May 2013
6 posts
Yahoo Acquired Tumblr →
Marissa Meyer:
We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help...
Dilbert of the Day →
Do you want to know what Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Gandhi, and Ryan Seacrest have in common?
Larry Page Wrote About His Vocal Chord Problems →
Larry Page:
About 14 years ago, I got a bad cold, and my voice became hoarse. At the time I didn’t think much about it. But my voice never fully recovered. So I went to a doctor and was diagnosed with left vocal cord paralysis. This is a nerve problem that causes your left vocal cord to not move properly. Despite extensive examination, the doctors never identified a cause — though there...
BlackBerry Messenger Coming to iOS →
Jordan Golson, Marcumors:
BlackBerry has announced that it will bring its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) platform to iOS this summer. BBM was one of the first proprietary mobile messaging services — not unlike Apple’s iMessage service — and remains hugely popular.
I still don’t get why people are still using this in 2013.
15 GB Shared Between Drive, Gmail, and Google+... →
Google:
Life gets a bit easier when your Google products work well together—whether that’s inserting a Drive file into an email or sharing a photo from Drive on Google+. As this experience becomes more seamless, separate storage doesn’t make as much sense anymore. So instead of having 10 GB for Gmail and another 5 GB for Drive and Google+ Photos, you’ll now get 15 GB of unified...
Camera Comparison of All Six iPhone Models →
Sharpness and megapixels are only some small factors of good photography, but boy the iPhone has come a long way.
April 2013
18 posts
Google Now on iOS →
It’s pretty clever of them that they made this in the Google Search app instead of releasing another app. Facebook on the other hand has so many iOS apps to do lots of things, and I don’t think that is the right approach to take.
After playing with it for a few minutes, it looks like Siri is very far behind. Let’s see what iOS 7 will bring.
New iPhone Ad: Every Day →
This is one of the best iPhone ads since Apple started the Siri ad series two years ago.
Nintendo Misses Expectations Last Quarter →
The Verge:
Nintendo made an operating loss in 2012 for the second consecutive year as its new Wii U console failed to spark excitement among consumers. The company lost 36.4 billion yen ($366 million) over the 2012 fiscal year; last quarter, the company unexpectedly predicted that it would lose $220 million in 2012 after previously saying it would turn the same amount in profit. The Wii U has...
WWDC Sells Out in a Record 2 Minutes →
Matthew Panzazrino:
Apple’s WWDC 2012 conference sold out in just two hours, but the tickets went on sale in early morning hours for West Coasters, and with no advance warning. Here’s the full chart of WWDC sellout times over the years:
2008 – 2 months
2009 – 1 month
2010 – 8 days
2011 – 10 hours
2012 – 2 hours
2013 – 2 minutes
Guess how quick next year’s tickets...
Betaworks Acquired Instapaper →
Marco Arment:
I’m happy to announce that I’ve sold a majority stake in Instapaper to Betaworks. We’ve structured the deal with Instapaper’s health and longevity as the top priority, with incentives to keep it going well into the future. I will continue advising the project indefinitely, while Betaworks will take over its operations, expand its staff, and develop it further.
5 years is a...
Apple Sold Shitload of iPads Last Quarter →
Apple just announced financial results for Q2 2013. Sold almost 20 million iPads, 37.4 million iPhones, with revenue of $43.6 billion and net profit of $9.5 billion. This is shitload of iPads, people.
One of the reasons why the profit margin dropped is probably because the margin of iPad minis is much lower than regular iPads. Another reason is because they’re selling tons of free...
Apple's Recent Stock Price Drop →
AppleInsider wrote a really nice article about the recent Apple stock price drop. One of the tones that we hear over and over again in the past week is that Tim Cook is not doing his job right and he should be fired. This notion is absurd because other than the stock price, Apple has been as healthy as ever since Cook took over the CEO job.
In the words of John Gruber:
Wall Street thinks...
Escaping PCs →
Horace Dediu:
The real problem for the PC vendors is not that they have such low margins–they’ve had low margins for decades. It’s that the volumes which “made up for” low margins are disappearing. Apple is not immune to a gradual erosion of Mac volumes, but they have positioned themselves for growth with devices and content commerce and services.
According to Dediu, sales of Mac in the...
Facebook Home Ads →
Josh Elman:
Facebook is celebrating all the wrong things. It advocates tuning out the people around you to see what else is happening that must be more interesting elsewhere.
I agree wholeheartedly with Elman. How can ad about people checking their phone during dinner or checking their phone during pep talk is considered even remotely appealing? One of the worst things that can happen to...
Microsoft Working on Smart Watch →
Here’s a thought: why are they working smart watch, and not smart glasses?
Iraq Bombings Hit Nasariyah, Kirkuk and Baghdad →
My heart also goes to everyone in Nasariyah, Kirkuk, and Baghdad.
Boston Explosion →
My warmest thoughts to everyone in Boston.
Indonesian's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono... →
I have no idea what’s on his screen, but seems like he didn’t get the memo.
The House Runs on Autopilot →
Steven Kotecha spent about $80,000 to make his home run on an iPad. It is ridiculously expensive, but I couldn’t help to think that in the future we might all be able to afford this. Some of the things he can do with his iPad:
With just a touch, homeowners can warm the driveway in anticipation of snowfall, feed their fish—or the cats—or change oxygen levels in their high-altitude ski...
Google Axes 60,000 Low-Quality Apps in Google Play →
TechCrunch:
Google has stepped up its efforts to remove spammy or otherwise non-compliant applications from its mobile application marketplace, Google Play, in recent weeks. App deletions hit a record high in February, with 60,000 apps removed during the course of the month – the largest round of app deletions to date.
Apparently to have a great app store you either have to review every app...
A Coder Interview With Andrew Pepperrell →
Pepperrell is one of the developers of Alfred, which many of you probably use. This is quite an interesting interview.
Intel Announces Next Generation Thunderbolt with... →
Engadget:
But let’s talk about the real news: the next-gen Thunderbolt tech (code-named Falcon Ridge) enables 4K video file transfer and display simultaneously in addition to running at 20 Gbps. It will be backward-compatible with previous-gen Thunderbolt cables and connectors, and production is set to ramp up in 2014.
Since the current crop of thunderbolt can only deliver...
Rumor Suggests Replacement for Mac Pro Due in... →
Never believe anything you read about the Mac Pro today. Let it be a surprise when it happens.
March 2013
13 posts
Facebook To Reveal 'Home On Android' →
First Amazon, now Facebook? I wonder how many forks of Android we’re going to have in 3 years.
HipChat is Now Free for Teams of 5 Users →
I might be a bit biased, but this is one of the best collaboration software that you can get for your team. The Mac and iOS app are also really good.
2 tags
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins Forgot He is 5 Years...
The Australian Financial Review interviewed BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins yesterday:
“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market … They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that,” Mr Heins said.
“History repeats itself again I guess …...
WhatsApp Moving to Subscription in iOS This Year →
Ingrid Lunden writing for TechCrunch:
The new subscription model would apply to new users, Koum said, and would likely follow the same pricing structure as its other apps, which are free for the first year and then cost $1/year, compared to the single, for-life $0.99 purchase that users make on iOS today. “We’re relaxed on dates, but definitely this year. It’s on the road map,” Koum said.
I...
Apple Adjusts Warranty Coverage in Australia →
Ben Grubb:
Apple’s Australian stores will now fix faulty iPhones, iPads and Macs under warranty if they were purchased in the past two years - but don’t expect the company’s staff to tell you about it.
I didn’t even know about this. I’ve bought a few electronic devices that only has 12 month warranty.
Samsung's Game Controller Looks Familiar →
The colour and the position of the two analog joysticks are almost exactly there. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.
Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes Slams Prime... →
Asher Moses in Sydney Morning Herald:
Mr Cannon-Brookes pointed to a tweet by Treasurer Wayne Swan lauding Australia’s low 5.4 per cent unemployment rate, saying it was nonsensical to claim employment was at record highs while complaining about overseas workers taking jobs from Australians.
Temporary overseas workers often stay in Australia and contribute to the economy, he said,...
Google Shutting Down Google Reader →
Thanks to Steve Jobs, who told Larry Page to focus on the most important things, Google decided to shut down Google Reader today.
Andy Rubin Steps Down From Android →
Larry Page:
Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android — and with a really strong leadership team in place — Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!
Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps
Rubin did an amazing job in the...
1 tag
How Apple Gets All the Good Apps →
Walt Mossberg:
Apple device owners can run official apps for Google Maps, Google Search, Gmail, Google’s Chrome browser, Google Drive and more. They can get Microsoft-written apps for its Bing search service, its SkyDrive cloud-storage service, its OneNote note-taking service and more. And they can get a host of Amazon’s apps, including several apps for Amazon’s online store and apps for...
Apple is Pretty Much Doomed
That is the title of a Business Insider article the other day. Citigroup felt that demand for iPhone and iPad has softened:
For the current March quarter, they are estimating 34 million units sold, down from the previous estimate of 35 million units. For the June quarter they are calling for 25 million units sold, which is well below the consensus of 32 million units.
Which is actually a...
Shigeru Miyamoto on Wii U →
Articles like this make me think that Miyamoto heavily influenced hardware design as well.
Creme Vintage →
A good friend of mine Stephanie Lee just opened a clothing store. If you don’t know what to get your girlfriend on her birthday, get something from here.
February 2013
8 posts
Groupon Shitcans CEO Andrew Mason →
Mason’s letter to employee: After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today.
Not many people can be this honest when it comes to being fired.
What Most Schools Don't Teach →
When Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Jack Dorsey all appear in one video, you should to see it.
Ok, Glass. →
Joshua Topolsky used Google Glass the other day. He was impressed. I am too, but I don’t know how many people likes walking around with this.
1 tag
iPhone 4S Outsold The Galaxy S3 →
One and a half year old iPhone sold more than the best selling Android phone last quarter.
Sony Announces Playstation 4 Without Showing The... →
The New York Times:
The first new PlayStation in seven years was promoted by Sony as being like a “supercharged PC.” It has a souped-up eight-core processor to juggle more complex tasks simultaneously, enhanced graphics, the ability to play games even as they are being downloaded, and a new controller designed in tandem with a stereo camera that can sense the depth of the environment in front...
Why Android First? →
Shiftyjelly is releasing Pocket Casts 4 on Android this week, before the iOS version. Russel Ivanovic explained why:
Pocket Casts on Android has outsold the iOS version historically at about 5:1. That means for every 1 iOS version we’ve sold, 5 were sold on Android. The Android version also costs $1 more, so we’re making more per transaction as well. The reasons for this are a blog post on...
1 tag
Disable the Sleep Timer for Long-Running Tasks →
Ole Begemann has an idea of preventing iOS from going to sleep for long running tasks. There has been numerous times where I wish the Dropbox app doesn’t go to sleep because I want it to finish uploading my files.
Kindle Fire Vs iPad Screen Ad →
Amazon, being bold on price as always.
January 2013
13 posts
The Australian Computer Society Should be... →
If Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg want to enter Australia, they might not have enough ‘requirements’ to be accredited by ACS. Does that sound ridiculous? Here’s an experience from Hacker News commenter beilabs:
Having studied abroad (Ireland), I was required to send in all of my exam results for my B.Sc, H.Dip & M.Sc. as well as a reference from each employer that I worked with in my field...
Research In Motion Rebrands Itself as BlackBerry →
It’s going to be a hard fight for Blackberry (not RIM). Daniel Jalkut sums this nicely in his tweet:
Heartfelt congratulations to the engineers at RIM. Refusing to go down without a fight is precisely how Apple got where they are today.
Amazon Misses Estimates on Earnings, Revenue, and... →
Apple should take note of this and generate less money next quarter.
Sophie In North Korea →
Today I learned that Kim Jong Il uses 15” MacBook Pro.
Apple Opening Apple Store in Jakarta →
Matt Brian:
Apple has confirmed it will open its first retail store and also an online store in Indonesia.
Which market would you go to after China? I know, the one that has 240 million people and half of them are still using Blackberries and most can actually afford iPhones.
