Recent Articles

The headline says it all, and this is likely a response to Craigslist recent spree of trying to lock out others from using Craigslist data (think [PadMapper](https://www.padmapper.com)). I can’t be the only one that thinks Craigslist is ripe for a disruption, because there is so much wrong with it that goes beyond the hideous and user hostile design of the site.

Many have pointed out that Craigslist is secure because they have a huge network of users, both sellers and buyers. That’s true, Craigslist is the second best way to rent apartments in my experience, with a sign in the yard being the best way. That’s how far and fast Craigslist has come for many.

But, I would remind you that no matter the size of your network, if you service becomes too douchey the users will flee for greener pastures. Primes examples: MySpace and Digg — both relics of a different time (though Digg is trying a comeback).

MySpace and Digg both got big fast, but died (or almost died) because they started doing things that users didn’t like, that didn’t help users, and another service popped up that seemingly didn’t do those things.

I for one would love to see someone try to disrupt Craigslist, here’s my suggestions of what to do:

1. Clean, user friendly design.
2. Allow searching of all locales at once.
3. Integrate a payment gateway like Stripe so a secure payment could be made when the item is in hand.
4. Allow the data to be used and viewed through APIs.
5. Charge per listing, like $2 to post an ad. This does two things: removes ads; and helps cut down on SPAM listings.

Those are just a few quick suggestions at the top of my head, but it seems to me the time to strike is now.

There’s been a lot of talk about Apple’s new MagSafe 2 connector, mostly with complaints. Complaints about the width are to be expected, so is the move back to the “T” style connection.

The one complaint I didn’t expect to see if that it doesn’t stay put very well. Lukas Mathis is just the most recent of the lot to complain of this, he even broken his screen because of it (odd).

Personally I have found the MagSafe 2 to be just as strong, if not stronger than, the original MagSafe. This could be chocked up to a Rev A product from Apple — which usually have some issues of some sort — but my real question is this: is this a problem with the Mac side connection, or the MagSafe 2 power adapter itself?

Has anybody gone around and tested the port with various power adapters?

Very curious.

**Update**: I now have two chargers for my retina MacBook Pro, and on both I am able to drag the retina MacBook Pro across the desk by pulling the charger cable. I am going to go ahead and say that those seeing trouble with it should take their machines in to Apple.

Craig Grannell writing about the annoying (greedy?) practice of iOS gaming developers forcing users to continue to buy things via an IAP, in order to continue enjoying the game. He writes:
>They are designed around keeping you hooked through the time investment you’ve put into them, rather than around addictive, exciting, engaging game design. The problem is, money talks, and with top-grossing titles typically being the most exploitative money-gouging games on the App Store, why wouldn’t more developers head in that direction?

I don’t play enough games to notice this, but it shows the bad side of the business model I advocate for: charging for your work. The tough distinction is between a service and an actual app. Instapaper is a service in my mind, and thus I would be willing to pay monthly for it (I pay for the subscription). By that I mean, I would be willing to pay just to use the basic service on the website. Numbers is just an app, not a service, so I feel you should be charged accordingly. This means, charge me enough to fund the next version of the app — how ever far away that might be.

I am not sure where games fit in, they feel more like apps than services, but then some games are really services. Things like *Words with Friends* feels like a service, not a game. Whereas *Tetris* clearly is a game to me.

The real question in my mind right now, is whether this is something that should be regulated by the marketplace (gamers) or by Apple? Should Apple start rejecting apps that can’t be used in a long-term and meaningful way without IAP? Or should Apple continue down the current path and leave it to the gamers to stop buying these IAPs?

I think the latter is the best move, but I also think it is the slowest option.

David Heinemeier Hansson is on a roll — his latest post makes a fantastic point:
>We’re breaking down the stranglehold of formality everywhere. No more personal secretaries, memos on official letterhead, meetings that must happen in person. There’s never been less mental mask switching between work and play. We wear the same clothes, use the same technology. It’s a liberation of the mind and it’s the new world order.

Moreover, business cards are less important, as is the idea one needs separate work and personal cell phones. As you can probably tell from my pictures that I use of myself, I still dress rather “professionally,” but what you may not know is that I am my own boss, which means I dress however I want. I have never had a problem with someone’s dress code, and the points that DHH brings up in this article are fantastic.

The idea does seem to correlate with technology companies well; those that are stuck in formality seem to be dying, while those that focus on the work at hand seem to be thriving. Nothing is more stark than the difference between Apple and RIM.

I wish that more people my age dressed well, but I also recognize that *I* am the one that sticks out, not the other way around.

Andrew Munsell has a pretty funny tale of trying to enter a captcha: those squiggly word-things on signup pages. They have become more and more difficult to solve, because as Munsell notes, computers are getting better and better at being more human with regard to solving these puzzles.

Captchas might be one of the more user-hostile things on the web, but we need them to stop SPAM and AHH, we need them!

The thing is (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) if you just charge every user for a sign up, then you never need to worry about captchas. Because even if a SPAM bot signs up, well, you get paid, and that’s not a sustainable model for spammers.