Sit with this image, and ponder the question. Let it roll over you. Absorb it. Think about it.
"How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?" - Think Different (unaired)
Ask me anything
March 18, 2013
March 16, 2013
Its already arrived.
The most important innovation in smartphones will be a product that is not a smartphone. The category will be eliminated through a disruptive approach just like all other technologies that have come before it. My expectation is that when it comes it won’t be recognized as important or relevant.
March 16, 2013
The "New" Apple TV's Chip
Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech breaks it down:
With no change to process technology, I can only assume that the reduction in power consumption came from other architectural or silicon optimizations. The significant power reduction is the only thing that makes me wonder if this new A5 silicon isn’t destined for another device, perhaps one powered by a battery. That’s pure speculation however, it could very well be that the A5 in the Apple TV is just lower power for the sake of being better designed.
Overall, it seems like this new custom A5 was made for an economical reason, but those power savings are pretty massive. If only Apple was working on small, battery-powered new iOS device…
February 28, 2013
"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today."
—
Andrew Mason, in his letter to Groupon employees following his ouster. (Which he posted publicly because “it will leak anyway”.)
A brilliant and refreshingly straightforward way to exit.
(via parislemon)
February 14, 2013
“I tried to put a bunch of photos and updates on there, plus some tweets and jiffs or whatever. I don’t know. Looks like a liveblog to me.”
The best satire, as always, is extremely close to the actual state of things.
February 14, 2013
February 11, 2013
The iWatch concepts are cool, and some are very well done, but they don’t seem to address the real problem with smart watches. They’re too damn big.
I’m a pretty big guy, and I’ve got big hands, but my wrists are skinny and bony. There’s no meat there at all. Big watches just don’t work for me - I’d have to wear one halfway up my arm to keep it from sliding around. Not very convenient if I’m wearing long sleeves or a suit.
So when I wear one at all, I wear this cheap Casio. It tells the time, does splits for runs, and I forget its there.
I made a photostream: https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A7GgZLKuJ89d9E
It’s a dinky little cheap & functional MENS watch - and that’s the problem. Women’s wrists are smaller, women’s watches are smaller. People have differently shaped bodies, live in different climates, wear different clothes.
Everyone wants comfortable. Nobody likes an awkward fit. So size really matters, and ultimately I think anything they do in this space has to be 1-size-fits-all if it has a chance of being a blockbuster product.
An iWatch HAS to be designed to be worn *on the wrist* by a wide variety of people.
It has to be small enough that its comfortable. It has to be big enough for the guts and a usable screen. It needs to last days if not weeks without charging. It can’t get hot. It can’t crash. It can’t freeze. It can’t lag.
It has to be at least as good as my Casio, and pretty much the same size.
Apple can certainly do all of that. And I’m sure it’ll look great. But they’re not putting an A5 in there, are they? It won’t have LTE. That’s not going to happen. Not for quite some time at least.
I suspect they’ll do something creative with the strap. Put the battery and some antennas in there. Make it flush with the face, and give it an organic shape. A smooth curve that thickens at the display, but resembles a bracelet more than a watch.
It probably won’t do much more than my Jawbone Era. Notifications, Bluetooth & AirPlay, and a microphone for Siri and phone calls.
That’d be a great product. A disappointment. That’s the goal. Don’t blow it by doing too much too fast.
February 11, 2013
"
I’ve been thinking about the effects of the internet for a couple of decades now. I’ve watched industry after industry forced to renegotiate their methods and models, in the face of a medium that allows for perfect copying, global distribution, zero incremental cost, ridiculously easy group-forming: The music business. Newspapers. Travel agents. Publishers. Hotel owners. And while watching, I’ve always wondered what I’d do when my turn came.
And now here it is. And it turns out my job is to tell you not to trust us when we claim that there’s something sacred and irreplaceable about what we academics do. What we do is run institutions whose only rationale—whose only excuse for existing—is to make people smarter.
"
February 10, 2013
70Decibels - Generational - 021 - Raising a Human [MP3; Huffduffer]
This week Gabe is joined by Merlin Mann to talk about raising a kid. They talk about the fears, mistakes, and joys of raising a child and screwing them up in their own special way. The discussion ranges from death to religion to Miyazaki films.
You can totally be forgiven for not loving all the parenting talk out there. Trust me, I hated it with a passion until the last few years.
But, if you are vaguely interested in the challenges, annoyances, strategies, and occasional minor triumphs around trying to help craft a person who’s not a total basket case, I hope you’ll check this out.
I really like Gabe a lot, and I love how this turned out.
(Related: if you haven’t seen Gabe’s amazing “Normal is Not Normal” post, please do treat yourself.)
My wife and I both loved this episode. Lots of discussion after.
February 10, 2013
“Keep Watching, Internet Bozos.”
“I want them to watch that.”
Understand: my daughter is trying to help you.
Your daughter is gonna take over the world.
February 10, 2013
Where Apple and Dick Tracy May Converge
I swear I just read something about Dick Tracy and Apple’s iWatch… Oh, that’s right: I wrote it 10 days ago.
But Nick Bilton of NYT does add quite a bit to the notion, namely sources pointing to the use of curved glass (WSJ follows this up with a largely “us too” article). He also writes:
Mr. Cook is clearly interested in wearables. In the past he has been seen sporting a Nike FuelBand, which tracks a user’s daily exertion. The FuelBand data is shared wirelessly with an iPhone app.
And he has a picture at the top of the post featuring Tim Cook wearing a FuelBand. Oddly not mentioned though is the fact that Cook has a very good reason to be wearing the device: he’s on Nike’s board of directors.
That brings up another interesting question: if and when Apple does move into this space, what would this mean for Cook’s role on Nike’s board? It’s a situation that could play out in a similar way to Eric Schmidt on Apple’s board a few years back.
At first, Schmidt would recuse himself from the parts of meetings where the iPhone was being discussed (once Google’s Android plans were revealed). Then the conflict became too great. And this eventually led to him stepping down (or being pushed) from the board. Maybe Nike doesn’t view the FuelBand as a massive business to be protected right now, but down the road…
The iWatch will kill the smartphone.
February 10, 2013
PPPLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEEEEEE
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
START.SHOPPING.NOW
WHAT ELSE WERE YOU GOING TO DO TODAY? NOTHING, THAT’S WHAT
PPPPPLLLLLEEEEAAASSEEEEEEEEEEEEE
“Dell recommends Windows.” Consider that $2 billion check cashed.
What’s that Steve Jobs quote? Oh yeah “Fuck Michael Dell”.
February 10, 2013
3D Films Still Looking For An Audience ...At Truck Stops
Brooks Barnes for Media Decoder:
Despite a continued hard sell by Hollywood, audiences have been increasingly reluctant about paying a $2 to $5 surcharge to see movies in 3-D.
But Warner is not giving up. To advertise the 3-D effects of “Jack the Giant Slayer,” set for release March 1, the studio has decided to buy space on Travel Plaza TV, which is distributed in about 300 gas stations and Pilot Flying J truck stops in 42 states.
Keep trying something — anything — until something sticks, I guess. Unless it doesn’t.
I hope 2013 is the last year we have to put up with this 3D nonsense. But I doubt it. If the studios really just care about charging more (which sure seems to be the case), they should really just focus on IMAX. That’s an awesome cinematic experience. 3D is crap.
The only 3D film I’ve seen that used the technology well and wasn’t gimmicky was Life of Pi. The opening shots of the Zoo animals were breathtaking, and Ang Lee used it to great effect throughout.
February 10, 2013
iWatch Design Concept by Pavel Simeonov
The non-stop speculation and mocks — it begins…
An iWatch thats any good would kill the iPhone. That’s why Apple should make one.
January 9, 2013
Stop sleeping.
RSS feed: http://benjaminalexander.tumblr.com/rss
1 of 4
Next page
-
Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech breaks it down:
With no change to process technology, I can only assume that the reduction...
-
“After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I...”
-
Dieter Rams, HLD 4 hairdryer (1970)
-
Found this picture on Flickr. It is tagged with Coffee Machine by Dieter Rams. Anyone knows which type it is?
-
“And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.”—
President Obama, during his State of the Union speech last night.
No mention of PCs.
-
A CF6-80C2 #engine at #GE #Aviation in Cincinnati, OH. Shot by @noahkalina.
-
Nat Brown, one of the founding members of the Xbox team within Microsoft, absolutely eviscerates the current direction of the...
-
Anonymous asked: You give Apple to much credit. Apple TV will never be able to kill consoles, because it won't be powerful enough to play Call of Duty. These CoD kids are the ones driving the market. Gamers want Skyrim and Assassins Creed, epic "real games" and nothing being made for Apple TV can replace those. I'm sure you love Angry Birds but the kids don't want that crapp
A couple things here:
1) I have no doubt that those hardcore games will remain a big deal and a good business. But I think more casual games, with...
