Linked List: March 2, 2010

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

AT&T’s First Android Phone Replaces Google With Yahoo as Default Search Engine ★

The phone is the Motorola Backflip. I presume Motorola and/or AT&T did this because they worked out a deal with Yahoo where they get paid for making them the default search engine.

Interesting proof of just how much freedom Android’s open source licensing model offers to handset makers and carriers. What are the odds that AT&T and Motorola will be able to make a Windows Phone 7 handset with, say, Google as the default search engine?

‘From Russia With Love’ ★

The second film in the series (after Dr. No). I watched it last night for the first time in a long while. So, so good. Low on the cockamamie; high on style and lovely details, including beautiful on-location footage of early-60s Istanbul. The plot revolves around a Russian code machine and a possible defector (who is, of course, a hot chick), not a preposterous plot to destroy the Earth or all of Western civilization.

Not just quintessential James Bond, but maybe the best Bond — funny, not corny, a spy movie, not an action movie.

Virgin America Drops Flash From Web Site ★

The Register:

Start-up airline Virgin America has decided HTML is “good enough” for animating online content on its brand-new website, which went live Monday, dumping Flash. […] Virgin picked HTML to give users of iPhones and other mobiles the option in the future of checking in through their phone.

Microsoft Visio 2010 Includes Ripped Off Version of Panic’s Transmit Icon ★

Amusing that the negative feedback dialog for Office 2010 is called “Send a Frown”.

Roger Ebert’s New Voice ★

Clip from Ebert’s appearance on Oprah this week, previewing his new custom-made text-to-speech voice made using audio he had previously recorded before losing his ability to talk.

I’m tearing up.

Dogs Catching Snacks at 1,000 Frames Per Second Super Slo-Mo ★

Joy.

An Android Success Story ★

Edward Kim’s “Car Locator” Android app is generating over $10,000 a month in revenue. Good to know it’s possible to make meaningful dough from the Android Market.

I Stand By This Quip From October ★

Your humble narrator, back in October when Nokia filed a patent suit against Apple:

If you can’t beat ’em, sue ’em.

I feel this suit against HTC is a terrible mistake.

Microsoft Warns Windows XP Users Not to Press F1 Key ★

The “Any” key, however, is still safe.

Lifehacker’s Top 10 Android Apps ★

The look-and-feel — and in some cases, like the task killer and file manager, entire purpose — of these apps is as good a summary as any of the differences between Android and iPhone OS. (SlideScreen being the notable exception.)

Adam Lisagor Responds to The iPhone App Review’s Shakedown Attempt ★

So funny.

Why DRM Doesn’t Work, Or: How to Download an Audio Book From the Cleveland Public Library ★

From the Dept. of It’s Funny Because It’s True. (Via John Siracusa.)

Edward Tufte’s Initial Thoughts on the Windows Phone 7 Series Interface Design ★

Edward Tufte:

The panorama sequence appears to be an interface for an interface, a distancing from the core activities of users, who just want to get on with what they want to do. My view is to let the user’s eyes do more on a screen-image rich with opportunities rather than having to move through a sequence of thin decorative screens in order to find the desired action.

Summary of the iPhone Patents Apple Is Suing HTC for Infringing ★

Nilay Patel, Esq. has a rundown of the patents at Engadget. Some of these sound like the worst sort of software patent bullshit, like “Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image”, but others are hard to judge from the name alone. And despite Apple’s PR saying there are 20 patents at issue, they seem to have only listed 10.

Apple’s Suits Against HTC ★

John Paczkowski has PDFs of Apple’s two filings. (Click the orange down-arrow button to download the PDFs rather than read them in the inline Flash dingus.)

Apple Sues HTC for Patent Infringement ★

Apple PR:

Apple today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Off the top of my head, this is the first time I can recall Apple filing a patent lawsuit against a competitor except as a counter-suit (e.g. against Nokia). I can’t speak to the hardware and “architecture” issues, but I despise the idea of “user interface” patents.