Day: 21 March 2012

On Retina iPads and File Size ⇥

Khoi Vinh:

Eventually we will get enough bandwidth so that we can download the 150 megabytes or more that these apps ask us to retrieve. Though what I fear is that when we have that capacity, publishers will be asking us to download gigabytes per issue; this is after all an industry that cannot resist imposing greater and greater demands on its users in order to impress itself.

It’s an incredibly self-serving, selfish standpoint by publishers, with a flagrant disregard for what their readers actually care about: content, above all else.

Stupidgate ⇥

PC World lists three “controversies” about the new iPad, presumably because they’re desperate for ad impressions. Heatgate? Stupid. Videogate? It doesn’t even make sense:

The problem, the Journal says, is that LTE connections tend to use more data than 3G usage even when delivering the same information

What?

The only legitimate concern is related to WiFi reception, which has been noted by actual users and probably affects a tiny portion of the total number of iPads shipped.

We Are the 5 Percent ⇥

Oliver Strand:

Though you can’t tell from the photos, White is also documenting the decline and fall of the so-called New York shot, a dense, syrupy style of espresso that took hold a few years ago. It’s what you get when you updose (by packing the filter basket with enough coffee for two to three shots) and pull the espresso short (by using a fine grind and stopping the water before one full ounce drips into the cup). The shots are brutes.

This style of espresso spread to Calgary a few years ago. It’s still prevalent amongst a few of the quirkier cafés here, but most are pulling lighter, fruitier, and more herbal shots. This is partly due to the roast—a number of local stores have lightened their beans significantly—but also because shots are getting pulled longer. They taste amazing.

Times Changes Policy on Visits to Web Site ⇥

One year after The New York Times Company introduced a pay wall on the Web site of its flagship newspaper, the company said Tuesday it would now require visitors to the site to pay for access after reading 10 free articles, down from the threshold of 20 that was established when the system was initiated.

No matter how fantastic the coverage of The New York Times is, it’s hard to justify the cost of a subscription when they’re serving ads like these. Gutsy move, too.

It Must Be a Samsung ⇥

There’s a dark chrome rail around the screen that bends around to the top rear of the phone in a way so similar to BlackBerry Bold 9790 that I half-expected to see “Research in Motion” stamped inside the battery door.