Category: Links

John Moltz:

As it turns out, Apple’s product image for the iPod touch also omits the bump.

Dustin Curtis:

The reason current voice interfaces suck is because they force the speaker to consciously enter a “voice” mode and then create context around the action they want the computer to perform. This makes no sense; the computer should just always be listening for potential commands within the context of whatever the user is doing.

While out of town this weekend I was talking with Shawn Blanc about the new design here. He mentioned that one frustration he has is there is nothing to indicate that he is logged in.

Technically this is not true, the menus change when you are logged in, but practically this is true. I added a bit of welcome text to the header of the site, so if you are logged in you will see that, if you are not, then you will not see the text.

If you hit the link, you should be taken to your profile. If you want to change what displays just follow the link and change the ‘Display Name’ dropdown to what you want to be read. (It populates that drop down from: username, First name, Last name, nickname.)

Stephen Hackett:

The question is if this is a problem for Apple. Myke isn't alone in thinking that the iPhone 6 Plus could be his only device. Clearly, there is a segment of the consumer market that may forgo buying an iPad and instead carry just the 5.5" iPhone.

Apple likely made the 6+ knowing that people who are buying it are looking at the 6+ as their main device and possibly only device.

And I have to say, it is a compelling idea. If I thought I wouldn't be annoyed everyday by the lack of pocket-ability of the 6+ I would get one.

Either way Apple knows all of this and are fine with it.

A bunch of new camera gear from Fujifilm, which I think is worth some attention.

1. A new X100T which is probably one of the best cameras you can get (the X100S which it replaces was universally heralded). Can't wait to try one out.
2. The highly anticipated XF 50-140mm f/2.8 lens. Something that many pro users have been wanting.
3. The extremely interesting XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD which has some new filters as part of the lens and a built in ND filter. The entire purpose of this lens is to shoot it wide open in bright light and get a ton of bokeh. I loved the non-APD version of this lens and can't wait to try this one out as I've never heard of something like this before. I mean it has two aperture rings.
4. But my favorite announcement: a graphite version of the XT-1. This looks way better than the normal silver Fuji uses and I hope they use this coloring more. Looks fantastic.

Some really great stuff for everyone. (All links above are affiliate.)

Luka Mathis:

That’s why phone size is such a difficult topic. It depends on you, and it depends on what you do with it. I’m glad that Apple is about to introduce a larger phone,6 but I also still believe there are people who would benefit from an additional phone that’s even smaller than the 4S.

David Kravets reporting on Comcast injecting ads on top of webpages when connected to their public wifi hotspots:

“We think it's a courtesy, and it helps address some concerns that people might not be absolutely sure they're on a hotspot from Comcast,” Douglas said.

Now they will know, and can promptly make the wise decision to get the hell off your wifi.

These unwanted JavaScript injections are terrible. I've been told serving your site over SSL can stop this, which is why (in part) I serve this site over SSL. (Even though it is tremendously slower.)

Mustapha Hamou:

If you choose to follow a blog, no company like facebook can decide whether or not you can read its posts

Except for when you go to share the blog post. I think that Twitter is going to cause quite a stir the moment they start filtering timelines (and they will). Good thing we have RSS and the old reliable blog and email system. There's a lot to be said for decentralized systems.

What a great tip. Love it.

Clive Thompson:

Because, as Ms. Deal found in her research, endless email is an enabler. It often masks terrible management practices.

Kate Martin:

The Tacoma Police Department apparently has bought — and quietly used for six years — controversial surveillance equipment that can sweep up records of every cellphone call, text message and data transfer up to a half a mile away.

Makes sense, John is a sketchy looking guy. ((Seriously though: in my own backyard? Damn.))

Glenn Greenwald on the very real dangers of seemingly innocuous censorship of the Foley beheading video:

Given the savagery of the Foley video, it’s easy in isolation to cheer for its banning on Twitter. But that’s always how censorship functions: it invariably starts with the suppression of viewpoints which are so widely hated that the emotional response they produce drowns out any consideration of the principle being endorsed.

Be sure to read the entire post as Greenwald makes the case for why services like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are now more like public utilities than private entities. A fate they certainly don't want thrust upon them.

This is where TextBundle comes in. TextBundle brings convenience back – by bundling the Markdown text and all referenced images into a single file.

Cool work and I can't wait to see where this heads. Here's hoping for fast developer support as this could be killer for iOS too.

Álvaro Serrano:

When you look at the whole process, the amount of tools and gear that are needed may seem daunting. And yet, it is entirely possible to build a lightweight, versatile photographic kit for the urban professional.

What a great and detailed look by Serrano at how and what he carries everyday. It’s eerily similar to how I work daily too — we both use GORUCK Field Pockets to carry a camera in a ‘normal’ bag for instance. He owns more lenses than I think one needs, but he doesn’t carry them all daily — which is probably more important.

Mathew Ingram talking about Facebook’s lack of Ferguson coverage:

In the end, we all have to choose the news sources that we trust and the ones that work for us in whatever way we decide is important. And if we choose Facebook, that means we will likely miss certain things as a result of the filtering algorithm — things we may not even realize we are missing — unless the network changes the way it handles breaking news events like Ferguson.

Ingram does a good job explaining the why, but I think he severely downplays the significance. Facebook is too massive for this type of thing to be OK — as Facebook is effectively censoring the news. I am fine with an algorithm based approach, but somewhere there should be a human who is looking at current events and can say: “Wait, this is important.” And thus the news is let through to all users.

I highly doubt that Ferguson would be covered by the likes of CNN if it weren’t for Twitter. Had Facebook been our only source, it would have passed most of us by, and that is a problem.