Linked List: April 12, 2012

Thursday, 12 April 2012

‘Don’t Geotag Your Junk’ 

I want every episode of The Talk Show to be good, but like anything, some are better than others. I love how this week’s turned out. Topics range from the Flashback malware to Instagram to 4-inch iPhones to The Dukes of Hazzard. Plus I reveal the three simple steps to indie Internet success.

Brought to you by Everyme and Harvest.

Fixing Messages for OS X 

Scott Allen has an idea:

If Messages is running on my Mac, and my status is Available, any iMessage I receive should only alert me on my Mac. The messages should still go to my other iOS device(s), but without an alert.

If Messages is not running on my Mac, then everything should function on my iOS devices as it does currently.

Not a bad idea, but the important thing is that Allen is focused on the actual problem, which is that with the current implementation, people are getting badgered with too many unwanted alerts on iOS devices for incoming iMessages from buddies who are treating it like IM. Dan Moren’s aforelinked suggestion that Apple break it into two apps is, perhaps, a throwing-out-the-baby-with-the-bath-water solution.

BBEdit Celebrates 20th Anniversary 

Jason Snell:

I’m sure there are other apps not published by a gigantic company that have managed to last as long, but I’m not sure that any app has changed with the times and remained as relevant as BBEdit. As someone who has written hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of words in Bare Bones Software’s flagship product, let me take this opportunity to praise and reminisce.

There aren’t many apps from companies of any size that remain so utterly relevant after 20 years.

Watch an iPad Get Made From the Foxconn Factory Floor 

Rob Schmitz — he who exposed Mike Daisey as a fabulist — reports from China with a behind-the-scenes look at Foxconn’s iPad assembly line.

Josh Clark vs. Jakob Nielsen 

Josh Clark:

Nielsen is confusing device context with user intent. All that we can really know about mobile users is that they’re on a small screen, and we can’t divine user intent from that. Just because I’m on a small screen doesn’t mean I’m interested in less content or want to do less.

Stripping out content from a mobile website is like a book author stripping out chapters from a paperback just because it’s smaller. We use our phones for everything now; there’s no such thing as “this is mobile content, and this is not.”

Agreed wholeheartedly.

Fanfare for the Comma Man 

Nit-picky discussion on the use and placement of commas? Yes, please.

Lift Off: The Last Rocket Development Diary 

Shaun Inman:

The Last Rocket was an experiment with two goals: make an awesome iOS game and document the process to better understand what goes into making an awesome game. Lift Off is the resulting document. Less “how to”, more “what have I done!”, this Development Diary is just that, a diary, consisting of equal parts enthusiasm, and introspection.

$10 no-DRM e-book. Sold.

Nest Fires Back in Honeywell Suit 

Lauren Goode:

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nest, maker of a “smart” thermostat and target of a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by industrial giant Honeywell, has submitted a formal response to Honeywell’s claims.

The start-up has also brought Richard “Chip” Lutton, a 10-year Apple Inc. veteran who managed the company’s patent portfolio, on board as vice president and general counsel.

iMessage and Instant Messages Deserve Different Apps 

Speaking of Macworld editors making good arguments against overloaded Apple apps, here’s Dan Moren:

On the face of things, instant messaging and text messaging are technologies that seem pretty similar: They both involve sending text and images over a network to a conversation partner or partners. Then again, you could say the same thing about instant messaging and email, and I think many of us would look askance at having our email accounts folded into Messages — or, for that matter, iMessage incorporated into Mail. So why do iMessage and IM need to occupy the same space?

Jason Snell on iTunes 

Jason Snell:

Apple has packed almost everything involving media (and app) management, purchase, and playback into this single app. It’s bursting at the seams. It’s a complete mess. And it’s time for an overhaul.

Is there anyone who disagrees with this?

How Samsung Beat Nokia 

Horace Dediu:

Samsung was able to convert its portfolio to smartphones while Nokia failed to do so.