TRST_Blog

I have actually been waiting for something like this for a long time. I know it sounds lazy, however, until iMessage gets integrated into the Mac, I have a very difficult time with these

The article is light on written content, but be sure to look at the expanded version of the bottom of the article. It's mindblowing how little we are.

Joanna Stern:

I think the answer is fairly obvious: the Vox isn't a contender in this new cheap tablet race; it's not even on the track.

I'm sad to hear that the Vox doesn't stack up, but I suppose the writing was already on the wall. Currently, if larger more powerful companies can't make a compelling tablet at this price point (based on user experience), then a tiny company with seriously limited resources has an even worse chance.

I had no idea that this update was going to drop tomorrow, I had half given up on it. With these new additions in Pixelmator I think I will be retiring Photoshop entirely.

In a response from Brent Simmons to Dave Winer there is a hidden little gem:

Never mind the profitability or not — people will write native apps out of love.

I sincerely hope that many, if not all, developers write their apps (native or otherwise) out of love because I use these apps everyday out of love.

While mid-argument with my lovely partner about how decaf coffee is manufactured I needed to rely on a little bit of research to settle the matter. The page I consulted also had an interesting link to a database of caffinated drinks. (There are some terribly potent "drinks" on the market that I had no idea existed.)

(via Hup and Steph)

Chris Kohler:

The belief that Nintendo should rush to acquire a mobile-game company and start cranking out iPhone versions of Nintendogs is founded on the idea that Apple has made Nintendo irrelevant. Apple’s success is certainly challenging long-held assumptions about how much games should cost and how they should be developed and sold, but it doesn’t mean people are going to play games only on their smartphones from now on.

this may be one of the better arguments I have seen in the Apple/Nintendo space recently. For the same reasons that the iPad will probably never overturn console gaming, the mobile phone will never have a drastic enough effect on the handheld gaming arena to conclude it. Instead, the effects of this type of interaction will see the change of both platforms in the near future.

Federico Viticci of MacStories:

We need to separate work from leisure and app discovery. If we’re really committed to proving that iOS devices can be fantastic replacements for trucks, we need to get serious and understand that switching between apps and feverishly mining for the latest productivity goldmine won’t make you smarter or “more productive”. On the other hand, developers need to understand that just because they’ve released a new Google Reader client or GTD app, they shouldn’t expect thousands of users to jump on board and hit Buy.

To anyone who has actually used either of these devices for significant periods of time this behavior is well understood. This phenomena is the sign that the owners of these devices are no longer wrapped up in the device itself, nor it's endless possibilities considering the App Store, instead, these devices are being bent into some shape that best suits the user. The more time we spend working a device to our whims the less we can maintain its idol status and with the deemphasis of the latter a continuation of our productive selves grows from the former.^[1]

(via Stephen M. Hackett)

I will not link to any of the sensationalist articles in question (they are easily found, nearly every "tech news" blog has run the story), however, I applaud Anandtech for taking the time to find evidence when all others report nothing other than hearsay.