Recent Articles

Joe Cieplinski:

Look, I get that I’m the nut who doesn’t want to use Facebook. I’m not even saying don’t post your stuff to Facebook. But if Facebook is the only place you are posting something, know that you are shutting out people like me for no good reason. Go ahead and post to Facebook, but post it somewhere else, too. Especially if you’re running a business.

I’m not sure there is a blog post I’ve agreed with more.

Another thought that strikes me: this seems like exactly the type of problem which Micro.blog is setup to “fix” in a way. Dead simple publishing, with crossposting. If Micro.blog were to add crossposting into a Facebook account/page (not sure if that is possible or not) I think there’s a strong case for everyone and every business to use Micro.blog as their centralized system. It could go to all your “socials” and to your website blog. You cover all the bases, with one click on a platform that actually respects you, your readers, and the web in general. Perfection.

Bruce Schneier:

The password-manager 1Password has just implemented a travel mode that tries to protect users while crossing borders. It doesn’t make much sense.

Some good points from him — I am glad I don’t have any international travel booked, because I am not sure what/how I would do it at this point.

John Gruber:

A hardware keyboard with a trackpad could have just as good an interface for moving the insertion point and selecting text as the software keyboard. Even better, really, since you wouldn’t have to use two fingers or start it with a 3D Touch force press. And, a trackpad would make this feature discoverable. An awful lot of iPad owners — most of them, probably — don’t know about the two-finger drag feature on the on-screen keyboard.

It would be a shame if Apple was thinking this limited about non-direct-input controls for iOS. For one, either of the proposed solutions in this post fail if you are not using an Apple branded keyboard. Additionally, even if it worked with an external trackpad like device — now you’ve significantly increased the complexity of the device.

I don’t have a better solution to propose here, but I will say it’s a problem which needs addressing. I just hope there is a better solution from Apple, than what Gruber proposed here.

Fantastic post. Worth the read.

Nelson Schwartz:

Five years ago, American Airlines factored in on-time arrivals, lost baggage and consumer complaints to help calculate annual incentive payments for top management. Today, these bonuses are based exclusively on the company’s pretax income and cost savings.

And then:

“The response isn’t to Wall Street. It’s to customer behavior,” said Alex Dichter, a senior partner at McKinsey who works with major airlines. “About 35 percent of customers are choosing on price, and price alone, and another 35 percent choose mostly on price.”

So the argument by analysts is basically that executive bonuses are based on profit because focusing on profit focuses on what customers care about most: price. But I call bullshit. When all things are equal, then price matters. Show people something better, and price is no longer the deciding factor.

In otherwords, make the flying experience not suck balls, and you can charge a little more.

Good thoughts, I’d just take an option for everything to be in iCloud and not on device. Above and beyond the optimize storage option.

Walt Mossberg in his final weekly column:

Microsoft is still trying to find a way to meld its formidable software and cloud expertise with a significant hardware business. The ad-based business models of Facebook and Google, now so dominant, could prove fickle. And Amazon has only had one really giant hardware hit — the Kindle — in its existence.

The entire article is excellent and worth a read. But this passage is fantastic, the setup leading to that last line about Amazon is perfect. I had never thought about the Kindle in that context, but once I read that — it is so clearly true that it amazed me a bit in the realization.

Travis Katz:

As technology’s second wave continues to mature, we will see more and more innovations that feel personal, customized to us and our habits; assistive, as they support better discernment and decision making; and convenient, easing our everyday lives with small but useful touches.

Yep.

Jared Newman:

With two Readdle apps running side by side, each one creates its own local HTTP server. When the user starts dragging a file, the two servers share data about the file type, its thumbnail image, and its position on the screen, coordinating the appearance as the file moves between the apps. When the user lifts her finger, the file transfers between the two servers.

That’s one hell of a hack.

Bruce Schneier:

The work is theoretical at the moment, but they might be able to open about two-thirds of iPhones with these master prints.

This is timely for me. I was actually considering turning off Touch ID on my iPhone. Not because of insecurity of it, but in wondering if that would help to curb how much time I spend on the device when I am with my family.

The premise being: if I have to focus on typing in a password longer than 8 characters, perhaps I will be less inclined to use my device at time when my attention should be elsewhere. This only bolsters that case to turn off Touch ID.

This is a great video about exactly what the title says: a magic car. My dad has an 850CSi, and it is amazing to drive. Everything about that car, it’s just fantastic.

It’s no E39, but it’s the kind of car an E39 driver chooses when his kids are all grown up.

Marc Bain:

The problems centered more on forgetting that what we see isn’t always reality, and the RSPH offered some recommendations based on its findings. For one, fashion brands, celebrities, and others should consider disclosing when their photos have been manipulated. It also suggested that social networks give users a pop-up warning if they exceed a certain time spent logged on. Social platforms might even identify users with possible mental-health issues based on their usage and send a discreet message on where to get help.

Oh yeah, I bet people will love having a social network tell them they might have a possible mental health issue. I mean, get real.

Could? Doubtful. Nitasha Tiku should know that too, as she wrote:

Five years ago, Facebook conducted a mass experiment in manipulating emotions on nearly 700,000 unsuspecting users. The company tweaked News Feeds to show random users more positive or negative content, to see if it made those users happy or sad.

Because even after they published those findings, even after they said “gee, we didn’t think people would mind being manipulated” even then, no one cared. Why will they now?