Linked List: July 6, 2007

Friday, 6 July 2007

The Great Social Security Number Scandal of 2007 ★

Michael Tiemann throws a fit over the fact that your Social Security Number is a required field to activate an iPhone — despite the fact that Apple explicitly states they don’t store it with your iTunes account — but then admits:

Now, I’m sure that it’s possible to get a phone activated without giving up one’s SSN. I did it with my carrier several years ago by walking the issue up to a VP’s desk and posting a $1,000 bond for two years. So it can be done.

In other words, it’s a standard part of the credit-check process for any cell phone contract. So his problem is with the entire U.S. cell phone industry, not the iPhone. Good thing he didn’t publish this with a hysterical iPhone-specific title.

Ollie Kottke ★

Wonderful news.

iPhone Native-Looking CSS Skin ★

JavaScript and CSS by Joe Hewitt to allow web apps to mimic the native look-and-feel of iPhone apps.

Speculation as to Why iPhone Doesn’t Include Flash ★

Brent Simmons:

I have a theory that I haven’t heard yet: Flash wasn’t included because it crashes so much.

Yes, plus it’s a gluttonous resource hog on Mac OS X.

Introducing Templatemaker ★

Adrian Holovaty’s new Python library for creating automated templates for screen-scraping. Great idea. (Via Andy Baio.)

Mark Simonson’s Frutiger Talk ★

Slides and transcript from Mark Simonson’s wonderful presentation on typographic demigod Adrian Frutiger.

Letting Go of the Trumpets: A Week With the iPhone ★

From Mike Davidson’s excellent iPhone review:

I have to say, I am almost embarassed to take this thing out of my pocket. You take it out at a bar and people swarm around. You take it out at an airport and other travelers stop their Blackberrying to gawk. Guys. Girls. Pretty much everyone who has seen a commercial (which is everyone). This effect won’t last forever, thankfully, but it’s a testament to how Apple has once again — actually, no — for the first time ever — captured the mainstream world’s attention with a product introduction. The Macintosh never did that. Neither did the iPod. This is a first.

My wife’s 81-year-old grandmother saw her iPhone, and said, “Oh, you got one of those crazy phones!” Amazing.

Microsoft Plans $1 Billion Charge for Xbox Repairs ★

Microsoft also announced that they shipped 11.6 million units as of the end of June. Do the math: $1 billion divided by 11.6 million equals about $85 per unit. Not just per broken unit, but for every Xbox 360 console that’s been sold to date. Yikes.

iPhone Remote 0.9.7 alpha ★

Free, open source utility offers remote access to your Mac from an iPhone via a collection of web apps. Extraordinarily clever; includes screen sharing, script execution, iSight image capture, and some basic developer documentation for creating additional modules. Update: The name has been changed from Telekinesis to iPhone Remote.

Which Is More Expensive: A Free Treo 680 or an iPhone? ★

It works out to about the same total cost over two years because the Treo unlimited data plans are $40/month and the iPhone’s are only $20.

iPhone’s Processor: Samsung S3C6400 @ 667 Mhz? ★

Matches what I heard back in January at Macworld Expo.

The Anthropomorphic iPhone ★

David Weiss:

Apple has posted their iPhone User’s Guide for all those of you who can’t get a hold of one, and all throughout are references to ‘iPhone’, not ‘the iPhone.’ […]

Why would Apple do this? No one talks this way.

I think it’s weird, too, but then I caught myself using it the other day.

OmniFocus and iPhone ★

The latest pre-release alphas of OmniFocus contain a built-in web server providing a web interface — optimized for iPhone — to your OmniFocus data.

Apple Form Factor Evolution, 1976–2007 ★

Timeline presentation by Edwin Tofslie of all major hardware products released by Apple. Wonderful. (Via Core77.)

Paul Krugman: ‘Sacrifice Is for Suckers’ ★

Paul Krugman:

Back when the investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity began, Mr. Bush insisted that if anyone in his administration had violated the law, “that person will be taken care of.” Now we know what he meant.

Grey’s Law ★

“Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.”

(Via Merlin Mann.)