Links
Gemini 2.0: speed and deep research impress
From The Keyword Google blog: Introducing Gemini 2.0: Our New AI Model for the Agentic Era
Today we’re excited to launch our next era of models built for this new agentic era: introducing Gemini 2.0, our most capable model yet. With new advances in multimodality — like native image and audio output — and
Links
Squashing links on social media
Anil Dash: “Link in Bio” Is a Slow Knife
For a closed system, those kinds of open connections are deeply dangerous. If anyone on Instagram can just link to any old store on the web, how can Instagram — meaning Facebook, Instagram’s increasingly-overbearing owner — tightly control commerce on its platform? If Instagram users could
Links
AI hype in the workplace is cooling, but usage is still on the rise
Slack: The Fall 2024 Workforce Index Shows AI Hype Is Cooling
Executives are all in on AI, with 99% planning AI investment in the coming year. And yet, for the first time since generative AI’s introduction, adoption rates are plateauing and excitement is cooling among the global workforce.
This study is a real Rorschach
Links
Here we go again…is Chrome “the new IE”?
Magic Lasso’s blog: Is Chrome the New IE?
So Chrome becomes dominant – much like IE was back in its day – and web developers start focusing on building for Chrome and not open web standards.
So let me just say at the jump that corporate blogs should typically be taken very un-seriously. They’re
Links
Art doesn’t have to be “valuable to the market”
John Green on episode 401 of his Dear Hank & John podcast (Overcast link):
Art doesn’t have to only bring you joy, it could also bring you curiosity or interest or intrigue. But if it brings you something, whatever it beings you, that allows you to keep coming back to it and experience richness
Links
It’s a horse! It’s a browser! It’s both?!
The one and only Niléane on MacStories: Horse Browser Tries Its Hooves at a New Take on Tabs
As you
Links
Ads killed the web so now we need AI. Also, we need to pay for AI, so we’re going to put ads in the AI 🙃
Matt Rosoff writing for TechCrunch: Marissa Mayer Just Laid Out a Possible Business Model for Ad-Supported AI Chatbots
In the AI era, Mayer imagines that when people ask about tickets for a specific concert, “they actually want to see exactly what seats are available, where they are in the stadium, the pricing. They want
Links
I’ll eat an AirPod if I get this prediction wrong
Ryan Christoffel writing for: Apple’s Hitting Its AI Stride Right as Competition Is Slowing
It happens all the time. Tech giants ship exciting new technology while Apple’s projects stay veiled in R&D, leading to the constant narrative that the company is ‘behind’ in that area.
With AI, that story may have
Links
This iPad line makes up half of all iPad sales (but it’s not what you think!)
Michael Levin and Josh Lowitz: Thank Goodness for iPad
iPad Pro remains the most popular model, with almost half of all iPad sales in the most recent quarter (Chart 1). This is about the same share of sales compared to the year-ago quarter.
Combine this with the fact that the iPhone model that sold
Links
I have no use for an M4 Mac Mini, but I sure want one
Dan Moren: M4 Mac Mini Review: Phenomenal Cosmic Power, Itty-Bitty Form Factor
When it comes to desktop Macs, it’s quite possibly the best one Apple offers.
This is an amazing metric and does seem to check out. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro specced out with M2 Ultra chips still hit higher performance
Links
A late contender for my favorite blog post of 2024
John Gruber: How It Went
But he’s an optimist at heart. You’d like him. I, of course, don’t know who you are, dear reader, but I know you’d like my dad, Bob Gruber, because everyone likes Bob Gruber.
It’s exceptionally rare for me to tear up reading a blog post,
Links
Invalidating
John Gruber: The Brutal Clarity of This Result
I realized this year — or perhaps over the last four years — that for me, belief in the merits of democracy is quasi-religious. It’s more than a philosophy. It’s a fundamental belief. I have faith in democracy, and part of that is accepting the results
Links
A nice link on a bad day
Jeremy Markovich: Tony Hawk Wanted to Track Down a Mysterious Skateboarder From 1979. We Found Her.
Folks, we love two things around here: Tony Hawk and decades-old mysteries.
On a shitty day, it’s nice to have something pleasant to link to.
Links
Substack continues their pull away from the open web
Sarah Perez for TechCrunch: Substack Is Giving Out Free Subscriptions to Boost App Installs
Publishing platform Substack is now pushing users to install its mobile app by offering gifted subscriptions. While Substack itself is available across platforms, including the web, those who want to take advantage of the free subscription offer can only do so
Links
Apple acquires Pixelmator. Oh my!
Pixelmator Team: A new home for Pixelmator
Today we have some important news to share: the Pixelmator Team plans to join Apple.
This is huge for this company, and it’s well-deserved. Pixelmator has long-been a prime example of what a great Apple developer looks like, and I’ve used their products consistently
Links
Ghost is still the right tool for me
John O'Nolan: Democratising Publishing
Having seen how things worked on the inside for several years, the conclusion I personally came to was that WordPress and Automattic were not truly about democratising publishing, after all.
At the same time, I felt the product was becoming slow and bloated. WordPress was desperate to no longer
Links
John Green, Tuberculosis, and using your platform for good
Maddie Bender for The New York Times: Can John Green Make You Care About Tuberculosis?
Mr. Green has emerged as an unlikely spokesman in the global effort to fight the disease. His latest project, a book called “Everything Is Tuberculosis,” interweaves the social and scientific histories of tuberculosis with the present-day story of a
Links
YouTuber Patrick Willems? No, no. Filmmaker Patrick Willems 👌
Jennifer Maas writing for Variety: 'Dinner Plan' Short Film at Nebula Casts Griffin Newman, Zach Cherry
Nebula has set the cast for its upcoming short film from “Night of the Coconut” director and popular video essayist Patrick Willems, “The Dinner Plan.” A dark comedy about a guy with a rare food allergy who’
