Link Banana

The New Scientist’s Technology blog point to some odd facets of the iTunes EULA:

“Licensee also agrees that Licensee will not use the Apple Software for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.”

(via Freakonomics, who found another odd clause in a different iTunes EULA)

They just passed Wal-Mart.

(via Daring Fireball)

On April first, The Economist decided to teach it’s readers a special lesson about the power of unexpected parallels in statistics. Truly surprising.

Also of note, Mahalo Daily managed to land an interview with Steve Jobs.

Someone knows the truth about DRM — digital rights management, for those living under rock — and is saying it. It surely doesn’t hurt that it’s to his company’s advantage.

Amazon’s Baltaxe says the best defense against piracy is a good offense. “Songs sold without DRM, at high quality, with album art, that’s the best way to get people to buy music instead of stealing it. DRM is a way to punish people who are buying,” he says. “Offering a great product at a great price is [the] way to combat piracy.”

(via Marco’s Tumblelog)

First Steven Levy created some waves by claiming to have accidentally recycled the notoriously small-and-light laptop. Then the inimitable Charlie Rose showed up bruised and bandaged on the air last night (video here), with this explanation:

Earlier today, they said, Rose tripped in a pothole while walking on 59th Street in Manhattan. He was carrying a newly purchased MacBook Air and made a quick (but ultimately flawed) decision while falling: sacrifice the face, protect the computer. “In doing so, he pretty much hit the pavement face first, unfortunately,” they said.

Luckily the MacBook Air survived the fall. “The Macbook Air is fine, he showed us the blood stains on it this morning.”

This is either the most ingenious marketing campaign of all time, or the folks at Apple are the luckiest people on earth.

(via Engadget)

About this announcement, Vulture raises an important question:

The Telegraph says that all parties involved expect the Beatles’ albums to top the download charts for months after their digital release — but will that really happen? Does anyone on the planet not own every single one of these songs in multiple formats already? Call us insane, but we can’t really see this being the monumental success that would offset Paul’s alimony payments … unless this means “The White Album” will finally get remastered, in which case we’ll probably buy it twice. (Once for each ear.)

This has to be seen. I can so no more than that.

At Fortune, Patricia Sellers has a great piece about Melinda Gates that ranges from her childhood use of an Apple II (gasp!) to the intimidation she feels before adressing a roomful of malaria experts.

The impact [of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation] comes from the combination of Melinda’s holistic vision and Bill’s brainpower. Bono, the rock star-humanitarian who is both a friend of the Gateses and a grantee (through his One antipoverty campaign), calls their relationship “symbiotic.” Noting Bill’s fierceness, Bono says, “Sometimes I call him Kill Bill. Lots of people like him - and I include myself - are enraged, and we sweep ourselves into a fury at the wanton loss of lives. What we need is a much slower pulse to help us be rational. Melinda is that pulse.” Buffett also believes that Melinda makes Bill a better decision-maker. “He’s smart as hell, obviously,” Buffett says. “But in terms of seeing the whole picture, she’s smarter.” Would Buffett have given the Gates Foundation his fortune if Melinda were not in the picture? “That’s a great question,” he replies. “And the answer is, I’m not sure.”

(via Gizmodo)

Joel Johnson, who became one of my favorite gadget prognosticators with this, explains the problem with Apple’s new MacBook Air:

It’s too big.

You probably know the highlights by now:

• Ultraslim MacBook Air
• Updates for the iPhone and iPod touch ($)
• Revamped AppleTV
• A wireless backup solution named Time Capsule

But if you’re like me, and feel inexplicably compelled to watch the whole thing, now you can.

Mr. Cringely, PBS’s usually-interesting and often-prescient technology columnist, addresses it as if it’s almost a done deal.

What I DO see happening is Apple buying Adobe, which would give it effective dominance of digital content creation and distribution on a global scale. Bruce Chizen suddenly stepped down as Adobe’s CEO without warning: why? A caretaker CEO (my characterization — no slight intended) is in place. Steve has always viewed Adobe co-founder and co-chair John Warnock like a father. Warnock and co-chair Chuck Geschke are losing interest in Adobe day-to-day as they move on with their lives. Acquiring Adobe would make Apple much more of a cross-platform company. The combined professional applications could be placed in the Adobe division of Apple where they could go up in price for some markets, becoming VASTLY more profitable. But most important — keeping in mind the whole purpose here is driving content distribution — merging Flash and QuickTime would make any other video standards (like Windows Media) simply immaterial.

PBS’s technology columnist, Robert Cringley, has unveiled his predictions for 2008. The most interesting:

5) Here’s a risky one. Google will bid billions and win the upcoming 700-MHz wireless spectrum auction, which is an auction for frequencies that are actually much more useful for a voice network than for a data network. Then Google will impose its open access rules on the frequencies before either TRADING them to Sprint or simply ACQUIRING Sprint to get that company’s WiMax licenses, which are what Google really wanted all along.

9) As part of its transition from a PC company to a consumer electronics and content company, Apple will introduce — and trumpet in a huge media show — its replacement for the mouse. Really.