who knew?: Archive

Robin Sloan explains the larger context of Google Glass better than anyone I’ve heard.

(Sidebar: while walking home from work in mid-May, I passed by a Asian man in his mid-40’s wearing a pair of Google Glasses. He looked world-weary and exhausted. I like to think that he was coming home from a 16-hour workday at the Kendall Square Google HQ and was exasperated after his supervisors asked him to take a beta unit home. The end of the glass cube over his left eye appeared to contain a tiny red LED which blinked against his face, the only indication of a HUD the rest of us could not see.)

Jun 28, 2012

“Your success is a battle plan for your competition. Your success is a public acknowledgement of a strategy that works, and while I appreciate that you and your team are tired, I’m going to be a buzz kill. Your success is your worst enemy. Your success, while hard earned, is a curse.” —Rands In Repose: Someone is Coming to Eat You

Jun 28, 2012

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Jun 25, 201213 notes

“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” —George Orwell (via soxiam)

Jun 22, 201288 notes

“If you’re feeling silly, stuff tissues or newspaper into his shoes so that he can’t get his feet in. Write “SURPRISE!” on each one — he’ll see the message as he pulls them out.” —10 Pranks That Will Spice Up Your Relationship by Fox News Magazine.

Via Anil Dash, who calls this “the worst article in the history of the world.” (Not inaccurate!)

Jun 22, 20121 note

“I don’t believe in calling him the first black president…I voted for the white guy myself. I call him a monkey.” —Right-wing radio host Barbara Espinosa, talking about President Obama. (via officialssay)

On Twitter, Ta-Nehisi Coates pointed out the resultant blog comment thread where Espinosa links to a racist Google image search TO DEFEND HERSELF FROM ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM.

Jun 21, 2012161 notes

Tools and workflow for building fast and accessible cross-device web applications.

From the Filament Group, designers of BostonGlobe.com. Lots of neat stuff in here for those who make websites.

Jun 19, 2012

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Jun 18, 20121 note

Jun 18, 20121,725 notes

Jun 18, 2012

“The designer, therefore, acts as a proxy for the audience’s needs while arguing for her own creative concerns. This makes the whole arrangement precarious, because it means that the designer is being paid by the client, but is obligated to the audience, for it is the audience’s presence that imbues the work with its value.” —Frank Chimero

Jun 15, 2012

“The products of design are not autonomous objects, but are creations that bridge in-between spaces to provide a way toward an intended outcome. The design must be transformative for it to be successful. It must take us somewhere. Airports and train stations are other examples of non-autonomous creations that exist as in-between spaces, because they have been built out of our desire to go somewhere else. Even cathedrals could be considered spaces of transit, because they seek to connect the physical world with the spiritual realm. Design is akin to these places in that their usefulness is defined by the consequences of the connections they facilitate. A train station that doesn’t create a lust for exploration is flawed, just as a cathedral that doesn’t inspire awe is a failure.” —Frank Chimero

Jun 15, 2012

“Is it too much to ask that journalism’s experts on Anonymous be clear on the difference between UNIX and Windows? Or be able to explain what an IP address is? The tech media in large part has spent the last 15 years answering yes, in this and every other technology coverage area. It’s too much to require journalists understand the technology they’re writing about. But as the world of geeks just becomes the world, ignorance becomes less excusable.” —In Flawed, Epic Anonymous Book, the Abyss Gazes Back | Threat Level | Wired.com

Jun 14, 2012

“…it might be worth envisioning ours as a sort of “bonsai” Internet. We have, just for instance, our own way of linking to things, one completely different from yours, with a totally different linkfeel—in fact, as I just discovered in a search on your Internet, the term “linkfeel” doesn’t even exist for you.” —My Internet by Jonathan Lethem

Jun 10, 20121 note

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Jun 10, 2012

“Here’s what I realized is so great about online streaming content. Let’s say in Episode 3, there was one story segment that we were certain would work, but the fans went crazy. Why the hell couldn’t we just pull it, re-edit it, and put it back up? If there’s an editorial change we want to make, and we have data to show that people are turning off at this point, we just recut it. There’s no reason you couldn’t do it. Think about that. There’s no physical DVD to reproduce; there’s—nothing! It’s right there instantaneously. You want to tweak something later, you just do it. Who cares?” —Eli Roth, planting the seeds for “Star Wars: Special Edition”-style recuts of all movies, all the time!

Jun 10, 2012

“I might have a mini Diet Coke while cooking breakfast for my family. After the kids leave for school, I go for a run and then have a Powerade Zero. At work I may have a Diet Coke in the morning and in the afternoon, Gold Peak Tea. In the middle of the afternoon, I may have an 8-ounce Coke.” —Katie Bayne, Coca-Cola North America president of sparkling beverages

Jun 10, 2012

“What our drinks offer is hydration. That’s essential to the human body.” —Katie Bayne, Coca-Cola North America president of sparkling beverages. [Via Matt Chan.]

Jun 10, 2012

“The creative process, in essence, is an individual in dialogue with themselves and the work. The painter, when at a distance from the easel, can assess and analyze the whole of the work from this vantage. He scrutinizes and listens, chooses the next stroke to make, then approaches the canvas to do it. Then, he steps back again to see what he’s done in relation to the whole. It is a dance of switching contexts, a pitter-patter pacing across the studio 3oor that produces a tight feedback loop between mark-making and mark-assessing. The artist, when near, is concerned with production; when far, he enters a mode of criticism where he judges the degree of benefit (or detriment) the previous choice has had on the full arrangement. Painting’s near and far states are akin to How and Why: the artist, when close to the canvas, is asking How questions related to craft; when he steps back, he raises Why questions concerned with the whole of the work and its purpose.” —Frank Chimero, The Shape of Design

Jun 10, 2012

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Jun 10, 2012

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Jun 10, 20122,973 notes

Jun 2, 2012

Concerning "Platform Maturity"

There’s a common opinion that the iOS platform has reached full maturation - that is, it seems to be feature complete, with no obvious points of major improvement. If Apple actually believes that and continues with business as usual, they’re dead. Delivering minor iterations on a mature platform can only lead to diminishing returns and creates an opportunity for disruption by competitors.

Tech companies who have been in similar positions yet remain relevant today have historically pursued at least one of the following options.

Total reinvention. The company takes what they’ve learned in the years or decades since the first product launch, and redesigns their software (or just the front-end) from the ground up. Major interface changes are introduced in the new version that might cause confusion for established customers, but the company sees this as an acceptable compromise as the new product is truly better than its predecessor. (See: the new Basecamp, the new Vimeo, Mac OS X, Final Cut Pro X.)

Broaden expectations. For example, if iOS 5 does everything one might expect a smartphone to do, the next step for Apple is to heighten consumer expectations of what a smartphone can accomplish - like introducing pro apps. (Think “Final Cut Pro for iPhone”.)

Move on. The company’s focus shifts to developing the next big thing - for example, Apple’s shift from the iPod to the iPhone. Many take this step when it’s about three years too late, like Nokia from Symbian to Windows Phone 7.

Apple appears to be terrified of complacency in Steve Jobs’ absence, and I can’t imagine that they’re not working on one of these three strategies.

Jun 1, 2012

who knew?

June 2012

24 posts