Linked List: April 1, 2013

Monday, 1 April 2013

Internet Jackass Day 

April Fool’s Day gags from Google: half a dozen.

April Fool’s Day gags from Apple: zero.

I suspect one’s preference for which company they admire more breaks strongly along the lines of how one feels about the above stats.

Race to the Pennant 

Great new iOS app for opening day.

Aereo Wins Major Court Battle Against TV Networks 

The Verge:

Broadcasters argued that unlike Cablevision, Aereo lacked the proper license to operate — but the court ruled that the license doesn’t matter since Aereo customers are streaming their own unique copies to themselves. The remarkably tech-savvy decision for Aereo today clears major legal difficulties for the web-television broadcaster, and will force TV networks to win an appeal either in front of the full Second Circuit or Supreme Court if they want to shut the streaming service down. “The Second Circuit stomped the broadcasters pretty hard,” said The Verge’s Nilay Patel.

I would love to try this service. What a great loophole they’ve found.

Sapphire to Replace Gorilla Glass? 

Kevin Bullis, writing for MIT Technology Review:

Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, probably won’t ever be as cheap as Gorilla Glass, the durable material from Corning that’s used to make screens on iPhones and other smartphones. A Gorilla Glass display costs less than $3, while a sapphire display would cost about $30. But that could fall below $20 in a couple of years thanks to increased competition and improving technology, says Eric Virey, an analyst for the market research firm Yole Développement. And since sapphire performs better than glass, that price could make it cheap enough to compete, he says.

Sapphire is harder than any other natural material except diamond; by some measures, it’s three times stronger than Gorilla Glass, and it is also about three times more scratch resistant

I’d pay $30 for that in a heartbeat.

Tim Cook Apologizes for Chinese iPhone Warranty Policies 

Erica Ogg, with a Google translation of Cook’s open letter:

Turns out that a good way to get Apple CEO Tim Cook’s attention is a well-orchestrated media campaign against the company. More than a week after the first complaints about Apple’s customer service and repair policies hit the Chinese media, Cook has issued an apology and detailed response to concerns over Apple’s repair and warranty policies in the country.