» The Incomparable: Man versus Mars
Despite the persistent rumors of my illiteracy, I joined the cast of The Incomparable to talk about The Martian. It’s a fun discussion about a fun book.
» The choice trap
Mary Jo Foley went looking for a new Windows PC:
I discovered a few things during my search. But it all boiled down to this: There’s no shortage of Windows PCs and tablets from which to choose. But there’s no good way to make the choice.
Over the holidays I was actually considering getting my son a Windows PC for Christmas. That might seem like heresy coming from me, but he’s obviously into gaming, which is real PC strength, and his best friend has a PC so there’s a whole peer identification thing going on. I also thought it might be good to have a Windows machine around the house just to keep up on the platform now that I’m no longer forced to use one every day by The Man.
But the choices are so bewildering it’s nigh impossible to pick one. A number of people on Twitter said Lenovo was making the best machines now but most gaming PC reviews didn’t have them high in their recommendations and I heard terrible things about their support. Actually, I heard terrible things about every PC manufacturer’s support. If I could have afforded a Razer Blade I would have gotten him one of those because they’re really the best made, but $1800 for a 10-year-old who not that long ago spilled a sticky drink on the keyboard of his MacBook Pro doesn’t seem like a very good investment.
Sites like The Wirecutter help but with the number of vendors and the speed with which they change their models, their recommendations quickly become dated.
In the end he got an Xbox and he was happy, but it’s a real problem.
» Apple pulls malware-ridden app
MacNN:
Thanks to media attention, Apple has now pulled an adware- and malware-laced fake “Tor browser” app from the App Store, months after it was first reported to be a fraud.
There is no reason this should have taken three months. Well, no good reason, anyway. If you’re going to hang the security of your platform partly on your review process then your review process should work, including quickly catching things that slip through.
Watch this space
You can’t swing an Internet smartwatch around these days without hitting someone with an opinion about Internet smartwatches.
Federico Viticci’s take gets the situation right:
To me, the current generation of smartwatches feels like a faster horse scenario: there is the spark of an idea – wearable tech – but, until today, “popular” products in this field appear to be dictated by features the tech press and geeks ask for.
Google’s video shows well (particularly if you’re a fan of swiping), but here’s the thing I notice about it. Take a look at the watch on the disembodied arm in Google’s video.
Is rolling your shirt cuff back over your sweater just enough so your Internet smartwatch is readily accessible just the price you pay for having an Internet smartwatch? Because here’s what happens when I casually lift my arm up.
For me, pulling my phone out of my pocket and unlocking it with my thumb is actually an easier motion than holding back my shirt cuff to swipe at a smartwatch. And I’m not comfortable using voice in public to check Twitter or respond to a text. (How often do you want everyone around you to know what you’re saying in a text?)
So, I think more that needs to be done with how you interact with a smartwatch before the concept makes any sense (and it’s not just me). It seems like that’s what the industry is hoping Apple will provide what no one else has been able to show yet: a means of using these things that makes sense. And, yet, it’s perfectly possible — likely, even — that what Apple’s working on isn’t even a watch.
Maybe as iPads were to netbooks, Apple’s wearable will be to smartwatches.
» I Don’t Have Time for That
Episode 11 of America’s most fatherly dadcast talks about time management.
» Way ahead of you
Rene Ritchie on Haunted Empire:
Skip it.
I will say the book has a nice cover. So that old adage is right.
» Tim Cook on “Haunted Empire”
CNBC has Tim Cook’s statement:
This nonsense belongs with some of the other books I’ve read about Apple. It fails to capture Apple, Steve, or anyone else in the company.
Outside of the jacket blurbs, this book seems to be a piece of crap.
Apple after the death of Steve Jobs would be a fascinating topic for a book. This isn’t the book. Haunted Empire can’t get out of the way of its own Apple-is-doomed narrative to tell that story.
(Via Matt Drance)
ADDED: Re/code has Author Yukari Iwatani Kane’s response:
“For Tim Cook to have such strong feelings about the book, it must have touched a nerve,” Kane said.
Even her response is a cliché.
» ‘Welcome to the future.’
It will be a glorious symphony of user-centric usability for users. With design and wrists.
» Return of the iPad 4
The iPad 4 has replaced the iPad 2 as the low-cost large format iPad as the “iPad Retina display” at the $399 price point for 16 GB. The only drawback is that the iPad 4 is slightly heavier than the iPad 2, but the mini didn’t exist when the iPad 2 was released so if price and weight are an issue, you could opt for the mini now.
It’s priced the same as the Retina iPad mini but still comes with a slower processor and no M7 motion coprocessor.
» 8 GB iPhone 5c
I had the Limited Edition 4 GB original iPhone for two years so why not? 4 GB was serviceable before the App Store. Now I’d say 8 GB presents a real management challenge, but there could be some casual users for whom price is more of a premium than storage space.
My son wants an iPhone 5c but as he can fill up a 32 GB iPod touch in an afternoon with free games I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense.
Despite the rumors of the 5c being discontinued, I think it makes sense to push it down as the low-end phone with a price cut in the fall. We’ll probably/maybe/I-have-no-real-idea get a higher end phone with a larger screen this year, but it would be exciting if the middle tier of the iPhone line was like the iPod nano: Apple’s playground.