The Typewriter, by Leroy Anderson

“The Typewriter for Orchestra” was written by Leroy Anderson in 1950. In this performance, the soloist is Alfredo Anaya, with conductor Miguel Roa, at the Concierto “Voces para la Paz”, Músicos Solidarios, Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid, in 2011. It is one of the silliest performances using a typewriter you’ll ever see.

The two faces of the smart city

The issues being brought up in this piece are not often thought about by the general public and certainly aren’t being addressed by our authorities and/or the companies who sell these products and tools except for them to say, “Trust us.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech

It’s hard to find the full audio or video of the speech (it’s been locked up in litigation for years) but here is a link to the transcription of the speech text. Most people don’t realize that the title of the speech wasn’t in the original prepared text. It wasn’t until the famed Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson yelled out, “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin!” that the Reverend went off script and adlibbed much of the rest of the speech.

King speechwriter Clarence Jones realized what was happening when he saw King “push the text of his prepared remarks to one side,” he wrote in the Washington Post in 2011. “I leaned over and said to the person next to me, ‘These people out there today don’t know it yet, but they’re about ready to go to church.”

New Apple TV+ content announced

Apple is attending the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour and has announced several new programs.

Encryption backdoors won’t stop crime but will hurt U.S. tech

This is a piece from late last year but it has resurfaced in light of recent events. It’s also by a man I like, admire, and greatly respect (even if I disagree with him on occasion) and a man who knows more about the topic than any of us ever will – General Michael Hayden, former director of both the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.

My 5yo asked, “How big is a wolf?”

This is pretty cool. My son and I just spent the last 30 minutes taking pictures of him with various animals (panda, lion, leopard) in our living room. I had no idea how big a wolf was.

Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser is here

Engadget: As promised, Microsoft is officially releasing its Chromium-based Edge browser today, which is powered by the same engine that’s behind Google Chrome. Windows and Mac users can download and install the update manually, and automatic updates will start rolling … Continued

It’s time for new hardware at the center of Apple’s home strategy

I and others been saying this for years. It should have been the natural extension of Jobs’ vision for the home he put forward long ago at a Macworld Expo keynote. I think it’s a huge blind spot the company is bizarrely ignoring. Something as “simple” as the Apple TV combined with a HomePod that works as a TV soundbar has been talked about and lusted over. Why won’t/hasn’t Apple developed this idea further? I agree with Snell when he says, “The elimination of AirPort wasn’t a mistake. The real mistake was not replacing it with a next-generation product that could be the hub of a home network.”

The complete guide to avoiding online scams

I’m sure no Loop readers would fall for any of these but this is a great article to pass along to those you know who may not be as technically literate.

HBO’s “McMillions” official trailer

I read about this years ago and it pissed me off. I was an avid player of this silly game during this time (although I haven’t set foot in a MacDonald’s in decades) and I knew I had no chance of winning. Little did we know, none of us did.