Spoiler: We talk about the Apple Watch. Also pricing on apps.

Matthew Panzarino:

And that is the target market of the Apple Watch. Not “rich people” (though there’s a model specially for them), not “tech geeks” and not “Apple fanatics.” It’s people who want more time, and that is a very large target.

This, for some reason, is the thing that Apple has had a hard time articulating. This is the primary use case of the Watch. It’s not just that it’s a “notification center”; it’s that it allows you to act without any additional distraction.

Here’s the thing about notifications: If you don’t want them at all, don’t get them. If you do want them, the Watch is designed to let you dispatch them faster.

Kids and performances. Also, the weather.

Ed Bott:

For several years, Oracle has been bundling the Ask toolbar with its Java software for Windows PCs, often using deceptive methods to convince customers to install the unwanted add-on.

With the latest release of Java for the Mac, Oracle has begun bundling the Ask adware with default installations as well, changing homepages in the process.

I would never even install Java if it weren’t for Minecraft. And I would never install Ask for any reason.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

OK, not infinite. Just enough that I’ve wasted like 30 minutes on this site.

(Via Dan Moren)

Writing for Forbes (real Forbes, not contributor network Forbes), Ryan Mac tells us what’s up with Minecraft’s creator post-sale. Short answer: not much.

Being insanely rich and prematurely washed up apparently trumps the stresses of responsibility over a virtual nation that alternately reveres and despises you.

Certainly Persson earned his rest. I just hope it’s a respite and not a spiral.

Federico Viticci’s immensely personal story of how he used his iPhone to help himself lead a healthier lifestyle after cancer is a great read full of interesting information and app recommendations.

I want to be healthier, I want to eat better, and I want to take the second chance I was given and make the most of it. What started as an experiment has become a new daily commitment to improve my lifestyle and focus.

And it wouldn’t be possible without my iPhone.

After years of only moderate activity chasing around a grade school-aged boy, I started exercising regularly again last year. The timing couldn’t be better for Health Kit and the Apple Watch.

Writing for Worn & Wound, Zach Weiss describes the Manufacturer Modules Technologies platform, a way for traditional watch makers to integrate a smart module that works with an app into their watches.

In fact, it isn’t really a “smartwatch” in the Apple and Android watches sense of the word, so much as a watch with an integrated health tracker and on-dial analog display, much like the Withings Activité. No alerts when you’re getting a call, no downloadable dials, just a classic analog watch that happens to have MotionX technology and a sub-dial that indicates “progress”, allowing it to closely monitor movement/goals.

It’s an interesting response to what’s going on and I think it’s one that will certainly appeal to people who want features but don’t want their watch to scream “I HAVE A SMARTWATCH!” The watches themselves aren’t cheap — starting at $500 — but they have classic good looks, the smart module is supposedly upgradeable (I find it hard to trust those promises, though) and the battery is meant to last 2.5  years.

I think the next few years will demonstrate that there are applications for watch feedback beyond “DUDE, YOU GOT A TEXT. HEY, LOOK, FACEBOOK STUFF. ZOMG, DID YOU SEE THIS ON TWITTER? YOU GOT ENDORSED FOR MEGADOUCHERY ON LINKEDIN. BRO, YOU GONNA REPLY TO THAT TEXT OR WHAT?” I don’t think smartwatches will be broadly adopted for at least several years, but in the long run this feels like a transition move to me.

(Via Ryan Bateman)

Ed Bott makes the case that PC manufacturers should include an ingredients list that details what crapware they’ve put on a device.

When your business model quite literally depends on how much misery you can convince your customers to endure, your industry has a problem.

As someone with a Lenovo in the house, I concur. It’s not like they’re averse to putting stickers on them.

(Via David Chartier)

The book I co-wrote is Peachpit’s deal of the week. Get it while the gettin’s good.

Read a damn book, kids. Read. A. Damn. Book.