My work machine is a 2.8 GHz Core2Duo 15-inch MacBook Pro with the matte screen and 8 GB of RAM. It’s the fastest notebook I’ve ever used. It gives our 3.2 Ghz Core i3 27-iMac at home a run for its money. Most articles I’ve read by people who have upgraded to a SSD have done it to older machines. I was skeptical of what kind of difference it would make in an already fast machine, to be honest.
posts
On Detroit’s Decline
These photos over at The Huffington Post look like something out of a zombie movie.
On the Promise of Android’s Openness
When Android was first announced, Google’s evangelists touted it as an open ecosystem that would enable innovation—a hardware and software reaffirmation of the Carterfone decision. They spoke of a future where users would be free from restrictions and be able to install whatever software they want.
Sadly, those promises were never fulfilled and the dream of an open mobile ecosystem around Android never materialized. In reality, Android has become an insular platform developed almost entirely behind closed doors in an environment that is hostile to external contributors and is mired in a culture of secrecy that serves a small handful of prominent commercial hardware vendors and mobile carriers.
Talk About Product Margins
‘It is Made of Unicorns’
Jon Hicks, on his new MacBook Air:
The Air is leaps and bounds faster than my Pro, despite having a less powerful processor and graphics card. The speed gains must therefore come from the SSD drive. All computers (especially Macs) feel fast when they’re fresh out of the box. Over the months things start to slow down though, so it’ll be interesting to see if that happens with SSD. At the moment, restarts are matter of a few seconds, and the biggest test for me, my Windows 7 virtual disk with aero enabled, runs incredibly smoothly. On the Pro it would drag everything down with it, now I can use it without any issues.
On Using ADB Keyboards with the iPad
My only problem with this is that Dave Caolo is using the Extended keyboard, while the Extended II is a far better machine. Poor Dave.
Either way, go check out this video. It’s just awesome.
On Libya and Sudan
Mark Hackett,1 on why comparing the two countries is a vital mistake:
To be frank, it has been disappointing to see a talented anti-genocide movement here in the U.S. make such an obvious mistake by trying to compare two different conflicts. Both require two different solutions as they are happening for different reasons to different people in a different geographical location. U.S. activists calling for a no-fly zone in Darfur would do well to take a step back and examine the simple fact that blanket solutions for complex international political crises are not only a bad idea but also dangerous. When mass atrocities begin, the world often times uses the blanket approach with little results. Sanctions are usually implemented soon after crises begin, and the crises usually continue unabated. Unfortunately, everyone remains where they are after this because the international community made an attempt, the perpetrators continue killing, and the victims continue dying. Blanket efforts do not work.
Using Target’s Inventory System to Score an iPad 2
But then I read an interesting fact on MacRumors: Target stores expose their internal tracking information to the public. If you know the internal stock ID (DPCI number) of a product, you can use it to check for that product in all the stores near a given zip code. The stock system seems remarkably up-to-date (changes every few minutes), and it will even tell you where in the store the item is located (example: Digital Audio, aisle F20). Lucky for me (and anyone else looking for an iPad 2), a nice gentleman posted the DPCI numbers for all of the various models in both colors. He even included links to quickly check stock in your area.
Another Example of Android’s Openness
This was a smart move on Amazon’s part, but is potentially bad for consumers.
On Jonathan Ive
Rob Waugh at Mail Online on Apple’s Jonathan Ive:
Ive is renowned for having an ‘alchemical’ sense for engineering, and the limits of what one can do with metal. As design expert Stephen Bayley puts it: ‘He thinks and thinks about what a product should be and then worries it into existence.’
Ive’s lab is Apple’s inner sanctum. Here, touch screens control the glass-sided machines in which new products take form. Desks are bare bar the aluminum sheets that slot together to form the familiar lines of iconic products such as the MacBook Air.
‘Deeply Satisfied’
Federico Viticci, after his first day with his new iPad:
It isn’t a revolutionary device, but it outperforms the original iPad in every single aspect. I’ve spent a few hours with it, and I’m deeply satisfied of my purchase. So, yes: for now, this is the new iPad I was waiting for, and I think it will only get better from now on. We’ll see.
I finally played with an iPad late last week, and the performance is simply unbelievable.
Writers I Read: Dave Caolo
For the fourth installment of the “ Writers I Read” series I’m sharing my conversation with Dave Caolo, TUAW news editor and curator of 52 Tiger. Stephen: Dave, thanks for being willing to chat with me a bit. I know that you stay busy editing at TUAW, yet you still find time (and energy) to write 52 Tiger.
From the outside, it seems like your day revolves around words. What are you up to when you’re not behind your keyboard?