NSFW

9/11 Blowback

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:34:13 -0500

We overreacted to the 9/11 attacks. (N.Y. Times)

Spent Reactor Fuel Risk Greater in U.S. Than in Japan, Study Says

Wed, 25 May 2011 06:43:49 -0500

Spent Reactor Fuel Risk Greater in U.S. Than in Japan, Study Says:

It’s time to protect our spent nuclear fuel a lot safer than we are now. We need to learn from Japan’s Fukushima disaster.

Irish anti homophobic bullying advertisement, created as part of...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:39:47 -0500

Irish anti homophobic bullying advertisement, created as part of BeLonG To Youth Services annual Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Weeks. The campaign promotes friendship amongst young people as a way to combat homophobic bullying. (YouTube)

Web of Popularity, Achieved by Bullying

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:47:01 -0600

A school’s social climbers can be aggressive bullies, but they apparently stop being so once they reach the top, according to recent studies. (N.Y. Times)

Ponderosa Steakhouses

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:08:01 -0600

Ponderosa Steakhouses:

I thought Ponderosa went out of business? We went there all the time when I was a kid, but by the end of the eighties they got really gross. My brother was hospitalized and almost lost a finger from an infection he got from their ice machine while working there as a teenager. Good times!

Your prescription for 2011 is…

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:38:00 -0600

Your prescription for 2011 is…:

Easy: Be slightly overweight, exercise in moderation, get more light, limit your alcohol, and learn an instrument. (The Guardian via Jockhomo)

Why Apple Will Abandon Its iPod Connector

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 11:29:00 -0600

While I doubt speculation that Apple will put a USB port on its next generation iPad, it does beg the question why Apple would even consider such a thing since the existing 30-pin connector—the one that debuted on the iPod and now appears on the iPhone and iPad as well—is by most measures a huge success. Think of the huge third-party eco-system that has been built on this connector—all the car radios, portable sound systems, alarm clocks, and home audio equipment that have built to its specification.

The only possible, reasonable explanation—and this is the real shocker—is that Apple is preparing to abandon the 30-pin connector on its iOS devices starting with the iPad.¹Although it’s inspired by the dubious idea that USB will appear on the next iPad, I strongly believe Apple will abandon the iPod connector sooner rather than later.

Any transition away from this venerable connector is herculean and risky. For the sake of consistency and business leverage, it would be sure to encompass the entire line of iOS products: iPhone and iPod included.

Why Abandon It?

Apple has several motivations to make this transition. The main motivation being the connector’s size. Apple sweats out the details of every millimeter of its mobile hardware mainly to maximize power by maximizing space for the battery. Although the connector doesn’t take up much space, it is telling that the A-end of the connector is a smaller-sized USB plug. This means that the 30-pin connector is more than is absolutely necessary, and that has to gall Apple’s hardware engineers.

Other powerful but secondary motivations include bringing the iPhone (not the iPad) into compliance with European telecom regulations requiring a micro-USB port for charging and using Apple’s products to leverage new technologies into the mainstream (thereby profiting in the process).

When and How It Could Be Replaced

Wireless is the future of data transmission (and has been since the invention of radio). However, for all practical purposes, it is still necessary to charge a device by sending electricity over a wire.²

Respected blogger, Horace Dediu, estimates that Apple will ship 150 million iOS devices next year. Such a big lot of devices has to tantalize the Wi-Fi and WiGig Alliances, which would love to have their successors to Wi-Fi n embedded on those devices. (Perhaps they would even pay Apple for the privilege?)

Unfortunately, those successors are not ready today, and without them, full Wi-Fi sync takes too long.

However, next-generation, wired connection technologies like USB3 are ready today. LightPeak is rumored to be ready and about to debut. (It may use a USB connector, which makes me wonder if iPad’s rumored USB port is actually for LightPeak which perhaps can fall back to USB2 if necessary.) Apple popularized the original USB so there is a certain symmetry if it were to introduce LightPeak.

That would take care of mobile device syncing, but what about integration with audio devices?

Apple is already pushing AirPlay for third-party hardware integration. It has selected BridgeCo’s JukeBlox as the behind-the-scenes technology, and there are already audio devices that have implemented it. This is the death knell for the 30-pin connector.

Because next-generation wireless technologies are not ready today, it is very unlikely that they would begin to appear in Apple devices until 2012—at the earliest. However, that does open the door of opportunity for ready-to-be-implemented, wired technologies like LightPeak (with USB2 backwards compatibility) to start appearing soon—perhaps as early as the iPad 2 or iPhone 5, which are both expected before the end of June. If that happens, that will be another nail in the coffin of the custom iPod connector.

Notes

¹Some speculate that Apple is adding a USB port to iPad to comply with European environmental regulation that requires all new mobile phones to include a micro-USB port for charging. (This is an attempt to reduce the waste of incompatible charging cables.) However, the iPad is not a phone and is, therefore, not subject to this regulation.

²You can transmit power wirelessly using magnetism, but it has four big shortcomings: added complexity, increased space requirements, transmission inefficiency, and the risk of accidentally destroying magnetically stored data in nearby devices.

Dan Savage takes no prisoners on “Chicago Tonight.”...

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:20:48 -0600

Dan Savage takes no prisoners on “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW)

Escape From the Deepwater Horizon: How Caleb Holloway survived...

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 07:56:00 -0600

Escape From the Deepwater Horizon: How Caleb Holloway survived the fatal blowout and oil spill in recent history’s worst environmental disaster. (N.Y. Times)

Star Wars: Attack of the MODELS. Luke Skywalker wants only one...

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:03:11 -0600

Star Wars: Attack of the MODELS. Luke Skywalker wants only one thing in this world—to be an intergalactic model! (YouTube)

"You don’t talk about art with the Marines, and you don’t talk about the Marines with artists."

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:15:38 -0600

“You don’t talk about art with the Marines, and you don’t talk about the Marines with artists.”

- Lt. Col. David Richardson, a painter who fights, as quoted in Faithful to Two Worlds: The Marines and the Artistic Life (N.Y. Times)

Most over the top video ever! Heather Parisi dances to Herbie...

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:52:14 -0600

Most over the top video ever! Heather Parisi dances to Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” with the Star Wars theme and Donna Summer thrown in for good measure thereby proving that the mash-up is nothing new. (RAI Italian TV on YouTube via House of Vader, which is NSFW)

9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:11:00 -0600

9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster:

Some 9/11 fire fighters, medics, and police officers who worked at Ground Zero for months have become very sick—likely because of the toxins to which they were exposed. The government’s response? Fire them, and cut off their insurance. Now, the U.S. Senate refuses to help. (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart via Bill in Exile)

The cult classic, “Showgirls,” re-imagined as an...

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:15:23 -0600

The cult classic, “Showgirls,” re-imagined as an indie art house flick and re-cut to the “Black Swan” trailer. (Jeffrey McHale on Vimeo via Rose et Ridé)

Computational Photography May Help See Around Corners

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 09:45:00 -0600

Computational Photography May Help See Around Corners:

Whoa. Someday, computers may eliminate or reduce reliance on camera lenses. (N.Y. Times)

The Human Incubator

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:55:36 -0600

The Human Incubator:

What a great way to save preemie babies! (N.Y. Times)

U.S. Sues BP and Other Companies Over Gulf Spill

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:46:40 -0600

U.S. Sues BP and Other Companies Over Gulf Spill :

It seems like the right thing to do. Otherwise, the oil companies are not going to learn. (N.Y. Times)

Oregon’s Speed-Freak Football

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:19:22 -0600

Oregon’s Speed-Freak Football:

Coach Kelly of Oregon has some really interesting approaches to football strategy that are backed up by innovative team practices, management, and communication. (N.Y. Times)

‘We Are the World.’ How many 80’s stars do you...

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:09:28 -0600

‘We Are the World.’ How many 80’s stars do you recognize? ‘Gylene Tider,’ or ‘Golden Times,’ a Norwegian T.V. show, interviews 80’s celebrities. (YouTube via N.Y. Times)

‘Let It Be.’ How many 80’s celebrities do you...

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:08:00 -0600

‘Let It Be.’ How many 80’s celebrities do you recognize? (Gylne Tider, or ‘Golden Times’ on YouTube via N.Y. Times)