Apple’s iTunes Store support in an email to me after resolving an issue.

Now that I’m doing support for AgileBits I’ve been even more keenly aware of support interactions than I was before and this response impressed me.

While it’s certainly a snippet and a bit overly formal it’s the ‘support you deserve,’ the ‘smile on your face’ and ‘it was a pleasure to assist you’ that make me feel good, cared for and valued as I read it.

I have received better, faster and warmer support from a handful of other companies — I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t — but they are very much the exception to the rule and none of them have been a even thousandth of the size of Apple. Apple may not be able to make me feel uniquely special but I do feel cared for and that is a job well done.

xkcd: Felidae

So… now what? Let’s go with Ocelot for 10.9.

I still don’t understand whey they didn’t save Lion for the end.

Repetitive Tasks by Chart Porn

Replace “scripts” with a general “automated solution” and I’m pretty sure you could consider this a geek’s manifesto. Love it!

[Via Swiss Miss]

Because the iPad is a consumption only device.

My friend and former classmate Matt painted this awesome image on his iPad using the app Procreate. The iPad can be truly inspiring tool in the hands of someone so talented and dedicated to his craft.

Nice work Matt!

Brilliant.

Evernote Launches Separate Chinese Service | Evernote Blogcast

You’ve got to admire Evernote’s attitude; very few startups are thinking as big or as strategically as Evernote does. How many other services do you use that are thinking 100 years ahead or building this level of localized development?

How to Pirate Software Without Getting Caught

Gizmodo and Gawker, the internet’s most trusted source and paragons of integrity.

Who signed off on this story?

If you use, buy or talk about apps this is the most important thing you’ll read this week.

Path newsletter — May 4, 2012

Path’s new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are still long and they still have some legalize but for the most part they are quite human readable and you should read them.

Highlights — as in you need to know this stuff

The price of free:

Our Service may change from time to time and/or we may stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Service (or features within the Service), possibly without prior notice to you.

In other words, you’re not entitled to anything.

Content and your submissions

By posting Content to the Service, you grant us the right and license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content on and through the Service. You agree that this license includes the right for us to make your Content available to other users of the Service, who may also use your Content subject to these Terms. You retain any and all of your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Service and you are responsible for protecting those rights.

You know that this is in almost every service you upload anything to, right?

We don’t have an obligation to monitor your access to or use of the Service or to review or edit any Content, but we have the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Service, to ensure your compliance with these Terms, or to comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental body. We reserve the right, at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to any Content, that we consider, in our sole discretion, to be in violation of these Terms or otherwise harmful to the Service.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from and against any and all costs, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) we incur in relation to, arising from, or for the purpose of avoiding, any claim or demand from a third party that your use of the Service or the use of the Service by any person using your Account violates any applicable law or regulation, or the rights of any third party.

Breaking the terms can result in a lot more serious consequences that being banned.

Privacy Policy

We will also collect the contact information of your friends, if you choose to connect your contacts and address book information with Path and your login credentials to your social network accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, if you choose to connect those accounts with your Path account.

Why aren’t these hashed yet? This should have been implemented immediately after the address book fiasco.

How Do We Use the Information We Collect?

…for any other purpose for which the information was collected.

What Information Do We Share With Third Parties?

in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition, or in any other situation where personal information may be disclosed or transferred as one of our business assets.

I’ll bet Instagram and Foursquare had essentially this clause before being acquired by Facebook.

Your account

You can deactivate your account by selecting the “deactivate” link. Deactivating your account lets you remove your profile without permanently deleting it. When you deactivate your account, other users will no longer see your profile or information (but your information is saved, in case you want to reactivate your account at some point in the future). If you want to delete your information and your account, please contact us with a request that we delete your account and information. We will take steps to delete your information as soon as is practicable, but some information may remain in archived/backup copies for our records and as otherwise required by law.

This needs fixed.

P.S. LIMITED LIABILITY

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FROM ALL CAUSES OF ACTION AND UNDER ALL THEORIES OF LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE APP AND IN NO EVENT WILL IT EXCEED $50.

Is it really necessary to shout? That’s one part of these policies that I’ve never understood, they actually discourage people from reading these very important sections.

Attributed sharing from Flickr to Pinterest « Flickr Blog

This is good news and it seems like better attribution is becoming a trend among media driven sharing tools.

Apple’s Response on Its Tax Practices - NYTimes.com

Smart, decisive and objective. All four paragraphs of Apple’s response are great.

[Via David Chartier]

Hulu, TV Networks to Change Model of Free Streaming | Fox Business

Remember when Hulu were the rebels with the new business model? Awesome, right?

I had always hoped that they’d be able to prove that Hulu’s model works better in today’s internet world — to do the same thing that Apple did with the music labels — it might have been an unfounded dream all along but it’s still disappointing that they’ve failed.

Marco Arment:

I t’s a very common user mindset: they tolerate a lot of limitations, ads, and nags to avoid paying. It’s not that they’re cheap, per se: they just really don’t believe that apps are worth paying for, and they feel cheated or defeated if they end up needing to pay for one.

David Chartier’s response nails it:

Thanks, Google and all the other companies who give everything away for free. You’ve created a culture of people who “feel cheated or defeated if they end up needing to pay” for something.

This needs to change.

Join Creative Density and you get free days in Austin, Boston, San Francisco, Paris…. » Creative Density – Denver Coworking - - Shared, Collaborative, and Affordable Work Space and Office.

This is awesome, whomever organized this really came up with a brilliant idea and I’m stoked that I’ll be able to utilize it next time I’m traveling anywhere.

Also, if you’re in Denver give Creative Density a try, I’ve worked there twice and really enjoyed it, I’m officially signing up next month. If you’re more into the coder/hacker thing or you want a little more open environment you should check out Uncubed as well.

Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012 - chicagotribune.com

Published yesterday this feels right at home on Earth Day.

[Via Chartier]

Stop crying about free services (via chartier)

I’ve expressed my disappointment about Instagram being bought by Facebook but I’m not angry. Free means I’m not entitled to jack and this is how the business works. And you know what? Damn those guys at Instagram earned it.

Facebook-Instagram Acquisition (April 2012): What was it about Instagram that made it worth a $1B acquisition by Facebook? - Quora

Interesting perspective on Facebook and Instagram from Robert Scoble (on Quora no less).

Cipher of Advanced Encryption Substitution And Rotation | Agile Blog

AgileBits unveils a new encryption system, CAESAR, ushering in a new era in cryptography and virtual security.

Also, it’s English only for the sake of security, for the sake of the entire world.

Lego Space Shuttle (by vinciverse)

Quite possibly the most awesome thing ever done with Lego.

[via: TheEditDoctor]