March 2009
“When you buy a book, you’re also buying the right to read it aloud, have...”
– Neil Gaiman’s Journal: Quick argument summary
“Rather than argue with the Authors Guild over the text-to-speech feature of its...”
– Shut Up, Kindle | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD
Why would text-to-speech of a legal work that you have purchased be a problem as long as it’s for personal use? And, why isn’t the Authors Guild applauding a product and a technology that might actually get more Americans...
February 2009
Evolution yields revolution: The Kindle 2 - Ars... →
We’ve had a chance to spend some time with Amazon’s next-generation book reader, and nearly every aspect of the device is a big step up from the first version. There’s little that’s truly new about Kindle 2, but the result of the evolutionary changes is far more than the sum of its parts: Amazon has made a good device, and in the process, shown that it has what it takes to...
“Fun as it may be to watch someone’s kitten playing with a piece of string,...”
– Dan Lyons commenting on YouTube versus Hulu. (via Newsweek.com)
Grouping
The Tumblr staff has now gotten large enough than I’m creating a Group in my Address Book for all the staff email addresses. I’m doing this because I’m tired of typing the recipients’ names individually. I wonder if everyone who works at a startup has these little “wow, we’re getting bigger now” feelings as the company grows. It’s all good stuff, but...
“Pushed. At 70mph. On a train. Awesome.”
– Marco after he updated a web page during his commute this morning.
Agatha Christie's Country Home Opens To Tourists :... →
The late mystery writer’s fans now can wander rooms of the house that may have been a setting for her many country-house murder mysteries. Her 18th-century vacation home near London is newly restored and open to the public. There’s no body in the library, just a body of work including first editions and manuscripts.
Now on my list of places to go.
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My Kindle 2 Has Arrived
Early thoughts:
Amazon is learning from Apple. The Kindle 2 packaging is pretty cool. It uses letters in lots of different typefaces and languages as the first Kindle did. But, The packaging now says “Once Upon a Time…” on an outside edge. And, the external packaging is all black while the internal packaging is all white. It makes for an elegant contrast.
Text does look crisper...
maniacalrage:
Tip: Make Safari 4 Look Like Safari 3
Want to get the nice new rendering speed and features of Safari 4 but not the new interface? Drop these three commands into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeToolbarRedesign -bool NO defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4LoadProgressStyle -bool NO defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop...
“The point everyone is missing is that in Technoland, nothing ever replaces...”
– David Pogue in his Kindle 2 review (via marco)
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Early Thoughts on Safari 4 Beta
My early thoughts on the Safari 4 Beta:
Page loads are much faster than in Safari 3 thanks to the Nitro Engine (I love how Apple names things.)
From some casual usage over the past 30 minutes, no immediate issues with webpage stability or compatibility in Safari.
Inquisitor won’t load in Safari 4. Some of its functionality has been added to Safari 4, but not all. I hope Yahoo updates it....
American Express Offers To Pay To Close Accounts :... →
American Express is offering some customers $300 — if they pay off their bill and cancel their credit card. Not everyone is eligible for the offer — only those the company no longer wants to do business with. American Express says it will notify those eligible for the offer by mail.
We live in crazy times.
Kindle 2 delivery estimated in two days. Woohoo!
Nestlé Pushes a Lifestyle, and a Cup of Coffee -... →
The current recession may be most serious since the 1930s, but these are boom times at Nespresso — the seemingly omnipresent brand of coffee and coffee makers owned by the Swiss food giant Nestlé.
Presenting its 2008 earnings Thursday, Nestlé said sales of Nespresso products grew 30 percent in 2008, taking annual revenue past its goal of 2 billion Swiss francs, or $1.7 billion, two years ahead...
“The mobile phone industry promised Monday to standardize phone chargers by 2012...”
– Coming Soon: Universal Phone Chargers : NPR
“The middle of an article should reflect the solitariness of reading with a...”
– Mandy Brown writes in defense of readers for A List Apart, with great advice about minimising the interruptions that can divert our attention (sidebars, pullquotes) while reading long passages online. (via matthewb)
The Irony of Diet Soda →
jingc:
The essential lesson is that the brain doesn’t like being tricked. When you give us sweetness without the caloric energy, we end up craving calories more than ever.
The Kindle: It's not an iPhone | MacUser |... →
A good piece. Though, I remain skeptical that the iPhone (at least in its current form) will become a mainstream platform for long-form reading. A small, backlit screen and short battery life don’t lend themselves to reading at length.
Snark Undermines Public Discourse, Author Says :... →
A new book says snark is threatening to take over how Americans converse. Snark is a tone of teasing or snideness. David Denby is the author of Snark. He talks with Ari Shapiro about how clever put-downs and cheap shots are coarsening public debate.
Lauren's thoughts on the Kindle
bijan:
My wife lauren is a voracious reader. She’ll read at least a book a week. Sometimes she’ll read a few books in parallel.
And even though she is having fun with her tweets and iphone, she isn’t an early adopter of new technology. Lauren watches me configure, play with, evaluate and maintain new technology at home and often wonders why I do it.
I didn’t even try to buy her the Kindle when...
CollegeHumor totally needs to do a Harry Potter spoof with Jeff Rubin as Harry Potter. It would be magical on many levels.
Darrell Hammond’s creepy/funny/menacing portrayal of The Deacon on Damages is one of the most awesome things on TV right now.
I hate our tax system. I’m a college-educated, reasonably intelligent person, yet have to pay someone to navigate this morass for me. Ugh.
Battle Brewing Over Electronic Books : NPR →
Publishers looking for a way into the digital world are warily optimistic — they also don’t want Amazon calling the shots on prices, the way iTunes now does. And booksellers, already threatened by Amazon, are saying A.B.K. — anything but the Kindle.
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My Kindle 2 is Pre-Ordered →
The news with my comments.
Say Hello to The New Kindle Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines (Very nice.) Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback (Very nice.) Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots (Isn’t really news. 3G is faster, but the...
Coffee, Tea Or Carbon Credits? : NPR →
At a time when most airlines are skimping on basics like food and pillows, one carrier is going in a different direction. Rather than just offer peanuts or movies for purchase, Virgin America is selling environmentally conscious passengers the chance to fly guilt free. Virgin has become the first domestic airline to offer carbon credits in-flight.
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No Photos in Whole Foods
We were in Whole Foods this evening and I got a small cannoli that was just excellent. The entire dessert case looked amazing, so I pulled out my iPhone to capture the case’s beauty for posterity. But, I was then told in no uncertain terms from the woman behind the counter that all photography is banned in Whole Foods.
Apparently Whole Foods is worried that competitors will come in and...
Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
Study: Seeing Red, Blue Affects Outcome Of Tasks :... →
The experiments showed that with the red background, people did as much as 31 percent better at tasks like proofreading or solving anagrams, which require attention to detail. But for creative tasks, like designing a child’s toy, a blue background improved performance.
Watchjakeandamir:
Behind the Scenes of “The CollegeHumor Show” Part One
