Mike Wall:
>A newly unveiled company with some high-profile backers — including filmmaker James Cameron and Google co-founder Larry Page — is set to announce plans to mine near-Earth asteroids for resources such as precious metals and water.
[Wonder where they got that idea…](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120591/)
John Gruber on the long rumored, just announced, Google Drive:
>Sure, I trust Google to index the contents of all my files. Why not?
Yep. ((This also marks where I stop reading anything about the service and thus don’t follow news about it.))
Shawn Blanc looking at (some of) the ugliest keyboards that money can buy:
>If you too want to adorn your desk with an ugly keyboard — one with a loud personality and which increases typing productivity — then I recommend the Das Keyboard.
It’s interesting to me that Shawn types faster on the mechanical keyboards — that alone makes me want to try one. But there is no way in hell I am putting any one of those keyboards Shawn reviewed anywhere near my desk.
They are hideous, repulsive, and offensive looking.
Even if I was more productive with them, the tradeoff of adding in wires and ugliness is simply not worth it.
Where is the Kickstarter project for a sexy looking, bluetooth, mechanical keyboard?
A while back I had some stock in Oracle, I was amazed by Oracle and specifically by Ellison — it’s CEO and co-founder. When this biography (authorized) came out I immediately read it — it’s one of the few books I chose to read while still in college.
It is a fascinating look at Ellison. What is so fascinating about this biography is the stipulation Ellison put on his cooperation:
>Ellison agreed to cooperate with the project, but as part of the deal, he reserved the right to respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes.
No seriously. The book is massive and most of that is because Ellison is trying to put his spin on everything. It’s excellent.
If you want to know just how good Ellison is at what he does, this is the best insight into that. He is like an amplified and unrestrained Steve Jobs and really a lot more.
Anyways Oracle may not be a sexy company to learn about, but it’s CEO certainly is interesting, [for example](http://ellisonfoundation.org/): Ellison started a foundation (as billionaires do), but they aren’t out to cure cancer or other diseases, it’s not about education either — no Ellison’s foundation seeks to cure aging. Yeah, getting old. Now, it’s not all a joke — real research is being done and money given out that most likely does help people — but still, it’s funny.
MG Siegler responding to some ‘new’ information being brought to light in the Oracle v. Google spat:
>Maybe someone should copy Google’s search algorithms and open source them. Google probably has some IP there, but, you know, whatevs.
Alex Knight this April (2012) talking about *Wired* magazine on the iPad:
>After subscribing, I downloaded the gargantuan April issue at 789MB. The good news is it took less than five minutes to download over LTE (there goes my data cap). The bad news is the user experience is absolutely horrible.
Shawn Blanc on Wired Magazine back in July of 2011:
>When downloading an issue of *Wired*, you literally cannot do anything with your iPad but let it download the magazine issue. They weigh in around 300 MB and easily take 20 or 30 minutes to download on a decent Wi-Fi connection.
and:
>Apps like Instapaper and Reeder offer more of a “reading environment” (like a library); *Wired* and *The New Yorker* are more like an amusement park with words.
By my count, not only has *Wired* not gotten any better, it may have actually gotten worse — that’s kind of amazing.
John Gruber talking about the 30% cut Apple takes from every app/publisher:
>This is one of my biggest questions about the DOJ’s suit against Apple. Why are books any different than music or apps or periodicals? (And, if Apple loses this suit, does it mean their App Store and Music Store 70/30 pricing models are at risk too?)
Good point. I hadn’t thought about the ramifications beyond just the iBookstore side of things. I doubt the DOJ would go after iTunes and the App Store, but if the DOJ wins the case against Apple wouldn’t it be hypocritical for them not to go after iTunes and the App Store? I think so.
The Macalope on Windows 8 tablets:
>The problem for Microsoft is that the “slap full applications on a touchscreen and call it a day” experience has been available for ten years, and only diehards like Brookwood have bought into it. If the Macalope were a betting beast, he’d wager Brookwood that the most successful Windows 8 tablets will be the ARM-based devices that don’t run legacy desktop applications.
That seems like a safe bet to me. Before Microsoft is going to be able to compete with the iPad though, they are going to need compelling apps. Since devices are now all assumed to be fast enough, and the hardware is mostly back burned to a screen with tablets — it really comes down to: “So what can I *do* with this?”
That’s the question that Apple answered with the app store: Anything. Luckily for Apple, developers agreed. That has yet to be the case for Microsoft and, largely, is not the case for Android. ((Certainly not to the extent that it is for iOS.))
I don’t particularly like that this is possible, but that doesn’t change the fact that this technology is:
1. Pretty cool.
2. Potentially helpful if used in the right circumstances.
You can now share just a link to your Dropbox files for others to view and download. Nice.
Nice script for those that need to migrate before MobileMe dies. (Note I don’t have an iWeb site to test this with.)
An Atlanta design firm uses Minigroup to work smarter and keep its clients happy
Braizen uses [Minigroup](http://j.mp/JhYTnF) to manage projects and collaborate and communicate with their clients.
A minigroup is a private, secure online space where members communicate with posts and comments, share large files, and manage projects.
Braizen uses one minigroup like an intranet, to discuss business and assign tasks. They also create separate minigroups for each client, where employees working on various accounts present comp designs and drafts.
“Telling potential clients that we use this tool, where we’ll keep in constant contact with them, definitely helps seal the deal,” says Tyrie, the copywriter at Braizen.
[Watch](http://j.mp/IJpgAt) the full interview with Braizen.
Minigroups start at just $3 per year for owners, with plans up to 100 minigroups and 100GB of storage. There are no user/member fees.
[Find out more](http://j.mp/JhYTnF) or try it free for 30 days.
Dave Winer responding to the [Denton piece](https://brooksreview.net/2012/04/denton-comments/):
>Draw a Venn Diagram with two circles on it. On one circle write “articles” and on the other write “comments”. The size of each and how much they overlap tells you everything you need to know about an online publication. If one were to manage to make them completely overlap, so that there’s no difference between the publication and the comments, then imho you’ve reached nirvana.
Sounds horrible right? Maybe not, after all, the most compelling part of *The Verge* is the forum posts (not coincidentally that is also the only part of the site that I read — when those posts bubble up that is). Maybe he is on to something neat here, but I’d argue we’d only need one such site — any more and it would just be too much noise.
What’s interesting is that sites like Facebook have seemingly already given people such a platform, but that doesn’t seem to be what people are using it for. The notable exception to this: Google+. Even there, though, it seems to be mostly Google employees and Robert “Super Self-Important” Scoble that post the longer items to the service (granted I no longer use the service so I am generalizing from my past experience).
Mathew Ingram reporting on coming changes to the way that Gawker handles comments, has this little nugget:
>This was actually the original vision behind Gawker: Denton said he noticed the discussion and gossip around a story in the newsroom or at the bar when he worked at the *Financial Times* was often far more interesting than the story itself — and he wanted to turn that discussion into its own form of media.
This may be true (and I think it is often more interesting), but I have to wonder if promoting comments, in the way that Ingram describes in this post, is the right way to go about this. The problem with comments: too many idiots that just want a to shout and when that gets promoted on a site you *want* to read, well it ruins the site — usually.
Just finished putting up the acoustical foam, so here’s a shot of my desk/setup in our new house for your Saturday enjoyment.
Florian Mueller reporting on testimony from Lindholm — a key witness in the trial — reports:
>In short, Lindholm’s denial of his most famous email having referred to any particular licensor comes down to this: Google needed (and still needs) to negotiate a license with Oracle or with Oracle.
I can’t see Google coming out of this unscathed.
Christopher Hodgkinson was Natasha Marie Harris’ partner and here is his recounting of how much Coke Harris drank:
>The police say she drank seven liters of Coke a day, but Hodgkinson insists it was more like 10.
*Holy shit.*
Fantastic, I had no idea I could do this.