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Senators propose 'USA Liberty Act' to reauthorize NSA surveillance
The question of how to rein in monitoring enabled by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has been in the spotlight ever since the Edward Snowden PRISM revelations. What exactly to do about it has gone back and forth, but the latest attempt to "reform" surveillance is here in the form of the USA Liberty Act, a bipartisan proposal introduced by Senators Mike Lee and Patrick Leahy (PDF). The Washington Post figures it has little chance of passage, however, it does contain language that would make government agencies get a warrant before searching information collected by the NSA under Section 702.
No WWDC tickets? Go to AltWWDC 2013 instead
As expected, WWDC 2013 tickets sold out in record time. If you are one of the many disappointed developers locked out of Apple's premier developer event yet again, take heart. The folks behind Appsterdam and a number of other developer events are organizing AltWWDC this year, a free 5-day event that will be held in San Francisco June 10-14, 2013. Appsterdam's Mike Lee, TUAW editor-in-chief Victor Agreda, our very own wizard Brett Terpstra, Brent Simmons, Saul Mora and Steve "Scotty" Scott are among the confirmed speakers at the event, which is sponsored by 360|Conferences, Hidden Memory and Server Density. Read the press release below for further information on this alt event! Show full PR text With Apple having pre-announced their annual Worldwide Developer Conference this year, tickets will sell out faster than ever before. Luckily, a group of app makers from around the world have been preparing AltWWDC, an alternative event that runs in parallel and doesn't require a ticket from Apple. The "Alternative WWDC" is held alongside Apple's WWDC, June 10-14, in San Francisco. This free 5-day event will have talks, lunch, and co-working space, available first-come, first-serve every day. So far, confirmed speakers are Mike Lee, Victor Agreda, Jr., Brett Terpstra, Brent Simmons, Saul Mora, and Steve "Scotty" Scott. Created by a group of Apple developers and technology enthusiasts from around the world, this year's AltWWDC combines several events from the previous year that all shared the common goal of offering a great conference experience to anyone excited about Apple technology, regardless of their developer status. "I realized that the most I get out of conferences isn't necessarily in the conference itself, but rather in the relationships I make and renew while there," says Rob Elkin, co-creator of AltWWDC. "I wanted to be in the city to spend time with people and enjoy the atmosphere. So, I decided to create a workspace that I would want to attend, somewhere to go and get work done, but also to spend time meeting new people, and learning a little." Every year, Apple's WWDC event has sold out in record time. In 2012, all 5000 tickets sold out in just two hours, a speed that topped the previous year's eight hours. With tickets selling faster and faster each year, many Apple developers are guaranteed to be left in the dust. This was the impetus in 2012 for Josh Michaels to create Intersection, Kyle Kinkade to create IndieDevLab, and Rob Elkin and Judy Chen to create AltWWDC. Having event registration pre-announced this year, it will sell out faster than ever, creating an even greater need for an alternative. "Last year it was clear that an alternative week-long event was needed, but three different groups stepped up to do it, and the result was three less than ideal events," says Michaels. "This year with everyone unified and working together, I believe we can reach a much higher bar." Rob Elkin, Judy Chen, Josh Michaels, and Kyle Kinkade have joined forces to create an alternative space where the WWDC ticketed and ticketless are welcome to attend. The location is at San Francisco State University's downtown campus, just one block away from Moscone, between Market Street and Mission Street. The event is being sponsored by 360|Conferences, Hidden Memory, and Server Density. "I hope we're able to both educate people on the topics that aren't covered in WWDC as well as enlighten and inspire people with real stories from real developers," Michaels says. Kinkade says, "I am proud to be part of the AltWWDC team and movement. By working together we demonstrate the spirit of indie developers." For more information about AltWWDC, see http://altwwdc.com. For press and sponsorship inquiries, email altwwdc@appsterdam.rs.
Bipartisan bill to re-legalize cellphone unlocking introduced in Senate
We should have known that it wouldn't take long for someone in congress to take up the fight to re-legalize cellphone unlocking. Those championing the effort on the floor of the Senate are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) , Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act this afternoon. After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law under the DMCA (that's Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision. Consumer advocates quickly collected 100,000 signatures on a petition, forcing the White House to take a position on the matter. To the relief of many, including the globe trotters and ROM fanatics here at Engadget, President Obama backed our right to circumvent carrier locks -- within reason, of course. This is after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski voiced concerns that the ban could hamper competition and innovation. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, is pushing a similar bill in the House of representatives, but its the bipartisan senate version that seems to be garnering the most attention. In a statement Blumenthal called the legislation "common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice and important for ensuring healthy competition in the market." Obviously this is just the beginning of a long long journey and all the sponsors can do is hope and pray their sad little scrap of paper will one day become a law. Update: It turns out that there's another bill that has been introduced in the Senate as well, penned by Oregon senator Rob Wyden.
Appsterdam's Mike Lee returns with Lemurs Chemistry: Water game for iOS
In March of this year, I had the pleasure of a brief, unplanned visit with "The World's Toughest Programmer," Mike Lee, at the Appsterdam headquarters in the Netherlands. TUAW readers know Mike for his long stint with Delicious Monster, followed by his advocacy and frequent conference appearances in support of the burgeoning indie developer community. At the time of our conversation, Mike was just about ready for phase three of the Appsterdam project, after a year of working and collaborating his butt off to get Appsterdam running. Phase three, as he described it, marks the point where the frantic energy of Appsterdam's early days (and the direct, day-to-day involvement of the founder) gives way to a sustainable, democratic organization that is self-directing. Mike planned to take a month's vacation, give the incoming leadership a chance to get rooted, and focus on new projects like writing a book and developing educational software. Now one of those projects is about to hit the App Store. Lemurs Chemistry: Water ($1.99), from New Lemurs, is an educational game for iOS. Your objective is to form water molecules, which help the flowers bloom. The game includes an arcade-level "wet" mode, with plenty of fun exploding molecules and easier gameplay; advanced users will switch to "dry" mode where the actual chemistry of hydrogen and oxygen reactions becomes more important. There's a video preview of Lemur Chemistry: Water posted now; also check out Mike's blog post detailing the extensive team and efforts behind the game, including plenty of blood, sweat and tears. Best part: with some help from experts at Princeton, the development team discovered that the scientific literature covering combustion is a little bit inaccurate. The game is currently in App Store review, and you can follow along with the updates via the New Lemurs Twitter feed. I look forward to seeing the game in action; chances are we'll be adding it to our list of five apps for lemur owners. For vintage Lee, check out this WWDC 2008 clip with Scott McNulty, where Mike gives a deep dive on Delicious Library.
360iDev: Mike Lee talks about mariachi, project engineering and Appsterdam
Mike Lee, former Apple and Delicious Monster employee, is among the most dynamic speakers on the Mac and Apple circuit -- whether he's telling dirty jokes or waxing poetic about beauty and insanity, he's always entertaining and insightful about product development and Apple culture in general. Lee was in rare form at this week's 360iDev conference in Denver -- he took the stage in a full Mariachi costume, and that was one of the least weird things that happened during his talk. His main points on product engineering were all very insightful. Lee went through what he called the history of machines, starting with simple tools like sticks employed by our pre-historic ancestors. He then progressed from the assembly line era to the age of personal computers, and then onto nanotechnology and the future. Lee said that software and hardware have been moving ever closer together, and we're currently at the "dawn of the age of magic in computing," where hardware and software are virtually the same thing. Lee discussed Apple's "intersection of technology and liberal arts," which he calls redundant. The word "technology" is derived from the Greek words for both art and science. That led into a discussion about design, during which Lee said that users aren't necessarily dumb -- but developers should assume, for the sake of their software, that they are. "People are not ignorant or apathetic," said Lee, "but they don't know and they don't care about you or your app." Great products, said Lee, are 80% boring, but 20% crazy and revolutionary, and that 20% makes all the difference. He offered up the iPod as an example. It was dull and simple when first introduced. But over time, Apple solved one problem after another: "Where does the music come from? What about the Windows guys? No, really," joked Lee to laughter from the audience, "what about the Windows guys?" Lee concluded that quality is more important than originality. People, he said, are in love with their ideas, but the incredible implementation of a boring idea makes it much more appealing to its intended audience. Lee also briefly discussed cross-platform implementation. He said devs often ask him which platform they should develop for or if they should implement across mobile platforms. Focus on doing one well first, Lee tells them: "If you suck on iOS, you're really going to suck on Android." Then things went really off the rails: After a short delay spent dealing with a microphone feedback issue, Lee launched into an extended "mariachi" metaphor, complete with an actual mariachi band marching into the conference. He said that developers and anyone selling or marketing software must take the "boring" story of what their software does, and then add "the mariachi story." Delicious Library 2, for example, is just a database -- but it lets you scan bar codes with your iSight camera. Lee spoke about product engineering -- but he added a mariachi band, and promised everyone would remember it. And even the iPad 2 was a "boring" iteration of the last iPad, just thinner and faster, until Apple announced the Smart Cover and its magical magnets. At that point, Lee said, everyone in the room was thinking that "maybe my Mom would like that old iPad." And finally, Lee went into an extended pitch for Appsterdam, a venture he's trying to put together in Amsterdam for mobile and app developers. Lee suggested that not only is the Netherlands city a great place for developers and programmers to go and work, but Amsterdam itself is a great place for Americans to live, promising the audience at 360iDev that the country offered universal health care, net neutrality and even marriage equality to anyone willing to move out there with him. He even extolled the local library, saying, "it's like the library was built by Apple out of Ikea," suggesting that developers there come out and see it (and imagine their children growing up there). It was hard to tell how the developers in the audience felt about the Appsterdam pitch -- it seemed a bit out of place in the talk, and even Lee admitted that he was a little overenthusiastic about suggesting developers with families and other responsibilities picking up and moving to the Netherlands to code with him. But the talk was definitely entertaining and memorable. As usual, Lee demonstrated the frank, crystal clear insight he's known for.
Appsterdam: building a haven for app developers in Amsterdam
Mike Lee, formerly of Apple and Tapulous, has moved to Amsterdam and is looking to set up a new application development community. Lee left the US after he became disillusioned with how the country and the development community was headed. He was frustrated with not being able to afford heath insurance as a self-employed worker and was put off by the fast, money-focused lifestyle of Silicon Valley. He chose Amsterdam for his new Appsterdam project after traveling the world looking at prospective cities. It has the right combination of affordability and is centrally located in Europe. Amsterdam, he notes, is already filled with creative and marketing people. He hopes to provide a pool of talented app developers. Lee already kicked off his Appsterdam project with a weekend of tours and has designated official hangouts where developers can collaborate. Local investor Floris van Alkemade is offering his support by establishing a seed fund that will provide investments of 10-50,000 EUR (US$14,000- $70,000) per company.
360 MacDev Keynote: Mike Lee's "Dirty Jokes and Code"
360|MacDev is underway in Denver, Colorado, and it's starting with a bang. While many developer conferences begin with a boring, bland, and somewhat cookie-cutter keynote, this morning's keynote was a NSFW -- but definitely memorable -- talk laced with dirty jokes by Mike Lee (at right). Mike has done a lot of coding on some of the more popular software for Mac and iOS, including Delicious Library and Tap Tap Revenge, and is famous for his insightful talks on software design. The talk, entitled "Dirty Jokes and Code," was more than just the jokes, though. Through applicable off-color jokes, Lee essentially taught the attendees a lot of the important facets of how to produce apps that are incredibly useful and usable for buyers. Whether it was a rant against overuse of splash screens, a warning about errors in localizing software, or how one little issue can cause a user to go ballistic, Lee got his point across to the attendees.
360iDev: Mike Lee on changing the world with engineering
Former Delicious Monster and Tapulous developer Mike Lee (who now works for the mothership at Apple) took the stage to start off the last day of 360iDev in San Jose. He gave a wildly rambling speech about what it means to be an engineer and why programmers should not only make the best programs they can, but actually commit to changing the world for the better. Lee's speech was probably the most broad, and least technical, of the whole conference. While other speakers had covered using Core Data in apps or how to make the most money on the App Store, Lee spoke about his work with the Terrorist Watch List, the beauty and insanity of Van Gogh's Starry Night, and why he has to convince himself that he is really as cool as everyone says. As you can probably tell already, it was a heck of a thing to see. About halfway through the speech, summarized as best it can be below, Lee stopped flipping slides and just talked candidly and from the heart about his apps, his work, and his life. Read on for more.
WWDC '08: Mike Lee (Tapulous)
Mike Lee (yes, the self-proclaimed world's toughest programmer) has a new project called Tapulous. Last time we spoke with Mike, he was part of Delicious Monster but has since moved his focus to the iPhone. Tapulous includes several prominent names from the jailbreak community (including Polar Bear Farm) and is working on a family of "social iPhone applications." We talk about that ... and Lemurs, of course, but that was at my insistence.
Last chance to save lemurs with Delicious developer Mike Lee
If a man bills himself as the world's toughest programmer (site may be NSFW, depending on your sensitivity to four-letter or 12-letter words) it's usually a good idea to take notice when he sets his mind to something. Delicious Monster developer Mike Lee has created a campaign to help save the lemur population of Madagascar, by soliciting $100 donations and in return sending the contributor a stuffed lemur, similar to Mike's world-traveling sidekick Thievey.Your opportunity to do some good, and join the Founding Troop of Club Thievey, closes out at midnight PT tonight. If you were considering a last-minute charitable donation, Mike's cause is a great option -- plus you get a cuddly lemur.Speaking of charitable donations that expire at midnight: the OLPC Give One-Get One program closes out tonight. For $400, you can send an XO laptop to a needy child and get another one for your local undersized technology consumer. Sure, it doesn't run Mac OS X, but it will blend in nicely with your old clamshell iBook collection.
