Linked List: October 3, 2012

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

The Forgotten Mapmaker 

Alexis Madrigal:

As I described last month, Google has spent literally tens of thousands of person-hours creating its maps. I argued that no other company could beat Google at this game, which turned out to be my most controversial assertion. People pointed out that while Google’s driven 5 million miles in Street View cars, UPS drives 3.3 billion miles a year. Whoever had access to these other datasets might be in the mapping (cough) driver’s seat.

Well, it turns out that Nokia is the company that receives the GPS data from both FedEx and UPS, the company’s senior VP of Location Content, Cliff Fox, told me.

I don’t think it’ll happen, but how odd would it be for Apple to acquire Nokia not for their phone expertise, but for their mapping expertise?

Tent.is 

Speaking of longshot alternatives to Twitter, Tent looks interesting, if for no other reason than that it’s decentralized. Tent.is is a Tent hosting service from the creators of the protocol. I’ve signed up; you can probably guess my username.

Netbot 

New from Tapbots: just like Tweetbot but for App.net.

Snappli Doubles Down, Insists Their Data Shows Users Dumping iOS Maps 

OK, I’ll bite. Which alternative maps apps have these users turned to if they’ve abandoned the built-in one? If usage of rival mapping services is not rising commensurate with this purported plummet in the use of iOS Maps, what could possibly be going on? iPhone users are just giving up on mapping in despair? Sure.

(Bonus points to Snappli for recommending Forbes’s “If Steve Jobs Were Alive, He Would Fire Tim Cook” piece.

Corning and Gorilla Glass 

Bryan Gardiner, writing for Wired:

One of the first conversations between Weeks and Jobs actually had nothing to do with glass. Corning scientists were toying around with microprojection technologies — specifically, better ways of using synthetic green lasers. The thought was that people wouldn’t want to stare at tiny cell phone screens to watch movies and TV shows, and projection seemed like a natural solution. But when Weeks spoke to Jobs about it, Apple’s chief called the idea dumb. He did mention he was working on something better, though — a device whose entire surface was a display. It was called the iPhone.

Ichiro’s Respect for His Bats 

Great story by David Waldstein in the NYT on the care Yankees star Ichiro Suzuki takes of his bats:

Today, after a decade in the major leagues, Suzuki still displays that same reverence on a daily basis, caring for his bats like Stradivarius violins. While most players dump their bats in cylindrical canvas bags when they are not using them, Suzuki neatly stacks his best eight bats inside a shockproof, moisture-free black case that he keeps close by his locker at home and on the road. […]

The case, which looks like a mini trunk, not only protects the bats from jostling and banging during transports, it also serves as a dehumidifier, drawing moisture out of the bats during the hot, humid American summers.

DPReview on the iPhone 5 Camera 

Barney Britton and Kelcey Smith:

Apple might not have set out to make some of the most popular cameras on the planet with its iPhone range of smartphones, but that’s exactly what has happened.

Actually, I think that’s exactly what Apple set out to do.