Linked List: August 26, 2013

Monday, 26 August 2013

Dan Frommer:

The major difference between the iPad mini and my original iPad, purchased in 2010: I’m still actually using this one every day, almost a year after I bought it.

‘It Was Neither Planned Nor as Smooth as Portrayed’ ★

Kara Swisher:

Interestingly, Ballmer actually indicated that he had planned on staying in his letter about his impending departure, noting: “My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our transformation to a devices and services company focused on empowering customers in the activities they value most.”

That sentence spurred much chatter inside the company, including the persistent rumor that Gates had dropped the bomb on Ballmer. That sentiment was further underscored when Ballmer’s letter contained no reference or thanks to Gates, with whom he has been tightly tethered over the last several decades. Its absence has been much discussed internally at Microsoft, where it has been seen as an unusual slight and a sign of a rift.

With no named successor and a late-August Friday announcement, it didn’t seem smooth at all. They sacked him, pure and simple.

U.S. Government Report: 0.7 Percent of Mobile Malware Affects iOS; Android Accounts for 79 Percent ★

I guess open does beat closed.

Mary Jo Foley Interviews Steve Ballmer ★

A few readers complained Friday about my presumption that Ballmer’s “retirement” was imposed by Microsoft’s board — i.e. that this was just a graceful way to shitcan him. I can’t say I know for certain that he was forced out, but come on. You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Read this interview and it’s just obvious. He’s half pissed off and half trying to save face.

Google Blocks Chromecast App That Allowed You to Stream Your Own Videos, AirPlay-Style ★

So this is weird. Back when Chromecast was announced, I wrote that it doesn’t do something that Google made it seem like it did — stream video directly from your phone (or tablet) like AirPlay. But then it ends up it was capable of something like AirPlay, but it required a third-party app, so I linked to it.

But now Google has removed the API that made this possible. I don’t get it. I mean, no one loves to make “open always wins” jokes at Google’s expense like I do — I really enjoy pointing out the instances where Google, the self-professed corporate king of openness really isn’t open at all. But here I just don’t get it. Why block this? What am I missing?

Update: The consensus is that the app was using private APIs; it’s not so much that the app has been banned but that, as I speculated weeks ago, there is no supported way to make this work at present. Utterly reasonable behavior from Google, but, well, not exactly “open”.