512 Pixels

Every time I hear him speak, my respect for Bill Gates grows. The world needs more people like this guy.

Bob Lord:

This week, we detected unusual access patterns that led to us identifying unauthorized access attempts to Twitter user data. We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later. However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information – usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords – for approximately 250,000 users.

As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts. If your account was one of them, you will have recently received (or will shortly) an email from us at the address associated with your Twitter account notifying you that you will need to create a new password. Your old password will not work when you try to log in to Twitter.

On a related note, 1Password is awesome.

David Banks at Wired is making my eyes all wet.

At an event in San Francisco last night, the OmniGroup unveiled OmniFocus 2, a giant update to the venerable GTD app for the Mac.

The new version looks great. While I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet, it looks like the guys at the OmniGroup have kept OmniFocus as powerful as ever, but in a much better looking and powerful design.

The new version the same as the old — $79.99 — but with a twist:

The Standard edition of OmniFocus 2 and will include all of the basic features which we’ve talked about above, and will cost $39.99.

The Pro edition of OmniFocus will offer the option of building custom workflows like OmniFocus 1 does today, with its support for Perspectives and AppleScript.

Perspectives are a key component of OmniFocus for many users, and while I’m sure that the lower price point will bring many new users to the product, I dislike the stripping of such a great feature just to hit a price point.

Existing owners will get 50 percent off when they upgrade. I can’t wait.

Word has it that the rumored new AppleTV will rock a die-shrunk Apple 5X processor.

Here’s Marco Arment:

A process-shrunk A5X probably won’t contain faster CPUs, but it would be smaller, cooler, and more efficient.

It’s obvious, in retrospect, what this is probably for: the Retina iPad Mini.

As Marco explains, the A5X could drive the display required for such a tablet, and keep the cost down, which is vital on the thinner-than-normal margins Apple enjoys on the iPad mini.

Now, I have no doubt that Apple will ship the iPad mini with a Retina display at some point in the future, but there’s more to it than the processor.

Both the iPad 2 and iPad 3 enjoy 10 hours of battery life, but the former does it with a 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, while the latter packs a 42.5-watt-hour unit.

(The iPad mini boasts the same battery life, but with a measly 16.3-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery.)

The larger battery in the iPad 3 accounts for the device’s heavier (and slightly thicker) chassis, and was required for the A5X to run for 10 hours.

A die-shrunk A5X chip would in fact help the power situation, but I can’t help but think that a Retina-caliber screen sucks a lot of power, too. In fact, the iPad 4 — with its A6X SOC — still packs a 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery.

So, unless a die-shrunk A5X is drastically different than the A6X when it comes to power consumption, could Apple put it in an iPad mini and not make the iPad mini way thicker?

I’m no engineer, but I’m not sure they could. It seems to me that Apple needs a big breakthrough to cram a Retina display into a iPad mini. I just don’t think a smaller A5X is that breakthrough.

Sidebar on the PPI of a Theoretical iPad mini with Retina display

All of this talk about power and chips and unicorn tears aside, it’s interesting to think about what a iPad mini with Retina display would bring to the table. Here’s where things stand today:

The iPad mini, at 163 pixels per inch, boasts a slightly more dense screen than the iPad 2, but it’s a far cry from the 264 PPI found on the iPad with Retina display.

However, if Apple were to double the pixels on the iPad mini, it would clock in at an impressive 326 pixels per inch.

Now, that 326 PPI should sound familiar, as it’s the exact PPI currently found on the iPhone.

Excluding any conspiracy theories about the number 326, this move would be an interesting one. Would Apple ship the iPad mini with a noticeably higher PPI than its flagship tablet? How could it spin that on stage or in a press release?

If Apple were to release an iPad mini with Retina display, it would have to answer these questions, at least internally. Maybe the company sees the iPad mini as the true flagship product, and is fine with it shipping with a better display than its big brother. The price points don’t really reflect that, but hey, Apple’s done stranger things than this in the past.

Whenever the Retina-equipped iPad mini ships, I’ll be ordering one. I love the iPad mini, and with a Retina display, it’d be about perfect. That said, I still think the company may have more hurdles to release it than we think.

Want to read through the original Lisa Owner’s Guide or brush up on Pascal 2.0? This site is for you.

via @_jshmllr

Tim Carmody at The Verge:

Multiple sources said CNET would not attempt to bid for the CES awards in an attempt to move on from the controversy. A CNET spokesperson issued this response: “As the #1 tech news and reviews site in the world, CNET is committed to delivering in-depth coverage of consumer electronics. We look forward to covering CES and the latest developments from the show, as we have for well over a decade.” A CBS Interactive spokesperson told The Verge that prior to the CEA’s decision, CBS had already determined it would not attempt to partner with CES for the awards again.

CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro’s column in USA Today on the subject is damming:

CNET is a credible technology industry journalism organization with respected reporters and analysts, and has always been a good partner to CES when examining these awards. CBS had a pristine reputation, and other than its questionable anti-innovation litigation strategy, had shown an ability to embrace innovation and try new things such as acquiring CNET and experimenting with a Groupon model. But those reputations have been severely damaged.

Moreover, CNET’s top editor recently revealedCNET was ordered by CBS to deceive the public and say CNET pulled the product from consideration as a finalist, even though the Hopper Sling had already been the CNET editors’ unanimous choice as best of show. Unbelievable that a top executive at a Fortune 500 company had ordered an intentional deception by their own journalists.

Every week it seems we see a rock of society crumble, and CBS’ actions during CES unsettle me as someone who treasures innovation and hates seeing a great company tarnished by unfairness in a respected awards program. Sadly, 2013 begins with CBS destroying its reputation for editorial integrity in an attempt to eliminate a new market competitor. Now we are considering our legal options under our agreement with CNET.

(Excuse the long block-quote; I couldn’t help myself.)

Censorship is serious, and I think these ramifications will only continue until CBS gets its head on straight and gives CNET back its editorial independence. Granted, even if that were to happen today, it takes a long time to rebuild the trust that has been broken between CNET, other companies and its readers.

Jim Dalrymple:

Apple on Thursday confirmed news that it would stop selling the current model of the Mac Pro in the EU on March 1, 2013.

“Due to evolving regulatory requirements, Apple will stop selling Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries on March 1, 2013,” an Apple representative told The Loop. “After that date, resellers can sell existing inventory but Apple will no longer ship Mac Pro in those countries.”

This news, coupled with Tim Cook’s previous statement about “something really great” coming to address the needs of the company’s professional market sure has me hoping for some news about the Mac Pro soon.

It also has me very nervous.

Benj Edwards, in another great Apple history piece at Macworld:

The Mac borrowed heavily from the Lisa, and the Mac went on to great things while the Lisa floundered. As a result, it’s tempting to treat the Lisa as merely a footnote in the history of Apple. But as anyone who has used a real Lisa knows, Apple’s first GUI-based computer played host to many distinctive quirks and traits that tend to get overlooked in the history books.

I wrote a good bit about this machine a couple of years ago, and continue to be fascinated by it.

This week on the 512 Podcast, Myke and I return to discuss some followup, then move on to talk about my new iPhone, the new 128 GB iPad and Blackberry 10.

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From The Verge’s live-blog:

WTF.

Over at MacStories:

After four months, I can say that the iPhone 5 is the best iPhone I’ve ever owned. Its design changes haven’t impacted my daily experience in a meaningful way, and the bigger screen lets me see more content with less interaction. The improvements made to the processor and antenna are, in my opinion, the best features of this update.

It’s been weird going back to the iPhone after two months without one. The iPhone 5 doesn’t feel larger (or smaller, in some ways) than it did when I switched directly from the 4S.