Linked List: April 3, 2010

Saturday, 3 April 2010

iPad: Charging the Battery 

I’ve seen numerous complaints today about the iPad not charging via USB, only via the power adapter. According to Apple:

Some USB 2.0 ports and accessories do not provide enough power to charge iPad. When this occurs the message “Not Charging” appears in the status bar next to the battery icon.

It works for me via the built-in USB ports on my MacBook Pro, but not via my USB hub. Apparently some Macs have built-in USB ports that aren’t “high power USB 2.0”, though.

Update: This is not a bug or error on Apple’s part. It’s a factor of just how strong the iPad battery is. It’s closer in watt-hour capacity to a MacBook Air battery than to an iPhone battery. More from Dan Frakes here.

iFixit’s iPad Teardown 

Those of you still without iPads might want to grab some tissues.

Netflix on iPhone? 

Steve Swasey, Netflix:

We wouldn’t invite you to dinner without planning to serve dessert.

Benchmarking in Your Lap 

The iPad’s twice as fast as an iPhone 3GS, and appears to have the same amount of RAM: 256 MB.

Why Andre Torrez Will Be Buying an iPad This Weekend 

Good prediction at the end.

Andy Ihnatko on the iPad and Multitasking 

Well said.

Archive of My Appearance Yesterday on ‘Gadgets and Games’ 

Hourlong iPad discussion on Clayton Morris’s Gadgets and Games show with Andy Ihnatko, Jason Snell, Mike Rose, Ross Rubin, Natali Del Conte, and your humble narrator. Pretty good, I thought.

Update: Direct link to the .mp4 version.

Letterman’s iPad Top Ten List 

“You’re not buying an unnecessary electronic device — you’re buying a family.”

Rivet 

My thanks to The Little App Factory for once again sponsoring this week’s DF RSS feed to promote Rivet. Rivet lets you stream your movies, photos, and music from your Mac to your Xbox 360 or PS3. It integrates with iTunes and iPhoto (and Aperture); changes and additions on your Mac are instantly visible on your console.

This week only, DF readers can save 25 percent with coupon code “DARINGFIRE2010”.

Microsoft Changes Name of Next-Gen Mobile OS From ‘Windows Phone 7 Series’ to ‘Windows Phone 7’ 

Good to see Microsoft having just as amazing a weekend as Apple.