Find out what you can do to keep the Internet free of censorship and unfettered corporate control. Tell Congress that SOPA is a bad idea that will only hurt a free society.

Jason Kottke succinctly runs down the case against Go Daddy, who is now facing a boycott over their support of SOPA.

Here’s how not to launch a start-up social media service.

(Via The Loop)

Amazon updates the Kindle for iPad app:

The updates in version 2.9 of the free, universal Kindle app include a couple iPad-specific additions: Kindle for iPad now offers access to the 400 magazines and newspapers already available on the Fire, including Martha Stewart Living, Cosmopolitan, Popular Science, and Macworld — in full color. You can purchase a single issue at a time, or subscribe for recurring wireless delivery. iPad users can also read “print replica textbooks,” which reflect the layout and formatting of the print editions, adding in features like notes, highlights, and zoom.

Both iPad and iPhone/iPod touch Kindle app users gain the ability to email documents to their new Send-to-Kindle email addresses; those documents are archived in the Amazon Cloud and can now be accessed from the iOS app or other supported Kindle devices. Also new to the app is the ability to open PDFs from Mail or Safari, with support for PDF tables of contents and thumbnail navigation.

The only update I’m likely to use is the last one — pdf support — but it’s nice to see Amazon updating the iPad app. I was afraid that they might continue to let the iOS apps lag behind. This is a good update of some of their better Kindle-only-no-more features.

What’s missing is the ability to group book purchases into collections like you can on the Kindle (and like iBooks does). That is a feature I would definitely use.

Following up on Steve Jobs’ desk is Einstein’s desk.

If we judge genius by the messiness of a desk, I’ve definitely got a well above-average IQ.

(Via Minimal Mac)

Want a peak inside of Steve Jobs’ old office?

If you are now using Tweetbot as your iPhone Twitter client, you need to follow Tweetbot on Twitter. They tweet useful hints and tips on usage all the time.

Tweetbot is a fantastic app, and it’s got a lot of hidden gems that make using it a real joy.

(Via Colin Devroe)

This just about sums up what Ben Brooks thinks about The Verge:

Then Topolsky and crew launched their next big thing: The Verge. It’s what they envisioned tech reporting to be when they left Engadget, but unfortunately for them it sucks.

I’ve not read much of The Verge because of similar opinions from others — and myself.

When Topolsky was at Engadget, he was one of my favorite writers. Now, it’s as if they are being too careful so as not to offend their advertisers or readers. Either way, it’s largely bland crap.

Brooks’ piece is worth the entire read, if for no other reason than to read a list of his own opinions with which I mostly agree.

The big news today is that TextMate 2.0 Alpha has been released. I downloaded it this evening and started playing around with it. My initial impression is that I love it.

To say that TextMate 2 has been “long-awaited” would be an understatement. Back in 2006, developer Allan Odgaard announced that 2.0 was in the works and would be coming soon. Five years and a complete rewrite later, it’s finally here.

This is Alpha software, and there are a few bugs in it — like preview. But overall it’s been stable enough for me to use. Using the Alpha requires a 1.0 license, so only previous TextMate owners can get in on it. (It will be a free upgrade, but as Marco Arment says, it’s well worth paying for again.)

Strategy Analytics reports the following statistics on how people use the Apple TV:

This report also found that Apple TV users are spending more money on movies and TV shows: 30 percent of Apple TV owners rented movies or TV shows, compared to 20 percent of users of other devices. “Apple is leading this nascent market, which it still considers a ‘hobby’.” says Jia Wu, Senior Analyst at the Connected Home Devices (CHD) service.

This surprised John Gruber over at Daring Fireball, and it does me as well. While I watch far more Netflix and movies stored on a Mac Mini I can access via the Apple TV than I do renting movies or TV shows, it seems odd to me that 70 percent of people don’t rent anything from iTunes.

So I guess I’m in the minority with how we use the Apple TV.

(via Daring Fireball)