Why Steve Jobs would have hated the new iPhones: Best of the Web

Yesterday the world tuned in to find out just what the new iPhone 6 (and the iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch) would look like, but Slate’s Will Oremus says there’s one person who would be left unimpressed by Apple’s latest reveal: Steve Jobs.

Oremus says the larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus—the screen size of which are significantly larger than the iPhone5 and 5s—would not have been released under Jobs, who once quipped: “No one’s going to buy that” in reference to smartphones with screens larger than the original iPhone’s 3.5 inches. “You can’t get your hand around it,” he said.

But yesterday’s admission from Apple that size does matter is not necessarily a bad thing, says Oremus.

“It’s true that ‘phablets’ aren’t for everyone. Still, Apple’s rivals have since proven that larger screens hold plenty of appeal in an age where people do more and more reading, typing, and movie-watching on their phones. You can work all the technological wonders you want, but when it comes to screen size, bigger is simply better. The only question is whether it’s worth the tradeoff in terms of portability.”

The iPhones of the future?

While we’re still on the topic of iPhones, Mashable asked 19 children to draw what they thought the iPhone 6 would look like, before Apple told the world of course.

Putting the fact that four-year-olds have a pretty clear idea of what an iPhone is aside for one moment, the results of the experiment are imaginative, cute and possibly a sign of things to come if these talented artists ever make their way into the Apple design team. A cat iPhone anyone?

Why Microsoft could be prepared to pay $US2 billion for a video game

Microsoft has billions and billions of dollars in overseas cash it wants to spend and the tech giant is reportedly looking to spend at least US$2 billion (A$2.18 billion) of that on popular video game Minecraft.

Writing for Businessweek, Ashlee Vance says the acquisition of Minecraft owner Mojang would “make a lot of sense for Microsoft”.

“In Minecraft, Microsoft would get a game that has taken over the lives of children around the world and brings in about US$100 million a year in profit. It’s a huge hit on the Xbox as well as mobile devices and the PC and would provide Microsoft with a massive, growing audience.

“It’s a worldwide phenomenon that really has no rival. Part of the reason kids and adults love the game so much is the free-spirited nature of its Swedish creator Markus Persson. While having Microsoft take over the franchise would ruin the grass-roots feel for some, it would also open up the chance for some deep-pocketed development that could take Minecraft to new heights.”

 When it’s time to let the big guys win

Most early users of Twitter will be familiar with Twitpic, a startup that has allowed Tweeters to upload photos for six years.

But as of September 25, Twitpic will be no more, as a result of a nasty trademark battle with the social media giant.

Twitpic’s Noah Everett explained the “unexpected and hard” decision in this blog post:

“A few weeks ago Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API. This came as a shock to us since Twitpic has been around since early 2008, and our trademark application has been in the USPTO since 2009.

“We encountered several hurdles and difficulties in getting our trademark approved even though our first use in commerce predated other applications, but we worked through each challenge and in fact had just recently finished the last one … Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter.”