Category: Links

Really sweet new Mac app which provides a dead simple way to put your app screenshots on beautiful images. Very nice work, and a great pricing model too.

If you work on apps, add this to list.

Marco Arment:

The dumbwatch industry’s best hopes are either their own successful lines of Android Wear watches, or praying that the overlap between their customers and smartwatch buyers doesn’t get very big.

Oh, yeah, no. I'm guessing Marco isn't a watch person. Which really isn't that hard of a guess to make given that he uses the term “dumbwatch” — a term akin to 'iTouch'.

While on the topic of blogging, I couldn’t agree with this post more.

Greg Ferenstein:

In rural Brazil, residents tended to fall asleep around 9:20 and wake up around 6:30. In comparison, the hyper-connected citizens of London went to bed closer to midnight (11:15 PM) and wake up at 8:30 AM.

Sarah Frier and Eric Newcomer:

Here’s the secret to how Silicon Valley calculates the value of its hottest companies: The numbers are sort of made-up.

That’s basically all you need to read there.

Steven Sande:

I could go on, but I won't. The next time I hear someone refer to an Apple Watch with a price that starts at $349 as expensive compared to the Pebble Time – which hasn't shipped yet either, by the way – I'm just going to shake my head and walk away. There's no fighting stupid.

MG Siegler on the new MacBook:

I can’t recall the last time I used a machine that wasn’t powerful enough to handle everything on the web (insert Adobe Flash joke here), but it was definitely more than two years ago. I’m sure I’ll be fine with this new machine.

Same here.

Conor McClure:

Finally—the biggest problem of all—the app’s damn name is so long that is displays as “Google Cal…” on the homescreen, which is absolutely hideous. Unusably hideous.

Ingvi Hrannar:

The idea of taking a whole class to a computer room with outdated equipment, once a week to practice their typewriting skills and sending them back to the classroom 40 minutes later, is obsolete.

Computers or technology shouldn’t just be a specific subject, that’s not sufficient anymore but rather it should be an integral part of all the subjects and built into the curriculum.

Sean Sperte:

I’m convinced leaders who develop a habit of thanking those they lead — recognizing sacrifice, effort, and thought — benefit even more than the recipient.

Fantastic post.

Kevin Wild:

Without the iPad, my grandparents would've continued living their lives disconnected from the wonders of the internet and modern technology. It has empowered – not intimidated – them to embrace how technology can improve their lives.

I can echo many of these sentiments over three sets of grandparents in our family. My grandfather spends hours each day looking at new photos we post to iCloud, and prints the ones he wants. He likes stuff all over Facebook, while my grandmother watches Japanese news from her hometown — live.

On my wife's side her grandfather FaceTimes almost everyday at lunch. Another likes and comments on photos in iCloud constantly.

I've spent hours with them fixing routers and computers in the past. But with iOS they've fixed things themselves and have been empowered to try what they want without waiting for me.

I tell them one thing when it comes to iOS (after I get the first backup done in iCloud): don't be afraid to do, press, install, or try anything. There's nothing you can break which I can't easily tell you how to fix over the phone.

I've never been called in to fix something that took more than a moment. I love it, and I know they do.

I recently did a clean install on my Mac and I had to move only some system files. Everything else came in via BitTorrent Sync — it's a tool that I absolutely love. It's secure and decentralized and simple well done.

Now it is on version 2.0 and man are there some good changes. First the iOS apps got some love (and it was needed), but most important there is selective sync, which is really cool. Instead of just telling the app not to sync a folder, it shows placeholder files in that folder so your search works.. Double clicking a file downloads just that file and keeps just that file in sync. Amazing stuff, but that's a Pro feature which is $39/yr — chump change.

Everyone should be using this over Dropbox, it's just too good.

New Field Guide video from David Sparks on Workflow, I can't wait to watch it. Stellar app and David knows his shit.

Jon Brodkin:

The Federal Communications Commission today voted to enforce net neutrality rules that prevent Internet providers—including cellular carriers—from blocking or throttling traffic or giving priority to Web services in exchange for payment.

Boom.

Rishabh R. Dassani:

If you take nothing else from this three-part series, I want you to sit less than you sleep (<7 hours), and use that as the sole metric for sitting less and living a healthier/less-sedentary lifestyle.

I will plus one this.