Linked List: August 8, 2012

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

App.net 

In a nut, App.net is a startup aiming to build a rival platform to Twitter, “where users and developers come first, not advertisers.” How? By generating revenue from users instead of from advertisers. They’re not using Kickstarter but they’ve built their own Kickstarter-like system.

Alas, they’re five days away from the deadline and only 45 percent of the way to their goal. If you’re dismayed by Twitter’s shabby and getting-shabbier-by-the-month treatment of third-party developers and the ever-increasing mass-market promotional detritus littering Twitter’s first-party interfaces, I really encourage you to get on board as an App.net backer. I did, and I’m already liking what I’m seeing in the alpha release.

Samsung Calls B.S. on Apple’s Charges of Copying 

From last night’s Conan O’Brien show.

HP to Incur $8 Billion ‘Impairment Charge’ 

Matt Brian, reporting for The Next Web:

HP believes that its earnings-per-share will rise to $1.00 in its third fiscal quarter, up from previous estimates of $0.94, but will exclude the hefty $8 billion impairment charge that it expects to record in the same period.

The $8 billion charge has been derived from an overview of HP’s stock, taking in market conditions and business trends in its Services segment. This basically means after it assessed and tested the value of its assets (or goodwill), it has determined that its Services business may be overvalued. As a result, it has to issue an impairment charge on its balance sheet to take into account the reduced value of its goodwill.

I have no idea what this actually means.

Update: A few readers emailed to explain that what this means is that HP overpaid by $8 billion on acquisitions to build its Services division — presumably at least in part the $13 billion HP paid for EDS in 2008. Keep that in mind next time you see someone draw up a list of expensive acquisitions for Apple to expend its cash hoard upon.

Starbucks and Square to Team Up 

Here’s Jack Dorsey’s announcement.

Rename Active BBEdit Document Script 

Matt Neuburg’s piece today on the document-saving changes in Mountain Lion included a bit about the convenient new File → Rename command, which reminded me of this AppleScript I wrote for BBEdit years ago to do the same thing — change the name of the current document in one easy step, circumventing any hassles with Save As dialogs. Might be of use to fellow BBEdit users.