Linked List: August 9, 2010

Monday, 9 August 2010

‘Commitment to Openness and Freedom’ ★

Andrew Melnizek, for Android Central:

Developer Unstable Apps just released their latest update to their ‘Easy Root’ application yesterday. Though, just as soon as it went up, Google quickly yanked it off the Android Market. The latest ‘Easy Root’ update (1.2.2), allowed owners running Froyo on the Motorola Droid, Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Milestone to easily root their phones by a single touch of a button.

The developer of the app, “Nathan”, gave Android Central a statement:

When I first started getting word from people that Easy Root had been pulled from the Market I was surprised. I am sure that like many others I choose the Android platform for its commitment to openness and freedom.

That’s a good one.

Stacey Higginbotham on the Google-Verizon Net Neutrality Plan ★

Stacey Higginbotham follows the money:

So Google sold the tech world out as it hopes to keep one of the largest pushers of its Android operating system happy.

What happens to the heads of those who still buy the “Google is open, Apple is closed” worldview if Apple were to issue a statement disagreeing with this proposal, and stating a desire for wireless networking to be treated no differently than wired?

(As far as I can tell, Apple has been silent on net neutrality issues; for all I know, they support allowing preferential treatment for those companies that can afford it.)

There’s Only One Internet ★

John Bergmayer, staff attorney at Public Knowledge:

The biggest problem with the framework is that, while purporting to support “the open Internet,” it draws illogical distinctions on the basis of what technology you use to access the Internet, and between “the public Internet” (Verizon’s mantra on the press call) and “additional online services.” […]

The companies seem to want to divide the Internet yet further — not just between wired and wireless, but between “the public Internet” and “additional online services”.

Dan Gillmor on the Google-Verizon Net Neutrality Plan ★

Dan Gillmor:

Throughout the conference call, we kept hearing references to the “public Internet” — an expression that leads inescapably to something else.

Right. What exactly is the non-public Internet?

The other big news in today’s announcement was Google’s clear retreat on network neutrality when it comes to wireless networks.

Right. And who doesn’t agree that wireless is going to be to the coming decade what wired broadband was to the last?

Larry Ellison on HP’s Firing of Mark Hurd ★

Ashlee Vance for the NYT:

“The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago,” Mr. Ellison wrote. “That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn’t come back and saved them.”

Oracle, the world’s largest database software maker, has been a close partner of H.P., which sells large computing systems to corporations.

U.S. Tax Revenue as a Fraction of GDP, 1950-2010 ★

Interesting charts, especially the relative stability of total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP.

The Tiger Oil Memos ★

Hilarious collection of memos from 1978 by Edward Mike Davis, the CEO and owner of the Tiger Oil Company in Houston. A personal favorite:

Do not speak to me when you see me. If I want to speak to you, I will do so. I want to save my throat. I don’t want to ruin it by saying hello to all of you sons-of-bitches.

Don’t Get Fireballed ★

Matt Brown explains how to make WordPress capable of serving more than one page per second: the free WP Super Cache plugin. Must-read for anyone hosting their own installation of WordPress.

I have no idea why WP Super Cache (or some other caching solution) isn’t part of the default WordPress installation.

Devour ★

The best of YouTube, hand-picked by the gang from Uncrate. Perfect on the iPad.

JetBlue Flight Attendant Pops Open Plane Chute at JFK, Slides Away ★

Sean Gardiner:

Slater demanded an apology from the passenger, the official said, but the passenger refused. The two argued before the passenger told Slater to “fuck off”, the official said. The official said that Slater then got on the plane’s PA system and directed that same obscenity at all the passengers and added that he especially meant it for the man who refused to apologize.

Slater is alleged to have then activated the plane’s inflatable emergency slide, grabbed two beers from the galley, then slid down the chute, the official said.

Weak Sauce ★

Stacey Higginbotham:

The Google and Verizon agreement also leaves room for broadband operators to offer managed services, although Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg pledged that the goal of such managed services would not be to circumvent providing quality services to consumers, which was a concern the FCC had for such products.

Thanks for the “pledge”. So why not ask for the FCC to regulate this by law?

Google and Verizon’s Joint Policy Proposal for an Open Internet ★

Just keep repeating the word “open”:

Sixth, we both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless, except for the transparency requirement.

Channel Insider: Ten Reasons Why the iPad Won’t Be a Long-Term Success ★

Highlights include #1 (“The Cisco tablet is coming”), #7 (“A BlackBerry tablet is coming”), and #10 (“The power of Windows”).

Microsoft’s New ‘PC vs. Mac’ Site ★

Matt Gemmell nails it:

Apple and Microsoft have something in common: their “Mac vs PC” comparisons both target PC users.

Offense vs. defense.

Everything You Need to Know About Lifehacker’s Cheapskate Audience, in One Sentence ★

From their (highly questionable) list of the best iPhone apps:

Pano’s not particularly cheap, at $3, but it can create some enormous, impressive panoramas right on your iPhone.

Three bucks, “not particularly cheap”. (Via Jonathan Wight.)

Is Apple’s Growth at an End? ★

Robert Paul Leitao:

In the June quarter close to 50% of Apple’s revenue was derived from products that did not exist in the market just over three years ago. In the September and December quarters, well over 50% of Apple’s reported revenue will be derived from iPhone and iPad sales. At the moment there’s no practical limit to the size of the market for these two products.

50 percent of their revenue now comes from products that didn’t exist three years ago. Amazing. (Via Philip Elmer-DeWitt.)

Your Beautiful Eyes ★

Macro photography by Suren Manvelyan.

New From Sharpie: The Liquid Pencil ★

Intriguing new pen from Sharpie: writes like a pen, erases like a pencil, becomes permanent after three days.

Update: It’s an uncached WordPress site, so, no surprise, it’s crapped out. Here it is in Google’s cache.

Note the Word ‘Intimate’ ★

From a press release issued by Jodie Fisher:

“I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention. […] Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship.”

From which John Biggs concludes:

There was no sexual contact and generally it just looks like they had dinners together when she was “under contract to work at high-level customer and executive summit events” for the company.

I think that’s the wrong conclusion. This repeated use of the phrase “no intimate sexual relationship” sounds to me like it means “we had a sexual relationship but it wasn’t an intimate one”. I have no idea what they mean by that (“no intercourse”?) — but if you look at it that way, the whole saga makes a lot more sense.

Mark Hurd’s Lady Friend: Former Actress Jodie Fisher ★

Xeni Jardin:

Ms. Fisher, who is now 50, worked as a contractor with HP’s marketing division from 2007 to 2009. She earned “up to $5,000 per event to greet people and make introductions among executives attending HP events that she helped organize,” according to the AP.

WSJ: Papermaster ‘Lost the Confidence of Mr. Jobs’ ★

The well-sourced Yukari Iwatani Kane and Ian Sherr, reporting for the WSJ:

The iPhone 4, a key device for Apple, has been beset by issues such as antenna reception and delayed production of a white version of the gadget. Several people familiar with Mr. Papermaster’s situation said his departure was driven by a broader cultural incompatibility.

Mr. Papermaster had lost the confidence of Mr. Jobs months ago and hasn’t been part of the decision-making process for some time, these people said. They added that Mr. Papermaster didn’t appear to have the type of creative thinking expected at Apple and wasn’t used to Apple’s corporate culture, where even senior executives are expected to keep on top of the smallest details of their areas of responsibility and often have to handle many tasks directly, as opposed to delegating them.

And that’s that. The antenna wasn’t the only thing, but it may have been the final straw.

MG Siegler (and, judging by my email, he’s not alone) wonders why Apple didn’t wait a few months to show Papermaster the door, to wait for the Antennagate ashes to run cold. That’s not how Apple rolls. These senior executives are not figureheads. They work their asses off, under a lot of pressure. (Remember Tim Bucher?) When Jobs decides you’re a bozo, you’re done, timing be damned.