Links
Everything is a Subscription Because the Line Must Keep Going Up
Andrew J. Hawkins: The future of cars is a subscription nightmare
“For automakers to achieve their revenue aspirations by charging consumers extra for features and services, they have work to do,” Cox’s Michelle Krebs said.
I don't have the answer here, but I think there's something fundamentally wrong with how
Links
We're Still Talking About How Bad this Metal Gear Character was 7 Years Later
Ashley Bardhan: Metal Gear Turned 35, But Quiet’s Character Design Marks A Timeless Controversy
That’s what Quiet’s bullshit vocal cord parasites really are. Not a plot point created by a genius to make us feel ashamed of our words and deeds and counter the exceedingly tired confines we impose on women in
Links
Forget SaaS, let's talk about GaSaaS
Allen Pike: Giving a Shit as a Service (via Michael Tsai)
In some ways, that’s the fundamental value proposition of a small boutique, whether it be a furniture shop or a software studio. Giving a shit as a service. Sure, you can always get a commodity good from off the shelf – when you’re
Links
Political Emails Bypassing Spam Filters…as a Service!
Ashley Belanger: Gmail users “hard pass” on plan to let political emails bypass spam filters
Earlier this month, Google sent a request to the Federal Election Commission seeking an advisory opinion on the potential launch of a pilot program that would allow political committees to bypass spam filters and instead deliver political emails to the
Newsletter #114
Hello and welcome back to the suddenly-hard-to-come-by Birchtree Newsletter! I started writing a lot more on the website itself recently, which meant I didn't have as much material that was new for the newsletter, so it just kinda…stopped.
But in talking to a few of you fine folks,
Links
Apple Getting NFL Sunday Ticket Would Be Perfect
Dylan Byers: Is Apple's Eddy Cue About to Get NFL's Sunday Ticket? (via MacRumors)
The race for the Ticket has therefore come down to Apple and Amazon, and while nothing has been signed or agreed to, I have been given ample reason to believe that Apple is the most likely winner
video
I’m using Arc from now on (bye bye, Safari, Chrome, Edge…)
I've been using Arc for about 3 months, and I thought it was high time I talk about
Politics
Voting for…
A new poll out this week shows 64% of those who plan on voting in the Democratic primary in 2024 would prefer someone other than Joe Biden to be on the ticket. I find these polls utterly fascinating. Here's some data on a theoretical Biden/Trump rematch in 2024:
* The more education you
Links
Bored, Mad, and Posting Like Your Great-Uncle
Charlie Warzel: Elon Musk Is an Honorary Facebook Boomer
I’d like to talk about Elon Musk’s obsession with bots and how it actually illustrates the ways he is an extremely shallow thinker when it comes to online dynamics.
And:
Instead of facing the reality that many people dislike him as a result of
Links
Heardle Joins Spotify
Ariel Shapiro: Spotify acquires music trivia game Heardle
Spotify announced Tuesday that it has purchased Heardle, one of the many themed trivia games that cropped up in the wake of Wordle’s blockbuster success. Heardle is Spotify’s first game acquisition, and the company hopes it will play a dual role: in addition to keeping
Links
250 Hours of Extra Life
Yasmeen Serhan: How the Rest of the World Is Doing RTO
When I asked experts about the main reasons driving preferences for hybrid and remote work, the most common answer had to do with commuting. Although those who live within walking distance of their workplace may find it convenient to return to the office, many
Links
Good Guy Nintendo
Nintendo officially recognizes domestic gay partnerships for employees
In the employees section of Nintendo’s CSR, we learn that Nintendo is officially recognizing gay domestic partnerships. This might not seem like a big deal at first, but Japan currently doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages from a law standpoint. Nintendo obviously disagrees with this, hence
Links
Pixelmator for iOS Gets a Big Update
Pixelmator 2.7 is out today and it's a huge improvement to the app, in my opinion. They've made some good updates to the design using modern iOS components, and support for Pixelmator Pro documents makes it a more useful tool for those of us who rely on their Mac app
Links
Billions of Worlds in a Single Pixel
NASA has released the first full color images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope and they're pretty
ipad
The Definitive iPadOS 16 Preview
If you wanted to see hands-on with all the new stuff in iPadOS 16, Chris Lawley has you covered.
Apple
The iOS 16 Lock Screen Rules
Apple released public betas for all their main products today, and I think the one people will enjoy the most
Apple
Hey Siri, Play White Noise
I've gone all in on Siri for voice assistants in my home. A HomePod is always close enough