When I first [saw a post][1] about hacking *The Onion*, I didn’t think much of it. But when I saw [David Sparks post about it][2] I immediately thought: this is a software problem that should be fixable. My first thought was to jump into Keyboard Maestro and create a macro that would show you the…
When I first [saw a post][1] about hacking *The Onion*, I didn’t think much of it. But when I saw [David Sparks post about it][2] I immediately thought: this is a software problem that should be fixable.
My first thought was to jump into Keyboard Maestro and create a macro that would show you the link you clicked on before anything actually opens the link.
But I couldn’t figure that out…
Then I thought — Applescript? Maybe, but I don’t know how to do that.
Next I thought about a whole system implementation where we create an App in Automator that is set as the default browser, shows you URLs clicked on, and opens the URL if you want. Not only could I not figure this out, but holy shit that sounds like a horrid solution.
So my thought now is rather simple: someone should write a plugin for Mail.app that is a link checker. All it does is shows you a dialog when you click on the link — this dialog exposes the full URL. If you want to open it, hit return, or a button — otherwise you don’t have to open it.
(Also this plugin should fix the flaw in Mail.app whereby Mail will not open links in the background.)
Anyways, if someone wants to build that I would be glad to test it — if it works I’ll promote it (hell everyone should).
[This is a really fantastic tool for learning how to read and use WordPress themes][1]. The code is heavily commented and easily explains what does what. `
[This is a really fantastic tool for learning how to read and use WordPress themes][1]. The code is heavily commented and easily explains what does what.
`// This fxn allows plugins, and WordPress itself, to insert themselves/scripts/css/files
// (right here) into the head of your website.
// Removing this fxn call will disable all kinds of plugins and WordPress default insertions.
// Move it if you like, but I would keep it around.
?\>
[Paul Ford gets to the bottom of why I don’t like CMSs that have no difference between editing and published][1]: > Not only do web pages need to look good for readers, but since any bit of code is now a potential document, they need to work for writers and editors too. I was recently…
[Paul Ford gets to the bottom of why I don’t like CMSs that have no difference between editing and published][1]:
> Not only do web pages need to look good for readers, but since any bit of code is now a potential document, they need to work for writers and editors too. I was recently using a website built along these lines—a blogging platform where there’s no difference between the composing view and the published view—and while it was a beautiful experience, I missed the ability to switch from the homely text box to the official “published” view. The beauty was confusing; every paragraph felt permanent as I wrote it.
I think that sense of permanency is what really bugs me.
This is a great post so be sure to read it — especially if you work in design or development.
Today, Amazon announced the launch of [Amazon Coins][1], a new Amazon-specific “currency” for buying apps, games, music, and other items from Amazon. I’ve never been interested in schemes like this, for a number of reasons. First, why should I give money to a company for them to invest when I could be making even the…
Today, Amazon announced the launch of [Amazon Coins][1], a new Amazon-specific “currency” for buying apps, games, music, and other items from Amazon.
I’ve never been interested in schemes like this, for a number of reasons. First, why should I give money to a company for them to invest when I could be making even the smallest amount of interest in a chequing account. Second, there’s no guarantee the company I have purchased this type of currency from will continue to accept it indefinitely. And third, what happens when I’ve got $100 in Amazon coins and am a few bucks short from paying my rent?
I don’t see any value for consumers in a system like this. As [Garrett Murray][2] put it:
I have, thus far, managed to avoid reading any review about Google Glass — mostly because I think the product is *fucking horrible* on many levels. But, for what ever reason, this article by [Jan Chipchase was in my queue][1]. In the article Chipcase poses this interesting thought (then he digressed and I stopped reading),…
I have, thus far, managed to avoid reading any review about Google Glass — mostly because I think the product is *fucking horrible* on many levels. But, for what ever reason, this article by [Jan Chipchase was in my queue][1]. In the article Chipcase poses this interesting thought (then he digressed and I stopped reading), but he says (in the beginning):
> As a product that is both on-your-face and in-your-face, Glass is set to become a lightning rod for a wider discussion around what constitutes acceptable behavior in public and private spaces. The Glass debate has already started, but these are early days; each new iteration of hardware and functionality will trigger fresh convulsions. In the short term, Glass will trigger anger, name-calling, ridicule and the occasional bucket of thrown water (whether it’s ice water, I don’t know). In the medium term, as societal interaction with the product broadens, signs will appear in public spaces guiding mis/use1 and lawsuits will fly, while over the longer term, legislation will create boundaries that reflect some form of im/balance between individual, corporate and societal wants, needs and concerns.
Debate? We need to debate this? Give me a fucking break, there is *no* debate. Here’s how you know when Glass is inappropriate: anywhere you would not feel comfortable whipping out an SLR to take a photo without permission, is a place where Glass is inappropriate.
Yeah, I see you, guy in the corner trying to take a sneaky picture of the hot girl at the bar with your iPhone — put that shit away. Oh you are so clever pretending to take a picture of your friend, but really taking a picture of that hick wearing the ironic t-shirt. In both situations you don’t want to get caught, because you know what you are doing is socially not acceptable — maybe illegal.
With Glass, Google gives stealth photo ability to any [idiot][2] with $1,500 to burn.
The only debate to be had is if we wait for the product to flop, or make it illegal right now. My vote: pass a law that would force Google to have a red LED on the damned things when the camera is active — I mean you already look like a douche wearing them. ((If you like Google Glass, please stop reading my site.))
The other day, on App.net, [I wondered][1]: > How long before news stations switch from helicopters to those little quadracopter drone things. My thought was that [quadrocopters][2] seemed more able to get into areas discretely, cheaper to operate, and well easier to deploy quickly. They seem to make a ton of sense in journalism —…
The other day, on App.net, [I wondered][1]:
> How long before news stations switch from helicopters to those little quadracopter drone things.
My thought was that [quadrocopters][2] seemed more able to get into areas discretely, cheaper to operate, and well easier to deploy quickly. They seem to make a ton of sense in journalism — though I certainly don’t like the idea of this from a privacy standpoint.
Well it turns out (tip of the hat to [Gil][3]) there is a [Missouri Drone Journalism Program][4] here’s how the program describes itself:
> Drones tend to have a negative connotation in today’s media. The public mostly hears the word drone when associated with war and destruction. However, drone technology can be used in many other aspects, including field reporting. Part of this project’s goal is to discover how best to utilize this technology in the field of journalism.
I may not like the idea, but WHERE WAS THIS CLASS WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL?
[Marco Arment, writing about app pricing and free trials,][1] argues that simply pricing apps higher would have a net negative effect on the ecosystem: > This apps-as-entertainment market falls apart if app pricing rises above casual-disposable levels for most people. Few people balk at spending $1-3 for something that doesn’t end up being that great,…
[Marco Arment, writing about app pricing and free trials,][1] argues that simply pricing apps higher would have a net negative effect on the ecosystem:
> This apps-as-entertainment market falls apart if app pricing rises above casual-disposable levels for most people. Few people balk at spending $1-3 for something that doesn’t end up being that great, but when someone’s $30 app is disappointing, that’s going to stick with them and inhibit future purchases.
I concur, but I also think there’s room for more expensive apps. What’s interesting about the App Store is the relative lack of pricing ranges in the store: Weather apps are free, tip calculators are free, to-do list apps are generally `$4.99` (with a couple premium offerings), games are free with in-app `$0.99` one-off purchases.
All of these price points are rather arbitrary, and were typically set by the first app to get popularity in each category. If the best and most popular weather app is free, you’ll be hard pressed to charge for yours — and so on.
Instead of every developer just raising prices, it would be nice to see more developers work like the task management market. Good apps exist for free, and [excellent apps][2] are available for `$19.99` or more. This maintains the harmony of ‘almost zero-risk purchasing’ in tact, yet allows for “power” users to pay a premium for apps that are truly worth a premium.
The reason I don’t bitch about task management apps is because that market is set up to succeed: There are free apps, low-priced-but-good apps like Clear and then premium —well designed and supported — apps like OmniFocus and Things.
I don’t see the same quality-spectrum in writing apps, blogging apps, weather, flashlights, camera, etc. Where are they?
They don’t exist, because, I suspect, the cost to make apps at such a high-level is too costly to be supported by 10,000 downloads at `$0.69` each. So you either get premium apps for less money, and less support over time, or you simply don’t get those apps.
That’s what makes Dark Sky so interesting. It competes in the weather category, with free apps, yet charges `$4.99` to purchase — keep in mind that really Dark Sky does one thing: tells you the chance of rain in the next 90 minutes only. Dark Sky took the route I am talking about: pricing a premium product at a premium level and ignoring what the rest of the competition are priced at.
One of the most interesting fields in technology right now is navigation. Navigation systems have truly taken the world by storm: Almost every American now relies on some form of computer navigation system to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘I’ve-never-been-there-before’. We now live in a world where people blindly follow navigation instructions from computers,…
One of the most interesting fields in technology right now is navigation. Navigation systems have truly taken the world by storm: Almost every American now relies on some form of computer navigation system to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘I’ve-never-been-there-before’. We now live in a world where people blindly follow navigation instructions from computers, even if they defy common sense. Party hosts often note if there’s a turn you should override your GPS guidance on — even though we all know we’ll obey the voice in the box.
The thing is, I don’t really ever *need* full blown turn by turn directions — and I suspect you don’t either. In fact, most of the time I just need a little help. I usually know how to get to the general area of where I’m going, I just don’t know exactly which building it is on the block, or exactly what street to turn down.
What I could really use is a system that says: “head toward the place that cuts your hair. I’ll let you know when you need to do anything differently.” If you think about it, our cars and cellphones already know the places we frequent: the places that we don’t require turn-by-turn directions to get to.
So why shouldn’t these systems allow us to just focus on driving (a daunting enough task for most) and only interject when we need to by taken off the path that we already know.
A lot of the places I go to are located in an area I’m familiar with: I know *roughly* how to get there, rather than how to get to the *precise* location.
Give me Siri guidance that says: “Head towards Tacoma Boys. It’s a block or two past that — I’ll let you know when you’re close.” And then, when I get close, turn-by-turn kicks in to make sure I get to the exact spot.
90% of the time, I can get 90% of the way to anywhere I’m going. Give me a navigation system that only helps for the last 10%, so that I can concentrate on driving instead of being annoyed by the bitch-in-the-box for the entire journey.
[Farhad Manjoo on the maddening issue of dogs being fucking everywhere in the U.S.][1]: > But here’s my problem: There’s now a cultural assumption that everyone must love dogs. Dog owners are rarely forced to reckon with the idea that there are people who aren’t enthralled by their furry friends, and that taking their dogs…
[Farhad Manjoo on the maddening issue of dogs being fucking everywhere in the U.S.][1]:
> But here’s my problem: There’s now a cultural assumption that everyone must love dogs. Dog owners are rarely forced to reckon with the idea that there are people who aren’t enthralled by their furry friends, and that taking their dogs everywhere might not be completely pleasant for these folks.
I find people who brings dogs everywhere with them — including into the office — to be rude. I can’t stand having dogs everywhere. You know where dogs belong? In your fenced yard at home. Not your purse. Not my office. Not my building. Not on your fucking lap as you down your tenth Venti-Non-Fat-Extra-Whip-Frapp.
There’s a new blogging app out, well actually a new blogging platform, called [Paragraphs. I wrote up some thoughts about it and naturally published it on its own platform.][1] [1]: http://benbrooks.me/whiny/
There’s a new blogging app out, well actually a new blogging platform, called [Paragraphs. I wrote up some thoughts about it and naturally published it on its own platform.][1]
Kirsten Ostgard, a friend (well friend of my Wife) has started [an Indiegogo campaign for a children’s Web/TV show called Kit & Kiya][1]. I’ve known Kirsten for a while now and I can say that [her passion for children][2], and children’s film in particular has been with her the entire time I have known her.…
Kirsten Ostgard, a friend (well friend of my Wife) has started [an Indiegogo campaign for a children’s Web/TV show called Kit & Kiya][1]. I’ve known Kirsten for a while now and I can say that [her passion for children][2], and children’s film in particular has been with her the entire time I have known her.
She’s a great person whom I think will succeed in children’s programming. She is only trying to raise $1,500 to get the project off the ground and I’m in for $100. Even if you don’t like the concept (and assuming you are a parent) the idea of having a better option than [Caillou][3] simply *must* be appealing to you.
[Really great post from Cliff Watson (on Medium) about how and why kids are using social networking differently than adults][1]: > For those of us out of school, Facebook is a place to see the accomplishments of our friends and acquaintances we’ve made over years and decades. We watch their lives: babies, job promotions, vacations,…
[Really great post from Cliff Watson (on Medium) about how and why kids are using social networking differently than adults][1]:
> For those of us out of school, Facebook is a place to see the accomplishments of our friends and acquaintances we’ve made over years and decades. We watch their lives: babies, job promotions, vacations, relationships, break-ups, new hair colors, ad nauseum.
> For kids who still go to school, Facebook is boring. If one of their friends does something amazing or amazingly dumb, they’ll find out within five minutes. If they’re not friends with that person, it will take 15 minutes.
That’s a really good point — I don’t know if it is true or accurate, but damned logical at least. It’s interesting how worried marketers are about what kids — teenagers — are doing, as if what people do as teenagers is lasting in any way.
When I was a teenager every last dime I had went two places: girls and cars (and in that order). I still spend most of my money on the former, but the latter quickly shifted to photography, then technology. In that sense I think it is a bit silly to focus too hard on teens for any type of long-term prediction.
When I first started with WordPress, I knew one thing to be true: I needed caching. A WordPress site without caching is a site waiting to go down. Even with a fast, powerful server you’re better off caching WordPress, which as anyone who has tried will tell you, is a black-art. Not a black-art in…
When I first started with WordPress, I knew one thing to be true: I needed caching. A WordPress site without caching is a site waiting to go down.
Even with a fast, powerful server you’re better off caching WordPress, which as anyone who has tried will tell you, is a black-art. Not a black-art in the “bullshit SEO” sense, but in the sense that few people know how to do it effectively.
Initially I chose WP-Supercache because it’s easy to install and get started. Over the years I have tried just about every plugin in WordPress.org’s database and even some outside CDN options. For most of this site’s life I have used a well known caching plugin called W3 Total Cache. It has, by far, the most daunting array of options but in all of my testing it was about a half–second faster than any other option out there. A *half–second*, folks.
That half–second was worth all the hassle of configuring a complex plugin because on the web speed really matters. W3 Total Cache has always done its job, even passing the toughest test: a day where this site logged over 50,000 uniques in the span of 18 hours, on a relatively cheap hosting plan.
I’ve moved this website to four different hosts over the course of its life ((For those not on App.net, I just moved to a Mac mini at macminicolo.net.)) and taken the same WordPress configuration with me. In all that time I’ve only had one bad experience with W3TC (when an update was corrupt and took my site down) and other than that I have been perfectly happy.
Recently I began hosting on the Mac mini. Right away I was seeing problems with the caching plugin, but after some sorting out everything started working. Then I made a change to the footer and nothing on the site updated. I did everything I could think of and still nothing.
It occurred to me that the cache wasn’t working correctly. I disabled the plugin, but the site was still being cached. Huh?
I tried deleting the plugin and all of its far-reaching tentacles. And then the site went down.
I tried searching for solutions and, while I wasn’t alone, I couldn’t find a single thing that worked. I enlisted the help of an [elite WordPress guru][1] and even he was stymied.
And then he figured it out. We restarted the server, waited, and then the damned beast was banished. ((It looks like APC was storing something it shouldn’t have, whatever the reason a disabled plugin was still running.))
I have since switched back to WP-Supercache and couldn’t be happier — and given the amount of complaints I have seen about W3TC and users not being able to remove it, I simply cannot recommend that anyone use W3 Total Cache at this time.
[Marco Arment on SLRs][1]: > A decent consumer SLR body, usually $600–900, is a big investment for most people. But if you can’t also afford to buy at least one good lens with it, you’ll get better photos by going with a less expensive kit, such as a high-end point-and-shoot or an entry-level mirrorless setup.…
[Marco Arment on SLRs][1]:
> A decent consumer SLR body, usually $600–900, is a big investment for most people. But if you can’t also afford to buy at least one good lens with it, you’ll get better photos by going with a less expensive kit, such as a high-end point-and-shoot or an entry-level mirrorless setup.
I’ll second Marco here, with the caveat that you really can take a great photo with any lens or camera. **BUT** the overall quality when you try to use that photo later on is where you will really see the trade off and likely find frustration.
I’ve written about my [Panasonic GX1][2] and the excellent [20mm f/1.7][3] pancake lens. It is a camera setup I use all the time — I love it.
But I also have a [Canon 5D][4] (the mk I, not the [mk II][5] or [mk III][6] — maybe if I had ads, or if you click on the links and buy things — that works too) and with the 5D here’s the lenses that I have:
I used to have the Canon [24-70 f/2.8][11] (affectionately called “The Brick” because it weighs about a ton), but I never used it for anything because the focal range for the weight added was not a good trade off. It is, however, one of the sharpest, and brightest lenses I have used.
The two most used lenses in my setup for my Canon is the 50mm and the 17-40. I use the 50mm for any type of “normal” shooting and the 17-40 for a wide-angle for my day job in real estate.
Prime lenses (those with fixed focal lengths) are amazingly more sharp and less distorted than zooms. If you can, you should own at least one in the 28-50mm range (28 on a APS-C sensor, 50 on full frame — adjust to taste).
Here’s where I will differ with Marco, the 40mm he recommends is excellent, but there is also another really cheap lens, the [50mm 1.8][12]. The build quality is poor, but the lens is sharp and pretty fast. It’s a good entry step, Amazon has it listed at $110, but you can get it cheaper: [refurbished for $90][13], or you can find them from people who have stepped up for cheaper on Craigslist sometimes for as low as $65.
*Tip: If you need to test the lens when you go to buy a used one (and you should), [back focusing will be a really good test][14] and easy to do on site.*
For me the 50mm 1.4 is really all I need for personal photography and the 17-40 is all I need for work. There’s a lot of great lenses for a lot of money out there, but many are not needed. Your best bet is to get one good lens and see what you are lacking from there — also remember that buying a good lens will transfer from body to body with you. That 80-200mm lens I listed above is handed down from my Grandfather, it’s probably from the early 90s and still works fine.
[This is a fantastic article from Jeffrey Rosen at The New Republic][1]. The article details one of the toughest problems with running a service — a service which allows users to upload content — the problem is: when, and what, content to take down. The implications of being too aggressive are huge for the general…
[This is a fantastic article from Jeffrey Rosen at The New Republic][1]. The article details one of the toughest problems with running a service — a service which allows users to upload content — the problem is: when, and what, content to take down.
The implications of being too aggressive are huge for the general openness of the internet while the implications of doing nothing could also be disastrous — and these are take down decisions being made by kids in the U.S. who are trying to follow a rule book handed to them. This is the one area where I won’t criticize Twitter, Facebook, or Google — they are doing a pretty good job dealing with a very difficult problem. They make mistakes, but by all accounts it seems that two things are true:
1. They are learning from mistakes.
2. They are not jumping to action before thinking through all the consequences.
So kudos to them for that, and here’s hoping we can keep this control in the hands of the users and not the “free” governments of the world.
[Glenn Greenwald reporting][1]: > Let’s repeat that last part: “no digital communication is secure”, by which he means not that any communication is susceptible to government interception as it happens (although that is true), but far beyond that: all digital communications – meaning telephone calls, emails, online chats and the like – are automatically recorded…
[Glenn Greenwald reporting][1]:
> Let’s repeat that last part: “no digital communication is secure”, by which he means not that any communication is susceptible to government interception as it happens (although that is true), but far beyond that: all digital communications – meaning telephone calls, emails, online chats and the like – are automatically recorded and stored and accessible to the government after the fact. To describe that is to define what a ubiquitous, limitless Surveillance State is.
A better way to think about how bullshit this is, is to think about it this way: how would you feel if you found out the government (any government) opened all postal mail, copied it, filed the copies, resealed the envelope, and sent it along the way. If you think that is overstepping, well, there is *no* difference between intercepting postal mail and intercepting email or other digital communications.
For a long time I have argued for a smarter calendar. Jason Snell, [in an article for Macworld][1], outlines some great features that seem rather obvious, yet are missing from most apps. > And yet it all feels a bit pedestrian, like I’m really just using a computerized, networked version of a paper calendar. What’s…
For a long time I have argued for a smarter calendar. Jason Snell, [in an article for Macworld][1], outlines some great features that seem rather obvious, yet are missing from most apps.
> And yet it all feels a bit pedestrian, like I’m really just using a computerized, networked version of a paper calendar. What’s missing are features that could turn my calendar into something more like a personal assistant.
I agree with Jason and it got me thinking about [a post I wrote about the problems with calendar apps][2]. Let’s reconsider what a really great Mac calendaring app would be like.
To the right is what I have come up with.
My calendar mock up.
Looks aside, I want to take a look at the data, how it is presented and why I made these design decisions.
## The Main View
There is only one view. No month view. No day view. You see today, tomorrow, and the following day, including an overview of a user-defined future time period.
I have always found a view of an entire week overwhelming. My forward planning capacity is about three days. Beyond three days everything is too far out to think about in detail right now. It’s good to have future events planned, but not good for your mind to stress about things so far in the future. Thus, three days.
The upcoming section shows events that fall outside of the current view in a snapshot-like way. There will be a preview of the weekend, as seen with the first two lines, and a heads-up about how next week starts (or how the next working day begins, if Friday isn’t the last day in the viewport). Then a more distant forecast, excluding specifics of each event, showing only a high-level overview of how fucked next week is.
My ideal calendar would pull out important things that may need pre-planning — as I have shown with the ‘flight’ notice in this area. Flights are something you want to know about more than a few days ahead, so it’s important to show them here.
Next come upcoming important dates, which is where birthdays and anniversaries are shown. Why should birthdays be an all day event at the top of my calendar?
Lastly, a pane to show upcoming task information from OmniFocus — again this is to give an idea of how busy next week is. I prefer to see a high-level, generic view of next week’s events because typically I wonder: “Will next week be busy?” And not: “Do I have a meeting at 11AM with Bob on Wednesday?” This viewport better answers my question, than seeing all the details of the next week.
## Specific Touches
You’ll notice that instead of showing twelve hours, I just set the times from 8AM – 5PM. This would be a user definable range, which should be set for the times you actually want to allow people to schedule meetings with you — since I assume you use a calendar service that shows others when you’re busy.
Before or after that period the app just shows “earlier” and “later” — times when you *can* have things scheduled, but really don’t want to. If you *choose* to schedule things outside of the core hours, they are more likely to have ambiguous timing — like date night. If an appointment is scheduled in the “early” or “later” block, the start time is shown in text.
### Events
Each event shows the title, location, weather (if wanted), and start time (if needed — see above). The colored bar to the left of each event denotes the duration of the appointment in orange/red and the travel times to and from the appointment in slate/blue. Ideally the app sets those automatically by grabbing travel time info from a mapping site (from a location you specify, to the location specified in the appointment).
Next you might notice the gray blocks around lunch time that prevent your lunch hour being snagged by a coworker wanting a meeting. These are not hard-coded blocks — instead you would set the default lunch time but can drag them around day-to-day to better fit your actual schedule.
## The Gist
The more I think about why calendars suck, the more I realize they *really* suck at two things:
1. Protecting my time for me.
2. Summarizing my time.
On the *rare* occasions when I *need* to see a month-view I can grab one of a million other calendar apps. What I need every day is an app that runs fullscreen, which I glance at for a grasp on the next couple days. This kind of calendar app keeps me from getting overwhelmed, but still informs me if a nightmarish number of OmniFocus tasks and too many meetings are on the horizon.
Now *this* idea is closer to the killer calendar app.
