Linked List: May 13, 2009

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

MG Siegler on the Twitter Reply Thing ★

You know you’ve made a mistake when you render something simple complicated.

The Difference Between Security and Safety ★

Dennis Fisher:

Little, if anything, gets Mac users more exercised than a mention of their favorite machine’s security problems. Despite the fact that security experts believe Macs to be much easier to exploit than Windows machines, Mac users simply trot out the old saw about there not being any virus attacks on Macs. Not only is that assertion demonstrably false, but it misses the point entirely: Virus attacks are not an indicator of the security of an operating system.

That probably sounds like clueless trolling to many of you reading this, but it’s not, and it highlights an important distinction. Security is about technical measures, like the strength of the locks on your doors and windows. Safety is about the likelihood that you’ll actually suffer from some sort of attack. Microsoft has in fact implemented more advanced security measures in Windows than Apple has in Mac OS X, but that’s not surprising, because Windows is where nearly all the malware is.

But it rings untrue to most ears to claim that Apple is doing a bad job with regard to security. The evidence suggests that Mac OS X has been and remains secure enough to be safe, and safety is what real people actually care about.

Cabel Sasser on the Canon SD960: Great Pictures, Great Video ★

I like my Flip, but I think the whole Flip class of pocket video cameras is ultimately doomed — the distinction between “still” and “video” cameras is quickly disappearing. Soon they’ll just be “cameras” that do both.

A New iPhone Means New APIs ★

Gene Munster:

As indicated in today’s press release, we believe Apple will focus on the new version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard at WWDC. While some investors may be expecting Apple to launch redesigned iPhones at WWDC, we do not anticipate the launch in early June. Rather, we expect Apple to host a special event in late June or early July to launch a family of iPhones.

That’d be goofy. Last year’s iPhone 3G was announced at WWDC in early June, so why wouldn’t this year’s? Plus, if there are any new hardware features — like say a video camera or magnetometer — that means new APIs, and if Apple wants to have WWDC sessions for the new hardware-specific APIs, they have to announce the hardware first.

Munster is an analyst for Piper Jaffray who is supposedly an expert regarding Apple. But he’s such an ignoramus that he isn’t even expecting a new iPhone to be announced at WWDC — probably the easiest and most obvious Apple prediction of the year.

WWDC Keynote Announced ★

Answering the question on everyone’s mind:

Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. A team of Apple executives, led by Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the keynote.

My gut feeling is that we’ve seen the last Steve Jobs keynote address. I don’t think he’s leaving the company — and his medical leave has been scheduled to run through the end of June — but I wonder if he’s done as the company’s spokesman.

EU Fines Intel a Record $1.45 Billion in Antitrust Case ★

A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.

SlingPlayer for iPhone Restricted to Wi-Fi Only ★

A version that played lower bit-rate video over 3G was rejected, apparently at AT&T’s behest, despite the fact that other iPhone apps stream video over 3G. And what’s really odd is that AT&T allows the SlingPlayer app to stream over 3G on BlackBerrys.