512 Pixels

Federico Viticci has collected all of the iPad 2 rumors that have floated around for the last 5 months into a timeline.

I think the Internet is obsessed with this device.

This morning, he announced he’s writing full-time starting in April:

When I began shawnblanc.net in July of 2007 it was with the intention of enjoying and exploring that place where creativity and computers come together — I am fascinated by that blend of the artful and the technical. And for almost four years now I’ve been exploring that place while writing this site on the side, as I’ve been able.

But writing on the side, as I’m able, is no longer enough for me.

I simply have to go full time. And so I’m jumping in head first. I’m actually doing it. And I can hardly believe I’m saying this.

He’s offering memberships to help support this endeavor. I pulled the trigger on one without even thinking about it. Go do it.

Maybe it’s because I’ve used video chat in the past on my Macs. Maybe it’s just because I just bought an iPhone 4 a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s because I’m a little dense sometimes. Whatever the reason, I just now came to realize what FaceTime is all about.

Right now, I’m sitting at the University of Memphis, cramming for a massive exam I have in the morning. My wife Merri just called me from her 4th-generation iPod touch, and I got to see and talk to her and our two kids, right from the palm of my hand. I could wave to our infant daughter, and see our two-year old son show me where his eyes, ears and nose are. Since I missed dinner with them, it was a great way to have just a moment to connect.

Amazing.

Well-played Apple. I’ll never buy a phone without FaceTime ever again. Consider my heartstrings pulled.

Gruber, on Readability’s app rejection:

Maybe I’m missing something, but these guys claiming to be surprised and disappointed by Apple’s insistence on a 30 percent cut of subscriptions when their own business model is to take a 30 percent cut of subscriptions strikes me as rich. And how can they claim that Readability isn’t “serving up content”? That’s exactly what Readability does. What they’re pissed about is that Apple has the stronger hand. Readability needs Apple to publish an app in the App Store. Apple doesn’t need Readability.

As hard as it may be to swallow, he’s right.

Ridiculous.

Jon Stokes at Ars Technica:

Don’t get me wrong: I’ll always have a tablet in my life, just like I’ll always have pencils, pens, a laptop, a phone, a camera, etc. But until someone comes up with a tablet that can do something unique and special that nothing else in my life can do better — as opposed to a slightly truncated, more portable, or cheaper version of something I’m already doing with another tool — I’m probably over being truly excited about the new ones that come along.

Getting rid of my iPad made no difference in my daily workflow.

Sebastiaan de With, on Twitter:

On the internet, if the price is “free”, the product that’s being sold is you.

This is exactly what is making me think of switching away from Gmail.

On his personal blog:

I’d love to be able to keep doing this forever, but unfortunately Engadget is owned by AOL, and AOL has proved an unwilling partner in this site’s evolution. It doesn’t take a veteran of the publishing world to realize that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content. As detailed in the “AOL Way,” and borne out in personal experience, AOL sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against. That might make good business sense (though I doubt it), but it doesn’t promote good journalism or even good entertainment, and it doesn’t allow an ambitious team like the one I know and love at Engadget to thrive.

I’m sad to hear this. Paul’s a great writer, and has been vocal about his faith throughout his career.

While I’m sure there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Paul stepping down, I’m not surprised to see strains in the Engadget/AOL relationship. I think the site would probably do well as an independent publisher, but it is sad to see it lose good people until that can happen.

David Sparks:

There’s something to be said for the use of plain text files. Text is simple. Text files are easy to read on any computer running any operating system and don’t require any proprietary word processor to interpret. Even more important, text files can be read by humans. Keeping your writings in text makes them digitally immortal.

Moreover, text is internet friendly. The files are small and can jump among connected devices with poor connections like hopped up Disney faeries. It is really easy to work with your text files on any device from anywhere.

Things like PlainText on my iPhone and Notational Velocity on the Mac have made me realize just how right Sparks is about this.

via Minimal Mac

My thoughts on the upcoming (rumored) MacBook Pro refresh.

David Caolo of TUAW and 52 Tiger stopped by and chatted with me¹ and Joshua about the Steve Jobs health thing, rumors and what separates bloggers from real journalists.

We also made jokes about how to impress girls. Check out the 40 minute podcast here.

Holy crap.

[via @viticci]