What would have happened if Batman had used Maps on iOS 6 to find Rachel?

Probably something like this.

via Carscoop

From Mein Kampf by David Lerner

Pagan Kennedy at the NYTimes tells us who made the Escape Key:

The key was born in 1960, when an I.B.M. programmer named Bob Bemer was trying to solve a Tower of Babel problem: computers from different manufacturers communicated in a variety of codes. Bemer invented the ESC key as way for programmers to switch from one kind of code to another. Later on, when computer codes were standardized (an effort in which Bemer played a leading role), ESC became a kind of “interrupt” button on the PC — a way to poke the computer and say, “Cut it out.”

As antiquated as some people might consider it today, I still use it a lot.

Merlin Mann, Back to Work, Episode 88

After updating my iPhone 4 to iOS 6 a few weeks ago, iTunes isn’t able to ‘see’ it on my home WiFi network. Since I rarely have to need to sync my iPhone with iTunes, this isn’t a huge deal, but it still bothered me.

I was able to resolve this by turning off WiFi on my iOS devices, then from my MacBook, I logged into my router and delete all connected devices (on a Linksys router it’s located under: Status > Local Network > DHCP Client Table).

Once I deleted all connected devices, I re-enable WiFi on my iPhone, relaunched iTunes and boom, my iPhone was showing up once again in the lefthand sidebar.

MG Siegler responding to a comment about how Microsoft is in deeper doodoo than they realize (I think they might be starting to realize, but maybe I’m giving them more credit than I should):

Kids of my generation grew up with PCs. Those were the only computers we knew from an early age. Where are the kids today going to get that initial Windows PC exposure? Their computers are iPads. Their schools are filled with Macs — and those will probably be replaced by tablets in the not-too-distant future.

Like MG, I too, grew up with Windows. My father bought the first IBM PC in 1981. Windows 1.0 wouldn’t come out for another 4 years and we wouldn’t be regularly using Windows in our home until version 3.0 in 1990. Why did we use Windows on our home computer? Because that’s what everyone’s parents used at work.

As I’ve mentioned before, Microsoft doesn’t know how to sell to consumers, they only know how to sell to businesses. Their enormous (yet now slowly dwindling) wealth is thanks to the alliances and relationships they made with businesses in the 80’s and 90’s. Yes, Microsoft has kicked ass with XBox, but their XBox division brings in chump change to their bottom line compared to Windows and Office.

Starting with the shit-brown Zune in 2006, Microsoft made their first attempt to speak to human beings with a new product for consumers, not businesses. Then in 2010, from the ashes of the Zune rose the phoenix called Windows Phone 7. Then 7.5. Now 8. And also Surface.

Microsoft is in a battle where they’re not gaining much traction with consumers, while Apple continues to encroach on their business territory with iPads and MacBooks and iPhones. With the new Surface and Windows 8, we’re going to see if all the human beings out there understand what Microsoft is trying to sell them.

Sean Gallagher tells geeks to brace for Windows 8:

My wife was home sick today with bronchitis, and wanted to get some work done. But her laptop wasn’t working (my daughter had mislaid the powerbrick), so she turned to me for tech support. I gave her a notebook I had loaded with the Windows 8 RTM and Office 2013 Home preview. I showed her a few basic things, and then went back to work.

That’s right–I gave my sick wife a brand new operating system and an updated Office suite to use with 5 minutes of training. I’m surprised she didn’t call a divorce lawyer.

Oh boy. Get ready for some fun.

Even with Apple’s transition from OS 9 to OS X over 10 years ago, they changed a lot of elements in the operating system, but at the end of the day, they kept all existing UI metaphors: folders, files, desktop, trash can.

With Windows 8, everything is going out the window (no pun intended). Unless, of course, you revert to ‘classic’ mode, where you’re still shit out of luck if you’re looking for the START menu.

As a geek, I’m looking forward trying out Windows 8, but for all the non-geeks out there? It’s not going to be fun.

via FBU

Metric. Tonight at the Greek Theatre. Can’t wait.

From GigaOm:

Startups that really make a commitment to design and Human Experience are emerging as the web and mobile’s most successful companies, like Instagram and Pinterest. Mike McCue, CEO and co-founder of social digital magazine Flipboard, explains to us in this video interview clip that he’s seen a resurgence of startups like Path that are putting design first and foremost and he thinks a strong commitment to design will separate the pioneers from the followers.

Design is important. Who knew?

The Bobine is a great example of something my mentor in design school used to always say: The solution to the problem lies in the problem itself.

In this case the problem is the USB cable for the iPhone makes the iPhone lie flat on the table. Instead of buying a separate stand/dock for it, just make the cord function as the stand too.

via Co.Design

I’ve fallen behind on some links. This one is from last month, from Electronista:

Time Warner Cable is “hard at work at a cloud-based [TV] guide experience,’ but willing to allow third parties to create interfaces for it, says president and COO Rob Marcus. The executive revealed the information at an investor conference in New York earlier today. The catch, Marcus elaborates, is that Time Warner isn’t willing to forsake the “customer relationship,” meaning that it wants people to know TV is being delivered through TWC instead of a device maker or any other company.

The television door is getting pried open. It’s only a matter of time. Comcast? Time Warner? You’re interfaces suck really, really bad. I don’t think Apple should be the only one allowed to try and fix things. I’d love to see multiple solutions.

Because it’s clear fixing the Human Experience of cable television is not a high priority to cable television companies.

The Home button on my iPhone 4 has been getting progressively less responsive over the last 2 months. It was at the point where I was having to press it 7-10 times for it to register a click… that is, until a co-worker reminded me of one of Khoi Vinh’s posts from January 2012.

Khoi’s solution? Spray a little WD-40 on the Home button, and press it a series of times to get the liquid to work itself into the device. I did it over the weekend and my Home button feels brand new.

Tip: I sprayed it on the tip of my finger so I wouldn’t accidentally drown my iPhone in too much of the chemical.

Speculation: Occasionally I have to remove lint that accumulates in the dock connector opening on the bottom of my iPhone. I wonder if lint and debris are also what cause Home buttons to get less responsive over time by covering up the contact point between the Home button and the surface underneath it.

Warning: Like Khoi, I have no idea of the long-term damage this can do to your iPhone.

My parents and I just finished watching John Stewart debate Bill O’Reilly in The Rumble 2012. What should have been a great television experience ended up being a horrible television experience because of an unreliable video stream (Update: If you don’t believe me, check out #rumblefail on Twitter).

We watched it on their Samsung plasma screen TV which was connected via an HDMI cable to a brand new, WiFi-enabled HP laptop. Despite the fact that my parents’ cable modem averages 29 MBps, my father and I had to reload the web page playing the (Flash) video at least a dozen times.

On one hand, it’s great that the debate was available on the web for anyone to watch (granted you had $4.95). What’s unfortunate is how hard it was to watch it at home on a television. Even though the television is Internet-connected, there was no way to watch the debate natively through any of the ‘apps’ on the TV’s software.

The other options were to watch it via Boxee or Apple TV, and my parents have neither (note to self: get parents Apple TV for Christmas).

I’m happy my father and I were technically savvy enough to get everything set up to watch (and know what to do when things went wrong), but this experience proves how far we still need to go to make it simple for the average person to access the Internet through their television.

On a positive note, in between the stuttering video stream, the debate was great. Stewart, as I expected, demonstrated he’s still at the top of his game when it comes to clearly articulating his sharp thinking while simultaneously using the term “Bullshit Mountain” through the debate.