The famous (and successful) “Get a Mac” ads from Apple, featuring interaction between PC (John Hodgman) and Mac (Jason Long) are over. Here is a final tribute:
Monthly Archives: May 2010
iPad + velcro
iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
Disaster: as it happens
Here is what the Internet now allows. Or rather here is what BP now allows, with the help of WKRG, a local TV station in Mobile/Pensacola, Florida. You can watch BP’s oil spilling live.
Not much useful here, but it is a graphic reminder of the ongoing tragedy.
Apple v Google: this means war, but what else?
Apple and Google are mortal enemies now. John Gruber at Daring Fireball makes the case perfectly, noting that such “war” leaves out Microsoft, pushing the latter into a state of irrelevance to the future..
But one wrinkle that I am left wondering about is the behavior of Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO. Since war is now the posture between these companies, my question is: what did Eric know about Apple’s plans, and when did he know it? Perhaps the more important question is who let Eric Schmidt learn Apple’s secrets, when it was at least possible that Apple and Google would become fierce competitors.
You will recall that Eric Schmidt sat on the board of Apple, Inc. from August 29, 2006 until his resignation on August 3, 2009. That was a critical three year period for Apple. Here are the major products released by Apple during that time: Apple TV, iPhone, MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3Gs. Although not released in that period, clearly the iPad (first released in April of this year) must have been under active development for some time during Schmidt’s tenure. I would also presume that at least some of the products announced (if not launched) by Google over the past few weeks were also under development at Google for quite some time. In other words, it appears that mortal enemies in 2010 had interlocking directors as recently as 2009. And don’t forget the very public meeting between Jobs and Schmidt back in March 2010, as photographed by Gizmodo.
Apple has stated that Eric Schmidt recused himself from Apple board meetings related to the iPhone. But given the battle over cell phones, tablets and cloud computing, how is it that Eric Schmidt sat on the board of an important (if not the most important) Google competitor? This is a question that should be asked of both Eric Schmidt and Steve Jobs.
Obama = Bush Light
The Obama Administration continues following the lead of the Bush Administration in regards civil liberties and pursuit of what used to be called the “war” on terror. Most recently, the Obama DOJ argued successfully that foreign nationals held by the United States in prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have no habeas corpus rights in the US courts.
In Maqaleh v. Gates, which involved two Yemenis and a Tunisian held at Bagram, the Obama Administration, echoing the Bush Administration’s position, argued that federal courts lacked jurisdiction to hear these detainees’ challenges because of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
The government arguments in the appeal mirror those made earlier by the Bush Administration.
And, further compounding error, the Obama Administration also has failed to investigate prior claims of torture by the US. In the latter case, the model for Obama, rather than his current posture of sweeping crimes outside the view of the public, is the incoming coalition government, led by the Conservatives, in the UK.
A judge will investigate claims that British intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of terror suspects, William Hague, the [UK] foreign secretary, said tonight.
The move was welcomed by civil liberties campaigners and may put pressure on the Labour leadership candidate and former foreign secretary David Miliband, who was accused by Hague, while in opposition, of having something to hide.
Miliband has repeatedly rejected the accusation and broadly indicated that he or his officials may have been misled by foreign intelligence agencies about the degree of British complicity.
Hague’s remarks appear to have caught the Foreign Office by surprise, as no details were yet available on how the inquiry will be conducted, its terms of reference or when it will start work.
* * *
Philippe Sands QC, professor of law at University College London, said tonight: “To restore trust in government, both here and abroad, and to get to the truth, the inquiry needs to be deep and broad and as open as possible. It should address, in particular, who authorised what and when and why, what the relevant legal advice said, and how it related to any change in US practice in 2002 and 2003.”
Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
Political quotes of the day
Here is an interesting collection of quotes from one US Senate candidate. Guess who.
We had a mining accident that was very tragic. Then we come in, and it’s always someone’s fault. Maybe sometimes accidents happen.
– Reacting to the accident that killed 29 workers at a mine run by Massey Energy
What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of, “I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.’ I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. I’ve heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it’s part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it’s always got to be someone’s fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen.
– Reacting to Obama Administration actions following the huge oil BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
I’m not in favor of any discrimination of any form. I would never belong to any club that excluded anybody for race. We still do have private clubs in America that can discriminate based on race. But I think what’s important about this debate is not written into any specific “gotcha” on this, but asking the question: What about freedom of speech? Should we limit speech from people we find abhorrent? Should we limit racists from speaking? . . . I don’t want to be associated with those people, but I also don’t want to limit their speech in any way in the sense that we tolerate boorish and uncivilized behavior because that’s one of the things freedom requires.
– Arguing that the Civil Rights Act should not apply to private businesses, like restaurants and hotels.
All of these are recent statements by Rand Paul, who won his primary election to become the GOP nominee for the US Senate race in Kentucky.
From the point of view of the Democrats, the more Tea Party-endorsed candidates like this that are nominated by the GOP, the more likely it is that there will be no huge wave of Republican victories this fall. There is no question that repeal or watering down the Civil Rights Act is hugely unpopular. Further, there is no way that most Americans don’t agree that BP is fully responsible for all the damage caused by its oil spill. In terms of the conditions in the Massey mine, just do a Google search to discover what was going on there.
Oh, Rand Paul yesterday cancelled his scheduled appearance tomorrow on Meet the Press. He is only the 3rd guest to cancel a Meet the Press appearance in 62 years. Trivia: the other two were Louis Farrakhan and Prince Bandar bin Khaled al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Another reason to drop Facebook (updated)
The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital website is reporting a major privacy hole in both Facebook and MySpace.
Facebook, MySpace and several other social-networking sites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers’ names and other personal details, despite promises they don’t share such information without consent.
The practice, which most of the companies defended, sends user names or ID numbers tied to personal profiles being viewed when users click on ads. After questions were raised by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook and MySpace moved to make changes. By Thursday morning Facebook had rewritten some of the offending computer code.
Update: And be sure to check out the cover story in this week’s Time Magazine, and their instructions on how to delete your Facebook account.
Political video of the day
Netflix and the iPad
Yesterday Netflix upgraded their app for the iPad. What does the upgrade do? It allows iPad owners to output Netflix’s streaming movies from the iPad to a TV. This is a great new feature.
The Cove
The most disturbing movie I have seen in years is “The Cove.” It won a best documentary Academy Award. The movie makers filmed the continuing slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese fishing village. The horror of the brutal deaths of these mammals, from the vicious harpooning, to the image of all the water in a large cove turning red with their blood, to the recorded sounds of the dolphins in panic and pain cannot be described. Here is the trailer for the movie.
Watch the film then take action.
Apple and cash (updated)
Apple is making a lot of money. But they do it without taking cash, at least on iPads. This is crazy and arbitrary. Check out this story from KGO-TV in San Francisco.
Being disabled and on a fixed income, Campbell held off on buying a computer until the Apple iPad came along. It was small, mobile and perfect for her needs. So, little by little she saved up the $600 she needed to get one.
“It took quite a long time for me to just save up this small amount of money to go down and purchase one,” she said. “I had my cash in the backpack and I went up proudly to the counter and told them, ‘I would like to purchase an iPad.’”
She was at the Apple store in Palo Alto, about to pull out the big wad of cash and take home her first computer. Instead, she received a terrible blow.
“They said, ‘Sorry, we don’t take cash.’ And, so I looked at her and I said OK she’s kidding,” Campbell recalled.
And here is the video:
I discovered that I could not even use official Apple gift cards to purchase an iPad. This is a situation where Apple already had the money, and no “cash” was involved. This is crappy overly-controlling customer service and policies like this undercut Apple’s otherwise excellent reputation for friendly, competent customer service.
Update: Well, it took a fair bit of adverse publicity, but Apple now allows iPad purchases with cash.
“About a month ago, we said we’d like you to use a credit card when you buy your iPad, and that was the best way we could think of to make sure that people only bought two per individual,” said [Apple Senior Vice President] Johnson. “And then it came to our attention that Diane [Campbell], through your story, was very interested in buying an iPad with cash, and we made a decision today to change that.”
Johnson said our story triggered a company-wide policy change. As of today, anyone can pay for an iPad with cash as long as they set up their Apple account at the store. Apple accounts are needed for the iPad anyway, so that is not putting anyone out.
“We heard about this, you know… we all would love people like Diane [Campbell] to get an iPad, so I called her up and she was very excited and we’re actually on our way to deliver an iPad to her house,” said Johnson.
That’s right. The folks at Apple wanted to thank Campbell for bringing this issue to their attention, so two employees from Apple visited her home Wednesday and brought her a brand new iPad for free.
“I am just so excited,” said Campbell. “Words can’t explain right now.”
The luckiest people on Earth
(via The Big Picture)
Blue Velvet meets Dior
David Lynch has directed a short noir film as part of Dior’s “Lady Dior” series called “Lady Blue Shanghai“. Fabulous, darling.
Watch if full-screen for maximum effect.
Google ads whisper in your ear
How far from the future is this Onion “news” story?
New Google Phone Service Whispers Targeted Ads Directly Into Users’ Ears
Politcal quote of the day
“It’s sad. But sadder still to consider what has happened to the city of Detroit, which has been left hollow by fleeing jobs and liberal social policies.”
– Former Governor Mitt Romney, lamenting the pending destruction of his childhood home in Detroit, and sensitively blaming the City’s troubles on the left rather than the flight of whites from the City.