Apple lamp robot

Apple R&D made Luxo Jr. Ish. Over at Stuff, I write about how Apple robots need to be charming and useful, but can’t prize being adorable over utility.

In 2003, Ulysses reimagined writing apps. It’s now the latest entry in my iPhone classics series, which includes an interview with Ulysses co-founder Marcus Fehn

Want to sell your old tat? For TapSmart, I cover apps for selling things using your iPhone.

What is the iPad for? Matt Gemmell digs deep into this in Back to Mac, which inspired my own piece about how the iPad fits into my life.

Mega City Comics is saved. The owner was retiring, which threatened the existence of the much-loved Camden Town comics store. Forbidden Planet has bought it. I imagine that will change its vibe (hence a recent firesale of back issues that FP doesn’t care about stocking). But it’s great to know the shop will survive in some form.

Ian Dunt argues journalism is collapsing in the middle of an information war. Why? Money, mostly. A combination of people being unwilling to pay and analytics driving what gets eyeballs on sites has eroded quality media. But, as I wrote about for Stuff over ten years ago, this goes wider than hard news and politics. The message remains the same: support the media you want to exist, or it soon won’t.