Memo To Scott Turow: Just STFU Already!

Turow on Amazon/Goodreads: This is how modern monopolies can be built

Amazon is buying Goodreads, its only sizable competitor for reader reviews and a site known for the depth and breadth of its users’ book recommendations.

I know you think a computer is sorta like a telegraph, Turow, because you also think Google Search is like a word processor’s Find command.

But are you so stupid that you can’t even parse the sentence you wrote?

Samsung, Haier, Apple — And Writers — Know How To Do It. Do You?

Things don’t always work out.

Having problems is inevitable.

Taking a wrong turn, making a wrong move, happens even to the brightest of people.

Then what do you do?

It depends on what your goal is.

As a company or as an artist, is your goal to please and delight customers?

Or are you just out to make things so you can extract money from buyers?

Those are opposite attitudes.

Here are lessons on how to be great from three companies and — as proxy for all of them — one writer.

File This For Future Reference: MediaTek

Sony will use MediaTek chipset

This is a rumor.

But if it turns out to be true, it would be a bit of an earthquake.

MediaTek CPUs are mainly used by Chinese companies. As far as I know, there’s never been a world-class company using that chip in a consumer product. This could be the beginning of a huge change in future hardware.

All Nook Tablets Are Now Orphan Devices

With the revelation that Windows 8 intends to support a resolution of 1024 x 768 — basically what Apple gave us with the iPad 1 and 2 and the iPad Mini — it’s clear that the future of Barnes & Noble’s Nook Media is with Windows RT, not Android.

If you’ve been thinking about buying a color Nook device, don’t waste your money.

If you already have a color Nook device and have been thinking of loading up on apps from the Nook App Store, don’t waste your money.

Oh Snap! Microsoft Loses Its Freakin Mind To Nook Media.

New Windows 8 hardware specs hint at 7-inch tablets and a Microsoft Reader

The new guidelines relax the minimum resolution for Windows 8 devices to 1024 x 768 at a depth of 32 bits. That’s a significant change from the current guidelines, which require a minimum resolution of 1366 x 768 for a device to be certified with the Windows 8 logo.

It is beyond my technical capabilities to comment on whether or not that will wreak havoc on devs.

But it’s not beyond my capabilities to comment on this:

The lower resolution would disable snap, a feature that allows two Windows Store apps to be viewed simultaneously side by side. To avoid potential consumer disappointment, OEMs need to disclose the loss of snap.

Microsoft has lost its mind.

R.I.P. Richard Griffiths, Actor

‘Harry Potter’ Actor Richard Griffiths Dies at 65

I suppose he was in the Potter films, which I’ve never seen. But he’ll be immortal for his role as Uncle Monty in Withnail & I.