Highlights

 

FOSS Filter 🤯

07/08/2021 • #70

Pondering how Audacity’s addition of basic tracking tools turned into an overwhelmingly loud “This is spyware” cry from the open-source community.

I think that most people who work with Audacity, the popular audio-recording tool, don’t actually care that much about the whole licensing debate. Or if they do, it’s because they read a headline on the… Read More

07/06/2021

RSS Rethink 💡 : 

Perhaps the reason why email newsletters work when RSS feeds didn’t comes down to control—that is, publishers feel like they have some say in the medium. And perhaps good ol’ RSS could borrow from that.

#69

07/05/2021

Security Hype as a Dumb Excuse (SHaaDE) 🔓 : 

If big tech companies are insistent on using security concerns as an excuse to fortify their competitive advantage, we should at least have the right to call it out.

#68

07/01/2021

Shaving the Yak 🪒 : 

Sometimes, the best adventure to take is the one you stand no chance at succeeding at. But you learn something anyway.

#67

06/29/2021

A Shortened Lifecycle 💾 : 

Western Digital’s decision to prematurely cut off support for an external hard drive leaves its customers holding the bag in the worst way imaginable.

#66

06/28/2021

The Hidden Motherboard 🕹 : 

The retro gaming world lost a giant over the weekend—and I can’t stop thinking about how I see myself in a pivotal decision that launched their programming career.

#65

06/24/2021

A Modulation Masterpiece 🎸 : 

How a popular music YouTuber did something magical with an old cheesy pop song: He forced you to think differently about it, which is really what good storytelling is all about.

#64

06/22/2021

Thigh-High Problems 🍗 : 

The reason a virtual restaurant called Thighstop now exists is because wings simply became too popular, and Wingstop needs to buy more of the bird.

#63

06/21/2021

OnePlus’ Shaky Math 📱 : 

The cult Android device maker (which I personally use) is making some behind-the-scenes changes, but something doesn’t add up.

#62

06/17/2021

The Power of Structure 📝 : 

For some people (read: me), the secret to being able to create is having a little tension. Which is to say: The deadline is an important element of the work.

#61

06/15/2021

Planned Sorta-Obsolescence 💾 : 

Apple’s move to separate out certain features in its newest operating systems may seem like a not-cool thing to do for users, but in reality, it’s a sign that the company might finally be learning not to arbitrarily leave old devices behind.

#60

06/14/2021

A Letter to My Robot Namesake 🤖 : 

Amazon has a robot named Ernie, and as someone else also named Ernie, I feel it is my duty to write him a letter to wish him well as he does his thankless job for Amazon.

#59

06/10/2021

The Worst Possible Light 😶‍🌫️ : 

Apple’s decision to turn email marketing into a privacy issue means that they’ve put email publishers at odds with their own readers. Maybe Apple should talk to us first before doing something that harms our industry?

#58

06/08/2021

Out of Sync, Yet in Sync 🗄 : 

As organizations figure out how to get the toothpaste back in the tube that is remote work, one strategy that might help is by maintaining some of the flexibility remote work offered. If someone wants to leave for a couple of hours to work elsewhere, let them.

#57

06/07/2021

I Wrote Some Stuff At Seventeen ✍️ : 

Discussing the time I wrote 5,000-word pieces for a late-’90s gaming website in exchange for free computer games. I was driven by wanting to tell people how awesome emulation really was.

#56

06/03/2021

Amazon’s Weird Email Rule 🛒 : 

For some reason, despite allowing affiliate links to be shared on social media, Amazon does not allow them to be shared in emails—which stinks for publishers that could really make them shine.

#55

06/01/2021

No Room For Polymaths 🎨 : 

A common challenge I see for creative types in the working world is that they tend to be pushed in one direction, despite having skills in many realms. Too bad, because I like design.

#54

05/31/2021

Utopia Is Complicated 🌎 : 

The problem with the old internet isn’t that we treat it like the good old days of digital utopia; it’s that we don’t have enough detail about it to properly understand it with the depth and nuance it deserves.

#53

05/27/2021

The Great Key Fob Caper 🔑 : 

Pondering that time my Uber driver was unable to finish the trip because they stopped for gas and realized they left their key fob at home.

#52

05/25/2021

Coffee Shop Comeback ☕️ : 

Why being able to return to a coffee shop after more than a year of pandemic chaos means so much to me.

#51