Did Apple Pivot on Media Pricing with Glee?

Cast your eyes back in time, to the early days of the iTunes Music Store. Apple’s DRM concession, some say, was part of a bargain to get music labels on board to assure a large library of music for the iPod. Part of Apple’s strategy was to avoid variable pricing, keeping all songs the same price, $0.99. Given how hard Apple fought for single pricing, it is interesting that they eventually gave up, first as the “iTunes Music Plus” DRM-free tracks, then just bagging it completely and going to a 3-tier model.

Why the change? Why did Apple pivot on this issue when they are notoriously unbending when they really believe in what they want?

If Apple Really Wants Tinkerers to Love the iPad…

There has been lots of sturm, and more than a little drang, regarding the iPad and death of the “tinkerer” class that its targeted user base represents. Certainly, the iPad, like the iPhone, is a closed ecosystem; you can’t develop for it on it, you can’t control when your apps get updated, you can’t control if your apps get into the App Store, etc. It is a total dictatorship, which Apple trying to play the role of benevolent dictator but coming of more as annoyed loon. But hey, it is working for them, so it isn’t likely to change much.

Another Reason to Hate Newspapers

Today, the scary frozen water fell from the sky. As snowstorms went, it was pretty mild, but since the new 4-5 inches was dumped on top of the existing couple of inches from last weekend, I figured I should clear the driveway. Plus, they say 12″+ this weekend! Little did I know the newspaper industry was laying in wait to screw up my day.

Please, Don’t Give Money To Haiti

Let me rephrase that: Don’t donate to a charity and restrict the funds to Haiti.

That sounds harsh, but it isn’t.

How Alberto Gonzalez Kept Mark McGwire from Being a Hero

I’m an unabashed Yankees fan. Someone who would rather watch a mid-season baseball game between two cellar-dwelling American League teams than a random NFL game.

I understand I am lonely in this. Hey, I’m a baseball fan. I can live with it.

I well remember the baseball strike of 1994. I also remember the crucial role Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa played in bringing disgruntled fans back to the game. And it was clear to me for years that everyone was guilty in the Steroid Era; Players, Owners, Fans, and most of all? The group whose job it was to report on it, the Writers. But that is my opinion, and we can debate that another time.

Why Did Google Build a Phone and a Browser?

Microsoft was kind enough to comment that Google will have a tough time selling both a phone and an OS.

Microsoft Corp.’s Robbie Bach, head of the division that makes mobile-phone programs, said Google Inc. will have a hard time attracting partners to its wireless software after introducing its own handset.

Roughly Drafted toes the Apple-fanboy line that Android simply isn’t very important in the scheme of things:

But importantly, it will also expose Google’s tired attempt to beat Microsoft’s Window Mobile at its own game (without applying much creativity) as being much less important than the Android-enamored seem to think it is. Google isn’t changing the world with Android, it’s just ripping off an existing, unexceptional product. Google’s Android is not more special in the grand scheme of things than Compaq’s effort to clone the original IBM PC.

Both miss the point rather badly.

A Christmas Kindle

My lovely bride, perhaps out of fear that my book collection will push us out of our home, bought me a Kindle for Christmas.

In a fit of self-defense, I had added the Kindle to my Amazon Wish List sometime in November. I say self-defense because our local Barnes & Nobles was rather prominently pushing the Nook, and based on reviews I knew I’d rather have the Kindle.

Code Rot: When Good Code Goes Bad

Why does code rot? Wikipedia lists a bunch of reasons — some make sense to me, some leave me meh.

From the vantage point of my battered years of experience, I’ve come to classify code into three areas:

Books Read in 2009 – Triumphs

Previously, I discussed multiple series books I read this year, the singletons that passable to awful, or were plain good. Here I’ll go through the books I loved this year, the ones that made me happy I read as much as I do.

These are books I really, really liked and recommend unreservedly. No particular order.

Books Read in 2009 – Good but not Great

These are books I considered well worth the price. Books I liked. Most have a flaw of some sort, but it doesn’t prevent them from succeeding.