Repressing Free speech in Seattle

Police to protest supporters: Honk if you’d like a ticket | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News
[Via KOMO]

SEATTLE – Police experimented with a new tactic Friday night as they responded to a weeklong Occupy Seattle demonstration at Westlake Park – ticketing drivers who honked in support of protesters.

Starting at 11 p.m. Friday, police started pulling over and ticketing drivers who honked as they drove past protesters.

When the first car – a taxicab – was pulled over, the protesters followed and shouted at police who then formed a blockade around the driver’s cab.

The cab driver was then given a $144 ticket – and protesters ended up handing him money afterwards to help pay for his fine.

[More]

The Supreme Court has said that nude dancing has some 1st Amendment rights. It is hard to see how something much more direct – honking in support – does not have even greater rights.

Certainly being charged $144 for expressing your political views should not hold up.

I wonder what the police would do if people shouted out their support really loud?

Apple logo with Jobs: the designer

Design student creates instantly iconic Apple logo fused with silhouette of Steve Jobs
[Via Edible Apple]

By David Goldman:

Below is sweet and creative riff on the Apple logo paired with a silhouette of Steve Jobs. This photo has been making the rounds quite a bit over the past few days and illustrates, as Tim Cook said in his company wide email, that Jobs’ spirit “will forever be the foundation of Apple”, his influence forever stamped on the company.

But who was behind the the somber and symbolic image?

As it turns out, 19-year old Jonathan Mak, a student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design, came up with the idea. Interestingly enough, Mak first created the design after Jobs had resigned as Apple CEO a few weeks ago. It didn’t attract much attention, though, until he re-posted it this past Thursday.

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This  logo even turned up in Chicago. I hope the designer gets a lot of credit if not money for this.

I think Steve would have liked this. Perhaps Apple will hire him as he seems to have a great sense of iconography.

The iPhone 4S is a better value than many Android phones

iPhone 4S is cheaper, and more profitable, than the 4G Droids
[Via Brainstorm Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine » Apple 2.0]

Apple has managed to eliminate the price premium while maintaining its profit margins

“We expect customers who do the math to opt for the iPhone,” writes Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore in a note to clients Monday.

Moreover, he adds, so will customers who don’t do the math.

Whitmore’s analysis involves comparing the price, features and total cost of ownership of the refreshed iPhone 4S with its leading competitors.

At $199 with a two-year contract (and $649 unlocked), the iPhone 4S is roughly the same price as the 3G handsets that run Google’s (GOOG) Android OS, and an average of about $60 less than 4G-based phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S 11 ($229 with contract), Droid Bionic ($299) and HTC Thunderbolt ($249).

And total cost of ownership for a 16 GB iPhone 4S, amortized across 24 months, is about $93 per month (450 min, unlimited text and 2GB data plan), roughly comparable to the other smartphones.

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The main hope for most Android handsets is that they can compete on price. But they can’t.

Apple can sell their new phones for the same price as Android phones and still make much more profit.

If Apple could make enough phones, it might be able to completely overwhelm Android handsets.

Tha Apple stores may still be mobbed thie week

Apple sets new record with 1M iPhone 4S preorders on first day
[Via AppleInsider]

Apple on Monday announced that its new iPhone 4S sold one million preorders in its first 24 hours of availability, setting a new record for the company.

[More]

This simply confirms what I wrote earlier, there will be a lot of people at Apple stores this week. The one million  preorders probably will not be enough to totally slacken interest.