Linked List: May 1, 2013

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Brett Terpstra:

I wasn’t completely sold on the Aeron, though. Then a recommendation from John Gruber for the Chadwick chair showed up on my Twitter stream and piqued my interest. Given that I was already in the market and ready to drop a fair sum of money, that nudge was enough.

The Chadwick Chair costs about $100 less, and I happened to have that much saved toward the Aeron. I took a chance and ordered it. It arrived less than 48 hours later and I’ve been sitting in it for a day now.

Don Chadwick is the designer behind both the Aeron and the Chadwick. The Chadwick is the one he put his name on. I’ve had mine for three years, and consider it one of the smartest purchases I’ve ever made.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Predicts the Future of Streaming Video ★

Peter Kafka, summarizing Reed Hastings’s long-term view of the future of streaming video:

The one new nugget here is a Hastings prediction, held by many other people, that we’re moving to a world where “apps replace channels.” Hastings mentions apps nearly 3 dozen times in his essay, and makes it clear that he sees Netflix first and foremost as an app provider.

I’m trying to think of a certain company in a prime position to thrive as apps replace channels. Tip of my tongue, can’t quite think of it.

Why Apple Is Going Into Debt Rather Than Using Its Cash ★

Long story short: Because so much of the company’s cash is held overseas, and it would cost far, far more in taxes to bring that cash into the U.S. than they’ll pay in interest on the debt they’ve sold.

John Paczkowski on iOS 7’s Ive-Led Visual Overhaul ★

Paczkowski has actual quotes from actual sources on the new appearance:

I’ve heard similar descriptions from sources who say iOS 7 is iOS “de-glitzed.”

“Put it this way,” said one source who has been briefed on iOS. “You know Game Center’s green felt craps table? Well, goodbye, Circus Circus.”

Not a surprise, really. With Scott Forstall — an advocate for flashy, skeuomorphic design and its stitched-leather and faux-wood-grain flourishes — now gone from Apple, and Ive in an expanded role, the current and former Apple employees I’ve spoken to say iOS 7 was destined for a new coat of paint. As one said, “Sounds like a much-needed ‘de-Forstallization.’”

He’s also got a source confirming the scuttlebutt I heard a few weeks ago about engineering resources being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on iOS 7.

Apple, Open, and Learning From History ★

Ben Evans, on why today’s mobile industry doesn’t much resemble the PC industry of the 90s:

In other words, Apple has product/market fit in the phone market in a way that it never had in the personal computer market. All of the key dynamics that doomed it in the computer market are fundamentally different in the phone market — this time, they all work in Apple’s favour, and in favour of the high-end market in general.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while Apple fared poorly in the PC market as the 90s wore on, they’ve since recovered, and as the PC market has matured and stabilized, Apple has solidified a position as the single most profitable PC maker in the world. It’s not even close — Apple makes more profit selling PCs than the next five PC makers combined.

Apple will do just fine if its long-term position in the phone market settles in like its position in the PC market. (See also: my “Open and Shut” piece from March.)

Feds Prosecute Gamblers Who Exploited a Software Bug to Win at Video Poker ★

Kevin Poulsen, reporting for Wired Threat Level:

Kane began by selecting a game, like Triple Double Bonus Poker, and playing it at the lowest denomination the machine allows, like the $1.00 level. He kept playing, until he won a high payout, like the $820 at the Silverton.

Then he’d immediately switch to a different game variation, like straight “Draw Poker.” He’d play Draw Poker until he scored a win of any amount at all. The point of this play was to get the machine to offer a “double-up”, which lets the player put his winnings up to simple high-card-wins draw. Through whatever twist of code caused the bug, the appearance of the double-up invitation was critical. Machines that didn’t have the option enabled were immune.

Now when Kane returned to Triple Double Bonus Poker, he’d find his previous $820 win was still showing. He could press the cash-out button from this screen, and the machine would re-award the jackpot. Better yet, it would re-calculate the win at the new denomination level, giving him a hand-payout of $8,200.

Obviously a bug, but I can’t see how it’s a crime to take advantage of it.

Update 8 May 2013: The feds have dropped the hacking charges, but are still pursuing a count of wire fraud. Not sure how that makes sense either.