Peak Twitter?

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David Heinemeier Hansson – Twitter's descent into the extractive:

“I wonder how long this one will last?”, asked the Web to his friend Email. “Who knows”, said Email, “Facebook is still around”. “Aye”, nodded the Web, “Winter might be longer this time around, but inevitably Spring will return”.

There’s been another recent uproar due to Twitter enforcing their no more than 100k token policy on newer 3rd party Twitter clients. Two of the most recents clients targetted were Tweetro for Windows 8 and Tweet Lanes for Android. Matthew Panzarino has another great piece on this issue, reacting to Marco Arment’s earlier post:

As far as other developers that are using Twitter’s API to provide either a whole service or a component service inside their app, I think that it’s still too murky to say whether they need to bail. Arment thinks they should, based on the way that Twitter is changing the rules about clients, but, although I understand where he’s coming from, I feel that it’s too early to call this one.

As of this moment, any developer working with Twitter’s API, whether it’s a client or another type of app that is currently in favor, can’t be entirely certain about their livelihood. Right now these apps may be on a path that runs parallel to Twitter’s business plan, but what happens when that path zags?

Note: You can also find me on App.net.

Exploring the Crumbling Soviet Oil Platform City of Neft Dashlari

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Arno Frank for Spiegel Online (via Kiki Sanford):

In the 1950s, Soviet engineers built a massive city in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. It was a network of oil platforms linked by hundreds of kilometers of roads and housing 5,000 workers, with a cinema, a park and apartment blocks. Gradually disintegrating but still closely guarded, this astonishing place inspired a fiery scene in a James Bond movie.

I would love to do some old-fashioned urbex there.

Nintendo releases first paid-for iOS app

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Tom Phillips for Eurogamer:

In a watershed moment for Nintendo: the Japanese developer has released its first paid-for iOS app.

A version of the existing 3DS Pokédex app is now available for iPhone, iPad and iPhone devices (thanks, Serebii).

Initially just for release in Japan, the download also comes with in-app purchases.

Granted it’s just a Pokémon encyclopaedia, but nonetheless an interesting development.

Google’s Play Store stumbles, trips and still somehow manages to ship a Nexus 4

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I just got an email from Google’s Play Store, stating that my Nexus 4 is on its way here. I wasn’t sure my order really got through although I got a receipt. Here’s the story.

Yesterday morning I basically had the Play Store device page for the 16 GB Nexus 4 on a 30 second refresh. The day before Stefan Keuchel, PR spokesperson for Google Germany, told his followers on Twitter that the devices would start selling between 8:30 at 9:30 am. So it wasn’t too difficult to plan that hour into the morning routine. Just sit at your desk and look for changes on the site. Nothing too difficult if you’re using multiple displays to do multiple things at once.

So, at around 9:12 the sales went live, I added the device to my cart, went to check out, selected my address and credit card – I added it the day before, so I could be sure it wouldn’t be an issue – clicked on order and all I got was an error message. Great, Google’s shop failed in a bad way due to many people collectively decided to order some devices. Continue reading →

Change your Skype email to a secret address now

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Emil Protalinski for The Next Web – Security hole allows anyone to hijack your Skype account using only your email address:

We reproduced the attack, step-by-step, and managed to access the Skype accounts of TNW writer (with permission) Josh Ong (as well as editor Matt Brian to verify again) with only their email addresses. Essentially, that email address is used to create a new account with your own email address tied to it. Then, minus a couple of key steps, you can use a password reset token to gain access to your target’s account.

You better change your email to an address nobody knows. Hint: Gmail supports the + operator in addresses. So yourusername+totallysecretaddition@gmail.com arrives at yourusername@gmail.com.

Update: The Verge reports that Microsoft is disabling password resets.

Google’s Nexus 4 & 10 available from the Play Store now

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Google’s newest Nexus devices – Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 with 3G – are available from various European Play Stores now, go grab them while they’re hot. There’s also a 20 Dollar bumper in case you want one for your Nexus 4. Nexus 10 and Nexus 4 are available in two capacities, Nexus 7 with 3G is also available now. Shipment (of a Nexus 4) is due in 3 to 5 days according to my receipt.

I wonder how real world battery performance of the Nexus 4 will turn out. Reviewers so far came up with mixed results.

Some of you with the older Galaxy Nexus can already get the newest Android 4.2 directly from Google. Thanks to Pau Oliva on Twitter, here’s the Nexus 7 update (zip). More info on how to install it is available at Android Police.

Update (9:28 CET): Nexus 4 with 8/16 GB is already sold out here (German Play Store). No “add to cart” anymore, it’s back to email notification.

Steven Sinofsky leaves Microsoft

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Sam Byford for The Verge:

Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft executive in charge of Windows, has left the company. Julie Larson-Green is to assume control of Windows software and hardware engineering, and CFO Tami Reller will be in charge of the Windows business. The changes are effective immediately, and no reason was given for Sinofsky’s departure.

Looks like it’s management shakeup season these days.

Grand Theft Auto V preview

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Grand Theft Auto V preview: the inside story:

Driving around the intricately detailed streets, we spot tributes to landmarks like Muscle beach and the Hollywood sign, we see mime artists and weirdos patrolling the pavements, there’s a guy dressed as Jesus – that guy is really out there in Santa Monica, posing for photos with tourists. There are dodgy fast food joints with names like The Lucky Plucker, there are juice bars and boutiques. The sense of place is incredible; a sort of skewed, woozy take on the real thing. Los Angeles. Los Santos. The two are inextricably linked, but it is LA that the game is really thinking about.

Great article by The Guardian’s Keith Stuart for those who love the GTA series and can’t wait for the next episode, due out next year.

I wonder how long it’ll be until we can fly through real cities based on Google’s or Apple’s 3D maps? I can’t be the only one who wants to step into a (virtual) blimp and recreate Google’s IO 2012 performance in a realistic three dimensional world.

Apple’s noisy Palo Alto store

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Jean-Louis Gassée – Minding The (Apple)Store:

The store is impressive… but its also unpleasantly, almost unbearably noisy. And mine isn’t a voice in the wilderness. The wife of a friend walked in, spent a few minutes, and vowed to never return for fear of hearing loss. She’d rather go to the cramped but much more hospitable Stanford store.

A few days later, I heard a similar complaint from the spouse of an Apple employee. She used to enjoy accompanying her husband to the old Palo Alto store, but now refuses because of the cacophony.

Apparently Apple’s newest Palo Alto store has a noise problem. According to Gassée Apple is aware of the issue. They were using an SPL recorder and employees wearing omnidirectional sound recorders to gather data when he went there to see hear for himself.