posts

Value and worth are something we nerds spend a lot of time assessing. We make lists, compare specs and plan out entire projects in our heads and in software like OmniFocus before making choices. We make decisions on not only price, but feature sets and the enjoyment or productivity we will derive from it.

In this age of self-publishing, value and worth have taken somewhat of a hit. People don’t want to pay more than a buck — or two, at the most — for an app. We have come to expect free WiFi and ad-free RSS feeds.

Continue reading ⇢

In recent weeks, there have been numerous conversations about what Apple will be like without Steve Jobs at the helm.

It is a perfectly justifiable question. The first time Steve left, the company went in the crapper.

The key here is simple: when Apple’s board ousted Jobs back in 1987, he wasn’t the leader he is today.

The most obvious example of this to me is the feud the started between the Macintosh team and the rest of Apple.

Continue reading ⇢

Kelly Hodgkins at TUAW:

In the second quarter of 2011, Apple spent a whopping US$790,000 on lobbying. This is more than double what the company spent in the same quarter of 2010 and up $230,000 from the first quarter of 2011.

While $790,000 is a lot of money, it’s hardly “whopping” compared to the money Google spent in the same time frame —  $2.06 million, a 54 percent increase from the same period in 2010.

Continue reading ⇢

This is the promise of Thunderbolt — external PCIe cards. I really hope this sort of thing takes off.

Continue reading ⇢

The AP:

Carol Bartz was fired Tuesday as Yahoo Inc.’s CEO by the Web portal’s board of directors.

The company says Bartz will be replaced by Chief Financial officer Timothy Morse on an interim basis.

When Apple needed someone to fill in for Steve Jobs, it chose COO Tim Cook. Any company that puts the CFO in charge feels like it is in trouble.

Continue reading ⇢

Apple rumor headline of the day:

iPad 3 to Carry Thinner and Lighter Battery?

Continue reading ⇢

Hm.

Continue reading ⇢

Jonathon Ramsey:

There are driving and flying experiences for all kinds of wheeled and winged machines, but what’s been missing? Obviously, a place to play with heavy machinery to relive the sandbox fantasies of one’s youth. Leave it to Las Vegas to fill the void with Dig This, a giant dirt pit where anyone at least 14 years old and 48 inches tall can pay a fee to spend hours pretending to do the kind of job many people would rather avoid.

Continue reading ⇢

Jim Dalrymple at the Loop:

Noting its poor stock performance, lack of innovation and loss of market share, Jaguar Financial is leading the charge to have something done at RIM.

In a statement on Tuesday, Jaguar Chairman and CEO Vic Alboini called on RIM’s Directors to maximize shareholder value. This includes putting the company up for sale and selling off the patent portfolio.

With an 80 percent decline in stock value since 2008, I think stockholders are probably ready for something to change.

Continue reading ⇢

Shane McGlaun at SlashGear:

I would have though Apple would be installing its own server network to handle the workload rather than farming it out. At the same time, Apple may be focusing on the iCloud service and meeting user needs than building out its own network. If iCloud proves to be really popular we may see Apple roll out its own network down the road.

I never thought Apple would stuff that North Carolina data center full of Apple-branded gear. The company has never had a strong enterprise presence outside of educational markets. For iCloud to be successful — and for Apple to overcome the MobileMe stigma — the service has to run well, from day one. Third-party hardware is key to that goal.

Continue reading ⇢

I’ve always wondered about the future of technology. While I’ve never been a flying car kind of guy, I do look forward to technology becoming more integrated in our lives.

A simple way I see this happening is being able to deal with my computers in natural language processing.

This dream is an old one. The foundations of NLP can be found back in the 1950s. Apple explored this topic with the “Knowledge Navigator” project. Here’s a video from Apple, outlining the concept:

Continue reading ⇢

Jacqui Cheng at Ars is a genius.

Continue reading ⇢