#johngruber

[fractallion]

🔗 Daring Fireball: ‘What Makes an App Feel “Right” on the Mac?'

Martin has a good list here of fundamentals, but ultimately, you know it when you see it.

💬 JohnGruber

.. like ‘pornography’ and ‘art’ then?

[5572life]

Tooled Up & Wireless

[actionaad]

Windows Phone 7 "spiffs"

Apparently, Microsoft is now offering resellers a $10-15 bonus, or "[spiff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiff)", for each Windows Phone 7 device sold. John Gruber [doubts this strategy](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/01/09/buying-love), saying "Obviously this isn’t sustainable in the long run, given that $10-$15 per phone is probably the most Microsoft could be making in licensing fees." He's probably right that, with any non-trivial spiff, each WP7 device sold will lose Microsoft money -- unless the Nokia deal includes some sort of kickback above and beyond the OEM fees, anyway. But if you doubt Microsoft's willingness to buy its way into a competitive position, consider the Xbox programme. The first Xbox lost [four billion dollars](http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/15/the-making-of-the-xbox-part-2/) and manufacturing faults with the Xbox 360 cost [another billion](http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/119125/xbox-red-ring-of-death-costs-microsoft-1-billion). Yet in 2011, the Xbox business turned [$1.32 billion](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36011/Microsofts_Xbox_360_Division_Sees_132_Billion_Profit_For_Fiscal_Year_2011.php) in profit, with more to come. The risky strategy worked; Microsoft bought its way in. Against all the prevailing market wisdom at the time, Microsoft turned Sony's entrenched PlayStation brand upside down to assume a comfortable second-place position in the global games console market. If Nintendo hadn't implemented a brilliant strategy shift to mainstream markets with the Wii, the Xbox 360 would probably be number one. Clearly, Microsoft has the stomach for long and expensive fights when it thinks there'll be an eventual payoff. With a $233bn market cap and [$56bn cash on hand](http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=msft), it has the deep pockets too. WP7 was late to the market, but it's winning admirers nevertheless. I think, and I hope, that we'll continue to see it grow.

[matrinoxrants-blog]

From his site:

Inside Social Games: “Zynga Reports Highest Ever Bookings for Q1 at $329M”. Same facts, different headline from Reuters: “Zynga Reports $85 Million Quarterly Loss”. Funnily enough, the pro-Zynga headline is right from Zynga’s own press release.

Reuters, a prestige news company, reported inaccurate information about Zynga.  Unsurprising, given that traditional news companies have had a bad track record in regards to reporting on the tech industry.  For example, back when Apple just got famous with the iPod, they would often times turn to blogs on Apple and report news from there, which would make hilarious news headlines (funny because they were wrong).

It just shows how news is actually quite unreliable yet often times we trust it as the absolute truth.

[mynameistaken]

Harry Potter and the Secret of the Millennium Falcon

*x-posted from [punchingIN](http://punchingin.com/)* *[Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination](http://www.pacsci.org/starwars/)* opened at Seattle's [Pacific Science Center](http://www.pacsci.org) yesterday. With my 8-year-old daughter starting her sleepover birthday party mid-day, I decided to rescue my 6-year-old son from an afternoon of forced [mani-pedis](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mani-pedi) and check out what George Lucas brought to town. Now, I should say up front that, while I'm certainly a fan of Star Wars, I am not capable of doing what you might call a *[Gruberian](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=star+wars+site:daringfireball.net&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)* close reading of the films. Truth be told, I’ve watched each of the first three movies at least four times. But to this day, I’ve never seen even five minutes of any of the prequels. And comments from the Star Wars faithful haven’t done much to persuade me to change that anytime soon. Needless to say, then, I was entirely surprised to find myself audibly gasping when I came upon a display of R2-D2, C-3PO and Princess Leia’s costume from the early scene in Episode 4 when she records her message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. But gasp I did, and just stood there like the Star Wars geek I didn’t realize I was, taking it all in and pointing every facet out to my son with an enthusiasm I usually only display after my third latte. “Remember that scene?!” I implored of him, “That’s *the costume,* the one she was wearing!” Then, moments later, “And that’s *the same R2-D2* from the movie!” and “That’s C-3PO, right there. *Right.* *There!*” “Yeah,” he’d say, more frustrated each time, “I *know*.” He loves Star Wars, but obviously, seeing his father geek out like an 11-year-old kid was making him a bit uncomfortable. The exhibit is of modest size, with straightforward displays of each prop, most accompanied by a video screen showing interviews with the film crew and special effects team that created the object before you. But where it truly impresses is in its authenticity. The Land Speeder from Episode 4 sits near an actual Sand People (“Sand Person”?) costume (just as scary in real life as pre-pubescent me remembers). You’ll find Obi-Wan Kenobi’s light saber, Darth Vader’s mask from his famous unmasking, and the Imperial Destroyer that opened the entire series of movies. Listen to me. What a geek. My favorite, though, was seeing the model of the Millennium Falcon. You’re struck at first by its sheer size, being at least four feet across. But as you approach it, what truly mesmerizes is the positively incredible attention to detail. Every panel and hinge and vent and wire is there, even more amazing when you realize that most would spend just fractions of a second on screen, zooming past audiences in a cinematic blur. No one would *ever* notice if a hose had ridges along its surface to make it look like it was sheathed in metal. But there they all are, carved and painted and patina-ed to look so real, so perfect, even now, nearly forty years later and a foot away behind protective glass. Star Wars, of course, built some of its reputation around being one of the first science fiction movies that showed a “future” that was old and, in many cases, decrepit. Instead of a glossy and sterile utopia, things get scratched in Star Wars. They get scraped and dented. They rust. And they break. Lucas' other world is not in fact a world of our tomorrow. It has its own history, imperfect and complex like ours, and as much on display as the fantastical blasters and starships. This notion is starkly evident when you are standing just inches from the props Lucas’ team built. And that’s the visceral sensation that washes over you when you see the Millennium Falcon and the rest of these objects up close: *someone built these things*. And, suddenly, every dent and ding becomes so obviously *intentional*. The protective plate on the right rear of the Falcon’s exhaust is not right. It’s askew, and folded over on itself a bit, perhaps the result of a collision — some space junk, maybe? — or the impact of a blaster. Who knows? But there it is, made imperfect by someone’s hand and painted to show wear that perhaps betrays that it happened some time ago, and is still awaiting repair. It’s a movie prop, of course, but I found myself constantly doing this, slipping seamlessly between the reality of me observing a model from 1977 and the fantasy that I might actually be looking at a genuine artifact from a world in a faraway galaxy. Such is the spell of any beloved story, I suppose. My wife could hardly contain her excitement at seeing Voldemort’s robes — “those are *the* robes!” (we like emphasizing our articles in the Smith family) — at last year’s Harry Potter exhibit. But I think such a dismissive wave of the hand does a disservice to Lucas — and Rowling, for that matter — and what he (and she) created. Because, in both cases, what Lucas and Rowling built was not merely a series of films or books, but an *entire world.* And so complete and detailed is that creation that it seems less like it is concocted as much as it is simply being reported on, as if, really, it does exist and Lucas and Rowling just had the opportunity to visit and bring back an account of the wonderful stories that lie on the other side. If storytelling is a form of escapism, our experience as an audience is too often that we’ve whisked ourselves away to a Hollywood sound stage, where, behind every New York brownstone is the plywood and cables of the back lot, where, if we’re not careful and take our eyes off the main character, we might just see that boom mic poking down from the top of the screen or the reflection of some anonymous crew member in a chrome hubcap. In a world of canned laughter and novels “ripped from the headlines,” the sheer depth and breadth and *reality* of Star Wars and Harry Potter grab us by the collar and pull us in, hearts, minds and all. And we go, willingly. Escapism, indeed. No story is perfect, however, and I’m certainly not arguing that the Star Wars films or the Harry Potter books are without their lapses. But as manifestations of imagination, they are certainly among the best that we as a species have done, and for that alone are worth celebrating. But holding too romanticized a view of our own memories is also very dangerous. Reminiscences are never accurate, and someone always knows just a bit more about the “real story” behind that one cherished recollection. It’s far too easy to be brought back to reality, snapped out of our willing daze. And for that, I apologize for this next bit of information. The Millennium Falcon  Enhance!  Enhance!  Enhance!  Hate to break the news, but Han and Chewie made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs using [Champion spark plugs](http://championsparkplugs.com/default.asp).

[tomorrowpodcast]

ALERT. John Gruber is one of the world's foremost experts on Apple. Josh is one of the world's foremost experts on experts. Unsurprisingly, things get very nerdy when Josh and John sit down to discuss the past, present, and future of the company, as well as how it compares to the competition. But don't worry — Woodrow Wilson, James Bond, and the New York Yankees all pop up in the discussion as well. You've been warned.

[kolargol-blog]

About MG Siegler promotion of branch

So MG Siegler is claiming here  that:

 the curated nature of the conversations allows for a back-and-forth that is actually insightful and free of bullshit. Here’s a Branch I created today about the iPhone 5 “cuts”, for example. If this conversation took place in a comment thread, half of the comments would be something like: “fuck you Apple blogger dickhead bitch! LOL” or “you’re such a moron because Android” or “your don’t get Microsft lovez to teach apple things like u know”.

Lets take a closer look at the participates of the iPhone5 conversation MG gave as an example:

1. Mg siegler: among his many attributes, he is also a self proclaimed apple fan.

2. Rene Ritchie: editor of iMore.

3. John Gruber. apple blogger

4. Seth Weintraub: owner of 9to5mac.

Im not sure about the other 3 participates in the branch "debate", but my point being is that its easy to have a civil conversation when you choose in advance debaters that agree with your view on most things. Difference of opinion, while can lead to heated conversations can also be productive

The limitation of branch is this exactly, they aim for civil by you choosing the debaters, but run the risk of uniformity.

[eafarris]

John's blurb about Aaron Swartz's suicide.

[reasonableguide]

On Crying 'Wolf' and On Calling Out Those Who Cry 'Wolf'

[Crying Wolf](http://daringfireball.net/2004/04/crying_wolf) is a 2004 article by [John Gruber/Daring Fireball](http://daringfireball.net) about a Mac OS X trojan horse and (perhaps more importantly) how the tech press reacted to it. In May 2011, John wrote [Wolf!](http://daringfireball.net/2011/05/wolf), an overview of "the impending malware crisis" on Mac OS X from May 2011 (when it was written) back to October 2004. The moral of the story being that people have been saying *The End Is Near* for almost as long as OS X has been around. However, as [Guy English pointed out](http://kickingbear.com/blog/archives/166) (a link which I discovered via [Daring Fireball](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/05/06/english-wolf)) the moral of the story of the boy who cried wolf is *not* just about the boy, but about the village which failed to pay heed because they had heard this warning before and chose to ignore it. A reasonable person should read all three of the above articles because they should know that: a) dire predictions of malware on Mac OS X "any moment now" have been happening for almost a decade (and, therefore, new predictions should be taken with sufficient 'grains of salt'). b) just because these predictions have been wrong does not mean that there will *never* be malware on Mac OS X. The key is to find the proper balance between the two.