It’s hard to explain today what kind of an amazing revelation the original Myst was. I never finished the game but I loved playing it.
Understanding “Hotel California”
A classic song that receives a very dense music theory dissection in this video. I don’t understand 75% of what he’s saying but it’s still interesting.
Meet the people who grind out the best movie trailers in the world
I love movie trailers. I scour YouTube and my RSS feed for the latest ones and will spend hours watching them on the AppleTV Trailer app. A well-done trailer is like a little movie in and of itself. A good one doesn’t give away too much of a movie but gives you enough to make you want to see it. If you are a movie trailer fan, go to IMDB and check out some of your favourite movies from the 1930s-1970s. The style of trailers has changed remarkably over the years.
Study: 75% of King County drivers believe they can safely text and drive
This was a study done in the Seattle area but there’s no reason to believe the results would be much different anywhere else. People in cars are remarkably stupid when it comes to judging their ability to multitask in general and even worse when it comes to using their cell phone in the car.
Google: Security keys neutralized employee phishing
Security keys have been around for a long time – I used one at an engineering firm I worked at 25 years ago – but I wonder if this kind of implementation will not only become more widely used but maybe trickle down to average consumers? Also, there are security concerns regarding plugging in USB devices at work and how secure those devices are in and of themselves. Still, a step towards a different future of passwords.
One of the stars of ‘Planet of the Apps’ is trashing Apple
This is just revisionist history. The problems with that show started long before Apple Marketing got involved. I’d argue it started with the hosts, Vaynerchuk included, and just snowballed from there. Face it, Gary – it was a bad TV show.
“Midnight Run” at 30: in praise of the ‘Casablanca’ of buddy comedies
My Australian wife had never seen this movie (as the story notes, it bombed at the box office) so we watched it a few weeks ago and she nearly wet herself laughing. De Niro is utterly brilliant in this comedic role (as is the sadly late Dennis Farina) and Grodin is wonderfully neurotic and annoying.
Apple: Don’t default on default apps
As a photographer, I’d love to be able to change the default photo app and I’d love to change the default mapping behaviour to a different app as well. The vast majority of users are unlikely to ever do this but for “power users” of one sort or another, it would be a nice feature.
Memo from the boss: you’re a vegetarian now
Oh, I think we’d learn a lot from the “awkward conversation” I’d have with my boss if he told me I couldn’t eat meat at work.
Live TV coverage of the Apollo 11 landing and Moon walk
If you want to experience it the way “those old folks did”, start watching at 4:10pm ET this afternoon.
Review: a counterfeit, $100 iPhone X
While I wouldn’t use one of these even if you paid me the $100, it’s still very interesting to see what these fake iPhones can and can’t do.
Sextortion scam uses recipient’s hacked passwords
I received this email scam as well but it didn’t worry me. While it was a password I’d used in the distant past, now that I use 1Password, I knew it wasn’t to anything I still use.
How do cyclists physically survive the Tour de France?
As corrupt as pro cycling may or may not be (hint: it is), I still love watching the Tour de France, not just for the beautiful scenery but in sheer awe and admiration for what these athletes put themselves through.
How today’s Apple has thrown out its old rulebook
I’ve made note of some of these changes on my own podcast but Snell writes about it better than I ever could. The PR moves are especially interesting.
DSLR vs mirrorless cameras: How do they compare in 2018?
There may be a big difference for professionals but for the average shooter, the gap between DSLR and mirrorless is almost nonexistent nowadays.
In the final minutes of his life, Calvin has one last talk with Hobbes
I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.
Which car brands have the most (and least) loyal owners?
I found this fascinating. As someone who doesn’t own a car and doesn’t really care about cars, I had no idea that brand loyalty was so low in this market. No wonder the advertising around it is so prevalent and forceful. Customers are ripe for changes.
“Photo tourism” in Lisbon, Portugal, March 23rd-30th, 2019
This is a workshop I call “Photo Tourism”. The idea is to go on the vacation you are already going on but go with a professional photographer (that would be me!) and learn how to take better photos as well.
30 week iOS plus computer science course plus a free MacBook plus free housing in San Francisco
There’s going to be a lot of suspicion about this and many naysayers but, if you qualify, it sounds like an amazing opportunity.
Pondering the impact of the App Store at 10
Engst does a good job of looking at the pros and cons of the App Store.
We are all public figures now
Jim and I had an interesting discussion about this on Wednesday evening’s Your Mac Life show discussing the differences between public and private spaces and our expectations of privacy in each.
A massive, black sarcophagus has been unearthed in Egypt, and nobody knows who’s inside
With the state of the world today, I don’t know that they should really be opening this.
The 10 most important iPhone apps of all time
This is an interesting list if only because I disagree with all of it except #1, 2, and 4.
The best third-party camera app for iPhone – Halide
Halide is overkill for the majority of iPhone photographers but if you want something approaching the control you can get with a DSLR, Halide is your best choice.
New Nikon COOLPIX P1000: 4K video zoom example shot from 24-3,000mm
The recently announced new Nikon COOLPIX P1000 has insane levels of zoom. Check out the detail in the lion when it’s fully zoomed in. I don’t have any interest in that camera specifically but that zoom makes me drool.
Should we hide the locations of Earth’s greatest trees?
It’s a shame that because we humans are the way we are, the answer to the headline question is, “Yes.”
The entire history of steel
I now know more about steel than I ever did and I had fun reading this very accessible article with my 12 year old.
Travis Pastrana nails all three of Evel Knievel’s historic jumps
I grew up watching some of Knievel’s stunts on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”. What Pastrana did was absolutely incredible.
Heatwave unveils ancient settlements in Wales
This was really interesting and a fascinating way to discover these ancient ruins.
Atari’s hard-partying origin story: An oral history
When I was a kid, everyone wanted an Atari system.