512 Pixels

David Pogue:

There are still some things Amazon should fix. For example, magazine reading is still an exercise in frustration; far too often, the row of page-navigation thumbnails still thrusts itself on top of what you’re trying to read. Other problems may not be so simple to fix: for example, the on/off switch is on the bottom edge, where the Kindle’s weight naturally falls when you’re reading.

It turns off by itself a lot.

Still, today’s software update erases the stubbornness that characterized the original Fire software.

On the newest episode of the best Wikipedia-related podcast known to man, Myke and I learn all about Christmas lights, and I sing a song to friend of the show¹ Brett “Good Times” Kelly.

From 1996:

Some analysts were cautious in their assessment of Apple’s wisdom in choosing Next. “I am a little bit surprised by this move, and I still have to digest this,” said Daniel Kunstler, who follows the computer systems industry for the investment banking firm J.P. Morgan. “There are no real details as to how they are going to use the Next technology and platform to jump-start their own operating system or how long it’s going to take.”

However, he added: “I really don’t see any downside to Steve Jobs returning to Apple.”

via TUAW

Sometimes, life is hard.

This was the best $429 million Apple has ever spent.

Robert Hernandez at the Nieman Journalism Lab:

In the age that we live in, content is relatively cheap. Anyone can create it. If not through their computer, everyone’s phone can basically do live shots, record newsworthy sound clips and file stories. Some can do interactive 360 videos or augmented reality presentations. Really cool stuff.

[…]

With technology empowering everyone with the ability to create and to distribute, I predict — and wish — that in 2012 the new dominating factor will be Credibility. Actually, earned Credibility.

Amen, brother.

This wouldn’t have been brought up when Steve was at the helm.

The purchase of the flash storage company is the reported to have cost $500 million. It’s the biggest purchase Apple has made since it bought NeXT in 1997.

Don’t tell Merlin and the 3x5 lovers, or they won’t ever stop talking about this.

Jakob Schiller at Wired:

CNN recently laid off at least 50 staff, including several photojournalists, in favor of affiliate contributions and iReport – CNN’s user-generated content department which does not pay users for their submissions. To many inside the industry and out, the move seemed based on flawed reasoning that might best be summarized by Stephen Colbert’s quip on the subject: “Why buy the cow when you can have it shakily videotape its own milk for free?”

[…]

CNN attempts to mitigate the predictably chaotic and non sequitur submissions from its almost 1 million registered users by offering online journalism tutorials (shown above), but only 7% of iReport content is vetted for wider use by the organization. Critics are skeptical these educational efforts are enough to turn iReport into a dependably quality product.

Steven Sande at TUAW references this article at the Houston Chronicle concerning the iPhone and LTE. In it, Dwight Silverman says:

Presumably, if the next iPhone comes with LTE, it will use newer-generation chipsets and Apple will have tuned iOS for battery longevity. But I’m not optimistic. I’m also hoping that any LTE phone Apple offers will come with a setting that turns it off and allows users to drop back to 3G when battery life is more important than raw speed.

I don’t think Apple will ship an LTE-equipped device until it can ensure the average user can enjoy good battery life with faster data enabled. Most people wouldn’t know how or when to turn off 4G.

It is amazing how many people yell “Oh, shit!” as something terrible happens in front of them. Wow.