the smart bezel seems like a distinct possibility.2
Is breaking down an Apple invitation overkill? Yes, especially when the device will be unveiled in one week. However, given Apple’s historic tendency to include hints, the process is fun. My wishful prediction: Apple will release an iPad 3 with a retina screen and a smart bezel. The safer bet: Apple unveils an iPad 3 with a retina display in the same body. In either case, all will be revealed on March 7.
Jim Dalrymple, The Loop:
The invitation, sent to me by Apple, says the event will take place at 10:00 am on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
