CINEMETRICS — film data visualization.
Better than your average infographic, certainly.
Mark Shuttleworth: Introducing the HUD. Say hello to the future of the menu.
Ubuntu is going to try out voice commands.
ReadWriteWeb: Foxconn Workers Threaten Mass Suicide.
“Foxconn produces devices for Microsoft (including the Xbox360), Apple (the iPhone and iPad), Sony (PlayStation3) and Nintendo (the Wii), as well as the Amazon Kindle.” Let these manufacturers know this is not acceptable.
CNet: Thunderbolt strikes all Seagate GoFlex external drives at once.
$199 for an adapter? Sure that isn’t a typo? I’ll stick with FW800 then, until the prices come down.
NY Times: A Literary History of Word Processing.
“Who was the first novelist to use a word processor?” I’d bet Arthur C. Clarke.
Technolog/MSNBC - IE 6 deep-sixed in Microsoft browser overhaul.
“To help expedite the farewell (or rather, the execution) of its ancient Web browser, Microsoft says next month it will start to upgrade Windows customers automatically to the latest version of IE available for their computer.” I can only hope it’s true, though I expect computer consultants are going to make a mint when this takes place.
ReadWriteWeb: Google Map Maker Opens Its Editing Tools To Everyone.
A lot’s happening in online maps and geolocation these days, desktop *and* mobile. Hard to keep up.
ReadWriteWeb: 100 Million Apps Later, Apple Pushes the Desktop Toward Mobile.
I’m linking this for one reason. To relate the fact that when I’m presenting to a client on my Macbook, I have this annoying habit of reaching for the screen and trying to iPad things around. I know I’m not alone in this. I don’t know if Apple’s aware of the fact that they’re building a market before they have a device to feed it. Someone else could zoom in right now, and steal that market away (I’m ignoring the power of the Apple brand, just brainstorming).
SEO Moz: Wake Up SEOs, the New Google is Here.
“Traditional” SEO seems to be dead. Stick a fork in it, I suspect it’s done. Google’s moved on to prevent gaming of the system.
CNet: Give your homely headlamp a sexy makeover.
“Princeton Tec gave me the opportunity to customize a $35 Fuel light. I could have gone with something tasteful, like black and gray. Instead, I went ‘80s retro with a mix of pink, green, yellow, orange, and blue. It’s the Cyndi Lauper of headlamps.” Your next S&R headlamp need a color upgrade, Eric/SF?
The Atlantic: The Case For Banning Email at Work.
IM does speed things up ... but what if you have about two dozen clients all IM’ing at once?
Flickr: Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.
Ooooo. Nice shape.
BergCloud: Little Printer.
Madison Street Bike by Detroit Bicycle Company.
Ooooh, copper. Plated, of course.
CNet: Tool tracks hard disk price increases.
Jeebus. Isn’t this going to seriously impact desktop and laptop prices?
Why does everything suck?: The death and rebirth of useful interface affordances.
Hank’s always thoughtful. Do read this one.
WriteRoom update.
The software’s update function doesn’t do a system version check ... so if you’re not on Lion (10.7), *don’t update.* I have to find my old copy in my archives, dammit.
The New Adventures of Stephen Fry: Steve Jobs.
The European Magazine: George Dyson - Information Is Cheap, Meaning Is Expensive.
“History is unpredictable, so the important thing is to stay adaptable.” Good read. Make time for it.
NY Times: Will the E-Book Kill the Footnote?
Does the hardware dictate formatting, or the software? Or should they not be overpriced, cheaply-manufactured boxes that display terrible cheaply-formatted text? Simple footnotes are certainly not an insoluble problem - why not modal windows?
I put Ubuntu on my old laptop,
hoping to eke out some usability. It is probably twice as fast as XP. But on this laptop, that’s like saying corn syrup pours faster than molasses. Oh well.
Wacom: Inkling.
“The Inkling digital sketch pen captures a digital likeness of your work while you sketch with its ballpoint tip on any sketchbook or standard piece of paper.” Looks interesting. The proof will be in the use - they’d best have tester models in stores.
Pantone Flash Drives.
NY Times: Jobs Steps Down From Chief Executive Post at Apple.
Frankly, I’m in awe that he made it this far. Pancreatic cancer is usually a bullet to the abdomen. Six months, max. Best of luck, Steve.
NY Times: E-Book Author Signs Print Deal With Simon & Schuster.
Disconnect; if self-publishing is damned great, how come all the successful self-publishers are trying to get into traditional publishing houses? I suppose it’s a useful filter, to winnow out the most saleable authors at minimum expense to the publisher. I wonder about ‘quality.’
