Linked List: November 5, 2012

Monday, 5 November 2012

The Real iPad 

Dan Frommer:

My take after spending a bunch of the weekend with the iPad mini: This is the real iPad. With the exception of screen sharpness, everything about it is better than the bigger, “classic” iPad — and screen sharpness won’t be a deal breaker for the vast majority of people.

I’ve been asked by several readers why, if this is a seemingly better form factor, Apple didn’t go with this size for the original iPad. I think there are several factors. First, I don’t think they could have, technically. The original iPad in 2010 was pretty thick compared even to the iPad 2. If they couldn’t make it thinner then, I don’t think they could have made it smaller either — not at the same price points.

Second, thinness and weight aside, I think the 9.7-inch size was better to start with conceptually, to establish the iPad in consumers’ minds as something they might want to own. The biggest complaint about the original iPad upon its unveiling was that it was nothing more than a “big iPhone”. That would have been an even bigger complaint if they’d launched with the smaller 7.9-inch display instead. The bigger difference in physical size made it even more likely that developers would do the work to create iPad-optimized versions of their iPhone apps, too.

Another week in, though, and I’m more convinced than even a week ago that the iPad Mini is the best size for most people. It’s last decade’s iPod story all over again.

Nate Silver and PECOTA 

Nate Silver has been a lightning rod for controversy over the final weeks of this campaign, with arguments from the right that his model is somehow biased in Obama’s favor. We’ll see tomorrow. But in terms of arguments about Silver’s statistical chops, I thought this piece by Colby Cosh for Maclean’s was pretty interesting. In short, before turning his attention to politics, Silver’s claim to fame was a model for projecting future player performance in baseball, and in hindsight, it wasn’t as good as is widely believed. Some potential solace for those of you hoping Silver’s model has the presidential election wrong.

(There’s also the fact that Silver’s electoral college model could be exactly right and Romney still wins — if I say your odds of tossing a six on a die roll are only 17 percent, and you toss the die and hit the six, it doesn’t mean my odds were wrong. And Silver has Romney’s chances at just slightly lower than 1-in-6.)

In Nate We Trust 

Big election here in the U.S. tomorrow; Nate Silver pegs Obama’s chance of winning at 86 percent. Other statistical models show it a bit tighter than Silver’s projection. Feels pretty tight to me. Update: Intrade’s betting market has it at even 67-33.

Google Voice Search vs. Siri 

How fast should Siri be? This fast.

Chris Pirillo’s Microsoft Surface Review 

I thought this was a fair and comprehensive review. Best line: “If you’re the sort of person who likes features over finish, Surface is for you.”