Linked List: July 18, 2013

Thursday, 18 July 2013

MIT Moves to Intervene in Release of Aaron Swartz’s Secret Service File 

Kevin Poulsen, writing for Wired’s Threat Level blog:

Two weeks ago U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the government to “promptly” begin releasing Swartz’ records. The government told my lawyer that it would release the first batch tomorrow. But minutes ago, Kollar-Kotelly suspended that order at MIT’s urging, to give the university time to make an argument against the release of some of the material. […]

I have never, in fifteen years of reporting, seen a non-governmental party argue for the right to interfere in a Freedom of Information Act release of government documents. My lawyer, David Sobel, has been litigating FOIA for decades, and he’s never encountered it either. It’s saddening to see an academic institution set this precedent.

This is not how MIT should deal with their shame over this.

Mobile Ad Company Declares In-App Ads the Way of the Future 

Marco Arment:

I don’t think this “conversation” is over at all. If we had to declare a conclusion today, I wouldn’t bet on mobile ads being the clear “winner” over in-app purchase. And it would be a miserable outcome for all three interested parties — users, developers, and advertisers — if ads do end up being the de facto way for apps to make money.

I also think it’s a bit silly to simply look at all apps. Sturgeon’s Law certainly applies to apps — most are crap. (If anything, 90 percent is way too low a number to describe how many are crap.) What’s the split on ad-backed vs. paid for non-crap apps?

Paying for iOS 7-Ready Apps 

Gedeon Maheux:

I’m sure many users are expecting developers of popular applications to simply update interface elements, compile some code and easily drop a brand spanking new version of their app onto the App Store for free. There’s little doubt that the majority of iOS 7 updates to existing apps will be free (which will please Apple), but I suspect there will be a surprising number of developers who will use the launch of the new operating system to completely re-boot their app, and why not? The visual and interactive paradigms iOS 7 mark a natural breaking off point and a perfect opportunity to re-coup costs. Some existing paid apps might even adopt an iOS 7 only strategy which means they’ll have no choice but to charge again.

Along those lines, Savvy Apps released version 4.0 of their excellent iPhone calendar app Agenda today, not as a free update but as a $1.99 “new” app. I’m very curious to see how this strategy works.

Detroit Goes Bankrupt 

Monica Davey and Mary Williams Walsh, reporting for the NYT:

Detroit, the cradle of America’s automobile industry and once the nation’s fourth-most-populous city, has filed for bankruptcy, an official said Thursday afternoon, the largest American city ever to take such a course.

Update: How bad have things gotten in Detroit? Via Nate Silver, here’s a 2200 square foot home in foreclosure, on sale for $1.

The Verge: ‘Microsoft Took a $900 Million Hit on Surface RT This Quarter’ 

A billion here, a billion there, what’s the difference?

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Copies iPad Mini Thin Border Design 

Total coincidence, I’m sure.