Linked List: January 25, 2013

Friday, 25 January 2013

My thanks to Adobe for sponsoring this week’s DF RSS feed to promote Typekit.

“The easiest way to use real fonts on your website” — short and sweet, that was the entirety of their sponsorship message for the feed. It’s hard to top that, but I will point out that in addition to being easy to use, Typekit also offers an unbelievably wide and deep catalog of great typefaces to choose from.

Report: Aaron Swartz Didn’t Face Prison Until Feds Took Over Case ★

Declan McCullagh, writing for CNet:

State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Middlesex County’s district attorney had planned no jail time, “with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner,” the report (alternate link) said. “Tragedy intervened when Ortiz’s office took over the case to send ‘a message.’”

We all know Ortiz isn’t the only prosecutor to act like this. But a prosecutor “sending a message” is an outrage. It is a plain violation of the accused’s rights for their punishment to be increased because of people unrelated to their case. The more I learn about this case, the more heartbroken and furious I get.

HTC Mini: A Second, Small Phone to Make Up for the Awkwardness of Its Big-Ass 5-Inch Smartphones ★

They headed off in the direction of stupid and came all the way around the world back to dumb phones. All this thing needs is a telescoping antenna.

Marissa Mayer on Yahoo and the Shift to Mobile Computing ★

On stage interview at the World Economic Forum with Marissa Mayer by Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker. Very smart take on where Yahoo needs to go. (Sure seems like a tighter partnership with Apple could be mutually beneficial to both companies.)

Parent Company CBS Bans CNet From Reviewing Aereo ★

This is untenable. CBS either needs to give CNet editorial independence or sell them to someone who will. As it stands, they’re grinding CNet’s reputation and brand into worthless powder.

Original Mac Lego Model ★

I’d buy this kit in a heartbeat.

Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded ★

Why Scott McNulty dreads visiting an Apple Store:

Given the crazy amount of foot traffic Apple stores get, someone decided that the designated cash registers had to go. Now any Apple Store employee on the store floor can check you out (plus there’s an app for that). It’s an amazing idea—in theory.

Here’s the thing, though: All the Apple Store employees are overwhelmed helping the myriad folks browsing and asking questions. When I walk in with a mission to purchase a Lighting cable, I must push my way through the crowds to the corner of the store and grab the cable. Now the fun begins: I need to track down an Apple store employee who isn’t engaged with a customer. In the past I’ve actually abandoned the whole thing and left the store without buying the cable.

Ideally, you wouldn’t have to wait. But if you do have to wait, it would be better to wait in a proper line.

Update: Lots of readers emailing to point out that you can check yourself out for most items, using Apple’s iPhone app. That is cool, but I don’t think it’s a solution for everyone. What percentage of customers (even just counting only the ones who already own an iPhone) even know you can do this?

And the “How do I pay for this?” question is just one aspect of McNulty’s main point: the stores are just too crowded and busy.

On the Implications of Amazon’s Low Margin Strategy ★

Eugene Wei:

A lot of folks, especially Apple supporters, like to characterize Amazon as irrational, even crazy, for its willingness to live with low margins. It must be frustrating to compete with a company like that. But to call their strategy irrational or to believe they want to be a non-profit is a dangerous misreading of what they’re all about.

I, for one, don’t think there’s anything irrational about Amazon. I admire them greatly, and think they’re a devilishly clever company. Who I think is irrational are the Amazon investors who support Amazon’s continuing lack of profits.