Thomas Brand leaves his iPhone at work in the evenings:
This division keeps me on task at work where I need to stay connected, and attentive to the people around me when I am at home. Not everyone can do this. My job pays for the my work phone, and by running to and from work means I don’t need to stay connected while commuting. I may miss the company of my iPhone while waiting in line on the weekends, but I make up for it by spending more time with my wife.
I like it.
Jef Raskin, the 31st employee at Apple, was tasked with starting the publications department. After getting user manuals for the Apple II out the door, he created the original vision of the Macintosh — an appliance-like computer with a GUI and simple design.
After Steve Jobs was sidelined from the Lisa and Apple II groups, and took over the Mac team, Raskin left.
These papers are the birthplace of the Macintosh, and are well worth the read. I saved a PDF of the papers, and sent the text to my Kindle as well.
via Reddit
Jacqui Cheng at Ars has put together a nice little slideshow covering the software’s history.
Ken Yeung at TNW:
The Pebble smartwatch has appeared at the 2013 International Consumer Electronic Show. At its first ever press conference today, the company’s CEO Eric Migicovsky announced that Pebble is in mass production and is being shipped to its Kickstarter backers on January 23.
Migicovsky says that it will take 6–8 weeks to get all the initial orders out — a rate of 15,000 pebbles a week.
The watch will have 7 days of battery life, with a Sharp-built display and a custom USB connector for charging.
I backed the project, and am anxious to review the watch. Granted, I was way more excited about it back when I carried a smartphone.
Update: The Verge has a hands-on video with the watch.
Andrew Carroll:
Subtract your expenses from your revenue. That’s your profit. Pay tax on that.
Now, if you want to pay even less tax, it helps to have someone that can help you. Like me. But, you do not need that. And if you are scared of using someone because you are embarrassed to show up with your shoe box, now you know how to do it like a pro.
I called Andrew with nothing but a spreadsheet and lots of questions. This is my first year operating a business, and he walked me through everything, suggesting changes and better ways to do things. I never once felt talked down to or like I wasn’t being heard. I never knew taxes could be so pleasant, honestly.
If you’ve got a small business like mine (or are a powerful mogul), drop Andrew a line. You won’t be sorry.
The 21.5-inch machines are 7–10 days out, while the big ones don’t ship again for 3–4 weeks. Something is wrong, and I hope the company can get it straightened out.
We’re back from the holidays… slightly heavier; slightly more determined. We have goals. We have resolutions. And we will make them happen.
… we think.
Sure, clearing out your inbox is a great intention – but finding a sustainable solution for business collaboration is better. While it might be tough to change the way your teams work together, now is the right time to move past the frustrations of yesteryear.
Bring your documents, versions and conversations together in one place. Get an intranet you’ll actually like.
Try Igloo.
Great, another fitness gadget to review.
Sarcasm aside, this thing looks pretty good. Hopefully, it brings the brains of the FitBit to a package as convenient as the FuelBand.
Don Melton has published a little piece on how Apple’s web browser is now a decade old:
Ten years ago today, which was actually a Tuesday, Steve Jobs introduced Safari to the public at MacWorld in San Francisco.
He links to Macworld 2003 keynote address, in which Steve Jobs demos the browser for the first time.
I remember the announcement — and being stoked about it. Remember, January 2003 is years before Google Chrome, and almost two years before Firefox shipped.
It was a dark world. One in which Internet Explorer was the only real option when it came to browsing on the Mac.
Six months after the beta shipped at Macworld, Apple shipped Safari 1.0. The browser only ran on Mac OS X 10.2. When 10.3 shipped later that year, Safari was bundled with the upgrade — as the default browser.
Safari shipped in the nick of time, it turns out. On June 16, 2003, Microsoft shipped version 5.2.3, the final update for Internet Explorer on OS X. On July 11, it shipped the final version for Mac OS 8 and 9.
Version 1 was supported on 10.2 until August 2004, with 10.3 supported until January 2006.
Safari 2.0 shipped in April 2005, with Acid2 support complete by version 2.0.2. It was the only browser installed on Tiger-based Macs, but users who upgraded from previous versions of Mac OS X could still use Internet Explorer 5. When 10.4.4 shipped to customers in January 2006, Safari was updated to version 2.0.4.
On January 9, 2007, at Macworld, Apple announced MobileSafari as a core component of the iPhone. Six months later at WWDC, Steve Jobs announced Safari 3 for Mac OS X v10.5, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. The Windows version shipped as a rather rocky beta, but served as an aide to developers who were building webapps for the iPhone (remember, this is pre-App Store.) The final version of Safari 3 is 3.2.3, released on May 12, 2009. It included advanced anti-fishing resources and better support for Extended Validation Certificates.
Safari 4 boasted a new JavaScript engine, named SquirrelFish (thankfully re-named Nitro by the time of the public release). SquirrelFish was released to developers at WWDC in June 2008, with the browser entering beta on February 2009.
The Safari 4 beta made news for several new UI elements, Top Sites, Cover Flow for history and the Chome-like tabs-on-top design.
When is shipped in the late summer of 2009, the tabs were slightly less insane, and the 64-bit version ran JavaScript even faster. The Windows version got standard Windows UI controls, and the same crash protection Mac OS X users enjoyed.
At WWDC 2010, Apple released Safari 5. In addition to more UI and JavaScript enhancements, the company added Reading List, a way to save articles for later. Safari 5.0.1 enabled Extensions, a way for users to add plug-ins and other tweaks to the browser, not unlike what Firefox users had enjoyed for some time. Safari 5.1 shipped with WebKit2, a new version of the underlying rendering engine.
The current version of Safari is 6.0.2. For the browser’s sixth release, Apple waited until Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was ready to go, even though it runs on OS X 10.7 Lion, as well. (Safari for Windows is still on version 5.)
Safari 6 has lots of Mountain Lion-only features, including the ability to share tabs between devices with iCloud, local notifications and easy sharing.
Today, Safari faces stiff competition. Chrome and Firefox both enjoy wider usage on the desktop, with Internet Explorer still holding the majority of users hostage. MobileSafari, however, is responsible for sixty percent of mobile browsing.
Without a doubt, Safari has been a major player when it comes to influencing the web over the last decade. With excellent JavaScript performance, deep CSS support and a handsome UI, it’s become the way many Mac users experience the Internet. While not as important as it once was, it still hold a special place in many people’s hearts, and I think Safari still has a bright future, especially when it comes to mobile usage.
This guy sucks at safety.
Richard Saintvilus, at Forbes.com:
However, for the company to truly move forward as a tech power, Apple should hang-up on the iPhone after one more iteration – presumably the iPhone 6. You might disagree. Granted, the phone is still selling well. However, aside from a different chip and larger screen, the change from the 4S to iPhone 5 was not that significant.
Where should Apple go, after killing off one of the most profitable products in modern history?
Instead, Apple needs to focus on its TV ambitions, which I’ve said should include the Facebook “like” button. The company should start focusing on ways to dominate the smarthome and the smartcar – perhaps making a bid for a company such as Sirius XM or Pandora. The smartphone market has become too saturated, especially with Research In Motion’s resurgence and Amazon’s expected entry into the market.
Also, for quite some time, the company has hinted on wearable technology. “It’s time” for the iWatch or its iWear line of devices. This is an area in which Google has already shown interest. And for Apple, this will be the answer to that chronic “what’s next” question. And the company will finally be able to put to rest that other annoying question – can it still innovate?
A better question: did no one at Forbes read this thing before Saintvilus published it? Sirius Xm is a good investment? RIM’s resurgence? If I just put “catchy phrases” in quotes will Forbes pay me hundreds of dollars to throw something together without thinking about what makes sense?
If you have a bunch of Markdown documents floating around your Mac, you should look at this plugin for Finder’s QuickLook feature.
via Matt Gemmell
