512 Pixels

The Big G:

In life we connect with all kinds of people, places and things. There’s friends and family, of course, but there’s also the sports teams we root for, the coffee shops we’re loyal to, and the TV shows we can’t stop watching (to name a few).

So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about — from local businesses to global brands — so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.

I’m not on Google+, but if I were, I’d be annoyed.

Neil Hughes at AppleInsider:

Chris Whitmore with Deutsche Bank issued a note to investors on Monday in which he revealed that a poll of about 30 retail stores revealed Apple is experiencing daily stock-outs of the iPhone 4S at most of them. He said that between 85 percent and 90 percent of stores polled continue to run out of inventory.

If I were to go back to Android today, this is the phone I would buy. However, as Nilay Patel points out, there’s a problem:

Lastly, we should note that all of these tweaks and extensions to Android mean that the RAZR won’t get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich until sometime next year. That’s hard to take, especially since we’re expecting Verizon will launch the Galaxy Nexus with 4.0 in the next few weeks. And even when the RAZR does get ICS, you’ll forever be stuck with those four capacitive buttons at the bottom of the screen as Google moves Android away from them entirely. Yes, ICS will work with them, but they’re not at the cutting edge of the platform. It may or may not matter to you, but it’s definitely something to consider.

Weird — I thought Google was buying Motorola. It seems that Motorola’s new flagship device didn’t come up in talks.

Pathetic, yet predictable.

I agree with Dave.

The makers of iA Writer are adding iCloud support to their iPad and Mac applications.

As far as I know, this is one of the first third-party Mac apps to add iCloud support. I hope many more are to come. While I currently use Dropbox for syncing my text documents around, this may offer a nicer solution.

Only Apple works so hard to make its stores art forms. The 5th Ave Store was already gorgeous, but this is just stunning.

Update: The Next Web has loads of photos from the re-opened store.

Richard Thompson, on an event concerning my college newspaper:

The Helmsman, in its anger, wanted the photo removed and WMC obliged – which again is proper, even if not necessarily required.

And while WMC’s reported rationale of “blanket permission” is flimsy when it probably meant to argue fair use, it is hard to argue, again, that the facts in the Helmsman’s Oct. 12 story are not now in the public domain.

So, the Helmsman’s front page story seems a bit much.

If anything, it simply would have been nice if WMC acknowledged that the story first appeared in the Helmsman. (A nicely detailed and well written story, by the way.)

Lesson learned: A little credit goes a long way.

His Blancness:

In short, I’m impressed with everything about the Cards app except for the app itself. But that’s a minor issue. With a kid on the way whose grandparents live in another state, the Cards app will be getting regular use from the Blanc household.

I sent one to a friend the other day, and agree with Shawn’s points 100 percent.

Ben Brooks:

I didn’t find out about this until last night when Chris (no longer with Fusion) emailed me. I like Chris a lot and trust him, not true of BuySellAds because I don’t know them.

As of this writing (10:43a PT) I have yet to hear from BuySellAds — they haven’t contacted me and that doesn’t bode well for them in my book, how can we have a business relationship without communication?

Huh.

Dear Josiah Drew,

I don’t think I’ve ever written you a letter. I’ve written a ton about you, but never to you.

I apologize for that. I hope this helps.

Today, you’re three years old. It really seems like just yesterday you were born. Your mom and I were so nervous about being parents, that when we brought you home from the hospital, we didn’t take you out of the carseat immediately. Instead, we just looked at you, wondering how we could unstrap you without hurting your little chicken arms.

For several months, everything seemed to be fine. Looking back, it is painfully clear now that something was wrong. Thankfully, your pediatrician wanted to have some additional tests run at your six-month checkup.

Thank God for Dr. Hanson finding what ended up being cancer.

We were so scared. Scared of losing you, scared of losing ourselves. Scared of everything.

The first 72 hours after your checkup were a whirlwind, but you kept calm through most of it. This photo is of you, two days before surgery. It is still my favorite photo of you as a baby:

The day before your operation, our pastor, Rev. Jeffrey Lancaster, baptized you in your hospital bed. We had so many visitors, the CEO of the hospital came to visit that evening to see what the fuss was about, and to encourage us.

You came through your surgery very, very well, and soon started treatment at St. Jude. Again, we were so scared, and again, you were so sweet and so playful, it helped us forget you were so sick.

Over the next year, we spent weeks and weeks at St. Jude getting treatment. In many ways, the hospital campus is more your home than our apartment. Even today, just about everyone at the hospital knows you. Your waves, smiles and “See you later!” comments capture everyone’s hearts.

You have gone through so much. I know you’ve been scared. I know you’ve been in pain. But you haven’t let these things beat you. You’re always happy — laughing, making faces and singing.

You’re walking and talking so well, it’s hard to notice your limp or stutter. You run around in circles, fling yourself on piles of clothes and whisper in our ears that you love us.

You are the funniest, kindest person I know.

Your resilience to all of the crap life has thrown at you amazes and encourages me. I’ve come so close to giving up so many times. I’m ashamed to say it, knowing that your short life has been a lot harder than mine. Any time I’ve wanted to just go to sleep and never wake up, the thought of not seeing you in the morning has stayed my hand.

I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with cancer. I wish that I could take your place. I wish I could go back and somehow save you from this. I wish I could spend more time with you, and less time at the office, or writing, or whatever else I do instead of playing with you and you ever-growing collection of toy cars.

I wish I was a better father, a better husband and a better person through all of it. You, your mom and your sister deserve far better than this disease — and the screwed up husband and father I so often am.

I hope one day you can forgive me for my poor choices.

Happy birthday, SiSi. I’m so happy to be telling you this for the third year in a row. Here’s to many more.

— Dada

Matthew Kammerer at BSA:

Chris and Michael, Fusion’s previous owners, have done a great job building and running the network. We’re honored to be the new owners, and plan to build upon the great work they have done. We will continue to run Fusion Ads as it’s own standalone network.

[…]

Beacon has been a part of our extended family for over a year now, running on the BSA private label platform. Beacon Ads is the leading self-serve ad network in the Christian space. We have acquired 50% of the network.

Huh.

70Decibels is now a featured “podcast producer” in iTunes.

This is a huge step for Myke and the gang. I’m super excited.