Links
The Human Reason for Wanting Nicer Tech
Richard Anderson wrote a very good piece over on Sanspoint about nerd elitism today. The article makes some good points about taking the time to step back and recognize that we needn’t look down on those who don’t share our obsessions. However, this line stuck out to me:
The camera on my iPhone
watch
Like Reviewing an iPhone Without Any Apps
Like many of you, I spent a good amount of my free time yesterday reading and watching Apple Watch reviews. I am genuinely excited about the product, and was itching to see what people outside of Apple think of it. The reviews are definitely mixed.
While the build quality and fitness features are getting unanimous
feature
Nintnedo's Amiibo Shortage Problem
Sometimes we forget the world of retail is a massive beast, and is dependent on many players getting everything right to deliver goods to consumers. We have a tendency to over-simplify things and boil them down to a point where we can easily say Company X is good, and Company Y is bad. This
Links
How Silicon Valley's Amazing Dick Joke Came to Be
An Oral History Of That Ultra-Sophisticated ‘Silicon Valley’ Dick Joke
T.J. MILLER (Erlich Bachmann): I thought it was likely going to be the greatest joke in the history of American comedy. That was ambitious, but eventually, we came to find out that it was the greatest dick joke in the history of American,
Game
Jiro Dreams of Bloodborne
The Zen of Bloodborne: What gaming can teach us about repetition | Polygon
The problem with repetition is that it tends to make us mindless due to the fact that we think we know what to expect. I’m often mindless as I clean. Dan Stapleton becomes mindless when he replays a bit of Bloodborne.
People
Links
There Has Never Been One Best iPhone Size for Everybody
Manton Reese - No Perfect iPhone Size
The lesson from all these switches couldn’t be more clear: there’s no longer one perfect iPhone for everyone.
I hate to disagree with Manton, because I think he’s really smart, but there has never been one perfect iPhone size for everyone. For the longest time there
Links
HBO's First Real Test
HBO Now is the exception to the cord-cutting rule | PandoDaily
And the company has already admitted that it can’t build the streaming service on its own, so it’s tapped MLB Advanced to make sure its videos reach consumers. If HBO Now is able to withstand the demand for a standalone HBO channel,
watch
Apple Offering Employees Discounts on the Apple Watch
9to5Mac - Tim Cook: Apple employees will get 50% off Apple Watch, 1000+ apps submitted
Likely to the delight of Apple employees, Cook also announced major Apple Watch discounts for all employees: 50% off the aluminum sport and stainless steel models and $550 off of the gold Edition variations.
It’s not clear if this discount
Goodies: April 7
Good morning, friends! This week gets kicked off with video of a concert Kendrick Lamar performed on the back of a moving truck in the middle of the night.
New Music
* New Glow by Matt & Kim
* Strange Trails by Lord Huron
* What For? by Toro y Moi
* American Wrestlers by American Wrestlers
New Movies
tech
HBO Now is Available on Your Apple Devices...Now
HBO Now launched today and is exclusive to Apple devices and Optimum customers[1]. Specifically, you can install the app from the App Store on your iPhone or iPad, and it will be on your Apple TV automatically the next time you turn it on.
My initial impressions are that it’s just like HBO
Game
Review: Bloodborne
Bloodborne is my current favorite game of the year. I truly love this game!
Most people correlate Bloodborne with “difficult” or “hard-as-nails”, but I think those words over-simplify what makes it a great game. Bloodborne demands more of you than most games. It’s a game that punishes you if you don’
Links
Amazing Quotes from the Original iPhone Introduction
Here’s the archived page of Engadget’s live-blog of the iPhone introduction in 2007. There hare hundreds of comments, but these are some of my favorites. It’s amazing what we found important in a phone just 8 years ago.
Steve had his doubts
Uhm, why? In a time long ago people used
Android
Android's Ecosystem Is Better Than Ever, But It Still Sucks
I made a bold move from iPhone to Android, and I completely regret it - Business Insider
Apps are an utter disaster. Nearly every iOS version of an app looks slicker and operates better than its Android counterpart. Good luck finding a good Twitter app because the official one is a pain, and all the other
The BirchTree Gazette
Happy Sunday, everyone! This week I’m trying something new: an email newsletter. There are a lot of technically-minded people who visit this site who follow along via the RSS feed or Twitter account, but I’ve heard from others who don’t use those services and can’t follow along. If people can’
opinion
Samsung Finally Made Another Great Phone
I have a tendency to give Samsung a hard time on this site. I’m definitely not alone in this endeavor, though. For years Samsung has been the whipping boy for Apple fans the world over. They’re an easy target, after all. They aren’t very original, they have brash marketing that gets under
Links
Jacob Swinney's Awesome Filmmaker Montages
Jacob Swinney has been making some pretty incredible montages of certain filmmakers’ work. I’m a huge Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola fan, so these videos stood out to me, but he has plenty more on his Vimeo page.
Sofia Coppola's Dreamscapes from Jacob T. Swinney on Vimeo.
Links
Apple's App Advantage is Continuing on the Watch
Android Wear officially launched back in June 2014 and was met with mixed reviews. One of the things Google touted was their developer support they were seeing for the platform, and how this would lead to long-term success in the market. According to Android Central, there were 69 apps with Wear functionality on day
Links
Rene Ritchie on the 5th Anniversary of the iPad
iMore - The iPad and its impact: Five years later
Yet through it all, to many people, the iPad remains the most usable, most accessible computer they’ve ever owned. It remains their first, best window into the world of the internet and apps.
The iPad is an amazing computer. It manages to simultaneously be the