Linked List: March 21, 2011

Monday, 21 March 2011

Andy Ihnatko:

After a week with the iPad 2, I’ve come to realize that Apple’s true revolutionary change has been conceptual. The first iPad wasn’t just a new product … it was a whole new category of computer. I think in 2010, Apple instinctively understood that with something this different on their hands, they couldn’t go for broke. They could only lay out their cards and imply the iPad’s many strengths and then they’d have to stand back and watch what happened. After all of their efforts, they could only hope that consumers and developers figured out what the iPad was on their own. Only then could Apple make their next move, based on those reactions.

This screenshot comparison of Real Racing 2 HD says it all.

Apple Sues Amazon.com, Seeks Order to Stop Use of ‘App Store’ Trademark ★

The App Store vs. an app store.

How Many People Think a Digital NYT Subscription Is Worth $455/Year? ★

Frédéric Filloux (Jean-Louis Gassée’s Monday Note colleague):

The New York Times paywall is like the French tax system: expensive, utterly complicated, disconnected from the reality and designed to be bypassed. […]

The New York Times’ pricing structure, the fact that it is also designed to protect the paper’s physical circulation, the paywall’s porosity all complicate projections. One thing is sure: $35 a month ($420/year) to view the online paper on three devices is ridiculous, not matter how elitist the target group is fantasized to be. You simply don’t charge such an amount in a (US) market where services like Hulu or Netflix cost $7.99 per month.

Worse: because they charge by four-week increments rather than “months”, it actually works out to $455/year.

Boxer: ‘The DOS Game Emulator That’s Fit for Your Mac’ ★

Mac-style DOS game emulator. Splendid design and attention to detail. (Via Kottke.)

Amazon Kills Lendle ★

Via Lendle’s Twitter account:

Amazon has revoked Lendle’s API access. This is why the site is down. It’s sad and unfortunate that Amazon is shutting down Lending sites.

And:

According to Amazon, Lendle does not “serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.”

96 Percent ★

David Carr:

Today’s quiz: What company derives 96 percent of its revenue from advertising, has a video platform that is currently negotiating with the National Basketball Association, a movie studio and various celebrities, and is developing a subscription service that would be plug-and-play for publishers and consumers the world over.

96 percent is a big number.

Nintendo to ‘Hobbyist’ Developers: No Thanks ★

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime:

“Where we’ve drawn the line is we are not looking to do business today with the garage developer. In our view, that’s not a business we want to pursue.”

Strikes me as an untenable position for handheld gaming today, and perhaps soon for the console.

On Linking to Primary Sources ★

Ben Goldacre:

But more than anything, because linking to sources is such an easy thing to do and the motivations for avoiding links are so dubious, I’ve detected myself using a new rule of thumb: if you don’t link to primary sources, I just don’t trust you.

(Via Michael Lopp.)

What Twitter and the NYT Have in Common ★

Dave Winer:

Neither company has a way to sustain itself financially.

Not only that, they don’t have any ideas. The difference between the Times and Twitter is that we’ve known that about the Times for a long time, and only suspected it about Twitter.

The most telling thing about the NYT’s digital subscription plans is that you can save money on an all-access plan (web, phone app, iPad app) by getting a new home delivery subscription for the weekday or Sunday editions. Think about that. If you want to pay the New York Times to read the news using both their iPhone and iPad apps, in theory, you should be their ideal customer — you’re willing to pay, and you’re looking forward, technology-wise. But you’ll save money by getting several pounds of paper that you don’t want delivered to your doorstep every week.

Update: Dan Wineman quips:

Of course you save money if you let the NYT dump weekly paper wads on your doorstep. They have the same revenue model as the Yellow Pages.

Ouch.

Justin Williams on Twitter’s Dickbar ★

Justin Williams:

If Twitter wants to improve the trending experience for everyone, it should change how they are calculated entirely. Rather than generating trends based on the location of a tweet, they should instead show trends related to what is happening in my timeline, who I am following and who my followers follow.

I.e., in Apple’s parlance, genius recommendations. This would be better than the mind-numbing nonsense the Dickbar shows now, but I still think it goes against the spirit of Twitter. Twitter should show you only what you’ve subscribed to, and, if this is the way they’re going to go, paid ads. That’s it.