Author: iandick

Life
As expected the last week was busy and tiring but ultimately interesting and enjoyable. Hopefully more of the same next week with a few original twists to keep me on my toes.

Media
American Gods is well worth a watch, apart from that it’s been a week of catching up on podcasts.

Links

• Apple’s New Campus: An Exclusive Look Inside the Mothership | WIRED
  Flawless curves, milled aluminum, endless glass, walled garden—sounds like an Apple product. In fact, it’s the company’s biggest launch ever.
  Looks stunning, will be interesting to see how it ages over the next few years.
• Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador – The Washington Post
  Nothing he does is a surprise anymore…untouchable?
• Panic Blog » The Case of the Stolen Source Code
  Big shock to see one of the premier Apple developers get stung like this. Shows you how easy it is to be compromised, even on Mac OS.
• How and Why Has “Mr Brightside” Never Left the UK Charts? – Noisey
  Who knew? Love the song but it’s bizarre that it keeps on resurfacing like a Christmas classic.
• Google’s 18-Month Quest To Redesign Its Terrible Emoji
  Google is notorious for having some of the worst emoji on the planet. Now it’s righting its wrongs–and taking on gender stereotypes, too.
  1…2…3…finally!
• Theresa May to create new internet that would be controlled and regulated by government | The Independent
  Theresa May is planning to introduce huge regulations on the way the internet works, allowing the government to decide what is said online. Particular focus has been drawn to the end of the manifesto, which makes clear that the Tories want to introduce huge changes to the way the internet works. “Some people say that it is not for government to regulate when it comes to technology and the internet,” it states. “We disagree.”
  What a mess. This is unworkable bullshit, just hyperbole to appeal to the right wing.
• ‘Fat but fit is a big fat myth’ – BBC News
  Researchers say being fat but medically fit does not protect people from heart disease.
  Some folk at work need to read this.
• IBM tells thousands of remote employees to come back to office or find new jobs | Ars Technica UK
  While selling benefits of “telework” to others, IBM forces relocation in stealth layoff.
  Bonkers. Flexibility of when and where I work is one of the better perks that I currently get. While getting everyone together has it’s benefits, in todays age of fast broadband and comms over IP this is such a backwards step.
• “MP3 is dead” missed the real, much better story – Marco.org
  It’s the patents not the format thats dead.
• Literary fighters: Glasgow’s last surviving independent book shops – The Scotsman
  Since the rise of internet giants and high street chain stores, the humble independent book shop has all but disappeared from our towns and cities. With only a few remaining, we talk to the owners of some of Glasgow’s finest, and find out what drives them
  Voltaire and Rousseau is a must visit, a west end classic.
• The big picture – The Verge
  Photos is growing faster than YouTube, Gmail, or Chrome.
  It’s also far better than Apple Photo’s. Will we see any improvements at WWDC?
• iOS 11: iPad Wishes and Concept Video – MacStories
  Some great idea’s which I fear will remain as items on a wish list.
• Ebay accused of failing its sellers as fraudulent buyers manipulate the system | Money | The Guardian
  Ebay has been a mess for a while and they are doing nothing about it. Shame.
• LUNAR on Vimeo
  This short film is dedicated to all people who believe in peaceful expansion of our borders. In the year 1957 the cold war expands to space. The Soviet-Union…
  A video on space? Of course I’ll watch it…and so should you as it’s stunning.

Life
House fixing progressing….could be an expensive year. Apart from that work is pretty busy and the next couple of weeks will see some very early starts. Joy.

Media
Mario Kart is incredibly good. Finished off Billions this week as well which is well worth a watch.

Links

• BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Official Trailer – YouTube
  There are still pages left in this story. Watch the NEW trailer for #BladeRunner2049, in theaters October 6. — Thirty years after the events of the first fi…
  Can’t wait to see this…don’t fuck this up!
• ‘Blade Runner’: A Game-Changing Science-Fiction Classic • Cinephilia
  And to get you in the mood for October, this is a must read on the original BladeRunner.
• The Secret Hit-Making Power of the Spotify Playlist | WIRED
  Playlists are the new album.
• Amazon trounces rivals in battle of the shopping ‘bots’ | Reuters
  It’s bot wars, not shop wars.
• How to shoot on iPhone 7 – Photography – Apple
  We believe that everyone can take great photos. So we’ve put together these tips and techniques to help you take even better ones with your iPhone.
  Apple posted some short videos on how to take better pictures with your phone. Nicely done.
• Collection of information : NHS Cyber Attack | HiddenText
  I fear this is only the beginning of more attacks like these. Who to blame? It’s a long list in which I place Microsoft near the top.
• How to Accidentally Stop a Global Cyber Attacks | MalwareTech
  This guy is a hero…and how damaging would WannaCrypt have been if the domain check wasn’t included?
• With New Digital Tools, Even Nonexperts Can Wage Cyberattacks – The New York Times
  The ransomware tactic behind a global cyberattack on Friday was nothing new. But new digital tools mean that hackers “don’t even need to have any skills to do this anymore.”
  Scary.
• Which Tech Giant Would You Drop? – The New York Times
  The Big Five tech companies increasingly dominate our lives. Could you ditch them?
  Interesting article. I’d drop Facebook first but the rest are a bit more challenging to sort the order.
• Sorting 2 Metric Tons of Lego · Jacques Mattheij
  Who doesn’t love Lego.
• history of the entire world, i guess – YouTube
  Well worth 20 minutes of your time.

Life
The weeks are flying by. Work is busy, health is fair to middling and there’s never enough time to do what I want. turning attention to some projects around the house – shit needs fixing.

Media
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was pretty fantastic. Made me laugh, the visuals were top notch and the 3D wasn’t bad. Add on another great soundtrack and there’s not much to hate. Yes it follows a formula, but when done well it’s not an issue for me.

Also watched Nightcrawler (from 2014). What a great but creepy/disturbing film.

Links

• PSA: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it now.
  Everyone knows a horror story about PayPal, I’ve had several painful experiences with them over the last decade, but now I’ll never have to experience that again, as I’ve just been permanently banned…
  PayPal are such a shitty company. Avoid them if at all possible.
• Earth From Above – Earth From Above
  Aerial photography has really taken off now that drones are affordable and the camera’s on them are so good. Some of these images are jaw dropping.
• Elon Musk: The future we’re building — and boring | TED Talk | TED.com
  This just sounds bonkers.
• Diane Abbott’s Agonising Interview Over Police Policy Cost – LBC
  Diane Abbott being Diane Abbott. The problem with Labour isn’t just Jeremy Corbyn, but that his top team are not of the right calibre to run a country. She followed up with another car crash interview later in the week.
• You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you – The Oatmeal
  Take 10 minutes to read this. Stunning.
• Damage – Matt Gemmell
  Apple’s destruction of the value of software, and the sustainability of indie developer businesses.
  Hard to disagree with this. Software has so little value for so many people and the App Store hasn’t done enough to combat that perception.
• SQL is 43 years old – here’s 8 reasons we still use it today | The Official SQLizer Blog
  In this year’s Stack Overflow Developer’s Survey 64,000 developers laid bare their innermost developer secrets. How they learn, the tools they use, what they…
  Still love SQL.
• Don’t Let Facebook Make You Miserable – The New York Times
  Raw Google search data proves that we are not who we say we are on social media.
  Social media can be bad for your health…
• Report: Facebook helped advertisers target teens who feel “worthless” [Updated] | Ars Technica
  Leaked 2017 document reveals FB Australia’s intent to exploit teens’ words, images.
  And allegedly Facebook will target your misery…although they do deny the story, but they would, wouldn’t they?
• Regulating the internet giants: The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data | The Economist
  A NEW commodity spawns a lucrative, fast-growing industry, prompting antitrust regulators to step in to restrain those who control its flow. A century ago, the resource in question was oil. Now similar concerns are being raised by the giants that deal in data, the oil of the digital era.
  Thought provoking, especially in this age where news spreads so quickly, almost nothing is fact checked and the mob can rule.
• The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
  Some great reporting on the sites behind fake news.
• Laura Galante: How to exploit democracy | TED Talk | TED.com
  Hacking, fake news, information bubbles … all these and more have become part of the vernacular in recent years. But as cyberspace analyst Laura Galante describes in this alarming talk, the real target of anyone looking to influence geopolitics is dastardly simple: it’s you.
  Video of the week.
• Nike’s Quest to Beat the Two-Hour Marathon Comes Up Oh So Short | WIRED
  It was close, but the two-hour marathon remains unbroken. For now.
  What an amazing run. The times are mind boggling.
• Introducing Microsoft Surface Laptop – YouTube
  This could easily be an Apple advert…except it’s using a modern CPU.

Life
Another busy week at work and at home and little flair up in health but it’s a holiday weekend so all is good. It’s also, ever so slightly, starting to warm up. Finally.

Media
Line of Duty has just finished. Another strong series…can’t wait for the 5th.
Big Little Lies also finished this week and it was a great watch. Catch up with it if you can and hopefully they will just leave it there with no follow up.
Mario Kart on the Switch – spot on and yet another amazing title for the Switch.

Links

• Jimmy Wales goes after fake news with Wikitribune | WIRED UK
  Interesting step to try and combat fake news. Even that term pisses me off thanks to Trump.
• Google Rewrites Its Powerful Search Rankings to Bury Fake News – Bloomberg
  Google isn’t planning to rid fake news from its search results — but it’s trying to purge it from the top.
  Google has to tak action, but not sure that this is a long term solution.
• Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj White House Correspondents’ Dinner full monologue – YouTube
  Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj took full advantage of Donald Trump’s absence by taking aim at the president and his administration during his monologu…
  Trump hid from the correspondents dinner, as it suits his narrative that the media is the enemy and purveyors of fake news. Hasan Minhaj shone in his absence.
• Watch this incredible, rare video of the streets of North Korea’s capital city
  Finnish journalist Mika Mäkeläinen captured rare video of daily life in the Hermit Kingdom, Vox reports.
  North Korea looks…normal.
• Apple Dubai Mall opens April 27 – Apple
  Apple premieres its newest store, Apple Dubai Mall, overlooking the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain.
  Another destination store from Apple – this opening windows!
• How Online Shopping Makes Suckers of Us All – The Atlantic
  Will you pay more for those shoes before 7 p.m.? Would the price tag be different if you lived in the suburbs? Standard prices and simple discounts are giving way to far more exotic strategies, designed to extract every last dollar from the consumer.
  Holds up hand – I’ve been duped.
• Heineken | Worlds Apart | #OpenYourWorld – YouTube
  Heineken presents ‘Worlds Apart’ An Experiment. Can two strangers with opposing views prove that there’s more that unites than divides us? #OpenYourWorld Fin…
  Great advert…but are they real people or actors?
• Deacon Blue’s iconic Raintown album cover showing Glasgow’s skyline gets modern makeover 30 years on – Daily Record
  Oscar Marzaroli’
  30 years since Raintown, a favourite album of mine. The almost 60 years of change in the photo is also interesting.
• Vuelo nocturno – The magic of flying at night – Beyond The Clouds – An Airline pilot’s journey
  Lose yourself in the video. Gorgeous.

Life
Another quiet week, nothing much happening in the world and then boom – another election. The next 8 weeks or so will be very interesting…if not a little tiring. I’m election jaded.

Media
Line of Duty is firing on all cylinders – can’t wait for tonights episode. Shout out to Homeland which also had a really strong series this year. If you dropped it after Brody died it’s well worth catching up with.

Links

• Fairytale Prisoner by Choice: The Photographic Eye of Melania Trump
  Why won’t the first lady show up for her job? Why? I became obsessed with this question and eventually looked to Melania’s Twitter history for answers. I noticed that in the three-year period between…
  Amazing article on Melania Trump by analysing her photography. What a contrast to Michelle Obama.
• Vigilante botnet infects IoT devices before blackhats can hijack them | Ars Technica
  Hajime battles with Mirai for control over the Internet of poorly secured things.
  The botnet wars have started.
• The Flickr Explore page is still really amazing
  I’m still a Flickr member and while I worry about it’s future, I’m loathe to leave. I also agree, I do still love the Explore page.
• These are the Winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards
  Photography and Camera News, Reviews, and Inspiration
  Wow.
• All I Want for the UK’s General Election This Year | Civicist
  It will never happen but it’s a noble aim.
• Dawn Butler MP struggles through interview – BBC News – YouTube
  Labour MP Dawn Butler has struggled to explain her party’s policies during an interview with Eddie Mair on Radio 4’s PM programme. The former minister also a…
  Embarrassing, and sums up a lot of whats wrong with Labour.
• The web’s most useful tools and sites
  Some obvious entries but still a great selection of tools.
• BHS crash sets trend for a chain of closures on UK high streets | Business | The Guardian
  The retail sector is still reeling a year after the collapse of the chain, with rising numbers of staff on zero-hours contracts and other big hitters shutting shop as the internet squeezes their share of profits
  The change over the last decade is obvious…and the high street in Glasgow is very different with more changes on the way. Sauchiehall Street is a mess now.
• The Countries Most (and Least) Likely to be Affected by Automation
  What percent of tasks in your country could be done by machines?
  More change coming.
• What if we’re living in a computer simulation? | Technology | The Guardian
  Interesting theory…but complete bollocks in my view.
• Uber’s C.E.O. Plays With Fire – The New York Times
  Travis Kalanick’s drive to win in life has led to a pattern of risk-taking that has at times put his ride-hailing company on the brink of implosion.
  More crap from Uber. Apple should throw them out the Appstore.
• Steve Lacy Produced That Hot Kendrick Lamar Track Using Only His iPhone | WIRED
  Lacy’s smartphone has been his personal studio since he first started making music.
  So much talent.

Life
Busy week followed by a short holiday weekend. Trip to Barrow on Thursday, long drive but great day. Also picked up a new camera lens today. Well, I will do when Amazon delivers later on. Prime wins again.

Media
Re-watched Rogue One. Good, not great but between that and the new trailers I can’t wait for Last Jedi.

Still plodding through Zelda – what a game.

Links

• A Man Was Dragged Off A United Plane After The Airline Overbooked The Flight
  Still amazed that it took United over a day to say sorry. Disgraceful.
• How the BBC’s truth offensive beat Hitler’s propaganda machine | World news | The Guardian
  Rings more true given the last 18 months…stop being balanced, just tell the truth!
• AutoDraw
  This is a great tool from Google. Start doodling and more times than not the tool will give you a better version of what you were trying to draw.
• Technology is a marvel – now let’s make it moral | Martha Lane Fox | Opinion | The Guardian
  Sensible – yes. Enforceable – not so sure.
• Theft and Loss Recovery for iOS Users
  A post about theft and recovery from Fraser Speirs and it’s worth checking how you would recover from a similar situation. After reading I’m having to make a couple of changes to make sure I’m not totally locked out from all my accounts and devices.
• An Illustrated History of iOS
  Tower Blog – About Web and Software Development, Marketing and Design
  Nice summary of the improvements in iOS over the years. What will 11 bring in a few weeks time?
• Webstock ‘17: Cal Henderson – Emoji for fun and profit on Vimeo
  By 2020, all written language will have been supplanted by emoji. But how did it come to this? To understand how emoji work, you first need to learn a little bit…
  Nice explainer on the origins of emoji.
• Self Reflected – Greg Dunn Design
  Beautiful visualisation of the human brain.
• New Full-hemisphere Views of Earth at Night | NASA
  New pictures form Nasa of the earth at night.
• Thor: Ragnarok Teaser Trailer [HD] – YouTube
  This November, Thor: Ragnarok. Watch the teaser trailer now!
  What a great trailer, no doubt the best we’ll see this week…
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi Official Teaser – YouTube
  Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Arriving in your galaxy December 15.
  Fuck the Thor trailer – it’s Star Wars. Still get excited for new Star Wars films despite those dodgy prequels.
• ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Trailer Breakdown – Film School Rejects
  As ever there’s a lot to pick up from the teaser trailer.
• A Tribute To Carrie Fisher – YouTube
  May the Force be with you.
  There’s a little something in my eye.

Life
In contrast to last week, health a bit more variable which is disappointing. Still keeping active and I’ve a couple of blog posts coming up which are long overdue on my favourite topics – Apple and gaming.

Media
What a week of sport…and there was some F1 too. I chuckled at Bernie’s suggestion that tracks should be artificially made wet…not that funny anymore. Still enjoying Zelda, although playing through at a slow pace.

Links

• The iPad Turnaround Is Coming – Monday Note
  Some good points made here and the iPad is no doubt the volume computer for Apple but it needs to do more especially on the software front.
• Daring Fireball: The Mac Pro Lives
  So un-Apple like to talk about products to come but they’ve dropped the ball and they had to do something. Some interesting choices to make over the next 18 months.
• A Brief History of Design – Microsoft Design – Medium
  It is easy to question everything designed before you when you join a new company. I mean, why the heck would a scroll bar be red in Windows 2.0 … what could they have possibly been thinking?! But…
  Nice summary of design at Microsoft. Some of the older designs bring back fond memories.
• Project Scorpio Exclusive: Final Specs Revealed! – YouTube
  Rich went to Microsoft to see Project Scorpio, talk to the people who made it and see software running. But just how powerful is it? This video reveals all. …
  Finally some specs and a screenshot for the updated Xbox. Looking forward to E3 as this will be my next console and hopefully will address the shortcomings of the Xbox One.
• HoloLems on Vimeo
  HoloLems is a holographic spatial platformer and homage to the classic 90’s video game Lemmings. Put on the Hololens headset and be challenged to safely guide…
  So clever. I wonder if a V2 Hololens, or similar/cheaper, would be part of Project Scorpio?
• How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons – The New York Times
  The start-up has undertaken an extraordinary experiment in behavioral science to subtly entice an independent work force to maximize company revenue.
  Interesting research and the visual design of the article is superb too.
• The Guardian view on Labour and Ken Livingstone: wrong decision, terrible message | Editorial | Opinion | The Guardian
  Livingstone should be expelled…and if Labour can’t govern themselves properly how do they expect to win the voters trust again? Shambles.
• Dani Garavelli: Rape clause shames the benefits system – The Scotsman
  If you have been watching the latest series of Broadchurch, you may have gained the impression that attitudes towards rape are becoming more enlightened. Julie Hesmondhalgh’s portrayal of survivor Trish Winterman challenges misconceptions around the “type” of woman likely to be affected and provides insight into the reasons victims may not report their rape immediately, or indeed at all.
  Tories can bring in heinous laws like this and Labour still can mount an effective opposition.
• EDL Birmingham protest photo woman ‘surprised’ by viral reaction – BBC News
  The image of Saffiyah Khan has been shared thousands of times on social media.
  Amazing photo of an amazing woman.
• A dying habit: why the average BBC1 viewer is 61 | Television & radio | The Guardian
  Broadcasters may be desperate for younger audiences but older telly-watchers dominate – the average ITV fan is 60, 55 if they prefer Channel 4. How worried should programme-makers be?
  Thats a really high average age, much more than I expected. Changing times
• Walt Mossberg is retiring in June – The Verge
  It was a June day when I began my career as a national journalist. I stepped into the Detroit Bureau of The Wall Street Journal and started on what would be a long, varied, rewarding career. I was…
  Walt Mossberg is one of the best tech journalists and will be missed. He does a great podcast, Ctrl-Walt_Delete with Nilay Patel which is worth catching while you can.
• Social entrepreneur Josh Littlejohn: ‘I want to build a utopia for the homeless’ | Society | The Guardian
  Sad that this is needed in this day and age…but when you look at the many homeless people in Glasgow especially around the old BHS in Sauchiehall Street then there’s no doubt it’s needed.

Life
Good week off. Lot’s of walks, a few trips out and about and didn’t spend (much) money for once. Feeling rested.

Media
Line of Duty off to a strong start, Broadchurch also on fire. Looking forward to season finale of Walking Dead…but not the rumours of 20 series. No.

Links

• A robot is burning every one of Donald Trump’s tweets so you don’t have to – The Verge
  Love it.
• Elon Musk’s Billion-Dollar Crusade to Stop the A.I. Apocalypse | Vanity Fair
  Elon Musk is famous for his futuristic gambles, but Silicon Valley’s latest rush to embrace artificial intelligence scares him. And he thinks you should be frightened too. Inside his efforts to influence the rapidly advancing field and its proponents, and to save humanity from machine-learning overlords.
  Clearly Musk knows whats he is doing…but I’m not sure I agree with linking a human brain to A.I. or that we need it.
• Winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards – The Atlantic
  The Sony World Photography Awards has announced the winners of its Open categories and National categories for 2017.
  I think some of my photo’s are OK and then see these. Sigh.
• ‘Batgirl’ Movie: Joss Whedon Directing Solo Film (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety
  Batgirl is getting her own standalone movie, with Joss Whedon writing, directing, and producing.
  This could be the perfect antidote to DC’s current movies which are average at best.
• “Jeremy knows he can’t do the job.” What now for Labour and Britain’s opposition?
  Just go perhaps?
• Iron Man Richard Browning is a real-life Tony Stark | WIRED UK
  The UK inventor built his own flying suit from scratch for £40,000
  Amazing but pretty damn scary at the same time.
• Living under a tarp next to Facebook HQ: ‘I don’t want people to see me’ | US news | The Guardian
  The other half.
• Above Avalon: Apple Is Pushing iPad Like Never Before
  Apple needs to start delivering more on the software side, not just adverts.
• UK passport could turn dark blue after Brexit under £490m contract | UK news | The Guardian
  Passport routinely redesigned every five years and Eurosceptics say burgundy EU passport is a ‘humiliation’
  Brexit bad enough…it’s the emboldened right wingers that are crawling out the woodwork that really wind me up. Fuck off.
• Amber Rudd and Fleet Street Don’t Understand Encryption – Guido Fawkes Techno Guido
  Good write up on whats at stake regarding encryption.
• This object has been sprayed with the world’s blackest material, and it’s freaking us out – ScienceAlert
  Seriously, that’s not Photoshop.
  Wow. Looks like the objects have been photoshopped out. Would love to see this in the flesh.
• 8 Stupid Office Rules That Drive Everyone Crazy | The Huffington Post
  Companies need to have rules—that’s a given—but they don’t have to be shortsighted and lazy attempts at creating order.
  I understand the temptation…
  A couple of corkers in that list…and some that I hope never come into common use.
• After the smoke clears: inside Samsung’s quest for redemption – The Verge
  The Galaxy S8 is Samsung’s most ambitious phone yet
  The design is lovely. Over to you Apple?
• The New Twitter @-Replies Are Giving Me an Ulcer – Motherboard
  Why does Twitter hate itself so much?
  What a mess.
• SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING – Official Trailer #2 (HD) – YouTube
  Does the suit make the man? Watch the all-new #SpiderManHomecoming trailer now and make sure to see it in theaters July 7 🕷️ Subscribe to Sony Pictures for e…
  Have they just given away much of the film?