The End of Delicious?

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Anthony Ha:

It looks like Yahoo’s cost-cutting efforts go beyond its recent layoffs. The company plans to “sunset” (i.e., shut down) a number of products including social bookmarking service Delicious, according to what looks like a leaked slide from a company-wide presentation.

The risk of losing data when a company closes a service is a very real part of cloud computing.

Update: Here’s how to move your Delicious links over to Google’s cloud. Which is probably a little more stable than Yahoo’s at this point.

On the Nook Color

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Nate Anderson on the Nook Color:

The Nook Color is a nice first effort at an Android tablet from Barnes & Noble, though it would benefit from cutting back on the Christmas cookies. It has the potential to become more valuable still with a well-curated app store in the new year, but hints from Barnes & Noble have suggested that we’re likely to get things like reading-related cooking apps (which pair, conceptually at least, with cookbooks) rather than the sorts of tools that would give the Nook broader appeal.

It seems like Barnes and Noble can’t decide if it wants to compete with the Kindle, the iPad or both.

The Multi-user iPad

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Matt Jones:

The individual nature of the UI and user-model of the iPad seems so at odds to me with its form-factor, the share-ability of its screen technology and it’s emergent context of use that I can imagine something (much more elegant) than this coming from Apple in the near-future.

Of course, they may just want to sell us all one each…

[via Kottke]

Review: 27″ LED Cinema Display

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IMG_2591.JPG

I used to be a notebook guy.

In college, I carried a Titanium PowerBook with everywhere I went. I upgraded to a MacBook Pro, which I used for years.

Now, I’m a desktop guy. We have a 24“ iMac at home, and at work, I use my 15” MacBook Pro in clamshell mode almost all the time. I had an older 23" Cinema Display at work, with an Apple Extended II keyboard and Magic Mouse[1. The same input rig I have at home on the iMac.] hooked up as well.

Now, I am using a new 27" LED Cinema Display. And holy crap, it is awesome.

The Display

While I opted for the matte display on my Mid–2009 MacBook Pro, I don’t mind the glossy finish on this display. Like at home, I have no light sources behind me, so I am not contending with any reflections. That said, if I were, the backlight on this thing is bright enough to overcome just about anything, including my retinas.

The LED Cinema Display clocks in at 2560×1440, which is stunning. I have so much room, it is a little mind-boggling. The pixels are crisp and clear, and this particular display doesn’t seem to have any dead pixels. Colors are vibrant, with dark blacks and bright highlights. While I know once I start churning out a lot of print materials again after the New Year, I’ll have issues with colors, for all other purposes, this display is simply gorgeous.

I also like the black edge-to-edge glass. While the bezel is pretty thick, it is nice to have a clear line defining the edges of the display, keeping me from looking past my display in the corners.

The Cables

Using an old Cinema Display meant having some really unfortunate cable clutter, not to mention a big power brick hiding somewhere on the desk.

The new display uses a single power cable, like the iMacs. No power brick in sight.

Using a newer MacBook Pro meant I was using not only a FireWire adaptor, but a video adaptor as well with my old display. Using Mini DisplayPort all the way around is so much cleaner.

My absolute favorite part about the new cabling? An integrated MagSafe connector. My power adaptor is living in my bag from now on.

I do miss having FireWire ports on the back of the display, but the addition of a third USB port is nice.

The Extras

Having a built-in iSight camera is very nice, since clamshell mode means no access to the camera.

The built-in speakers are loud and have much more low-end power than I was expecting. They smoke the speakers in my iMac. The mic built into the top of the display seems a tad better than what is in my MacBook Pro, but on par with my iMac’s.

Conclusion

Honestly, I don’t have much bad to say about this thing. I do wish it had a power button, like the older models did. When I leave my MacBook Pro on my desk, I like to cut the power to the display. Instead, this model follows the settings set in System Preferences. I know I can change set my display to sleep via Energy Saver settings, but I still would like a button.

While I miss FireWire connectivity and could live with a little less glare and more realistic colors, I like the 27" LED Cinema Display. I really do.

Dvorak, on the iPad and Adults

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John C. Dvorak:

I can’t imagine anyone under the age of 30 wanting an iPad. A PS3, Wii, GameBoy, or even a useful laptop maybe, but an iPad? Heck, most people will get a sweater no matter what they ask for.

Furthermore, I do not recall ever seeing anyone under 30 actually using an iPad. It seems to be an old person’s computer.

Am I wrong about this?

Yes, John, you are.

[via The Brooks Review]

Email Protected by Fourth Amendment

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation:

In a landmark decision issued today in the criminal appeal of U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers. Closely tracking arguments made by EFF in its amicus brief, the court found that email users have the same reasonable expectation of privacy in their stored email as they do in their phone calls and postal mail.

A great move, as the law still tries to get its head around the 21st century.

[via Daring Fireball]

On the Cr-48

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MG Siegler:

I’m pretty divided right now on Google’s first take at the Chrome notebook. It’s both brilliant and bewildering. It’s both the future and a nightmare. But it’s definitely not boring, which is more than you can say for a lot of “new” technology these days. Watching it mature will be fun. But first the hardware needs to grow up.

If I could buy the Cr-48 right now, would I? No. But I’d download Chrome OS and install it on some cheap netbook.

It’s understandable that a product labeled as a “prototype” wouldn’t be awesome. However, looking at the OS itself, this seems like it may actually be worthwhile, if cloud-based computing is your thing.

Microsoft Launching Tablets at CES

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Nick Bilton at the NY Times:

Microsoft has struggled to gain traction with a slate-like device, yet each year the company announces new products, software or operating systems that try to promote a world of Windows-based slate computers.

Next month, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft will give it another try, presenting a slew of new slates that it hopes will offer some competition to the Apple iPad, which has quickly become the leader in this market.

Surely the company will get it right this time, right? Right? Right…?