Linked List: December 18, 2009

Friday, 18 December 2009

Update: Psystar attorney (paraphrased): “It’s just a flesh wound!”

Just what it says on the tin.

70-Minute Video Review of ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ ★

I know, a 70-minute long video review of The Phantom Menace sounds nutty. And, when you start the first segment, you’re going to be tempted to close the tab when you hear the guy’s voice. But trust me, stick with it, it’s worth it. Amusing and genuinely astute regarding the differences between the two trilogies.

Verizon’s Solution to Loose Droid Battery Covers ★

A sticker.

Keyboard Maestro 4.0 ★

People sometimes ask me whether I have any — for lack of a better term — secret weapon software to recommend. Utility apps like, say, LaunchBar or Quicksilver (on that one, I’ve been in the LaunchBar camp for a few years). The sort of apps Batman would keep in his utility belt if his utility belt were a metaphor-stretched Macintosh.

Keyboard Maestro is such an app. It’s several utilities in one: a powerful macro program, a clipboard history manager, a hot key manager, a keyboard switcher, and more. Version 4 is a great update, including a complete overhaul of my very favorite Keyboard Maestro feature, the clipboard history, and an all-new Automator-esque UI for the macro editor. Keyboard Maestro is copiously documented and comes from one of the longest-standing and most-respected indie Mac developers, Peter Lewis’s Stairways Software. I recommend it highly.

BusinessWeek: ‘Verizon Wireless Prepares for the iPhone’ ★

Don’t get all excited — the story is about Verizon Wireless CTO Anthony Melone claiming that Verizon could handle the traffic, not any sort of announcement of a deal with Apple. But it’s interesting nonetheless:

Melone credits the company’s reputation to a focus on high network standards backed by consistent investments and a sophisticated troubleshooting program. Over the last three years, the company has invested nearly $19 billion in its wireless network, or about $6.3 billion a year. “It comes down to backing that process with money,” says Melone. “We’ve been more consistent than any carrier in the last 10 years investing year over year.”

Here’s a [graph comparing Verizon’s and AT&T’s capital expenditures as a percentage of operating income][g]. Verizon has done things like build out a FIOS network, too, but it seems hard to dispute that Verizon spends more on its network infrastructure than AT&T.

Update: Dumb mistake on my part: Verizon Wireless is not Verizon, so this chart is not a useful comparison. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone, split 55-45 between the two.

Regarding Kindle Sales ★

Tom Johansmeyer at BloggingStocks:

It wouldn’t reveal the number, but Amazon did announce that it realized record sales for its Kindle e-reader this month. And, there’s still the rest of the month to go, including the run-up to Christmas. Just as the battle for e-reader market share began to flare up, it already seems to be over.

Seems a little early to call this race, especially since Amazon has never revealed Kindle sales numbers.

Google on Their Iterative Improvements to Gmail Mobile Web App ★

Alex Nicolaou of Google:

As of today, and thanks to numerous optimizations, I’m happy to report that Gmail for mobile loads 2-3× faster than it did in April. In fact on newer iPhone and Android devices, the app now loads in under 3 seconds. So yes, the mobile web can deliver really responsive applications.

Google’s mobile Gmail app is a fine example of a well-made and popular mobile web app — more mobile-WebKit-optimized than iPhone-optimized, insofar as it’s designed to turn equally well on both iPhone OS and Android. But it’s another one where it clearly isn’t as polished UI-wise as a native iPhone app. Its toolbar is a real hack — scrolling as you scroll the page, and then moving itself to the top of the screen when you finish scrolling.

iPhone Has 46 Percent of Japanese Smartphone Market ★

These numbers must be wrong. Wired’s Brian X. Chen explained to us back in February how the iPhone wasn’t good enough to meet the high standards of the Japanese.