Highlights

 

The Culmination 🔎

01/18/2022 • #150

Reflections on a source code release 25 years in the making, something that came about thanks in part to a spare detail in a story that I wrote half a decade ago.

In the early days of April 1997, I saw something that made me think completely differently about technology than I had previously, and in many ways, has put me on the writerly path I’ve spent much of my adult life working up to. The thing I… Read More

01/17/2022

Filling a Quota 📡 : 

One of the most controversial networks on the cable dial came into existence for reasons of perceived balance. As that network loses its main funding source, it raises questions about why a big media company could make that call in the first place.

#149

01/13/2022

When the Compass Breaks 🧭 : 

Thinking about an individual developer’s unearned greed in the context of an App Store’s unearned greed.

#148

01/11/2022

Cloudy With a Chance of DIY 🌥 : 

After a couple of frustrating experiences with high-profile cloud services, I’m giving the open-source option a shot. Here’s why I’m giving NextCloud a go.

#147

01/10/2022

Advertising Airball 🏀 : 

Can you write a more dystopian marketing phrase than “the official COVID-19 home test of the NBA”? God, I hope not. No, it was not a slam-dunk partnership.

#146

01/06/2022

We All Live in Ryan’s World 🚂 : 

A New York Times Magazine piece makes the case that the toy-driven empire of Ryan’s World, the YouTube-forged success story led by 10-year-old boy Ryan Kaji, is fascinating even beyond the unusual surface details.

#145

01/04/2022

The Device Graveyard 🪦 : 

The reported end of life for classic BlackBerry devices makes me think that we’re about to see a lot of dated-but-not-forgotten devices grow useless as networks improve and technologies fail to keep up. Not just BlackBerry phones, either.

#144

01/03/2022

On Friendships And Seekers 🎤 : 

Comedian Patton Oswalt chooses an interesting time to highlight his friendship with Dave Chappelle.

#143

12/30/2021

(Finally) Getting The Last Word ✍🏾 : 

After a year full of really chewy media stories that generated a whole lot of bloggy rants, the one that really matters the most is the survivor’s tale of a bad media workplace amid the Great Resignation.

#142

12/28/2021

Out of Control 🕹 : 

With a business structure just as shady as its titles, the most notorious maker of X-rated Atari 2600 games had a story worth retelling. A deep dive into that tale shows how diving deep into the archives can build a stronger story. The result ranks as MidRange’s history article of the year.

#141

12/27/2021

Small Device, Big Impact 💽 : 

In the first of our year-end awards, a video about the MiniDisc’s surprisingly robust impact highlights how a well-researched documentary video can get you to rethink a common object.

#140

12/23/2021

Lump of Coal 🪨 : 

How a strangely written email with an unusual source accidentally created a compliance headache for a bunch of companies trying to comply with two major privacy regulations.

#139

12/21/2021

Little Dot, Big Headaches 🔴 : 

Apple’s efforts to improve privacy on MacOS run into a brick wall for visual artists who find a new feature that puts a tiny dot on their screens to be extremely problematic for their use case.

#138

12/20/2021

Working Past the Mothballs 📼 : 

With an obscure-yet-surprisingly-relevant sketch that most people were likely unfamiliar with, Saturday Night Live’s unexpected need for curated old content paid off over the weekend. Those with archives should take notes.

#137

12/16/2021

Money, the Great Insulator 💰 : 

When it comes to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen selling their catalogs, our opinion of their work no longer really matters, good or bad. The massive payday, honestly, says it all.

#136

12/14/2021

Avoid the Cookie Cutter 🍪 : 

The creator economy is often driven by top-tier success stories, rather than lower-rung sustainability. There’s only so much we can take from those stories without watering down the uniqueness of that creation.

#135

12/13/2021

The Best of Two Annoying Worlds 🍂 : 

The case for not raking leaves, but mulching them with a lawn mower. Not only is it easier, but it also helps encourage natural processes for your lawn.

#134

12/09/2021

Don’t Throw It Away 🗑️ : 

On continuing to find ways to use old machines despite having a pretty amazing new one.

#133

12/07/2021

The Bad Bluetooth Story Blues 🎧 : 

In an effort to write up some inside baseball about Vice President Kamala Harris, Politico misses an opportunity to teach a broad audience about a common technology’s inherent security risks.

#132

12/06/2021

Jukt Bonds 👕 : 

An incredibly thoughtful story about the second act of an infamous former journalist has me rethinking my wardrobe.

#131