Category: Technology
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Camcorders and the quotidian
Two things my wife and I are really glad to have are a camcorder and a digital SLR camera. We got both of them several years ago, the camera as a wedding gift and the camcorder from my mother-in-law. Mostly we wanted them to be able to document family get-togethers, trips, and our nieces growing…
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How to help someone use a [insert frustrating digital device]
Thanks to Jessamyn West for republishing Phil Agre’s advice from 1996 on how to help someone use a computer. Swap out computer for “smartphone” or “e-reader” and it’s still quite relevant. Some favorites: Nobody is born knowing this stuff. You’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a beginner. If it’s not obvious to them, it’s not obvious.…
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DuckDuckGo to Apple?
From Macworld: Apple should buy DuckDuckGo and make it into Apple Search: Yeah, Apple could start from scratch in building its own search engine, but why? Buying DuckDuckGo would give Apple several years’ head start on building core search technology and a huge index of the whole web along with a talented team of engineers…
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Why I love Kanopy, Hum, and System Information
Want to give some love to three services I’ve enjoyed lately: Kanopy Kanopy is a free streaming service available through your public library. (If it isn’t, ask them to get it!) Abundant with titles from A24, The Criterion Collection, and other high-quality providers, it’s rife with a delightful array of foreign films, indies, and documentaries…
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Browse eternal, shiny and not Chrome
Last month I got fed up with the constant whirring of my MacBook Pro’s fan, and its consistent slowness generally, so I tried a few things to try to improve it. One was quitting iTunes when I wasn’t using it, and the other was quitting Chrome and using Firefox instead. I don’t know if only…
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My home screen
I’m always intrigued by other people’s smartphone home screens. Which apps make the dock? How is everything organized, if at all? Do they have 10,000+ unread emails like a crazy person? Here’s mine for you to judge: Messages, Podcasts, Google Maps, Safari, and WordPress are probably the most used. Safari used to be in the…
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You Are A Service, and other ads for smartphone addicts
Typecaster Rino Breebaart on what messages he’d put on bus ads for people who happen to look up from their smartphone: These would work just as well, if not better, as digital ads. Or maybe as a service where you get one of these texted to you for every 10 minutes you’re on your phone.