October 10, 2011
∞ Kids rocking Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'
Rock on kids!
∞ Harry McCracken on Stallman's Jobs comment ∞
Harry McCracken, for Technologizer:
If you think people who use Apple products are prisoners, you’re essentially accusing them of being too stupid to make their own decisions. At least Stallman explicitly calls them fools! [Eric S.] Raymond, with his pretty-window-treatment metaphor, apparently thinks Apple users are style-obsessed fetishists, too dim to make the right purchasing decisions. Which, oddly enough, is the same stance that Microsoft has been known to take.
Richard M. Stallman’s comments on Steve Jobs this past week infuriated me, and I’m grateful that the always-cogent Harry McCracken had the clarity of thought to articulate a very well-formed argument explaining why Stallman and another free software advocate, Eric Raymond, are so wrong in how they think about how people should interact with computers.
∞ RIM 'absolutely confident' in the PlayBook ∞
Adam Schreck for the Associated Press:
Patrick Spence, RIM’s managing director for global sales and regional marketing, told The Associated Press in Dubai that the Waterloo, Ontario-based company was not as clear as it could have been in defining the target audience for the devices.
Gee, you think? Another thing you didn’t tell your target audience is that it’s a piece of shit.
∞ Sleazeballs on both sides of the PR fence
Twitter is an amazing communication tool used by professionals in every industry. If you follow many journalists, you’ll notice quite a bit of complaining about PR people — some deserved and some not.
It’s an interesting trend, because journalists can openly complain about some of the stupid pitches that we get on a daily basis, but you rarely hear any push back from the PR companies or their representatives. The reason is really very simple — they can’t.
PR reps have to be concerned about the companies they represent, so they can’t go off publicly on a reporter, no matter the circumstances. There are a few Web sites where they can post anonymously, but if it ever gets back to the client, they could lose their jobs. So, they mostly stay quiet.
Let me be clear — there are terrible PR people in the tech industry. However, there are terrible journalists too.
Some journalists use their name and popularity to bully PR reps into giving them exclusives or other favors. Others use the name of their big publication to demand preferential treatment. Either way it’s a dick move.
I have a lot of friends on both sides of the PR fence. Most of them are really nice, ethical people that want to do a good job for their client or publication. Some don’t.
Luckily, I’ve had great dealings with almost all PR reps in the past 20 years. Hopefully, that will continue.
The next time you see someone bitching, remember, there’s two sides to every story. This one is no different.
∞ Netflix punts on Qwikster service
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings indicates the company will not be launching a new Qwikster DVD distribution service after all. He explains the decision in a new blog post at Netflix.com.
Hastings raised the ire of customers and investors alike several weeks ago when he announced that Netflix would split into a streaming video service – still called Netflix – and a DVD distribution service to be called Qwikster. Customers who continued to subscribe to both services would need to manage two separate queues on two separate Web sites and would have two separate entries on their bill.
The move was universally panned by critics, who felt that it diluted the Netflix brand, alienated customers at a time when Netflix was already losing them at an alarming rate, and complicated the customer experience unnecessarily.
Netflix and Hastings got the message, it seems. In the tersely worded blog post, Hastings said:
It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.
Hastings also reiterated that the company is keeping its controversial price increases in place – Netflix raised the price of its combined streaming and DVD delivery service by more than 60 percent over the summer.
Hastings said that in recent weeks, Netflix has added more than 3,500 TV shows to its streaming service, along with “hundreds of movies” from major studios.
∞ iPhone 4S pre-orders top 1 million in 24 hours
Apple’s iPhone 4S has broken the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 set by the iPhone 4. According to Apple, the iPhone 4S has been pre-ordered over one million times in just 24 hours.
“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.”
Apple said that iPhone 4S will be available at all 245 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, October 14. Every customer who buys an iPhone 4S at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 4S by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store, and basically helping them get everything running.
∞ Tracking the accuracy of Apple rumors ∞
Shawn King:
It must be said, the record of the rumor sites has been disappointing at best and horrendously embarrassing at worse. When the “most accurate” site can only get 17% of their own sourced rumors accurate, it speaks volumes to the nature of Apple rumors. That is, the “Get it first, not right” school of internet journalism. It can be argued that the vast majority of sites “reporting” Apple rumors are doing no such thing. They are simply parroting the work of others and wrapping their own advertisements around it. Those sites can be safely ignored because they bring nothing to the table.
I’ll let Shawn tell you which site posts the most Apple rumors and how accurate they are.
October 9, 2011
∞ Disingenuous iPhone 4S rumors ∞
Shawn King for Stupid Apple Rumors:
9to5Mac says, “we knew going into the event today that it would only be the iPhone 4S.” That may be true. Going into the event, many of us had found out that there would be no iPhone 5 announced on Tuesday. But 9to5Mac is being a bit disingenuous.
Ouch.
October 8, 2011
∞ AT&T sells 200,000 iPhone 4S pre-orders ∞
Reuters:
AT&T sold more than 200,000 of Apple Inc’s latest iPhone in the first 12 hours and said it had seen “extraordinary demand.”
Consumers have spoken.
∞ Macminicolo ∞
I’d like to thank Macminicolo.net for sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed on The Loop. The company is offering The Loop users colocation for just $10 per month.
∞ Introducing GLaDOSiri
Filmmaker Jeff Heimbuch was inspired to combine Siri, the new assistive voice technology in the iPhone 4S, with GLaDOS, the malevolent AI system featured in Valve Software’s Portal games. He mashed them up in this remix of Apple’s iPhone 4S introduction video.
The result is GLaDOSiri, a wisecracking iPhone 4S that has absolutely nothing nice to say about you, ever.
∞ 'Apple University' to train execs the Steve Jobs way ∞
Los Angeles Times:
“…The idea was to take what is unique about Apple and create a forum that can impart that DNA to future generations of Apple employees,” said a former Apple executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve his relationship with the company. “No other company has a university charged with probing so deeply into the roots of what makes the company so successful.”
Corporate universities aren’t a new idea by any stretch of the imagination. Jobs allegedly tapped Joel Polodny, dean of Yale’s business school, to run the program. Apple had no comment, of course.
October 7, 2011
∞ Sprint cracks the whip on LTE deployment ∞
Computerworld:
Sprint officials today announced an accelerated rollout of LTE wireless technology on Friday — and said that it will continue to support its millions of Wimax smartphone and device customers beyond 2012.Sprint officials told analysts that the company’s LTE network will begin rolling out in some markets in mid-2012, and that it would reach some 275 million potential U.S. customers by early 2014.
Once Sprint and Verizon have a wide deployment of LTE, Apple will have to begin offering an LTE-capable iPhone. The company’s president of network operations told those gathered at today’s announcement that Sprint expects its first LTE phones to be offered in mid 2012.
∞ EU okays Microsoft Skype buyout ∞
Reuters:
Microsoft secured EU approval on Friday to purchase internet voice and video service Skype for $8.5 billion, its biggest ever acquisition.
The commission noted that Microsoft and Skype overlap, but doesn’t think there are concerns about monopoly since other companies including Google compete in the video space.
∞ Report: Sony close to buying out Ericsson ∞
Gamasutra:
As PlayStation maker Sony moves further into the world of connected devices, it may be finding its longstanding joint venture with mobile device maker Ericsson prohibitive to its operations.That is why, according to the Wall Street Journal, sources say that that the company may soon wrest full control over the 50-50 joint venture created over a decade ago.
A buyout wouldn’t be cheap for Sony, but it might help the company as it seeks to further bolster its Android-based offerings going forward.
∞ Samsung, Google punt on Nexus Prime rollout ∞
SlashGear:
Samsung and Google have yanked their CTIA Fall product launch, the event expected to debut the Samsung Galaxy Prime aka Nexus Prime. “Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall” the two companies said in a terse statement. “We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be shortly announced.”
The Galaxy Prime/Nexus Prime phone reportedly features a 4.65-inch display and runs Android 4.0, code-named “Ice Cream Sandwich.” Neither Google nor Samsung specify what caused the delay. SlashGear speculates it may have something to do with Steve Jobs’ funeral.
∞ Richard M. Stallman on Steve: 'I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone'
Richard M. Stallman, the furry, neckbearded goat-god of the “free software movement,” offered this comment on Steve Jobs’ passing on his Web site:
As Chicago Mayor Harold Washington said of the corrupt former Mayor Daley, “I’m not glad he’s dead, but I’m glad he’s gone.” Nobody deserves to have to die – not Jobs, not Mr. Bill, not even people guilty of bigger evils than theirs. But we all deserve the end of Jobs’ malign influence on people’s computing.
This is the same guy who eats his own toe-jam while lecturing people on the wonders of free software and heckles speakers who dare to speak in favor of products that Apple makes like developer and educator Fraser Speirs, creator of “The iPad Project,” a 1:1 iPad deployment in Scotland schools.
Stay classy, RMS. Don’t go changin’.
∞ Barnes & Noble punishes DC Comics for Kindle Fire deal ∞
Bleeding Cool:
Last week, Bleeding Cool reported on DC Comics’ plans to release 100 graphic novels exclusively on the Amazon Kindle Fire.Well now the other shoe has dropped. I understand that Barnes & Noble executives are furious over this, specifically citing DC’s reluctance to release any of their graphic novels on the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble’s own colour E-reading device.
According to the report, Barnes & Noble’s management has instructed their stores to pull the 100 graphic novels that are to be published on Kindle Fire, so customers will still be able to get trades and other products that don’t appear on the new Amazon device.
Update: (10/8/11, 11:40 AM ET)
CNN reports that the move is indeed being made as part of a Barnes & Noble policy against stocking products not available to them digitally:
“Regardless of the publisher, we will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format,” the company’s chief merchant, Jaime Carey, said in a written statement. “To sell and promote the physical book in our store showrooms and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime.”
October 6, 2011
∞ Tweet Speaker for iPhone ∞
Enjoy Twitter while on a walk, stuck in traffic, in the kitchen, or on the go. Tweet Speaker lets you listen to news, sports, humor, and the musings of interesting people on Twitter — a sort of live podcast of your Tweets.
Another great app from the guys at App Cubby. It’s $2.99 on the App Store.
∞ LA Times gets stupid
As you can imagine things have been pretty busy this week, so I’m just getting caught up on all the stupid that went on during the release of the iPhone 4S. One piece in particular from the LA Times caught my eye.
Normally, I may just link to the stupid article, but this one deserves a bit more attention. The article starts with a statement that sets the tone of what you can expect throughout the story.
Apple began its new era with a creation unlike anything it had produced in years: disappointment.
The only way you can characterize the iPhone 4S as a disappointment is if you believed all of the bullshit rumors that have been floating around the Internet for the past few months. That being the case, your readers should be disappointed with you for even suggesting this.
Clearly, you’re upset that it wasn’t an iPhone 5, but Apple never said it would be an iPhone 5. Perhaps you should show some disappointment in the rumors sites instead.
Alex Spektor, a wireless analyst at Strategy Analytics: By choosing not to call the device the iPhone 5, he said, “Apple is admitting that it’s basically the same phone but with some souped-up specifications.”
Wait a minute. Having a larger hard drive maybe be considered “souped-up” specs, but we’re talking about a phone that can intelligently switch antennas to make the call quality better. That’s not just a spec, that’s ground-breaking technology.
And the A5 chip is not just souped-up, this is a new processor that is twice as fast as the predecessor and has graphics that are seven times as fast as before.
This gives Apple and third-party developers the opportunity to make better apps to be sold on this little thing called the App Store. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
Unlike Jobs, who tended to stay on the stage for most of a product unveiling…
Now you’re just trying to piss me off. Have you been to any of Jobs’ keynotes in the past couple of years? Tim Cook followed the exact same format that Steve did. Let the executives in charge of the technologies being demoed, talk about them.
“They are satisfying the broadening demand of the market,” said Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. “It’s a good strategy on Apple’s part.”
Finally.
One of the day’s minor flourishes was Apple’s announcement of its new “Cards” application…
So, to make your point, you choose one of the cool little apps that Apple introduced. A fun app, that is in itself something that nobody else is doing.
If you are going to choose an app, why not choose Reminders? Then you could mention that it integrates with Siri, Apple’s voice assistant to set up location reminders around the places you visit.
While the LA Times did mention Siri, it focused on the simpler functions of the technology, but completely ignored the fact that it understands the context of what you are asking it.
I guess that wouldn’t have supported the outcome of the article.
∞ Goodbye Steve
Steve Jobs meant a lot of things to different people. I thought I’d relay a simple story about the first time I met Steve.
It was about 10 years ago at the Palo Alto, Calif. Apple store that I first met him. I was attending an event at the store and thought I might get a chance to see him there.
Colin Crawford, then CEO of Macworld, told me to come with him. He said he was going to introduce me to Steve Jobs. I don’t mind saying I was scared. I remember that fear vividly, even today.
When Colin introduced me to Steve, he looked at me and said, “I know you, I read your stories all the time.”
I shook Steve’s hand, said “thank you,” and walked away.
I suppose I could have tried to stay and have a conversation with him, but I had everything that I could have ever hoped for. The only thing I could have done at that point was fumble over my words and ruin a great moment.
Steve strove for excellence with everything he did at Apple. He made me want to be a better at my craft as a writer. I still strive to be best I can.
Thanks Steve. Goodbye.
∞ Simon & Schuster moves up Jobs bio publish date
Simon & Schuster has accelerated its release of the Walter Isaacson-penned eponymous biography of Steve Jobs. The book was originally anticipated for a November 21, 2011 release but is now coming on October 24, instead.
While much has been written about Jobs over the years, Isaacson’s biography includes extensive interviews with Jobs, who agreed to discuss his life with the famed author and journalist after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Isaacson is president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a Washington D.C.-based educational and policy studies organization, and has been chairman and CEO of CNN and managing editor of Time. His works include biographies on Benjamin Franklin, Henry Kissinger and Albert Einstein.
The book is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com, where it has captured the number one spot in the day since Jobs’ death. The hardcover release is priced at $35 and comes in at 656 pages, according to information on Simon & Schuster’s Web site.
∞ Telltale Games: iPad is fastest-growing platform
Game developer Telltale Games, makers of Jurassic Park, Sam & Max, Back to the Future and Tales of Monkey Island games, announced Wednesday that the iPad is its fastest growing platform. The company has already released 18 games and plans to offer 30 new games for iOS before the end of the year.
Telltale announced plans to release Sam & Max Beyond Time & Space, the first cases of a new game series based on the popular television crime procedural Law & Order, and “a soon to be announced game series,” all planned for iOS.
∞ EVE Online CEO offers mea culpa, winter 2011 expansion unveiled
The last few months have been hugely trying for CCP Games, makers of the massively multiplayer online game EVE Online. The rollout of the game’s most recent major expansion, was met with a huge pushback from the player community, who voiced a long list of complaints. CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson has posted A letter to the followers of EVE to apologize for the debacle.
At several points Petursson reiterates his responsibility for the failures of the company as a whole, explaining that past successes gave him too much hubris and blinded him to some very real problems.
“We would have been much better off positioning Incarna as an optional technology preview that interested players could have experienced and helped us to refine,” Petursson said, adding later that “once Incarna hits its stride, EVE will be more personal, and thus more accessible to general audiences,” but that CCP plans to implement those changes “without disrupting the space combat simulator that many of you are, or at least were, very much in love with—and without delaying crucial improvements that this core experience desperately needs.”
Petursson also noted the comparative failure of EVE Online’s virtual goods payment system. “Quite frankly, it was rather pointless to begin with because we did not have a multiuser environment in which players could show off their purchases. It was another feature that we rushed out the door before it was ready,” he said.
CCP stands ready to make positive changes to the system, however – Petursson explained that the payment model for online games has changed, and CCP desperately needs to keep up with the evolution of the business in order to stay competitive.
“From now on, CCP will focus on doing what we say and saying what we do. That is the path to restoring trust and moving forward,” Petursson concluded.
EVE senior producer Arnar Gylafson has outlined CCP’s plans for EVE Online’s winter 2011 expansion, which, while not “set in stone,” is expected to debut before Christmas.
Changes players can expect include hybrid weapons balancing, factional warfare improvements, assault ships, capital ship balancing, new T2 modules, starbase logistics management, new EWAR-drones, T2 rigs manufacturing, and some visual enhancements like ship spinning, new font, more captain’s quarters and time dilation.
This isn’t a final list, Gylafson warned, but he reiterated that the “expansion will be themed around improvements to warfare and PVP (player vs player).”
∞ Sprint now taking iPhone 4 preorders; iPhone 4S on Friday
U.S. cell phone service provider Sprint is accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 4, and says it will begin taking pre-orders for the iPhone 4S on Friday.
Sprint is differentiating its entry into the iPhone market by offering customers an unlimited data plan. Neither AT&T nor Verizon offer such plans to new customers anymore. Hesse said that unlimited service is profitable for Sprint, but made that comment before the iPhone – a notoriously bandwidth-intensive device – became available on their network.
Hesse said that if Sprint’s unlimited service plan proved to be unprofitable, they won’t offer it anymore. Given AT&T and Verizon’s lead, it would seem to be more a question of when than if.
Apple announced Sprint as a new iPhone carrier during the introduction of the iPhone 4S on Tuesday. Sprint is now the third major carrier in the U.S. to offer the iPhone 4 (and 4S) to customers, leaving T-Mobile as the sole major carrier which doesn’t offer an iPhone.
∞ Obama: Steve 'exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity'
A statement posted to the White House blog attributed to President Obama notes the passing of Steve Jobs:
Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.
∞ Sprint to offer unlimited data plan for iPhone ∞
AllThingsD:
“We will be offering the benefit of our unlimited plans that start at just $69.99,” said spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein. Sprint’s $69.99 plan includes unlimited data and 450 voice minutes as well as unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Unlimited calling and data costs $99.99 a month. (Update: Those prices don’t include a $10 per month surcharge for smartphones, so iPhone users will really be paying $79.99 and $109.99 for their unlimited plans)
AT&T and Verizon have both walked away from offering new customers unlimited plans, so this could be a significant strategic advantage for Sprint as it gets the iPhone for the first time with the introduction of the iPhone 4S, due next week.
October 5, 2011
∞ A statement from Steve's family
Following the announcement from Apple that Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday, Jobs’ family offered a statement:
Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.
∞ Steve Jobs dead at 56
Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has passed away, Apple confirmed on Wednesday.
“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being,” reads a message posted to the Apple Web site. “Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”
Apple’s board of directors offered a statement acknowledging Jobs’ passing:
“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.“His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”
Apple directs people interested in sharing memories of Steve to an address: [email protected]