Linked List: February 8, 2011

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Engadget Prints Purported Memo From Nokia CEO Stephen Elop ★

Stephen Elop, in a purported company-wide memo:

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don’t have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable. […]

How did we get to this point? Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved?

This is what I have been trying to understand. I believe at least some of it has been due to our attitude inside Nokia. We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven’t been delivering innovation fast enough. We’re not collaborating internally.

No word on what his solution is, but at least he’s diagnosed the problem.

(My guess: They’re going to go with Windows Phone 7.)

Support Grows for Tiered Screening at Airports ★

Susan Stellin, reporting for the NYT:

One reason airport security measures frustrate travelers is that screening procedures tend to treat all passengers the same: as potential terrorists.

But in the wake of the furor last fall over pat-downs and body scanners, several industry organizations are working on proposals to overhaul security checkpoints to provide more or less scrutiny based on the risk profile of each traveler.

Sanity prevails? (Via Glenn Fleishman.)

Redesigning the Netflix API ★

Daniel Jacobson, Netflix:

Growing the API by about 37× in 13 months indicates a few things to us. First, it demonstrates the tremendous success of the API and the fact that it has become a critical system within Netflix. Moreover, it suggests that, because it is so critical, we have to get it right. When reviewing the founding assumptions of the API from 2008, it is now clear to us that the API needs to be redesigned to carry us into the future.

That’s some serious growth. Seems to have spiked in October 2010 — coincident with the release of the new Apple TV. Update: October was also the month when Netflix streaming expanded to Canada, and the PS3 Netflix integration went disc-free.

Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Design Process for the New Gawker Sites ★

Exclusive photo from Gawker headquarters, testing the new design.

T-Mobile’s Two-Day ‘Free’ Phone Giveaway ★

T-Mobile:

On Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12, all T-Mobile phones, even the fastest 4G smartphones running on America’s largest 4G network, will be offered for free at T-Mobile retail stores with qualifying plan on two-year contract.

Translation: Christ do we wish we had the iPhone.

Man Killed by Cock ★

The San Francisco Chronicle:

A California man attending a cockfight has died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its limb.

Stanley Kubrick’s Cardboard Box ★