512 Pixels

2014 is sold out, but I’ve just rolled out RSS sponsorship spots for the first couple of months of 2015. If you want to help me keep the lights on and have your product or company shared with a bunch of good-looking, well-read nerds, get in touch.

Jonathan Hoover breaks down what has to be one of the weirder Apple hardware prototypes that has ever leaked.

Remember Sugarstring, the Verizon-backed “news” site?

It’s dead.

Here’s Verizon’s statement to DSL Reports:

As you know, we’ve always said this was a pilot project; and as with any pilot project, we evaluate, take our learnings, improve our execution and move forward. That’s what we’ve decided to do here.

via The Verge

Earlier today, Greg Pierce, the developer of Drafts tweeted:

Welp. Enjoy the Drafts Today widget while it lasts. Apple has required me to re-submit w/o the buttons to create drafts or open the app…

— Greg Pierce (@agiletortoise) December 2, 2014

@johnvoorhees No buttons. I was told the Today view is for information presentation only, essentially.

— Greg Pierce (@agiletortoise) December 2, 2014

If this is true, it would mean Today widgets from apps like Evernote and the just-re-blessed PCalc are in trouble.

While I understand Apple wanting to keep the Today view limited to glanceable information, developers have built some very useful tools, and to ban them after being approved for some time doesn’t reflect well on the company. I hope Apple and third-party developers can find a middle ground. Today widgets are useful and make iOS more powerful without putting a large burden on users.

NASA:

In the not-too-distant future, astronauts destined to be the first people to walk on Mars will leave Earth aboard an Orion spacecraft. Carried aloft by the tremendous power of a Space Launch System rocket, our explorers will begin their Journey to Mars from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the spirit of humanity with them to the Red Planet.

The first future human mission to Mars and those that follow will require the ingenuity and dedication of an entire generation. It’s a journey worth the risks. We take the next step on that journey this Thursday, Dec. 4, with the uncrewed, first flight test of Orion.

Thursday is a big milestone on the trip to Mars, which NASA has slated for the 2030s. While the timetable isn’t as accelerated as Apollo’s was, it’s still amazing to imagine watching the news in 15 years and see a human being waving back to Earth from the surface of Mars.

  <img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52d73d05e4b008d128aa3ad6/52f53b1ce4b054f67738c1bb/547dfb3ee4b0e77baa72a5ca/1417542462963//img.jpg" alt=""/>

Bradley Chambers over on The Sweet Setup:

The Apple ecosystem has no shortage of ways to share files. There are countless apps and services that aim to make this as easy as possible. With a lot of the articles we write here at The Sweet Setup, we are comparing apps and services that are virtually identical outside of user interface. With this category, that is not the case. These apps, while appearing similar, all have a different focus.

Automate your bookkeeping tasks for your small business, setup takes 10 minutes. Join the tens of thousands of business owners that gave up on spreadsheets and quickbooks and decided to give LessAccounting a try. Let us show you a less stressful way to handle bookkeeping and make your accountant happy. 14 day trial, 30 day money back promise, stop wasting time with bookkeeping and get back to being a badass.

Simple Beep is a new podcast that does deep dives on historical Apple topics. So far, Ed and Brian have tackled the startup chime and interface customization.

If you like some of my old Apple stuff, check out this show.

There’s been a lot of talk over the last few days about podcasting and podcasting equipment.

Production and gear costs are — to a degree — a chicken-and-egg problem in podcasting. Blogging has a very low barrier to entry; podcasting’s is higher.

However, if you want to be taken seriously, it does matter — to a degree — how you sound. I don’t think Casey’s argument of “Use whatever you can, even your earbuds, if you have to. The point is what you’re saying, not how it sounds” is a good one.

But I’m not saying that to have a successful podcast (or network) you have to go out and drop serious money on serious equipment. I think Jason’s recommendation of the Blue Yeti is fine, if you have a quiet enough room. I like and use the Rode Podcaster, but it’s not at all required kit.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that your success is tied to what equipment to use or how to edit your show, but I do want to echo what Marco said in his post:

And if you put in the effort, your audience will reward you for it. Podcast audiences aren’t usually the biggest, but they’re by far the best. You won’t find more engaged, loyal, devoted fans than podcast listeners. Podcasters know it, advertisers know it, and listeners know it.

All the arguing about what equipment is best, if taking donations alongside advertising is shady and if networks are dead or not is just noise in the face of this truth: podcasting is special, but it’s hard.

A million factors go into making a show successful. Audio quality takes the front seat because it’s perhaps the easiest to throw money at, but your content, show notes, release consistency, co-host chemistry, branding, website, social presence, iTunes ratings and cultivating relationships with fans all play an important role.

The common thread? Working hard, often without direct reward.

Relay FM is what it is because Myke and I sweat every detail. The entire stack — the shows, notes, content and website — have all been carefully considered. Our mics are part of that stack, but just one element of it.

My iPhone’s hardware is so … boring.

This week, we are back to discuss Federico’s use of a remote Mac mini for weird tasks and my new Pebble before debating Twitter’s new App Graph.

This episode was made possible by:

• Drafts: where text starts on iPhone and iPad. Now easier and more powerful than ever.
• Studio Neat: Get 10% off anything in their store using the code CONNECTED
• Dash: Create beautiful dashboards with a few clicks. Sign up now to get one free private dashboard.

Mike Solomon:

I saw this great post about how tiny the original Macintosh screen was compared with the current (and enormous) Retina 5K iMac screen.

So I thought I’d take the opposite approach. Below are 1-to-1 pixel mockups of how Mac OS X Yosemite would have appeared on the original Macintosh’s 512×342 pixel screen.

It’s crazy to think about the progress the Macintosh has made in 30 years.

via Daring Fireball