Linked List: May 11, 2010

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

Cholene Espinoza, former U-2 pilot:

The trade-off of a plane built light enough to fly above 70,000 feet is that it is almost impossible to control. And 13 miles above the ground, the atmosphere is so thin that the “envelope” between stalling and “overspeed” — going so fast you lose control of the plane, resulting in an unrecoverable nose dive — is razor-thin, making minor disruptions, even turbulence, as deadly as a missile.

(Via Rich Siegel, who also pointed to this gorgeous photo of a U-2 in flight.)

Webkit CSS Properties ★

Comprehensive list of WebKit-specific CSS properties. (Via WebKitBits.)

U.S. Tax Bills in 2009 at Lowest Level Since 1950 ★

USA Today:

Federal, state and local taxes — including income, property, sales and other taxes — consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.

“The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts,” says Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.

Verizon Wireless CEO Tells WSJ They’re Working on an Android Tablet With Google ★

Niraj Sheth, reporting for the WSJ:

Verizon Wireless is working with Google Inc. on a tablet computer, Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said Tuesday, as the company works to catch up with iPad host AT&T Inc. in the area of devices that connect to wireless networks.

Tablets are part of the “next big wave of opportunities,” Mr. McAdam said in an interview. He said the work on a tablet is part of a deepening relationship between the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers and Google, which has carved out a space in mobile devices with its Android operating system.

“We’re looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience,” he said.

Makes sense that Google is working on an Android-based iPad-alike, and that Verizon would want to carry such a device, but what are Google’s “archives”?

Green Day Performs ‘Rip This Joint’ ★

Kicking off “Rolling Stones Week” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, promoting the re-release of the greatest album ever made.

Adam Lisagor, Pitchman Extraordinaire ★

Speaking of Square, my friend Adam “Little Masterpiece” Lisagor has shot, directed, edited, scored, and stars in another promotional video for them. I think Buzz Andersen nailed it: Adam is to Square as Karl Malden was to American Express.

Pastebot 1.2 ★

Paul Haddad:

Ever since the iPad came out our number one support question has been, “Can I sync more than one device with my Mac at the same time?” The answer as of Pastebot v1.2 is, “Yes you can.”

Man, do I love Pastebot.

David Cameron Is Britain’s Prime Minister ★

Nice to see some other major western democracy have an unusual election for once. Congratulations to the Tories.

Take Two ★

Ryan Stewart, he of last week’s doomed Android Flash Player demo, has a video demo showing various Flash examples working on a Nexus One.

I have a related question for Google: will Flash Player be included with the default Android 2.2 OS, or will it be something users install from Android Market?

Phillies-Blue Jays Series Relocated to Philly ★

Very odd:

The Phillies will be the road team at their own ballpark from June 25-27.

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it has relocated the interleague series between the Phillies and Blue Jays originally scheduled to be played at Rogers Centre to Citizens Bank Park following security concerns with the G20 Summit in Toronto the same weekend. The Blue Jays will be the home team in all three games and bat last. The designated hitter will also be in use.

‘Near-Final’ Screenshots of Windows Phone 7 ★

The overall aesthetic is black and sharply rectangular. Most text is either all-caps or all-lowercase — often right next to each other, which to me is jarring. To Microsoft’s credit, it’s a distinctive and original look.

Update: Several readers emailed to point out a recurring DF issue evident in these screenshots: the use of a floppy disk icon on “save” buttons. Every time I mention this issue, I get email from other readers asking what, if not a floppy disk, I’d suggest using to mean “save”. How about just spelling it out: S-a-v-e? I can’t think of a single floppy-disk-for-save button anywhere in Mac OS X or iPhone OS, and yet somehow we manage just fine.

Square for iPhone ★

Simple, lovely iPhone app. Its design pairs perfectly with that of the Square website.

Reading Comprehension ★

So yesterday over at Engadget, Nilay Patel reported on court filings from Apple regarding a class-action lawsuit in California, in which filings Apple acknowledges that its original 2007 deal gave AT&T iPhone exclusivity for five years. But Patel, who is smart, also wrote:

Now, this all went down in October of 2008, and while it’s sort of amazing we hadn’t seen it earlier, the real question is whether or not the exclusivity deal is still on the books. (The case is ongoing, but most of the relevant bits have been under seal since 2009.) Contracts can be canceled, amended, and breached in many ways, and AT&T’s spotty recent service history plus the explosion of the iPhone and the mobile market in general have given Apple any number of reasons to revisit the deal.

The original deal was for five years, but we don’t know whether that deal is still in place. Easy, right?

But now today’s news is full of reports like this one: “Apple Confirms AT&T’s iPhone Exclusivity Until 2012”:

For Verizon users who had their hopes up to get the new iPhone on their network this summer, we’re sorry. Apple has confirmed AT&T has exclusive rights to the iPhone until 2012.

AT&T signed a five-year deal in 2007 with Apple to keep the popular phone on only their network for the duration of the contract. If the iPhone were to go to Verizon at any point before 2012, the contract would have to be broken, an act that Apple has confirmed will not happen as of now.

Apple has confirmed no such things. This just isn’t true.

Harry McCracken on Android and iPhone Pricing ★

Harry McCracken:

As of this moment, AT&T wants $99.99 for a Backflip on contract–which is ninety-nice cents more than the cost of a plain-jane iPhone 3G. But if the Backflip appeals to you, here’s a slightly better deal: Amazon has it for a penny. That’s 1/9900th the cost of the iPhone 3G. (Amazon, in case you didn’t know, doesn’t have penny iPhones–and neither does anyone else.)

As McCracken pointed out yesterday, it’s interesting that Android phones have surpassed the iPhone in U.S. unit sales, but it’s not surprising. Apple isn’t (yet?) in the bargain-price high-volume phone market.

Why Roger Ebert Hates 3D Movies (And You Should Too) ★

I’ve seen a few 3D movies in theaters recently, and the only one I enjoyed was Avatar, which was also the only one that was shot using an expensive two-camera rig.