Linked List: July 22, 2011

Friday, 22 July 2011

My thanks to Squrl for sponsoring this week’s DF RSS feed. Squrl is a new way to collect and organize video clips from across the web. Sign up for a free account and use the simple bookmarklet to collect videos from YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and other services. You can also pull in video from links you see on Facebook and Twitter. Create playlists and shareable “channels”. Think of it as something like Instapaper or Reading List, but for video instead of reading.

Of course Squrl has an app for the iPad and iPhone — it’s free, and supports AirPlay for playback to Apple TV. Get started by visiting Squrl.com or downloading the app from the App Store.

Don’t Hold Your Breath on That Apple-Hulu Deal ★

Peter Kafka:

If you stop by a Subaru dealer and end up kicking the tires on a new Outback, are you in early talks to consider a bid on a new Outback?

Well, sure. But if you drive off the lot in your old Civic and never come back, no one’s going to be shocked.

I just don’t see that Hulu has much that Apple would want. Streaming TV content rights, that’s about it. But content deals expire. I could see Apple working out a deal to get Hulu on Apple TV, like they have with Netflix, without buying the company.

‘Keep It Secret, Dude’ ★

Just posted: this week’s episode of The Talk Show. Topics include OS X Lion, scrolling direction, the new Mac hardware, and Tomorrow Never Dies. Special guest star: James Bond movie and Tuco’s Law expert Jonas Gruber.

Brought to you by the fine folks at The Omni Group and Harvest.

Stumbling Toward Disaster ★

David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush:

But in the argy-bargy, keep this in mind: the debt problem has become a debt crisis for one reason only: because Republicans put the threat of debt default on the table.

That never needed to happen.

House Republicans could have kept the debt ceiling issue wholly separate from the budget cut issue.

The 2-Hour Post-PC Device ★

Kevin C. Tofel:

Fujitsu is launching a unique dual-mode smartphone tomorrow in Japan that doubles as a handheld Windows 7 computer. Known as the Fujitsu F-07C, the device works as a Symbian phone for standard phone use, but can switch to Windows 7 with the touch of a button, notes SlashGear.

Sounds great.

Techniques for Voicemail Hacking ★

On a recent episode of The Talk Show, regarding the News Corp. voicemail-hacking scandal in the U.K., I wondered aloud just how these voicemail accounts were broken into. I got a slew of links from listeners, but I liked this overview by David Rogers. It’s appalling how easy some of this was.

Noted for Future Claim Chowder ★

Maxwell Wessel, Harvard Business Review:

iTunes as we know it is over. It is walking, talking, and continuing to pretend it’s alive, but Spotify, Europe’s outrageously successful streaming music product, has just shown us the future.

(Via Kontra.)

Restore Safari’s Downloads Keyboard Shortcut ★

Daniel Jalkut:

Downloads used to be shown in a completely separate window, which could be toggled using the keyboard shortcut Cmd-Option-L. In Lion, they appear in a popover panel attached to the toolbar of whatever browser window you happen to be using. Unfortunately, there is no keyboard shortcut to toggle the appearance of this popover.

Using FastScripts and a simple UI Scripting script, I was able to restore this functionality, so that Safari on Lion toggles the appearance using the old familiar Cmd-Opt-L shortcut.

Bombing and Gun Attack in Norway ★

Elisa Mala and J. David Goodman, reporting for the NYT:

Powerful explosions shook central Oslo on Friday afternoon, blowing out the windows of several government buildings, including one housing the office of the Norwegian prime minister. The state television broadcaster, citing the police, said seven people were killed and at least 15 injured; a spokeswoman for the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said he was “safe and not hurt.”

Shortly after the explosions, which appeared to be a bomb attack, a man dressed as a police officer opened fire on a summer camp for young members of the ruling Labor Party on the island of Utoya in the Oslo fjord, about 25 miles from the city, and wounded at least five, a Norwegian security official said.

Good thoughts for everyone in Norway. The photos are painfully reminiscent of Oklahoma City.

Farewell Front Row ★

Christopher Breen:

And yet, there’s been nary a peep about the termination of one of the key features of Apple’s digital hub strategy: Front Row, the media-center-on-the-Mac application that was wildly popular until everyone seemed to forget that it was there. Today, install Lion, mash Command-Escape, and what you get is absolutely nothing.

Making Desktop Web Apps in Lion ★

Andy Ihnatko:

Automator — that singularly-awesome utility and infrastructure for automating damned-near any task — has a new feature that allows you to open any webpage inside a popup window. It’s so easy to use and it’s so goddamned useful that I’m amazed it’s not being promoted.

I love this feature.

MacBook Air Benchmarks ★

Impressive.

Mac Mini Benchmarks ★

MacMiniColo.net reviews the new Minis:

These new Mac minis are absolute screamers.

Looks like a great upgrade.