That is one cute turtle!
An amazing front page!
“I would be so grateful if you bought me or gave to me a Mac Book Pro with Final Cut Pro on it” - as seen outside the Apple store on 14th and 9th ave. No email, no Twitter, no MBP dude.
In this week’s issue: George Packer on the McChrystal debacle; Ken Auletta on Afghanistan’s first media mogul; Tad Friend on Steve Carell; Charlayne Hunter-Gault on Jacob Zuma; Rebecca Mead on playgrounds; James Surowiecki on financial illiteracy; Sasha Frere-Jones on Robyn; James Wood on David Mitchell; Peter Schjeldahl on Charles Burchfield; David Denby on “Knight and Day” and “Winter’s Bone”; fiction by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum; and more: http://www.newyorker.com/
My apologies if this “insight” is obvious (or obviously incorrect), but it just occurred to me and I thought it was worth sharing.
When you buy an iPad, you must plug it into a computer in order to set it up. That’s mystifying to me, since the device can independently connect to the Internet and to Apple’s stores for music, video, and applications. As far as I know, the iPhone works the same way.
The only reason that makes sense to me is a legal one. Apple’s contracts with the record labels and movie studios permit content to be copied on to up to five authorized computers (Macs or PCs), each of which can support an unlimited number of tethered devices (traditionally iPods).
If the iPad were to function independent of a host computer, the media companies would (rightly) argue that it’s a computer and should count as one of the five permitted computers. By requiring iPads to be tethered to PCs, Apple can include them in the “unlimited” category.
As a user, I’m annoyed my iPad needs a PC. But since I’ve maxed out my five computers, I’d be more annoyed if I couldn’t put my legitimately-purchased movies and music on it.
You can bet Apple is working on a new licensing regime — or Internet-based “syncing” that meets the letter of the contracts. Whether Hollywood will go along is anyone’s guess.
We’re happy to announce that we’re a part of the betaworks family of companies, and we work directly out of the betaworks offices in NYC. Our funding partners are betaworks and Dan Porter (formerly Ticketweb), CEO of OMGPop, and all-around knowledgeable advisor. Dan has been invaluable in crossing…
Last day of kindergarten!
Today we’re rolling out a new release of the bit.ly website, designed to help you more easily shorten, share, and track your links. The interface has been redesigned from the ground up to be easier to use, faster to load, and provide brand new features. The new release (which we’ve been…
In response to Wired.com’s scoop identifying the finder of the lost iPhone prototype, many have asked me how we did it. The process of uncovering digital footprints to identify Brian Hogan was indeed challenging and enlightening, so I thought I’d tell the story here. Heck, it might even teach…
(via early-onset-of-night)
Asking for it, or totally brilliant? Either way, I like it.
I’m not a sports fan, but this is truly amazing.
THE SPORTING BLOG - Brian Kownacki Leaps The Catcher (via FirstCuts)
I’m calling it now: The laptop starts dying tomorrow.
IT’S HAPPENED BEFOREAs someone in both the photo and the tech world, I’ve seen (and spoken about) the point and shoot camera’s declining relevance.
Ten years ago, they couldn’t make those thing fast enough. Then one day someone put a camera into a phone.
It took a while, but the cameraphone has slowly, quietly, and almost completely replaced the point and shoot for many people. Cameraphones are simpler, more convenient (smaller) and, for 99% of situations, they are good enough.
When you need a really great photograph you use an SLR. The rest of the time, you use a phone. The point and shoot is dying, relegated to a niche middle ground.
IT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN AGAINThe same’s about to start happening in the computer hardware market. Laptops have always been a compromise solution. They’re awkward and unergonomic, slow compared to their desktop counterparts, have poor battery life, and are just as complex and confusing to operate as their larger brethren.
Enter the iPad. Simpler, more convenient, and for 99% of uses, good enough. See a pattern?
Yes, the first version will be flawed. Yes, it will be hard to tear your beloved laptop out of your hands. Yes, it won’t live up to all of its promises. Yes, it will take time. Maybe years.
And, like your cameraphone, it’s going to sneak up on you. But one day, pretty soon, you’ll realize that you haven’t used your laptop in days. That you tend to grab your iPad first whenever you need to visit a website or answer email. That your laptop never leaves your desk anymore.
It starts tomorrow.
