Star Wars Models and Props

Over the weekend, my brother-in-law and I took the kids to the Santa Ana Discovery Science Center where they have (until April 15, 2012) an excellent collection of costumes, props, and models from the Star Wars franchise. See my pictures here. There were also props from the prequels but, strangely, I didn’t take any pictures of those.

That Pesky Mute Button

There’s a lot of people talking about the mute button today. Since the rest of the Internet echo chamber seems to be weighing in, why not me too?

The problem is that when you put an iPhone on mute, it’s not completely silent. Specifically, alarms and timers go off. If you open the Music or Video apps and start a media file, it will play as well even though the device is set to mute. This caused a hubbub at the New York Philharmonic when someone’s alarm went off during the concert. John Gruber thinks this behavior is right. Andy Ihnatko thinks it is wrong.

I first discovered the nuances of the mute button while sitting in the back of the Orange County Superior Courthouse with my shiny new generation 1 iPhone where, to my surprise, an alarm went off in open court despite my having flipped the mute button before walking in the room. If you’ve never been in court, I’d like to congratulate you for being generally smart and also let you know that in court electronic noises are frowned upon. Some judges are legendary for their disdain for things that go beep and buzz. There is one judge that has a sign prominently displayed in his courtroom explaining that any electronic noise results in a $500 fine, payable immediately.

So you can understand it’s important to me that my phone not make any noise in court. I couldn’t simply turn the phone off (as Dave Caolo suggests) because I need my calendar and sometimes my electronic notes when standing in front of the guy in the black robe. Moreover, text messaging (silently) is a great tool to keep in touch with the war room back at the office when the bullets are flying the courtroom.

Dealing with this problem really isn’t all that difficult. You just need to follow a few commonsense rules:

• Never set alarms to go off when you know you’re going to be a place where you can’t have any noise.
• Don’t open music or video files.

That’s it. So now I walk in a courtroom, set the mute button, and confirm no alarms or timers set. In four and half years, no problems. (I’ve not had any sounds from from any other apps but I’m pretty stingy about notifications to begin with.) With the arrival of the iPad, I am now able to turn the phone off entirely and use the iPad in silence mode for the same purpose. I must, however, still follow the same rules.

I feel bad for the guy at the Philharmonic. He must’ve felt terrible and I really don’t blame him. After all, I got stung the exact same way before I figured it out. Nevertheless, I don’t see this as requiring any type of software switch or change by Apple. I’m with the camp that believes it’s much better having people learn this lesson once or twice rather than have half the iPhone using nation late for work because their alarm didn’t go off that morning.

Google's Shameful Conduct in Kenya

This whole story is pretty damning.

Big companies are made up of a lot of people. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of the people in charge, bad apples get mixed in that group. This story, however, feels different. Google was scraping the database from multiple countries and had an organized group of callers defaming Mocality. I remember shivering a little when I first heard Google’s company motto, “Don’t be evil”. It seems every time I meet someone who goes out of their way to tell me how ethical and righteous they are, I inevitably find that when given a chance, they are first ones to screw someone over.

I’m sure Google will have an explanation for this. Maybe their explanation will even make sense. I’m looking at this as another datapoint as I distance myself (and my data) from Google servers.

via Daring Fireball

Update on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 8:17AM by David Sparks

Google posted that they are mortified about this happening and taking steps to deal with those responsible. Hopefully they’ll also take steps to make sure this isn’t going on anywhere else in their company.

Macworld's New York Forecast and iWork

Lex Friedman and Dan Moran wrote a nice article for Macworld forecasting the Apple event in New York next week. Setting aside the idea of disrupting the text book publishing business, the idea that this is the venue for Apple to release iWork ‘12 hadn’t occurred to me. That would be fantastic news if true. While iCloud support is a given (and, frankly, overdue), better ePub tools would be nice. I hope they are right.

The Macworld | iWorld iFan Pass

As Macworld | iWorld approaches, I’m struck by the value in the new iFan Pass. Now you can get into the conference for a fraction of the price it used to be. There are some really great tech talks at the conference this year, including a few of my own sessions. Because it is easier to get a conference pass now (currently just a hundred bucks), the rooms will be packed and the vibe will be great. In addition to getting access to all of the Tech Talks, iFan passholders also score free tickets for the music experiences (including nightly performances), film events, art showings, the iWorld Midway, and the Exhibit hall. While in the past, going to Macworld just for the Expo Hall and skipping the conference could make sense on a budget, at just $100, you really should go for the whole enchilada this year. The iFan pass price will go up to $125 at the event so if you are planning to attend, get your pass now.

Macworld Gives Marked 4.5 Mice

A well-deserved accolade for Brett Terpstra and his excellent Markdown/MultiMarkdown preview app. If you spend any time in Markdown, you really should check out Marked.

New Apple Products Buyer's Guide

The next time you are feeling an itchy trigger finger for some new Apple hardware, check out Mac Rumors’s Apple Buyer’s Guide where Arnold Kim and his legions track Apple product timelines and rumors.

Back to a Pencil

I’m pretty sure that up until last month, the last time I used a mechanical pencil was 1987 as I switched majors from engineering to the arts. Since then, I’ve always used pens. Last month I purchased my first mechanical pencil in a very long time and began using it with my trusty Field Notes. There were a couple reasons for this move:

• As much as I like my Field Notes, sometimes ink bleeds through the paper and shows up on the opposite page.

• There is no need for permanency. On a daily basis, I clear out my Field Notes and put in the necessary information into my digital world. When I finish a book, I trash it and start a new one.

• I forgot how much I like erasers.

Anyway, I’ve been using this mechanical pencil with my Field Notes now for a month and I’m sticking with it. For the fetishists, the specific pencil I purchased was a Kuro Toga Auto Lead Rotation .5mm Mechanical Pencil. There is a mechanism inside that constantly rotates so the lead doesn’t flatten. While I agree paying $17 for a pencil is nuts, I appreciate this pencil every time I use it.

Surfbits, Get Well

One of the nicest people in the Mac community is Tim Verpoorten, from Surfbits.com and the host for many years of the Mac Review Cast. When I first started dipping my toe into podcasting, it was on Tim’s show. Since then, Tim and I have shared laughs and hugs at Macworld and many conversations. Tim is battling cancer and today posted about how he’s fighting back (and winning). If you’ve got time, send a note, say a prayer, or just think positive thoughts for my friend, Tim.

OmniFocus Porn

Rob Trew’s OmniFocus Statistics app is at best useless and even perhaps counter-productive. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve shown you mine. Now you show me yours.

via SimplicityIsBliss