Permission

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Buzzfeed‘s transcript of the Charlie Rose interview with Obama regarding the NSA leaks:

Charlie Rose: But has FISA court turned down any request?

Barack Obama: The — because — the — first of all, Charlie, the number of requests are surprisingly small… number one. Number two, folks don’t go with a query unless they’ve got a pretty good suspicion.

It’s kinda like, in super hero comic books, you’re never really scared when the protagonist is surrounded by bad guys because you know they’ll always survive.

Marco Arment Discussing The “Fertile Ground” of iOS 7

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Marco Arment (formerly of Tumblr, Instapaper, and The Magazine) discussing iOS 7:

iOS 7 is different. It isn’t just a new skin: it introduces entirely new navigational and structural standards far beyond the extent of any previous UI changes. Existing apps can support iOS 7 fairly easily without looking broken, but they’ll look and feel ancient.

If there’s anyone whose opinions I trust in matters such as this, it’s his. Sounds like it could be time for a fresh round of mobile apps and ideas.

ABC News Reports on my Magnet Implant

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Liz Neporent, writing for ABC News:

As superpowers go, sensing the electromagnet waves given off by a microwave or computer may not be quite as impressive as flying or a cloak of invisibility but it is a power that is literally within anyone’s grasp. All it takes is a magnet implant in your fingertip.

It’s so great to see a mainstream article about my magnet implant that doesn’t just go for shock value. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the tweet from Tim Ferriss linking to my piece on Gizmodo!

High Stakes Negotiating With Steve Jobs

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Zachary M. Seward writing for Quartz, emphasis mine:

On Tuesday, a day before the iPad announcement, HarperCollins agreed to Apple’s terms. The publisher’s ebooks were included in the iBookstore unveiled on January 27 along with new tablet, more than 100 million of which have now been sold.

As part of the US government’s price-fixing lawsuit against Apple, numerous emails have been released as part of the prosecution’s case. Regardless of who you feel is the “bad guy” in this e-book debacle (coughcoughAmazoncoughcough), these emails are an amazing look into the brilliant negotiating tactics of Jobs when the stakes are high and it’s just hours before the launch of the first iPad.

The entire piece is worth a read. Seriously.

Google: Building Great Things That Already Exist

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John Gruber, discussing Larry Page’s inspiring anti-”us versus some other company” speech, where he implores people to just focus on “building great that don’t exist”:

Google fans seem to eat this kumbaya stuff up, to really believe it. But Google is the company that built Android after the iPhone, Google Plus after Facebook, and now a subscription music service after Spotify. They entered the RSS reader market, wiped it out, and are now just walking away from it. Gmail? Webmail but better.

The examples go on and on.

The problem is that Google tries to make great things that don’t exist, but it just can’t hack it. Google isn’t a product company, as much as it wants to be. The only product that Page could be referencing in this statement is Project Glass, but it’s still way too early to call that a “great” product. Maybe Google puts the Nexus Q into the same category, but I don’t think there is a single person that would apply the word great to that dead-on-arrival product.

This year’s I/O event seems like a complete non-event. Imagine the press if Apple did something similar at its developer conference.

Create An App In Your Free Time

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Where Do Ideas Come From?

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I had a professor in college who, on the first day of class, told us to write step-by-step instructions detailing the process of thinking. I sat there for 15 minutes but couldn’t get past what I wrote as step one: Clear your mind. But I knew that even step one was incorrect; I don’t need to clear my mind in order to think, it just happens.

Maybe ideas don’t come from inside us at all. Maybe ideas are like little invisible bubbles, floating around in the ether just waiting for a receptive mind. If so, our goal should be to create the best possible environment for ideas to flourish and grow, inviting new thoughts and constantly re-examining our current assumptions. Are you open to new ideas?

Create An App In Your Free Time

I was working 50 hours a week as a retail slave (read: no computer!) when I created my first app, Reader Tracker. Now I help busy professionals make their own app ideas a reality. Join me and get monthly updates and exclusive content, guaranteed spam-free.

Sign Up Now!