RandomMaccess

From MarketWatch (via Daring Fireball): Amazon.com Inc. said Monday afternoon that it will begin selling a cheaper version of its Kindle e-reader device that is supported with advertisements early next month. The ad-supported Kindle will cost $114 — $25 less than the cheapest Kindle currently available — and will be available on May 3. Daring (…)

Nice piece by my friend Jeff Gamet at The Mac Observer on the impact of Apple’s iPad as a tool for autistic children. What makes it really notable, though, is the first comment following the article, by Pat Mahon (also a friend of mine)—a real-life example of the device’s power. I won’t spoil it by (…)

Interesting post by Dan Frommer for Business Insider (via CNN.) I don’t disagree with most of the points made here, although I’m not sure I see a strong Apple presence in Social Media as critical. I would love to see more from the AppleTV, but it’s the networks, not Apple, holding back progress there. And (…)

The one-year anniversary of the iPad (I discussed it on a MacJury panel this week) and an episode of Shawn King’s Your Mac Life brought to mind a piece I wrote in 2004 to discuss the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh. Although the article is now seven years old, I think the analysis is still (…)

Google today announced it was launching the beta version of its GMail Motion service, a “new way to communicate.” From the site’s webpage: The mouse and keyboard were invented before the Internet even existed. Since then, countless technological advancements have allowed for much more efficient human computer interaction. Why then do we continue to use (…)

Daring Fireball, on Google’s new requirements for early access to new releases of Android: Vic Gundotra in his keynote at I/O last year: If Google didn’t act, it faced a draconian future where one man, one phone, one carrier were our choice. That’s a future we don’t want. […] So if you believe in openness, (…)

Harry McCracken on Technologizer with a great scoop on the “fans” featured in a promotional video touting Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab: (Two of the people) came off as performers dressed for their parts and parroting Samsung talking points. I couldn’t tell whether we were supposed to take the clips as a documentary or a mockumentary. (…)

On the tenth anniversary of the introduction of Mac OS X, I thought it would be fun to take a look at this RandomMaccess column from April 1, 2003 — an April Fool’s Day look at an imagined reception of Apple’s then still-nascent operating system: “I blew it. It’s as simple as that,” said a (…)

From Macworld.com: “We very carefully considered every aspect thoroughly and concluded that this deal can and should be approved,” Wayne Watts, senior executive vice president and general counsel said. Well that settles it, then. Why waste taxpayer money with an FCC review? “Competition is vibrant and will only increase after this transaction,” Watts said. Right, (…)

It may seem ironic give the fact that I’ve given seminars on setting up wireless home networks, but I agree with a lot in this Lifehacker post. My desktop machines are all hard-wired, and I have a spare port for plugging in laptops when I need wired speeds. My AppleTV is still wireless, but that’s (…)