Links for Saturday October 26^th, 2013

• On Ben Thompson's "Whither Liberal Arts?": I like this rebuttal of Ben Thompson, by Pavan Rajam:

  "The new iPads are more mature products. The iPad is not a new idea, and the general public knows what the iPad is. Apple has spent the last 3 years using promoting the iPad’s vision explicitly and doesn’t necessarily have to keep hitting the same “manifesto”-type notes in how communicates the product. To be fair, the marketing/pro cycle for the new iPads is just starting, and I’d like to see some more ads before I completely agree with Thompson. I don’t think it’s fair to compare where we are now with iPad Air to the introduction of the original."

  Makes sense to me.

• Thoughts and Observations Regarding This Week's Apple Event Introducing the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini: In general, there is much to like in this piece from John Gruber. However, this part:

  "My understanding is that it’s been a long slog to get here — here being where these apps and all OS updates are available free of charge — the details of said slog being the sort of convoluted bean-counting that would put anyone who doesn’t wear a green eyeshade to sleep. But this too — I think — is why the iLife and iWork apps are only free with the purchase of a new device and for users of previous versions. Apple’s not trying to milk money from those customers ineligible for the free versions of these apps (although, of course, they will happily keep the money). It’s simply the fallout from Apple’s accounting guidelines that they cannot simply offer this apps free of charge to everyone."

  Seems to be extremely fishy. Apple already has many free apps on the App Store. I don't see why accounting rules tied to device sales would prevent them from making other apps free as well.

• Games of the Generation: Portal: A love-letter to Portal. I thought that this bit, near the end, really summed things up:

  "In a game in which your only abilities are to jump and create rips in space, cunning and ingenuity are your only tools to progress. It is no accident that, aside from the bullet-spraying turrets, Portal presents an all-female cast. In this way story and theme are fully aligned: a game that subvert the systems of a genre, the systems of an entire medium and, in its occasional anarchic moments, the systems of power and government (note the achievement awarded for destroying every one of the CCTV cameras bolted onto Aperture's eavesdropping walls)."

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier: I don't normally link to movie trailers, but this one looks amazing. I think you know where I'm going to be April 4th of next year.

• How Apple Makes the Mac Pro: I love this deconstruction of the "making of" video that Apple showed at yesterday's event. I don't understand any of this stuff, but it sure seems like the new Mac Pro is going to be an amazingly well-manufactured device. (via Mac Rumors)

• Pouring A Small Amount Of Water On The Apple TV Fire I Sort Of Started: MG Siegler, walking back some Apple TV rumors that he started. As the Apple event has long since passed, we now know that Apple TV wasn't mentioned at all, and only received a minor software update, post event. So, I'd say that we have a bright future of more Apple TV rumors and speculation ahead of us!