512 Pixels

Nilay Patel did the math on AT&T’s “Next” plan. In short, it’s an all-new way to get screwed over by the carrier.

Chuck Skoda tweeted earlier that “Skeuomorphism is alive and well” in Logic Pro X, linking to this page on Apple’s site, which shows plug-ins and sounds that come bundled with the application.

In the classical sense, “skeuomorphic” design is when an app’s UI looks like real-world devices. That’s what Logic Pro X is steeped in. Dials on amps in the application look like dials on amps do in the real world.

However, the term has been used to describe things like linen in iOS. With iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, Apple has stripped most of that away. The changes the company in this regard are well-founded and welcome.

However, I don’t think that move means Apple had to follow the same path in Logic Pro X. In short, I think Apple views skeuomorphism as acceptable, as long as it’s functional. In Logic Pro X, it is. Switches, faders and knobs make sense in the world of professional audio, so Apple has switches, faders and knobs in its professional audio application.

Either the NDA really is dying, or someone is about to get a super fun call from Apple’s legal team.

Update: The videos are still there, but Rene Ritchie at iMore is reporting they are indeed in violation of the NDA. Update 2: Aaaaaaaaand they’re gone.

Last week, San Francisco Bay Area FOX affiliate KTVU-TV shared the names of the pilots on Asiana Airlines Flight 214.

(I have decided not to re-publish the list of names KTVU reported, but that link above has them in the video. They are racially insensitive, to say the least.)

This morning, USA Today reported that Asiana Airlines is suing the TV station over the report:

Asiana has decided to sue KTVU-TV to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report” that disparaged Asians, Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said. She said the airline will likely file suit in U.S. courts.

The Asian American Journalists Association weighed in as well:

Those names were not only wrong, but so grossly offensive that it’s hard for us at the Asian American Journalists Association to fathom how those names made it on the broadcast. We choose not to repeat those names.

At least some people at KTVU realized the mistake, after the fact. Matthew Keys writes:

When the station inaccurately reported the pilot names on Friday, KTVU producer Brad Belstock tweeted “Oh shit.” Belstock later deleted his Twitter account. Staffers at other television stations responded in a similar fashion to KTVU’s mistake.

Word circulated this weekend that the report had been put together by an intern at KTVU, but the station stood by its statement that the names were passed to them from a source at the National Transportation Safety Board.

Turns out, KTVU was indeed given those names by the NTSB. On July 12, the government agency issued this statement:

The National Transportation Safety Board apologizes for inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed as those of the pilots of Asiana flight 214, which crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.

Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft.

The NTSB does not release or confirm the names of crewmembers or people involved in transportation accidents to the media. We work hard to ensure that only appropriate factual information regarding an investigation is released and deeply regret today’s incident.

Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated.

While the “summer intern” has surely been fired, KTVU clearly dropped the ball here as well. As soon as the reported names are read out loud, it’s clear that a middle-school level, racially-charged joke has been pulled, but the news anchor — and the visual designer who put the slide together — apparently went on the information given them.

(As a side note, Reuters reports that the summer intern was a volunteer.)

Whoever at KTVU should have run the list by more people internally, or — better yet — waited for a second source before rushing to report the names.

The news station published an apology, saying:

We made several mistakes when we received this information. First, we never read the names out loud, phonetically sounding them out.

Then, during our phone call to the NTSB where the person confirmed the spellings of the names, we never asked that person to give us their position with the agency.

We heard this person verify the information without questioning who they were and then rushed the names on our noon newscast.

“Several mistakes” indeed.

Ever wonder how the Pixar films fit together? Well, Jon Negroni has a theory that will blow your mind.

via The Verge

Digg (yes, that Digg) has released a new RSS Reader for the web, iPhone, and iPad (Android coming soon). The design is sleek and clean, and the apps are speedy and efficient.

Whether you’re a hardcore RSS junky or simply want all your favorite online reading in one place, Digg Reader is for you. It’s free and available today! Sponsorship by The Syndicate.

Mr. Blanc:

At the end of the day, Flickr is the only place I’ve got to put my best photographic work. And as much as I love the service, it’s just not cutting it — it doesn’t feel like the right place for my best photographic work. And I suspect I’m not alone.

Earlier today, Nokia took the wraps off its newest Windows Phone 8 phone. ¹ The new phone sports a 4.5-inch 1280 x 768 display, and comes in white, black or yellow.

Oh, and a 41-megapixel camera sensor coupled with a new imaging SDK. On yesterday’s episode of The Prompt, we spoke about the gap between our iPhones and “real” cameras. (In my case, the Olympus E-PL5.) What would it be like to have Instagram or VSCO Cam built-in on my camera?

iPhone photos aren’t nearly as good as ones taken with a dedicated camera, but they are much more easily shared to social networks like Instagram or Twitter. I can do that with photos taken with my Olympus, but it involves a fair amount more work.

Photos taken with my “real camera” often end up on Flickr to die a slow death anyways.

The Lumia 1020 allows users to manually adjust things like flash level, focus, ISO, white balance, shutter speed and exposure. That sounds like a real camera. While I don’t see this thing doing particularly well as product, one day the line between our smartphones and our cameras will become so blurred there isn’t a difference.

Bill Mickey:

After 30 years in print, the current August issue of PCWorld will be the last, IDG announced today. The magazine will switch to a digital-only format from now on.

There are 339,000 print subscribers, per the title’s AAM audit report, and if they want it, they’ll need to register online to receive the digital version of the title.

Harry McCracken:

If I have to explain why, you haven’t been paying attention to the media business for the past decade or so. The web has been awfully hard on magazines, and no category has suffered more than computer publications. Both readers and advertisers have largely moved online. Many of them did so years ago — especially the sort of tech-savvy people who once read PC magazines. At the end, PCWorld was about a quarter the size it once was in terms of pages and had lost two-thirds of its readership. I don’t even want to think about what had happened to its profits.

Thus it goes.

This week on The Prompt, Myke and I discuss Federico’s absence, Myke’s recent government questioning and then cameras and photo management with correspondent Shawn Blanc.

Federico “Special Business” Viticci:

The concept of the App Store is, like iTunes, strong enough to last for a decade and more. The App Store service and apps were built and designed in 2008, and they can’t stand the weight of a million apps anymore. Apple will need to focus on discovery, improved search, personalized recommendations, developer relations, and new markets if they want to bring the App Store to the next level.

As I wish happy birthday to the App Store, I see incredible potential for the next five years. I am excited for a future where a new generation of app makers will empower more people, solving new problems with the power of apps.

Dan Moren, Macworld:

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Wednesday handed down her ruling in the case between the Department of Justice and Apple over ebook price-fixing, saying that Apple conspired with the five major publishers to raise rates. A trial on damages will be held to decide how much relief the U.S. government and a coalition of U.S. states are entitled to.

Not surprisingly, Apple says it will be appealing the ruling.