from The New York Times, a neat infographic:

note how the number of edges emanating from a company is an indicator of its health¹. Kodak has been dying since the commoditization of the digital camera. Nokia started to crumble when the iPhone went global. conversely, HTC is doin' all right—they even split last year.

filing lawsuits is an indicator that you've lost your innovative edge. losing the lead, you're exploiting what's left out of your inventions and legacy until you've finally converted all your integrity into bankruptcy. the news will enjoy adding their spin as well, further complicating things.
whether founded or not, these impressions taint your reputation. they damage your business.

Can you name a company you admire that spends its time enforcing patents, instead of innovating? Remember the pirate flag you flew over Apple's headquarters when you were building the Mac? Is Apple part of the Navy now?Wil Shipley

who cares if someone took your ideas to build a competing product? that's how the market works. build the better product—it can't be hard if all your competition can only manage plagiarism.

I hope this passes soon so we can get back to creating the future.

Flash evangelist Lee Brimelow made his little poster showing what a bunch of Flash-using web sites look like without Flash without actually looking to see how they render on MobileSafari. Ends up a bunch of them, including the porno site, already have iPhone-optimized versions with no blue boxes, and video that plays just fine as straight-up H.264. iPhone visitors to these sites have no idea they’re missing anything because, well, they’re not missing anything. For a few other of the sites Brimelow cited, like Disney and Spongebob Squarepants, there are dedicated native iPhone apps.

Kendall Helmstetter Gelner put together this version of Brimelow’s chart using actual screenshots from MobileSafari, the App Store, and native iPhone apps. The only two blue boxes left: FarmVille and Hulu.John Gruber

pretty damning that Brimelow could only find two good examples for his Apple roast, including the porn card he chose. I'm on the fence on the Flash debate, but I keep finding it harder and harder to justify.

My straight marriage is under more threat from discriminatory anti-gay voters than from same-sex couples wanting to be similarly recognized. I got married in order to embark upon a commitment of mutuality and love, not join a private country club for straights only. I am astounded by the shallowness of a legal and moral definition of marriage which privileges the sex of its participants beyond all other criteria Tom Ryberg

this is why Cindy and I have postponed our marriage indefinitely. as much as we'd like to enjoy the tax and legal benefits, it is not fair to our friends. their relationships are just as loving and devoted as ours.

this is one hell of an apology. down to the very last line:

So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.

mind you, given Turing's accomplishments¹, no apology could truly make good after what was done to him.

I just can't help thinking: that man deserves his revenge… and we deserve to die.

to help you cut through the crap more efficiently:

replace all mentions of "pro-family" with "pro-church".

because it's pretty obvious they don't care about their families at all¹.