Crossfade preventing play count updates in iTunes 11

Crossfade preventing play count updates in iTunes 11: If your iTunes 11 installation will not update play counts, then its crossfade feature may be to blame. [Read more]

YES! I noticed right after it was released.

Still not fixed.

Make use of the built-in VPN service in OS X

Make use of the built-in VPN service in OS X: In addition to client support for VPN, OS X contains a fully fledged VPN server [Read more]

Moog Updates Its Far-Out Synthesizer App for iPad

Moog Updates Its Far-Out Synthesizer App for iPad: Moog Music's Animoog synthesizer -- the iPad's most spaced-out, most diabolically fun musical instrument app -- just got a big upgrade.

Roku adds Spotify, Vevo to its streamed channel offerings

Roku adds Spotify, Vevo to its streamed channel offerings: Channels for the popular music streaming and video services added to the home set-top box steaming platform. [Read more]

Path Wants to Become Your Social Search Engine

Path Wants to Become Your Social Search Engine: Path lets you bring in updates and photos from Facebook, Instagram and Foursquare. Now, it's letting you search all those social memories too.

Google+ mentions make their way to Blogger

Google+ mentions make their way to Blogger: Now, Blogger users can put a "+" before a person's name, and have a link to their Google+ profile automatically included in their post. [Read more]

The 2012 App Gems Awards | Macworld

The 2012 App Gems Awards | Macworld: Apple rightly takes a lot of pride in the size of its App Store—more than 750,000 apps are available for the iPhone and iPad, according to the company’s last count. But the risk of having such a massive emporium for mobile software is that the sheer volume of not-so-hot apps pushes the truly great offerings out of the spotlight. Not to worry, though: Plenty of iOS apps still combine great design and must-have features to help you get even more out of your iPhone and iPad. We’ve discovered nearly two dozen apps in the past year that remind us how the App Store and the iOS universe are about quality, not just quantity.

Forget JavaScript, It's Time for Browsers to Speed Up Images

Forget JavaScript, It's Time for Browsers to Speed Up Images: Images make up roughly 60 percent of the data downloaded with the average webpage. It's great that browser makers have been focused on improving JavaScript, but if we really want to speed up the web it's time to tackle images as well.

MakerBot purges 3D printable gun parts from Thingiverse

MakerBot purges 3D printable gun parts from Thingiverse: Citing its Terms of Service, MakerBot has removed designs for AR15 and other weapon components from its 3D printing file library. [Read more]

Instagram Claims Mix-Up, But for Some Photographers the Damage Is Already Done

Instagram Claims Mix-Up, But for Some Photographers the Damage Is Already Done: After a loud outcry from people across the internet, Instagram seems to be backpedaling on the changes to their new terms of service. But even if they agree to back off, some photographers say they've been left with a bad taste in their mouths.

'Interactive Guide' Teaches the Basics of Good Web Typography

'Interactive Guide' Teaches the Basics of Good Web Typography: Have a blog, but don't understand the finer points of good web typography? No problem. Thanks to developer Tommi Kaikkonen's interactive guide to blog typography you'll be an expert in no time. Your readers will thank you for it.

2012 Person of the Year: Barack Obama, the President | TIME.com

2012 Person of the Year: Barack Obama, the President | TIME.com: Later that night, Vietor read the specials scribbled on a chalkboard at a bar. The Obama was a shot of Jack Daniel’s and a Pabst Blue Ribbon for $7. The Romney was a shot of Johnnie Walker Gold and a bottle of 1995 Altamura cabernet for $870. The message was breaking through.

Review: Evernote 5.0 for Mac improves an already-indispensable service

Review: Evernote 5.0 for Mac improves an already-indispensable service: Evernote is an Everything Box

Instagram: On being the product

Instagram: On being the product: Update 5:13 pm ET — Instagram has just released a response in which they say, among other things, “Legal documents are easy to misinterpret,” and claim it’s all a misunderstanding.
I call BS. It’s easy to misinterpret a legal document, but the language of Instagram’s TOS was exemplary in its clarity.

If Instagram is backing down, that’s great. They should just say so, rather then blaming their customers for misunderstanding. And they should (quickly) release some equally clear legal language rectifying the situation. They’ve promised to “remove the language that raised the question.” Great, but what they’re doing now is just damage control until they release the new document. Let’s see it.

You have a new TV. Now what? | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

You have a new TV. Now what? | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews: Now that you've bought your shiny new TV, make sure you get the most out of it with the right settings, cables, and placement.

Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos | Politics and Law - CNET News

Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos | Politics and Law - CNET News: Reginald Braithwaite, an author and software developer, posted a tongue-in-cheek "translation" of the new Instagram policy today: "You are not our customers, you are the cattle we drive to market and auction off to the highest bidder. Enjoy your feed and keep producing the milk."

One Instagram user dubbed the policy change "Instagram's suicide note." The PopPhoto.com photography site summarized the situation by saying: "The service itself is still a fun one, but that's a lot of red marks that have shown up over the past couple weeks. Many shooters -- even the casual ones -- probably aren't that excited to have a giant corporation out there selling their photos without being paid or even notified about it."

President says he won't go after Washington over legalized pot

President says he won't go after Washington over legalized pot:

President Barack Obama says he won't go after Washington state and Colorado for legalizing marijuana.

Arts & Letters Daily (14 Dec 2012)

Arts & Letters Daily (14 Dec 2012):

Do you sneer at things predigital, use words like "disruptive," tap the wisdom of the crowd? Get a grip: You've become a cyberguru... more

Before Hobbes, political thought was historical thought, much of it wacky. Since Hobbes, political thought was about ideas, many of them preposterous... more

Marcel Duchamp was ambivalent, even embarrassed, about producing art. He was in search of a medium untainted by aesthetics. He was, in short, a Romantic... more

Gene Wolfe wins grand master award for science fiction and fantasy | Books | guardian.co.uk

Gene Wolfe wins grand master award for science fiction and fantasy | Books | guardian.co.uk: "It's not that Gene Wolfe is, in the opinion of many (and I am one of the many), our finest living science fiction writer. It is that he is, in the opinion of the Washington Post (and of me, too) one of our finest living writers," said Gaiman. "He has been our uncrowned grand master for a long time, and now the rest of the world will know as well."

Four short links: 14 December 2012

Four short links: 14 December 2012: The Web We Lost (Anil Dash) — so much that has me thumping the table bellowing “YES!” in this, but I was particularly provoked by: Ten years ago, you could allow people to post links on your site, or to show a list of links which were driving inbound traffic to your site. Because Google hadn’t yet broadly introduced AdWords and AdSense, links weren’t about generating revenue, they were just a tool for expression or editorializing. The web was an interesting and different place before links got monetized, but by 2007 it was clear that Google had changed the web forever, and for the worse, by corrupting links.

Dropbox acquires music streaming service Audiogalaxy

Dropbox acquires music streaming service Audiogalaxy: Service will be shutdown in this apparent "acqui-hire," suggesting that the file-sharing service may be getting ready to tune up a music streaming service. [Read more]

The unlikely persistence of AppleScript | Macworld

The unlikely persistence of AppleScript | Macworld: AppleScript first appeared in System 7.1 in October 1993, as the first and eventually canonical Open Scripting Architecture (OSA) scripting language. The idea was that OSA would provide a low-level architecture for both inter- and intra-application scripting—in other words, a consistent, system-wide mechanism for multiple applications to communicate and exchange data with each other, and for users to automate tasks within any scriptable application. Instead of each application creating its own incompatible macro language, there’d be one universal way for Mac apps to be automated.

AppleScript was not originally intended to be the only OSA scripting language, but it was. The idea was that OSA was language-agnostic, and the plan was for there to be several of them eventually. AppleScript was the friendly language, derived from HyperCard’s HyperTalk (therein another story entirely) and intended for use by non-programmers. The theory being that a programming language that looked like prose rather than code might enable a broad swath of “non-programmers” to, well, program.

A Eulogy for #Occupy | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

A Eulogy for #Occupy | Wired Opinion | Wired.com: We were trapped in endless war and financial crisis, in debt and downward spiral that our leaders bickered about, but did nothing to stop. It wore away at people with the implacability of geological erosion. The American empire we never wanted in the first place was crumbling slowly, and nothing we did in our lives seemed to matter. We had learned in the past 10 years that we couldn’t change our fates, not with hard work, taking on debt, education, or even trying to live healthy. Even when we wanted to, we could not stop wars, rein in banks, repair our crumbling infrastructure or take care of each other. We couldn’t control medical costs or the price of an education. Gas was going up, temperatures were going up.

Americans themselves lived quiet lives of untold loneliness, socially isolated. But, as we’d come to learn, we’re always watched by our infrastructure’s silent machines. Lonely, but never alone. It had become an authoritarian failing state, but without the authority, or even the sense of change that comes with total failure. We were dying by bits and pieces, going numb and fading away.

It was as if so many of us, myself included, were looking at the protestors and saying, “Please, let something matter again.”

We took blows and kicks from riot police and SWAT rather than step on the people behind us that had slipped in the mud. We had relearned in each argument and every pitched tent that the fundamental job of humans is to care for one another, to keep each other whole and safe.

It was this drive which linked arms and quietly waited for violence in front of a thousand TV cameras the world over — this, and nothing more.

There was no real cynical distance in this movement. It was the opposite of politics that way; it was dirty and smelly and dark, and if you scratch past the patina of personal cynicism, every heart was made of crazy-glued porcelain. Every body was made of scars.

No one walked away from Occupy the same person. The occupiers will always say “we learned so much,” and the simplicity of the words belie how deep the change runs. We all learned so much in the season of Occupy. We learned there is a hostile army threaded through our nation. We learned that children can be casually brutalized, just to keep traffic from being inconvenienced.

We learned that Americans can come together and care for one another. We learned there is a great and terrible spirit in this land, the sleeping giant of our spirits summed together.

How we read - FT.com

How we read - FT.com: As the world of print recedes, what is lost and what is gained?

WB Debuts Full Trailer for Snyder's "Man of Steel"

WB Debuts Full Trailer for Snyder's "Man of Steel": Warner Bros. has released the first full trailer for Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" that contains all the gravitas of the teasers and touches upon many of the same lofty themes. The Superman reboot bows in theaters June 14

Tim Cook to Be Profiled on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams Next Week

Tim Cook to Be Profiled on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams Next Week: Tim Cook will be the center of a feature on NBC's Rock Center news show next week, the first major interview the CEO has given. Steve Jobs was famously camera shy, preferring to let Apple's products speak for themselves.

In this brief preview, Williams notes that Tim Cook was able to walk around Grand Central Station unrecognized until he got to the Apple Store there.


The full show will air on NBC next Thursday, December 6th.

Hypersonic Flight 'Breakthrough' Could Have Us in Tokyo by Lunch | Autopia | Wired.com

Hypersonic Flight 'Breakthrough' Could Have Us in Tokyo by Lunch | Autopia | Wired.com: “[The] pre-cooler technology is designed to cool the incoming airstream from over 1,000 Celsius to minus 150 Celsius in less than 1/100th of a second, without blocking with frost,” the company claimed in its press release.

Next Years 3-D Printers Promise Big Things — Really Big Things

Next Year's 3-D Printers Promise Big Things — Really Big Things: 2012 has been a big year for 3-D printing, but the industry has quietly been growing for decades. And the innovations are impressive ? for every new plywood-clad 3-D printer kit that makes the rounds on the internet, engineers are developing ways to print titanium parts for jet engines that will change the aerospace industry. This week at Euromold, a manufacturing trade show, the companies behind these devices are demonstrating new products and highlighting the novel technologies that will change the way we build things.

The Future of the Mac: Networking | Macworld

The Future of the Mac: Networking | Macworld: What’s the point of these increasing speeds, when today’s networking gear already feels reasonably fast? Video, primarily. The name of the game is streaming or downloading high-definition video—across a room or from one end of the house to the other—while still leaving enough room on the network for other activities such as file downloads, Facebook, and email.

Apple's new iMacs now available online and in-store

Apple's new iMacs now available online and in-store: The 21.5-inch model is slated to ship in one to three business days, according to Apple's Web site, while the 27-inch model won't be sent out for two to three weeks. [Read more]

"Amazon" Begins Search For Iris, The CW's New Wonder Woman

"Amazon" Begins Search For Iris, The CW's New Wonder Woman: The CW's planned Wonder Woman series is moving forward with the launch of a search for an actress in her early to mid-20s to play the iconic DC Comics superheroine in "Amazon," here named Iris rather than Diana.

Redbox Instant video streaming said to launch in December

Redbox Instant video streaming said to launch in December: Leaked details reveal that Verizon's service, which aims to compete with Netflix, could get introduced in a couple weeks and cost as little as $6 per month. [Read more]

Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality? - NYTimes.com

Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality? - NYTimes.com: Sommer was baffled by this development but didn’t immediately grasp its significance. (It was nearly a decade before the word “immortal” was first used to describe the species.) But several biologists in Genoa, fascinated by Sommer’s finding, continued to study the species, and in 1996 they published a paper called “Reversing the Life Cycle.” The scientists described how the species — at any stage of its development — could transform itself back to a polyp, the organism’s earliest stage of life, “thus escaping death and achieving potential immortality.” This finding appeared to debunk the most fundamental law of the natural world — you are born, and then you die.

iTunes 11 surprise: Apple sneaks in a gift card scanner

iTunes 11 surprise: Apple sneaks in a gift card scanner: The new feature lets users scan gift cards and other promotional codes into iTunes using a built-in camera instead of typing them in. [Read more]

Laptop Buyers Should Pay Some Attention to the Chromebook

Laptop Buyers Should Pay Some Attention to the Chromebook: David Pogue says it's been a long, patient slot for Google to get here, but with year after year of careful tweaks and improvements - and a jaw-dropping $250 price - the Chromebook is finally ready for prime time.

Staples Announces In-Store 3-D Printing Service

Staples Announces In-Store 3-D Printing Service: Pretty soon you'll be able to print your 3-D projects at the local Staples. A new service called "Staples Easy 3D" will allow customers to upload their designs to Staples' website, then pick up the printed objects at their local office supply megastore, or have them shipped to their home or business ? not unlike the photo and document-printing service the company already offers.

Apple Releases iTunes 11 with Simplified Player, Redesigned Store, and More

Apple Releases iTunes 11 with Simplified Player, Redesigned Store, and More: In line with yesterday's report, Apple has just released iTunes 11 to the public. The new software brings a number of enhancements including a redesigned store, simplified player, and new iCloud features.

Human Evolution Enters an Exciting New Phase | Wired Science | Wired.com

Human Evolution Enters an Exciting New Phase | Wired Science | Wired.com: The evolutionary dynamics of these features resulted in a flood of new genetic variation, accumulating so fast that natural selection hasn’t caught up yet. As a species, we are freshly bursting with the raw material of evolution.

To Understand 3-D Printing We Need to Remember 2-D Printing

To Understand 3-D Printing We Need to Remember 2-D Printing: Three-dimensional printing has become very sexy. It's all over a recent issue of Wired and Chris Anderson just published a new book where 3-D printing is featured prominently. (Note: These two events are not uncorrelated.) The Economist has discussed this recently as well as have many other outlets.

Geeking Out on Materials: 3D-Print Circuits With Innovative Conductive Plastic

Geeking Out on Materials: 3D-Print Circuits With Innovative Conductive Plastic: As we keep saying, for 3D printing to make its way into the mainstream, science needs to give us materials that can do more than just be hardened plastic. Researchers at the University of Warwick have just taken a huge step in the right direction with the introduction of a 3D-printable electrically conductive plastic. They're calling it "carbomorph."

Portable and Affordable: New 3-D Printers That Cost Less Than $500

Portable and Affordable: New 3-D Printers That Cost Less Than $500: It's been easy to overlook some of the innovations coming out of the RepRap community as of late. Between regular MakerBot releases and announcements for new types of printers like the B9 Creator and Form 1, as well as a steady stream of big company announcements, the system that helped launch the home 3-D printer market has been a bit overshadowed. A couple new machines deserve attention though, offering unique features that the more mainstream devices don't have.

Google Pairs Gmail, Drive for an Easy Way to E-Mail Huge Files

Google Pairs Gmail, Drive for an Easy Way to E-Mail Huge Files: If you've ever had trouble sending large files over e-mail, Google has a new solution for you: Google Drive is coming to Gmail. Now Gmail can send files up to 10GB, provided they're already stored in Google's cloud storage service.

Google integrates Drive with Gmail, enabling 10GB file transfers

Google integrates Drive with Gmail, enabling 10GB file transfers: Users can now send files from Google Drive 400 times larger than is possible in a traditional attachment. [Read more]