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Google I/O: Cognitive Science and Design
May 23, 2013Alex Faaborg gave a great presentation last week at Google I/O on a number of the “biological computations” that occur when people use software. I like the way he introduces the point of his talk at 0:37: So, you write great software, you make sure that your software executes well, or is interpreted well, on a silicon-based [...]
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May 23, 2013
Well, if the comments below this Windows 8 ad on YouTube and the posts written about it on The Verge, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac, Apple Insider and others are any indication, it seems that Microsoft just struck an old Mac vs PC nerve. Intentionally. Mac vs PC is over, and apparently Microsoft wants iOS vs Windows 8 to [...]
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Apr 29, 2013
I played Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for many, many hours on a Nintendo DS back in the day, and I think I paid $30 for it. It was well worth it. Now a spiritual sequel is coming to iOS, will likely be free to play, and I doubt I’ll play it for more than 15 [...]
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Apr 29, 2013
I like this ad, all in all. Three things that got me: The S Beam duo from 0:10-0:16 and the “wheeee” at 0:26 The guy flying across the floor at 0:40 (amazingly accurate physics) The guy who reveals an Apple tattoo on his chest at 0:49 There are some mistakes, but most people won’t care [...]
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Apr 29, 2013
Marty Cooper, inventor of the very first cell phone 40 years ago in April of 1973, sat down for a short interview as a part of PBS Digital Studio’s INVENTORS series. I found this part to be particularly interesting: What’s important about any technology is that the technology is hopefully invisible, but at least transparent [...]
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Mar 24, 2013
Clever name, although it reminds me of cable, and I don’t like cable. Vimeo appears to be the “App Store for Entertainment” I discussed last year. Finally, video-makers have a distribution channel with enough clout and platform presence (even on Windows Phone) to sell their film to anyone anywhere. From their announcement post: We’re creators ourselves, [...]
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Comcast is going to own NBCUniversal
Mar 2, 2013This news is a bit old, but the cable & media industries have been on my (annoyed) mind recently. Brian Roberts, Comcast’s CEO (emphasis mine): Our decision to acquire GE’s ownership is driven by our sense of optimism for the future prospects of NBCUniversal and our desire to capture future value that we hope to [...]
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Feb 9, 2013
Wow. All of this stuff right here – this is why I love following tech. Joshua Topolsky’s final thought is so spot on, and judging by his smirk I think he knew it as soon as he said it: For the last few years there’s been a huge boom in types of devices and form [...]
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Jan 28, 2013
As expected, the leaked iPad 5 shell looks very much like a larger iPad mini shell. Could be fake, but it doesn’t look like much of a stretch. The smaller bezel makes sense, particularly when you consider how much lighter and easier to hold it’ll be without that extra aluminum and glass. Check out this Macrumors post [...]
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Nov 12, 2012
This is incredibly weird. Two proclaimed CEOs-in-waiting fired (update: Sinofsky left on his own) from their respective companies. One the head of iOS (which has been a huge success) and one the head of Windows 7 (a big success compared to Vista) and 8 (which is Microsoft’s biggest bet yet). Wow, this is nuts. Update: [...]
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Nov 11, 2012
Realmac’s Dan Counsell quoted in Ellis Hamburger’s review of the new Mac app Clear, which started out as a popular iPhone app: It’s been rewritten from the ground-up so it’s in no way a port, I really can’t stress that enough. The Mac version took around eight months to develop, which is over twice as [...]
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Nov 11, 2012
Fantastic piece by Tom Warren of The Verge with a really great video to boot. If you want to learn more about the future of Windows Phone, particularly what developers think about the exciting changes made in Windows Phone 8, read this piece or at least watch the 6-minute video. It’s seriously great. I completely agree with [...]
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Nov 11, 2012
Sam Byford, The Verge: A California judge has ruled against Fox in its attempt to block an automatic commercial-skipping feature on Dish Network’s Hopper DVR. Fox, as well as CBS and NBC, sued Dish back in May over Auto Hop, which lets viewers watch recorded primetime shows without commercials after 1AM the following day. This is really important. [...]
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Nov 10, 2012
A cloud-based TV platform of some sort. Sounds interesting. There may be a reason why it’s been about 7 years since the Xbox 360 launched (way past the typical 4-5 year refresh time for gaming consoles). Big steps forward take time.
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Oct 30, 2012
Notice the lack of a “sequences shortened” disclaimer. It’s pretty much this fast. Wow. Siri’s “checking on that…” and “checking my sources…” messages suddenly became less excusable.
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Oct 29, 2012
Scott Forstall, the guy in charge of iOS, and John Browett, the guy who recently replaced Tim Cook as the VP of Retail (and reportedly wasn’t very well-liked), are leaving Apple. Craig Federighi, the guy in charge of OS X, is going to start leading both iOS and OS X and Jony Ive, Apple’s lead [...]
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Oct 29, 2012
Loren Brichter in an interview with Macstories’ Federico Viticci on his newly-launched (and very popular) word game, Letterpress: F: … I was reminded of Clear several times upon playing Letterpress. Mainly because you basically got rid of as much UI as possible. Was that a deliberate choice, or did it just come natural? LB: The style [...]
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Oct 26, 2012
The worst part of South Carolina’s recent international cyber attack (from 17:52): “Was the data encrypted that they stole, or unencrypted?” “The credit card information was encrypted…” “And the social security numbers were not?” “They were not.” “Why not?” “That was not part of the system at that point.” “Will it be in the future?” “That’s [...]
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Oct 11, 2012
Neat. The training process is a little odd, and I’m not sure if the impedance measurement would work on a non-stationary screen (like a tablet), but this would definitely offer some cool new functionality. I suspect Microsoft’s PixelSense group is working on something similar.
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Oct 10, 2012
These filmmakers, game-makers, and musician have a really special kind of genius. Recently made available on Netflix. Also on iTunes and Steam. Not on Cable.
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Bravo’s Interpretation of Silicon Valley
Oct 8, 2012“Tech is so much more than just engineering.” “Yeah, it’s an ecosystem.” Oh No. “People have been intimidated because this package generally doesn’t come with a brain” Oh Crap No.
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Oct 7, 2012
Something has been bugging me for the past few months, and it seems like every one or two weeks a new piece of news pops up that makes me think about it even more. I wrote a long post back in March titled “Thinking About the Entertainment Distribution Channel of the Future” in which I [...]
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Don’t just “follow your passion”
Sep 24, 2012A new bit from Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs’ biographer, during a recent Huffington Post panel: Every baby boom generation person who has to give a college commencement talk uses the phrase “follow your passion.” But that’s why no one has written a book calling us the greatest generation. The important point is to not just follow [...]
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Sep 21, 2012
http://youtu.be/A1Rc4MDmr8o Yeah, this one’s good. I can imagine someone watching this on their TV and thinking to themselves, “yeah, that does kinda make sense.” It’s the kind of self-implanting idea that might pop into one’s head when they go to their local AT&T or Verizon store. Good. But Cheeeeeeeeeeeeee—eeeeeeese? Eh. And Samsung’s newest ad (while kinda [...]
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Sep 17, 2012
If you haven’t heard about Caine’s Arcade before, watch the original viral video here. Caine is a 10-year-old kid living in Los Angeles who gradually built up his own cardboard arcade in his Dad’s auto parts shop. The elaborate arcade is an amazing reminder of the kinds of things a kid’s imagination is capable of. [...]