Highlights

 

Internet, Explored ☢️

05/24/2021 • #50

The demise of Internet Explorer (finally) represents what happens when one of the largest companies in the world basically ignores standardization.

You know, I’m sure that folks would probably think that I’d have more to say about the decision to kill off Internet Explorer once and for all. Clearly this browser, which Microsoft announced that it was finally ending support for last… Read More

05/20/2021

Cropped Out 🖼 : 

How concerns about bias led Twitter to drop its machine-learning algorithms for automatically cropping photos.

#49

05/18/2021

A Superhuman Wait ⏱ : 

Writing down my feelings about a startup that decided to admit me to their exclusive service four years after I actually cared. Note: If you don’t want a writer to mock your exclusivity in their newsletter, don’t make them wait four years.

#48

05/17/2021

Flamin’ Hot Embellishment 🔥 : 

A story about the guy who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, currently being made into a film, in fact might largely be false—and the subject of at least one other famous Hollywood movie might have done the same thing.

#47

05/13/2021

Remote Control Takes 🤡 : 

Pondering why there seems to be a sudden rush of bad takes on why people need to go back to the office after more than a year in the remote-work wilderness.

#46

05/11/2021

Don’t Make Lorne Mad 📺 : 

Elon Musk’s appearance on SNL, seen in light of the artists that SNL has banned over the years, is a reminder that orthodoxy reigns supreme on the sketch show.

#45

05/10/2021

Road Writing 101 🚗 : 

How innovation has made the process of writing in a moving vehicle a lot less painful than it was just a few years ago (he writes as he’s in a moving vehicle).

#44

05/06/2021

Open MagSafe 🧲 : 

How I accidentally learned that the Linux-based PinePhone is compatible with the iPhone’s fancy MagSafe wallets right out of the box.

#43

05/04/2021

First-Mover Advantage 📲 : 

The problem with the mobile ecosystem, being stress-tested by Epic vs. Apple, is highlighted by the fact that Clubhouse isn’t a Progressive Web App, when it honestly could be.

#42

05/03/2021

Kings Of Consistency 💿 : 

The reason why Kings of Convenience hit so unexpectedly hard with its new single last week might be because consistency is a huge asset in the streaming era.

#41

04/29/2021

Squirrel Story 🐿 : 

How I got attacked by a squirrel when I was in college—and why I absolutely deserved it.

#40

04/27/2021

Gopher Hole 🕳 : 

A recent saga involving the Linux kernel reflects the way that open-source communities are built around trust—and breaking that trust is a big no-no.

#39

04/26/2021

Beavers Destroy The Internet 🦫 : 

Pondering why beavers would dare use their natural skills to damage something as important as the internet for hundreds of people.

#38

04/22/2021

The Cupertino Shakedown 🍎 : 

Why the leak-friendly Apple press really needs to think hard about their next moves as a ransomware attack threatens to turn into an extortive motherlode of leaks.

#37

04/20/2021

30 Seconds of Ubuntu 💾 : 

Why a fleeting moment in a buzzy movie makes me think 2021 is the year of Linux on the desktop.

#36

04/19/2021

The Hissing Of Mowing Lawns 🌱 : 

My not-really-that-hard-fought battle against the tyranny of the lawn opens up a new front in Las Vegas.

#35

04/15/2021

Not-So-Mysterious Ways 🛍 : 

COVID-19’s devastating impact on mainstream retail ultimately rewarded good business practices and harshly punished bad ones.

#34

04/13/2021

Golden Slumbers 🍽 : 

Nearly a year after writing about the pandemic’s impact on the buffet, I consider the issue again—after noticing that a Golden Corral location near my house permanently closed.

#33

04/12/2021

Living On Rented Time 📼 : 

The death of Family Video, the last notable major video rental chain in the U.S., reflects how COVID-19 destroyed even businesses that survived prior disruptions.

#32

04/08/2021

Finding My Inner Hermit 🐚 : 

The pandemic taught me something I didn’t think I’d ever say about myself 15 years ago: I make a pretty good indoors person.

#31