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ARS TECHNICA: "Marketplace Fairness Act" could force Amazon to collect sales tax - 11/9/11  (662 views)



Ten Senators, led by Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), this morning introduced a new Internet sales tax bill called the "Marketplace Fairness Act." The bill gives states broad authority to require that online sellers like Amazon collect and remit state sales taxes so that online and offline retailers all operate under the same rules.

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YOUTUBE: How to open and clean a wireless Apple Mighty Mouse - 10/5/11  (612 views)



A really in-depth, up close, hi-res, take-apart tutorial on opening, cleaning and closing a dirty wireless Apple Mighty Mouse. In English. This is the way to do it after you've tried cleaning the ball from the outside 100 times. You'll need a Phillips screwdriver in the size 00 ( THAT'S ZERO ZERO). Save your mouse from the scrap heap. Buy dirty ones cheap and fix them. Recycle. It's the right thing to do.

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TUAW: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert pay tribute to Steve Jobs - 10/9/11  (309 views)



Talk show host Jon Stewart used a small part of his Daily Show to pay tribute to Steve Jobs. His remembrance was touching and thoughtful. Stephen Colbert also honored Steve Jobs in a short clip that tried to lighten things up with a touch of humor.

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ARS TECHNICA: Suspension of Disbelief: magicians' friends targeted by new phishing scam - 12/10/  (242 views)



Last week, friends of a Philadelphia couple got a disturbing email that appeared to be from the pair, a husband-and-wife magic act. It told of trouble overseas, claiming that the two had been mugged while vacationing briefly in the Phillipines. "We've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills," the email pleaded. "Please, let me know if you can help us out?"

If the email had been from the the couple, it would have been some serious magic—seeing as they were at home in the Philadelphia area at the time. Like many people who use social media to promote their businesses and keep in touch with colleagues and customers, their personal information was easily converted into a bit of social engineering that could fool the less skeptical.

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TUAW: Daily Mac App: Shakespeare in Bits - 9/27/11  (237 views)



While William Shakespeare's works are revered and deserve the praise, it's hard to grasp what's going on in his plays at times, especially if you're just starting your studies. While the language is still English, at times it is as foriegn to us as the words "iPhone," "iPad," "tweet" or "LOL" would be to the Bard.

Mindconnex Learning Limited is helping to bridge the cultural gap through its series of desktop and iPad software, Shakespeare in Bits. Shakespeare's plays are broken down into short bites. When a play is loaded, you can see a list of characters and detailed plot analysis exploring themes, imagery, language and more.

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MACWORLD: iOS 5 (for iPhone and iPad) Headquarters - 10/13/11  (223 views)



This is the Macworld.com launch page with links to every article on iOS 5 (and there are a ton)

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TUAW:Apple, Oreo and Capri Sun top list of popular youth brands - 10/28/2011  (147 views)



Harris Interactive put together a survey asking American youth from ages 8-24 what their favorite brands were, and Apple came out on top in the computer, tablet, and phone space. That's not too surprising, given how powerful Apple's marketing is (not to m

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ARS TECHNICA - Hands-on: Checking out library books with Kindle clunky, but awesome -10/10/11  (125 views)



Public libraries have long lived by the "Blockbuster model": require people to drive to a physical location, pick up a physical book, then drive home, only to repeat the driving a few weeks later when the book is due. And how well did that approach work out for Blockbuster as iTunes and Netflix made digital delivery a reality?

But books haven't gone digital as quickly as music and then movies did. Early attempts at e-book lending were execeptionally clunky affairs involving special OverDrive software, few choices, and a poor browsing interface. Getting books onto devices involved downloads and USB cables.

Enter the Kindle. Amazon's hugely popular e-reader hardware and apps recently opened access to public libraries in the US, which can use the Amazon account and distribution infrastructure to control and distribute time-limited e-books to library patrons. Will we ever drive to physical libraries again? After testing the new system, it's safe to say: yes. Yes we will. But Kindle library lending provides a glimpse of the future rushing so quickly at us.

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TUAW: Analysis determines why Angry Birds is so popular - 11/10/11  (123 views)



Here, finally, must certainly be the last word on Angry Birds. Certified Human Factors Engineering Professional Charles L. Mauro has done an exhaustive report called "A Cognitive Teardown of Angry Birds," in which he breaks down, piece by ever-lovin' piece, the throw-birds-at-pigs game and just what it does to users and their experiences.

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TUAW: Apple officially announces iPhone event for Oct. 4 - 9/27/11  (110 views)



Jim Dalrymple of The Loop has received an invitation from Apple (pictured below) for a press event to announce the new iPhone. It will occur on October 4 at Apple's campus in Cupertino, starting at 10:00 AM PT.

Please note that Apple's typically terse invitation simply says "iPhone." No "5," no "4," no "S." Which model(s) will be discussed? Well, that's the surprise, now isn't it?

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