Linked List: August 20, 2009

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Sony Versus the iPhone 

Jared Newman:

Sony continues to insist that it’s not competing with the iPhone on gaming, even though the opposite is increasingly becoming true.

Think of all the various separate devices Sony makes which compete with the iPhone to at least some degree: PSPs, Walkmen, point-and-shoot cameras, and mobile phones. Games are just a part of it.

Kind of Bloop 

Kind of Bloop, the 8-bit tribute to Miles Davis commissioned by Andy Baio through Kickstarter, is now available for download for just $5. It’s just great.

I’ll tell you what’s weird about it, though. When I hear the music from an actual old 8-bit game, I can see the game in my mind. Kind of Bloop is so evocative, but yet in some ways so familiar, that it like triggers a like sort of false deja vu, a feeling that I’m just on the cusp of remembering the game to which it went.

David Weiss on the App Store 

Best summary I’ve seen regarding the shortcomings of the App Store from the perspective of an app developer.

The Three Key Parts of News Stories You Usually Don’t Get 

Matt Thompson:

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are four key parts to news stories, and we typically only get one of them, even though journalists possess all four, and the other three are arguably more important.

A great analysis of the shortcomings of newspaper journalism. (Via Andy Baio.)

Bloomberg Report: ‘Palm’s Colligan Said to Snub Jobs’s Recruiting Offer’ 

Bloomberg:

The exact details of what Jobs proposed to Colligan aren’t known; Jobs didn’t mention a proposal in the communications reviewed by Bloomberg. Jobs said Apple had patents and more money than Palm if the companies ended up in a legal fight, according to the communications.

Sounds more like a threat than an offer, but it might be legal trouble either way.

OmniOutliner 3.9 

Sweet, the last version of OmniOutliner I’ll ever have to download and update manually:

This release brings some much needed updating in the form of our self-installing updater and switching to Apple’s auto-save feature. Any file you have open will now be backed-up even if you’ve never saved it!

John Resig on Why the Lucky Stiff 

Why the Lucky Stiff, a pseudonymous Ruby programmer and writer with an engaging, friendly, playful style, has deleted his entire online presence. John Resig has a nice appreciation of Why’s work and style.

Software Keyboards 

Tim Bray is a convert. (And TouchPal looks good.)

‘Art & Copy’ 

New documentary “about advertising and inspiration”, by Doug Pray. Check the list for upcoming screenings.

TV News Giant Don Hewitt Dies at 86 

CBS:

Don Hewitt, recognized as a father of modern television news and the creator of the medium’s most successful broadcast, 60 Minutes, died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday. He was 86 and had homes in Manhattan and Bridgehampton, New York, where he was with family at the time of death.