June 2012
25 posts
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The New IFTTT →
ifttt:
Over the past few months, our team has been working hard to improve your experience with IFTTT. We’re proud to announce a new look, new language, new Channels, and speedier Triggers!
Nice update. I’m using this service more and more. Worth checking out if you haven’t already.
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Samsung Galaxy S III: With great flexibility comes... →
David Pogue, New York Times:
Of course, with great flexibility comes great complexity. The phone bombards you with warnings and disclaimers — sometimes upside-down. You really need a Learning Annex course to master this thing.
The review is largely positive, but this caveat serves to highlight a major difference in approach between Samsung/Android and Apple.
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Samsung Galaxy S III reviewed: The defining... →
Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOm:
Not only is this the best Android phone currently available, in my opinion, but it may be for some time. Yes, competing handsets might include a better camera (this one is quite good though) or higher-resolution screen or some other hardware improvement. Few, however, will be able to quickly top Samsung’s software improvements.
Very positive take.
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"No amount of control can replace the loss of...
Philippe Silberzahn, writing about the work of Arnold J. Toynbee, a historian who studied the rise and fall of civilisations:
A civilization flourishes when it motivates insiders and attracts outsiders with its creative dynamism and culture. The civilization breaks down when its leadership loses this creative capacity and gives way to, or transforms itself into, a dominant minority. When this...
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Why is the Church of England speaking up for the... →
Iain Martin, The Telegraph:
So what is the Church of England doing getting involved in the debate about the EU, particularly now, when the European project is imploding, and when there is so much else wrong with our society which needs attention?
Good question.
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“Humility is not a character trait in the traditional sense. No one decides to...”
– Dean Sharp
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If compassion is no longer about how much money... →
Tim Montgomerie:
In wanting to change the measure of poverty IDS, the CSJ, Jill Kirby, Neil O’Brien etc etc aren’t tinkering at the edges of some obscure statistical issue. They are invading intellectual territory of the utmost importance. They are saying that the war on poverty can’t be won by a bigger and bigger welfare state. They are saying - among other things - that...
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Readability pulling publisher payment plan →
Richard Ziade:
The great majority of those publishers never registered. Out of the millions—yes, millions—of domains that flowed through Readability, just over 2,000 registered to claim their money. As a result, most of the money we collected—over 90%—has gone unclaimed.
It has been clear for a while that the idea wasn’t going to take off. Hats off to Readability for trying something...
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Apple takes on Google in struggle for world... →
Dan Gillmore:
The iPhone 5, likely to be introduced in the third quarter of this year, won’t be significantly better hardware than the best Android devices, if it’s better at all, but it will be sold by a company that doesn’t abandon its customers the minute they spend their money.
Telling observation.
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Apple Maps has a lot of catching up to do →
Chris Cross has tweeted the below image highlighting the difference between a Google Map and Apple’s new Maps for the same location. It becomes immediately clear that Apple has a lot of catching up to do. There simply isn’t enough detail and information in the Apple maps at the moment. It feels like a Maps-lite application at the moment from the little bits of testing I’ve done...
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"Humanizing technology" →
DiogeneX:
For those of you who watched the Keynote, you will no doubt have seen the “Thank You” video. I believe this is what makes Apple’s approach to the (mobile) computing space so very different from many of its peers. Where some of its competitors market arena robot death matches, Apple shows how its technology is helping to open the world to the blind, to the impoverished, or to those...
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All hail the generalist →
Vikram Mansharamani, HBR:
The future has always been uncertain, but our ability to navigate it has been impaired by an increasing focus on studying bark. The closer you are to the material, the more likely you are to believe it. In psychology jargon, you anchor on your own beliefs and insufficiently adjust from them. In more straightforward language, a man with a hammer is more likely to see...
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Compared to magical →
Seth Godin:
The easiest way to sell yourself short is to compare your work to the competition. To say that you are 5% cheaper or have one or two features that stand out—this is a formula for slightly better mediocrity.
If only Android phone makers would listen to this advice!
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The lads' mag I edited turned a generation on to... →
I rarely - never?! - link to the Daily Mail but, regardless of your take on government role in policing access to porn, this is an interesting perspective from the former editor of Loaded magazine.
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Lessons from the Religious Right in America →
Jonathan Merritt, The Atlantic:
If American Christians continue to see that the culture wars as the primary way of shaping culture, they should expect to see their numbers decline and their influence wane. But if they wake up to our current reality and return to the foundations of their faith — love, compassion, and a rigorous commitment to the “Gospel” story that drives them...
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Love Wins Isn’t Jewish Enough for Rob Bell →
Kurt Williems:
In my recent series on hell, I express that the language of fire in judgment throughout the Bible always seems to have a final point: refinement. So, in a sense I think Rob Bell might be on to something. The problem is, that based on his book, he seems to believe that people will be in a literal place called hell for eternity until they repent. But, according to an ancient...
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Computer games can dramatically boost children’s... →
Further evidence of the benefits that can result from kids playing computer games.
What to expect from Apple's announcements on... →
It’s Apples annual developers conference next week and there’ll be a keynote on Monday where there’ll undoubtedly be various product updates and announcements. This is a nice overview of what to expect.
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Zadie Smith's writing advice →
Zadie Smith, quoted at kottke.org:
When you finish your novel, if money is not a desperate priority, if you do not need to sell it at once or be published that very second — put it in a drawer. For as long as you can manage. A year of more is ideal — but even three months will do. Step away from the vehicle. The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader...
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Starbucks' Power Over Us Is Bigger Than Coffee:... →
Interesting. I’ve not seen the mentioned changes in any UK store yet—and I hope I don’t—but it would bring about a significant shift in how Starbucks is perceived.
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I wonder where Samsung got their design... →
Do they have zero self-respect? They certainly don’t have my respect. This is a shocking level of design ripoff from Apple. I’d be embarrassed if I was the maker of this product.
