January 2012
6 posts
SOPA is a Red Herring →
Foist a really onerous one so the press can get the sheep up in arms, while one of the other two waiting in the wings get passed. Sheep are really easy to distract, eh?
Why I Hate Android →
M.G. Siegler on the evils of Android. A good read, especially if you are a fan of the “open” thingy Google keeps touting.
Apple Quietly Rolls Out Bluetooth 4
Quora has an interesting look at the capabilities of Bluetooth 4.
Notice that the current range of Macs and iOS devices have incorporated Bluetooth 4? Expect a huge wave of innovative, low-power devices and companion apps come into the fore very soon.
This is the genius of Apple’s philosophy of gradual improvement. Not everything is done big-bang style, and it doesn’t need to be....
Nurse Reveals the Top 5 Regrets People Make on... →
Live your life. Don’t compromise.
Misconceptions About iOS Multitasking →
Repeat after me: The app icons don’t need to be closed.
I can’t believe how many people I’ve given this advice to, and most of them—even the most technical of software engineers—do not believe this to be true.
Update: Fraser Speirs posts a video of this in action.
December 2011
8 posts
A Geek's 2011
A Happy New Year to the handful of you who read my humble blog. Here are my thoughts of the significant happenings of 2011. Skip this if you can’t tolerate a little snark!
Apple
Steve Jobs left behind an insanely great company that values making great products to delight customers, over making money for shareholders. What an idea.
Apple became the most valuable tech company in the world...
Scientists Cure Cancer, But No One Takes Notice →
This is the sad capitalistic world we live in. If there’s no money to be made, they’d rather let people die.
The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing... →
Great article on the ills of the way companies are incentivized and some immediately workable solutions. If nothing is done, we’ll be sitting back and watching humankind implode due to sheer gluttony.
Occupy Flash →
Do a good deed for yourself, family and friends this holiday.
Definition of an ‘Apple Fanboy’ and Those That Use... →
An Insanely Great definition.
Microsoft's Contempt for the Customer
The “tooltip appears behind the Windows taskbar” problem has existed for more than a decade, across multiple Windows versions from XP to server editions.
And yet they simply remain absolutely, completely, totally uninterested in fixing it. Ever. If this isn’t the ultimate “fuck you” from Microsoft to all their users, I don’t know what is.
The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011 →
A bonanza of government violence against citizens.
November 2011
7 posts
Copycats →
Interesting piece by Matt Legend Gemmell on the current spate of Apple “photocopiers” like HP and Samsung vs. true innovators who let deeper principles inspire their designs.
The Shocking Truth About the Crackdown on Occupy →
This is the first public show of force of what has actually been brewing behind the scenes for decades. The elites have slowly positioned themselves into power, with you—the common man—as economic units of production. Now they are openly showing their tyranny, practicing tactics that dictators like Gadaffi and Mubarak, and countries like China and North Korea would be most proud of.
The...
What the Vaio Z Says About Sony's Little Design...
Not only Sony, but just about every company who thinks a yearly redesign that brings nothing much in improvements besides better specs and an outer shell is a good thing. Which in turn afflicts consumers, especially those whose egos and self-worth depends on having the latest, biggest, fastest thing.
Good design takes time to iterate and improve upon, and stands the test of time.
Lessons From the Failure of Flash: Greed Kills →
Great piece. Lesson: Do what’s right for customers, not only what will make you rich. Apple understands that, while the rest of the industry remains flummoxed.
“If you release shit, you look like shit.”
– MG Siegler on Google’s Gmail app for iOS
October 2011
6 posts
What Are The Elites Doing?
When they’re talking, they’re lying. When they’re not talking, they’re scheming.
Remember that the next time you see one of these goons.
“When you “open” your device and/or software, shit always finds a way in.”
– MG Siegler
“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who...”
– Malcolm X
Carriers Worry iMessage Will Destroy Their SMS... →
About time these motherfucking bloodsucking carriers lose their ill-gotten cash cow.
Expected the iPhone 5, Got a 4S Instead
The rumor mill went on overdrive, reporting that Apple “would be announcing the iPhone 5”. To add to the fire, there were mockups of an iPhone that looked like an iPod touch with a larger 4” screen. Everyone’s expectations were pretty much locked in.
My Mum sure thought she’d be lining up for the iPhone 5 come late October. The newspapers seemed so sure. After the keynote, she asked me “how come...
3.5 Inches →
Dustin Curtis on the iPhone’s screen. 4” iPhone 5? Crazy talk. Apple’s not in a dick-size competition with the likes of Samsung.
September 2011
10 posts
Logging Out of Facebook is Not Enough →
Facebook tries as much as possible to keep sniffing your online behavior. Delete all facebook.com cookies.
OK is the iPad of Words →
Good analogy. You don’t need it, but it helps a lot.
Draw a Stickman →
Downright impressive HTML5. Best on the iPad.
A Quick Guide to Common Miscapitalizations of Tech... →
Read. Learn. Remember. (Please.)
“Only the small secrets need to be protected. The big ones are kept secret by...”
– Marshall LcLuhan
80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives →
It’s likely that you are one of them.
“They say their goal is to gather all the knowledge in the world in one place,...”
– Don Norman on Google
“If you want to hire great people and have them stay working for you, you have to...”
– Steve Jobs
Amazon AppStore: Rotten To The Core →
Beware of Amazon’s predatory digital initiatives.
August 2011
4 posts
The Greatest Customer Service Story Ever Told,... →
Businesses: This is how you use social networks and delight customers.
Brilliantly Sarcastic Responses To Completely... →
Epic! If you live in a fascist state and did this to one of the signs, you’d be caned for sure.
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a...”
– Seth Godin
“You know the problem with kittens? They grow up to be cats.”
– Patrick Norton, Tekzilla: Episode “spittle”
July 2011
10 posts
Google Can Nuke You
This “don’t be evil” company owns your entire online presence, if you let them. They can nuke your account completely, without reason or prior warning.
Read this cautionary tale, or more accurately, cloud nightmare.
“Logic and critical thinking are the hallmarks of a free society, while rote...”
– Michael Rivero
“It’s the Apple-haters who are beginning to look more and more like dogmatic...”
– John Gruber, Doesn’t Sound ‘Sober’ to Me
Tech Leaders Don't Win By Saying They'll Crush... →
A good lesson in humility for the smack-talking bunch.
