May 2013
“Sometime in the last decade, dogs achieved dominion over urban America. They are...”
– I hate dogs: They’re lounging in our offices and licking us at our cafes. It’s time to take America back. - Slate Magazine
A few years ago I would have said, “Oh, Slate. You’re so contrarian!” But after having a kid who gets regularly run roughshod over by people who just say of...
“NoPa = Prospect Heights. You moved away for a few years and came back and all of...”
– New York Elsewhere - The Morning News
The writer is completely and utterly wrong (and I assume, kidding/trolling, but maybe not). I say that because of a small crime I took part in, a civic misdemeanor that is still playing out.
In 1999, my then girlfriend (now wife) and I moved into a little...
April 2013
jimray: Twitter’s music app is beautiful, in that... →
jimray:
Twitter’s music app is beautiful, in that now-tiresome way apps from VC-backed companies are required to be, sacrificing utility for aesthetics and looking dated as soon as it hits your neighborhood app store. That’s fine, they’ve got plenty of designers to restyle it every 18 months.
…
“All things considered, La Taqueria is offering a better burrito. But Chipotle is...”
– La Taqueria vs Chipotle: Buttito summit and burrito economics.
“Maybe you were hoping for something radically new and different from a Facebook...”
– Facebook’s ‘Phone’ Is Another Triumph of Mediocrity |
March 2013
The Fresh Ten Commandments: The Fresh Ten →
thefreshten:
The Fresh Ten
Recent events have made it clear that we are suffering from a broken moral compass. People today could use some general guidance.
Since the original ten commandments seem somewhat narrow and obsolete (too much focus on livestock, servants, and jealous god issues), here is a modest first draft of a fresh set.
You shall treat all people with respect regardless of race,...
“We would love publishers to provide standardized, portable ad formats that will...”
– In Which We Consider Digg’s Mobile App - This Blog - Andrew McLaughlin :: Blog
“Shut up, all of you. Go away. You are complicit in one way or another in a giant...”
– Iraq War Anniversary New York Times - Pleased To Be Shutting The Piehole Now - Esquire
“Unfortunately money does play a role. We got into SFFS and will take our spot....”
– Independent school letters: The SF K Files
Sigh.
“Matt Honen joins Mike and Leah to discuss whether anything is really private...”
– If it’s on the internet, it’s on the internet. - Let’s Make Mistakes - Mule Radio Syndicate
“I’ll be damned if The Atlantic dies with my generation, if all that is...”
– A Day in the Life of a Digital Editor, 2013 - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic
February 2013
Anonymous asked: My professor assigned your Generation X article as a reading assignment. Very interesting to read something from that point of view! Also interesting to know it's my parents' generation. Anyway, have a great day!
For Journalism →
jimray:
Some of the smartest people working in data journalism today are going to teach you their secrets. Journerdalists from NPR, ProPublica, The New York TImes, The AP, The Spokane Spokesman Review, and more will show you how to build a modern news app. Twenty bucks gets you started, a crisp benjamin gets you the whole course.
On its own, this is a great thing, I want it to do well, and I...
“In the months ahead, we intend to reimagine everything about the Wired...”
– Let’s Blow Some Stuff Up
I’m genuinely fucking excited to blow shit up.
(Er. Also I may be more profane than Mr. Dadich.)
“Here’s another example: Vine is a video service without a play button. This was...”
– Blog — Vine
“This future doesn’t just kill the operating system, browser, and search as we...”
– The End of the Web, Computers, and Search as We Know It |
“But Apple might not be the right behemoth to use as a benchmark for Amazon’s...”
– Amazon’s Growth Looks Like Wal-Mart in the 1990s — But Even Better
January 2013
“Based on a forensic analysis going back months, it appears the hackers broke...”
– Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers
The big problem was passwords.
“Once hackers get in, it can be hard to get them out. In the case of a 2011...”
– Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers - NYTimes.com
“I don’t mean to be dismissive of Blackberry’s efforts as a company...”
– New Blackberry? New Blackberry | The Wirecutter
“Indiana has three classes of wild animals. Class 1 is mostly squirrels. Class 2...”
– Can I Have A Pet Fox? | Popular Science
“Rick MacArthur wants the world to bend to his reality. And in real life, if...”
– 9 Other Things That Harper’s Publisher Rick MacArthur Googles - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic
For Amusement Only →
longform:
From the pinball prohibition in NYC to Dave & Buster’s, the rise and fall of the American arcade.
Laura June | The Verge | Jan 2012
Great story.
“There’s nothing exciting about Facebook’s Graph Search. It’s...”
– ReadWrite – Facebook Graph Search Is Boring: We Need A Unified Search AI
For God’s Sake, Go Get a Flu Shot →
Even if you think you are invincible, your elderly neighbors and infant children are not. People with weakened immune systems—those undergoing cancer treatments, for example—are not. Your parents and grandparents are not. The flu vaccine is not perfect, but it’s what we have. It’s available at drug-store chains and malls, big-box superstores and, naturally, at your doctor’s office. Get one today.
“By far, my favorite daily coverage of CES has been Wired Gadget Lab’s. The...”
– Daring Fireball Linked List: Wired Gadget Lab’s Daily CES Coverage
Wow. Nice praise from John Gruber.
December 2012
What We Saved to Pocket in 2012 (boom)
10 Most-Saved Articles
1. “Obama’s Way” (Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair) 2. “The Busy Trap” (Tim Kreider, New York Times) 3. “How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking” (Mat Honan, Wired) 4. “I Learned to Speak Four Languages in a Few Years: Here’s How” (Gabriel Wyner, Lifehacker) 5. “How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet” (Mat Honan, Gizmodo) 6. “How Google Builds Its...
Second Annual Ocean Beach Polar Bear Club
The ocean is great, right? It’s big and wavy and wonderful and smells delightfully briny. Let’s all go jump in it on New Year’s Day.
What? On January 1, at 12 noon, let’s all go jump in the Pacific Ocean.
Where and when We can meet up at 11:45 on the beach, at the Judah intersection. Afterwards, we can head up to Judah for hot beverages and camaraderie. I’ll bring the...
November 2012
“Kudos to Amazon, I guess, for not getting into a slate-measuring contest. On the...”
– Let’s Just Assume Amazon Has Sold, Like, Eight Kindles
Brian Barrett is an amazing human.
“A Florida man choked to death after downing dozens of live roaches during a...”
– News From The Associated Press
“And even if the data exists, just because you can create an infographic doesn’t...”
– Tomorrow Magazine - Off the Charts by Dylan C. Lathrop
October 2012
“Because of my love for the sport, the contributions I feel I have made to it,...”
– George Hincapie: Statement from George Hincapie
Stunning, if not unexpected.
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“The idea is that as people use the maps — and related location services...”
– Alexis’ latest is both fascinating and beautifully written. I also love that rather than just jumping on the “iOS Maps suck” beerwagon he went out and (twice now) extensively reported on what goes into making digital maps.
The Forgotten Mapmaker: Nokia Has Better Maps Than Apple...
September 2012
Cosmo the God Who Fell to Earth
In my latest piece for Wired, I interviewed a notorious 15 year old responsible for some of the biggest hacks of 2012, and disclosed (now remedied) methods for socially engineering your way into PayPal and Aol accounts.
I think it was pretty great and/or eye-opening and you should read it.
Amazon, Apple, Aol, and Paypal have all changed their security procedures in the wake of Wired’s...
Knight News Challenge Round 3: Evening Edition →
newschallenge:
1. What is your project? [1 sentence]
Evening Edition is a daily commuter-targetted synopsis of the day’s news, written and summarized by journalists, published every weekday at 5pm local time across several locations.
2. How will your project use mobile tools and approaches? [2 sentences]
…
August 2012
Yes, I was hacked. Hard.
So maybe you saw my Twitter going nuts tonight. Or you saw Gizmodo’s Twitter account blow up. Or you saw this in AllThingsD. Or this in the DailyDot. Although embarrassing, Twitter was the least of it. In short, someone gained entry to my iCloud account, used it to remote wipe all of my devices, and get entry into other accounts too.
Here’s what happened:
At 4:50 PM, someone got...
“Unfortunately for Lehrer, he has to keep making meaning every day out of what...”
– 15 Minutes of Meaning for Jonah Lehrer
July 2012
Send No Email Day →
OCTOBER 10 IS INTERNATIONAL SEND NO EMAIL DAY
“But here’s the clincher. After their 5HT2A neural receptors simmered down, they...”
– Now that is something I never knew. - The Heretic - The Morning News 