Category: Weekly digest

Life
That was a fun week. Nothing much happening in the world, everything postitive…politics taking a summer break. Sigh.

Media
I’ve binged on Defenders over the weekend and really enjoyed it. Liked it more than Iron Fist and Luke Cage but I’ve only a couple of episodes to go. Boo for an 8 episode run.

Game of Thrones this week was double the fun. I got a small spoiler after HBO accidently showed episode 6 so I downloaded and enjoyed it as well. What a series and I can’t wait for the last episode and some of the possible events that could happen.

Links

• Alien: Covenant – Art References on Vimeo
  This is “Alien: Covenant – Art References” by HERROZZY on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
  I thought the film had a few flaws but one of them wasn’t the looks. This video highlights the references from many many sources throughout the film.
• Action Video Games May Affect The Brain Differently : Shots – Health News : NPR
  Not a massive surprise.
• Temperature anomalies arranged by country 1900 – 2016.
  Why didn’t the BBC show this alongside the Nigel Lawson interview?
• The reality of post-Olympic Rio
  The Olympic legacy isn’t so great for Brazil. Kudos to London for what they achieved.
• Charlottesville: Race and Terror – VICE News Tonight on HBO – YouTube
  Really well put together video on the Charlottesville Nazi march.
• Holly O’Reilly on Twitter: “That Nazi who said he was “trying to be MORE violent” on the @vicenews special is out here bawling about being arrested for…being violent. https://t.co/LAaycdlIn3”
  And the follow up to that Vice video was the same guy crying on video as he is threatened with arrest. Life comes at you fast.
• ATTN: on Twitter: “.@Schwarzenegger has a blunt message for Nazis. https://t.co/HAbnejahtl”
  Arnie for president…except he’s a Republican.
• Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle Interview with Brad Thomas GOES OFF THE RAILS (8/17/17) – YouTube
  Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle Interview with Brad Thomas GOES OFF THE RAILS. Welcome to Our Channel, SUBSCRIBE, LIKE and SHARE.
  I want to see journalists do more of this. Stop letting politicians and pundits push their fake news.
• Near mint: A conversation with game collectors • Eurogamer.net
  Pride of place in Jason Lindsey’s game room is a stacked shelf of big-box PC games. In the days before Steam homogenised the purchasing process, packaging w…
  If you have to ask how much this article isn’t for you.
• Hollywood, Apple Said to Mull Rental Plan, Defying Theaters
  I love seeing the big blockbusters in the cinema but generally don’t like the experience so I’m interested in seeing what Apple will do with this.
• Subscription Software – Matt Gemmell
  More app’s moving to this model and it’s interesting to see people’s reaction. I’ve got a couple of subscriptions at the moment, but there’s only so many I can grow to – can’t buy them all.
• Essential Phone review – The Verge
  Great review of a really interesting phone. Love the screen, no branding and the design/materials but it looks like a poor (relative) camera and some buggy software. Good luck to them.
• Cambridge University Press accused of ‘selling its soul’ over Chinese censorship | World news | The Guardian
  Academics and activists decry publisher’s decision to comply with a Chinese request to block more than 300 articles from leading China studies journal
  More fake news.
• A stupid gamble on evil machines | Victoria Coren Mitchell | Opinion | The Guardian
  Fixed-odd betting terminals ruin lives, yet the chancellor still wants the tax revenues they bring
  Couldn’t agree more with this. Evil machines preying on the most vulnerable. Industry can’t self police either.
• The Wire – Characters Saying the Opening Quotes – YouTube
  Need to re-watch this at some point.

Life
Spent much of the week watching the World Athletics Championship from London. Some great performances, amazing crowds and yet again Britain puts on a world class event. Loved seeing Laura Muir pushing herself and so close to a medal in the 1500m. Her time will come.

Media
Game of Thrones this week was epic and not just for the battle at the end. So much pay off throughout the episode. Loved it. Also watched Alien: Covenant and while it was beuatifully shot it ended up an average film for me. They should just leave the franchise alone.

Picked up Nex Machina on the PS4. Basically Smash TV on steroids – a fantastic game.
No Mans Sky has been out for a year and saw a big update this week, so much so I reset my progress and started again. Well worth a try if you were interested last year but were put off by the negative press.

Links

• Man charged with murder following car ramming incident as violence erupts at white supremacist rally in Virginia
  Nazi’s publically demonstrating in America. The photo’s and video’s from yesterday were hard to believe. Where were the police? If that was blacks armed like that there would have been a very different response. The tame statement from the government shows that this is Trumps America. Horrible.
• James Damore, Google, and the YouTube radicalization of angry white men | Technology | The Guardian
  More white privilege. Another bandwangon for the alt right to jump on, except we shouldn’t call them alt right anymore. White supremists. Thats what they are. Rebranding of that kind of view shouldn’t be allowed. Well done Google for taking a stand. When will social media companies also take a stand? They play whack a mole with muslim extremists, why not the same with white extremists?
• A Brief History of Women in Computing – Hacker Noon
  For anyone in doubt about the part woman play in computing, here’s a history lesson.
• The Last Word On Nothing | Here Are The Actually Interesting Questions about RFID Chip Implants
  Couldn’t agree more with this. No way would I let a company chip me.
• The New Copycats: How Facebook Squashes Competition From Startups – WSJ
  I’ve always been down on Facebook and this is another ding for me. They own a VPN company, and although your traffic is being safely routed through that VPN they analyse what users are doing…strikes me as wrong.
• The world’s best Dota 2 players just got destroyed by a killer AI from Elon Musk’s startup | The Verge
  Ominous.
• Game of Thrones: The Loot Train Attack (HBO) – YouTube
  If you watched episode 4 of Game of Thrones then find 15 mins to catch this behind the scenes on how the action in this episode was shot.

Life
Tiles chosen for kitchen. Trivial but gets another decision out of the way. Just need to pay for it all now. Noticable that the nights are starting to draw in a bit too. Winter is coming and it’s only the start of August.

Media
Ghost in the Shell – average but looked great. Game of Thrones episode 3 and the pace is growing. Great send off for Olenna Tyrell as well. Love it.

Links

• How Two Brothers Turned Seven Lines of Code Into a $9.2 Billion Startup – Bloomberg
  Now, Stripe’s Patrick and John Collison are teaming with Amazon to grab even more control over the global flow of commerce.
  Europe’s best startup? Amazing story.
• Beme News Update #3: This Is Not A Film Review – YouTube
  Good look at the story of Dunkirk.
• How Apple Is Putting Voices in Users’ Heads—Literally | WIRED
  Inspiring.
• 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year | National Geographic
  See the winning photos from the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year. The power of nature. View Winners galleries.
  Some of these photo’s are breathtaking – glad I didn’t have to pick the winner.
• The secret rhythm behind Radiohead’s “Videotape” – YouTube
  Welcome to Vox Pop: Earworm! In my first episode of Earworm, I speak with Warren Lain. He’s a Radiohead fan who also happens to be an incredibly talented mus…
  Who knew – geeky video about one of my favourite Radiohead tracks.
• The Loyal Engineers Steering NASA’s Voyager Probes Across the Universe – The New York Times
  As the Voyager mission is winding down, so, too, are the careers of the aging explorers who expanded our sense of home in the galaxy.
  Dedication of these engineers is impressive.
• Exclusive: Here’s The Full 10-Page Anti-Diversity Screed Circulating Internally at Google [Updated]
  This is ugly and Google need to do more than just say this isn’t their policy. The self entitlement of men strikes again.
• Requiem for the iPod Shuffle | WIRED
  The iPod is officially over. Here’s why Steve Jobs told me he particularly loved the iPod shuffle—and why we’re going to miss it.
  Apple kill so many of their products that are much loved. The shuffle is another one to add to the list.
• This Is Probably The Only Story You Didn’t Hear About First From Bradd Jaffy And Kyle Griffin
  “I have a couple of go-to Twitter accounts that I check as soon as I wake up in the morning,” actor Alyssa Milano told BuzzFeed News. “One is Kyle Griffin’s feed and the other is Bradd Jaffy
  I don’t follow these guys but there’s no need as they are retweeted so often. Skills to get on top of so many breaking stories.
• In pictures: Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 – BBC News
  The shortlisted images in this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year have now been selected.
  Another set of photo’s that make me slightly envious that I’m not out trying to capture these images.

Life
Kitchen chosen and all going well will be done by end of September. Just need to get some tiles and paint chosen now.

Media
Saw Dunkirk and it’s pretty special. Little dialogue but it grips you within the first few seconds unlike many other films and never lets go. Visually spectacular as is the audio…visit an iMax to see it at it’s best.

Links

• iPhone 7 — The Rock x Siri Dominate the Day — Apple – YouTube
  You should never, ever, under any circumstances, underestimate how much Dwayne Johnson can get done in a day with Siri. Follow the world’s busiest actor and …
  Not as bad as I feared…but Siri is never this good for me.
• iOS – Siri – Apple
  Siri on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV lets you use your voice to send messages, make appointments, control your home, and more.
  If you want to get more out of Siri, here’s some help from Apple.
• BBC Blogs – Internet Blog – Putting audiences at the heart of VR
  Interesting post of VR and the BBC.
• How Jony Ive Masterminded Apple’s New Headquarters – WSJ
  With Apple Park, the company’s chief designer has once again brought Steve Jobs’s exacting design vision to life.
  Apple Park looks stunning but so much open plan…can see trouble ahead.
• The Camera Drone Company That Fell to Earth | WIRED
  Over promise, under deliver.
• Troy Hunt: Passwords Evolved: Authentication Guidance for the Modern Era
  Interesting read on where cyber security is heading.
• The future of fake news: don’t believe everything you read, see or hear | Technology | The Guardian
  The camera never lies. This is scary.
• Charlie Gard: facts, medicine, and right-wing fictions
  Feel sorry for Charlie Gard and the family, but the media manipulation was a disgrace. This article does a great job of reporting the facts which is more than the Daily Mail managed with much of their articles coming from the Gard families PR team.
• Tesla’s Model 3 Arrives With a Surprise 310-Mile Range
  Looks a great car.
• How Tesla changed the auto industry forever – The Verge
  What will be driving in 20 years? More to the point, what will be driving us?
• A New Approach to Designing Smart Cities – Design Matters – Medium
  Thought provoking read on future cities. Makes me think about drone lanes, cities where AI cars are mandatory. Exciting times.
• The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense – Vox
  Nice insight into the audio tricks that get played.
• Hollywood’s Next Big Thing: ‘Dunkirk’ Star Fionn Whitehead Goes From London Barista to Leading Actor – The Hollywood Reporter
  He still hasn’t seen the film!

Life
New kitchen almost chosen. Expensive but will make a massive difference.

Media
Game of Thrones returned strong. Very much setting the chess board for this series but loved it all apart from Ed Sheeran which totally took me out of the GoT universe. The Handmaid’s Tale is finishing really stongly. Can’t wait for the last two episodes.

Links

• Remembering George Romero – Edgar Wright Here
  Good article from Wright.
• Google Glass 2.0 Is a Startling Second Act | WIRED
  Good to see Glass is still around and focussing on the enterprise which looks a far more applicable market…for now.
• As ‘Brexit’ Clock Ticks, U.K. Seems Adrift – NYTimes.com
  Adrfit…lost…and a disappointing stand from Corbyn as well.
• Joy of sticks: 10 greatest video game controllers | Technology | The Guardian
  From Atari’s CX joystick to the Oculus Touch, here are our favourites
  Where the fuck is the SNES pad? Disgrace.
• Daring Fireball: Public Service Announcement: You Should Not Force Quit Apps on iOS
  If you are on iOS please read this.
• Female BBC stars’ letter to Tony hall demanding equal pay in full
  The BBC having to release salaries is a disgrace. An attack on the BBC by the tory government. However if equal pay is addressed not only at the BBC but across all walks of life then it will have been a good outcome.
• The billion-dollar palaces of Apple, Facebook and Google | Art and design | The Guardian
  Modern day churches.

It’s trailer week thanks to comic con…and what a great set there’s been this year.

• BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Trailer 2 – YouTube
  This looks and sounds stunning…but I still have the fear.
• The Walking Dead Season 8 – First Look Trailer, only on FOX TV – YouTube
  Watch the gripping new trailer for #TheWalkingDeadUK Season 8 which returns to FOX on Monday 23rd October.
  Stepping up the action after last year. Whats with old man Rick?
• Ready Player One – SDCC Teaser – Warner Bros. UK – YouTube
  Loved the book and the trailer is mostly hitting the spot.
• Justice League – Comic-Con Sneak Peek [HD] – YouTube
  Looking a lot better than Batman vs Superman.
• Stranger Things Season 2 Trailer – YouTube
  Best trailer this week. Roll on October.
• Westworld Season 2: Comic-Con Trailer (HBO) – YouTube
  Carnage!
• ”Thor: Ragnarok” Official Trailer – YouTube
  Crazy fun, total contrast to most of the other superhero films.
• Star Trek: Discovery | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix – YouTube
  Something is found lurking at the edge of Federation space, and Starfleet will never be the same. Explore an all-new era of Star Trek weekly on Netflix start…
  Not sure what to make of this. Love a good space sci-fi but some of the effects look a bit off.

Life
Interesting week. Colonoscopy on Tuesday which saw me get an all clear and yet again be thankful for what the NHS offers. The preperation the day before was…cleansing 🙂 Pretty close to deciding on a kitchen which will be worth it in the end but will see a bit more upheavel and more than a bit of cash.

Media
Caught up on Game of Thrones ready for season 7 tomorrow. Can’t wait.

Links

• DJI Is Locking Down Its Drones Against a Growing Army of DIY Hackers – Motherboard
  Drone hackers have forced DJI into an arms race.
  I think the hackers will win this one.
• 5K Versions of Every Default macOS Wallpaper – 512 Pixels
  Nice set of wallpapers from every macOS.
• The New York Times
  A Russian lawyer was said to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump Jr. agreed to meet her. The tale of the email.
  Still can’t quite believed what happened early last week. How much can the Trump clan get away with?
• Messages from the tower – BBC News
  Messages from the tower – Piecing together what happened on the night of London’s Grenfell Tower fire
  A really diificult read but great reporting from the BBC.
• 2017 International Drone Photography Contest – WINNERS ANNOUNCED – YouTube
  Some jaw dropping images.
• Radiohead releases a surprise ZX Spectrum program for OK Computer anniversary | Ars Technica
  Yes I bought this, yes I can’t play the cassette, yes I’ve no record player. Still love it.
• SoundCloud sinks as leaks say layoffs buy little time | TechCrunch
  A tense scene unfolded yesterday as user-generated music streaming service SoundCloud held an all-hands meeting to explain to employees why it suddenly had to..
  SOmetimes we can’t have good things.
• Andy Murray corrects journalist’s ‘casual sexism’ – BBC News
  The British player is praised on social media after picking up a reporter on his “casual sexism”.
  In many ways Wimbledon was a let down this year but by far this was my favourite clip. That grunt at the end.
• First Look: Disney Parks Unveils the Star Wars-Inspired Land Model | Disney Parks Blog
  Is this Westworld?
• The Most Beautiful Shots of Game of Thrones – YouTube
  Lose yourself in this video.
• Leader: A true champion shows what he’s made of in defeat – The Scotsman
  In the tunnel that leads to Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the players pass under two lines from the didactic poem “If”. It reads: “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.”
  Great write up on Andy Murray in The Scotsman.
• All the X-Men
  So many!
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi Behind The Scenes – YouTube
  5 months to go.
• Pitching Up – YouTube
  Short documentary from The Guardian on sport integrating a community. Worth a watch.
• How can we stop algorithms telling lies? | Technology | The Guardian
  Algorithms and AI…what a threat to us all.
• Greatest Movie Props of All Time: From Lightsabers to Wilson – Thrillist
  Loved this, so many great stories.
• Nest Founder: “I Wake Up In Cold Sweats Thinking, What Did We Bring To The World?”
  Good or bad Tony Fadell has changed the world.
• The Rise and Fall of Working From Home – Bloomberg
  I like the flexibility of working from home but can sense change in the air as many firms question the benefits. The few ruining it for the many?
• BBC – Travel – China’s impossible engineering feat
  What an amazing feat of engineering. Breathtaking.
• Doctor Who’s 13th Time Lord to be a woman
  Finally! Great news that the next Doctor is female. Here’s a big fuck you to the minority saying they will never watch Doctor Who again. Losers.

Life
Busy week looking at kitchen options. Almost too many options so will take a few days break from it and come back later next week.

Media
Loving the new Haim album. Also enjoying The Handmaids Tale which is dark. In preperation for July 17th re-watching last season Game of Thrones. So good.

Links

• How Much Sleep Do Fitbit Users Really Get? A New Study Finds Out
  For me right now, not enough!
• From Ptolemy to GPS, the Brief History of Maps | Innovation | Smithsonian
  Some map history – thanks to Gordon for the link.
• From the Quiet of Wimbledon, the Loud Groan of the Crowd – The New York Times
  How groans at Wimbledon are more pronounced and offputting. Uggggghhhh.
• Daring Fireball: Speculation Regarding the Pricing of and Strategy Behind This Year’s New iPhones
  There’s been rampant speculation that Apple will release three phones this year including one at a higher price than we’ve seen recently. Gruber is speculating it will be a lot higher than we currently pay. Will be interesting to see what happens if the pricing he predicts is accurate.
• Plein Rond de Eik – Amersfoort, Netherlands – Atlas Obscura
  This building at Plein Rond de Eik is smiling, winking, crying, laughing, and sticking its tongue out the same way we do: with emoji.
  Modern gargoyles.
• Everybody lies: how Google search reveals our darkest secrets | Technology | The Guardian
  The truth about what we search for. Dark.
• The Story Behind the World’s Most Famous Desktop Background
  Microsoft has an insect infestation to thank for its classic Windows XP desktop background
  Amazing how old this is…and how so many people still use it.
• I Got Hacked and All I Got Was This New SIM Card
  I like to think I take an above average amount of steps to secure myself online: I use a password manager
  Scary tale. Phone provider allowed easy access…does yours?
• On London’s Streets, Black Cabs and Uber Fight for a Future
  London’s cabby wars are less about the disruptive power of an app, or a new business
  model, than about the disruption of Britain.
  Not just about tech.

Life
A day late thanks to another broadband outage. Twice in a week including a new hub being fitted. Not good.

Media
Golf Club 2 and a rather mixed reaction so far. Graphically a bit better, club options make it more interesting but multiplayer looks a hot mess and some of the ball physics just seem wrong. I’ll give it time, no doubt patches will fix over time.

Links

• Muscle-Up on Vimeo
  An amazing drone video.
• See How This Impossible Drone Shot Was Achieved – Part II | cinema5D
  And this is how the drone video was achieved. Clever.
• Grenfell Tower Campaigners Are So Angry With The Police They Are Creating Their Own Database Of Victims
  The Met police have said 79 people are missing and presumed dead, but Justice 4 Grenfell campaigners have rejected the figure and say they’re now doing their own investigation.
  Desperate. Doesn’t seem possible that the authorities are leaving this to locals. Something stinks.
• Flawed reporting about WhatsApp | Open door | Paul Chadwick | Opinion | The Guardian
  Open door: Cumulative effect of missteps led the Guardian to overstate the potential impact on the security of users’ messaging
  Guardian finally comes clean about this.
• Women in Tech Speak Frankly on Culture of Harassment – The New York Times
  It takes one brave woman to stand up and the rest step forward. Reminds me of the harrasment cases from 70’s and 80’s in the UK that are only now believed.
• Pando: The State of Pando 2017: Dropping the paywall on stories from the Silicon Valley Swamp
  Pando makes a stand
• Male and Female Entrepreneurs Get Asked Different Questions by VCs — and It Affects How Much Funding They Get
  Course it does. Makes me question how I behave and react in the workplace. Not easy.
• Daring Fireball: Perfect Ten
  10 years and the impact of the iPhone.
• The Life, Death, and Legacy of iPhone Jailbreaking – Motherboard
  Hacking the iPhone
• Researchers Found They Could Hack Entire Wind Farms | WIRED
  Hacking a wind farm! Wow.
• UK is the worst-performing advanced economy in the world, official figures confirm | The Independent
  Cheery article to finish with. Strong and stable my arse.

Life
New boiler fitted and went better than expected…now onto kitchen shopping. Also got the new iMac this week. What a beast but it’s taken a back seat to other issues. Also had a week off work which was busy but a welcome break.

Media
Finished Ready Player One and really enjoyed it. So many geek wins and despite inital negative thoughts Wil Weaton was a great narrator. Looking forward to the film verison next year.

Links

• Michael Rosen: A firefighter who attended Grenfell tower has written this:
  Raw emotion. Can’t read this and not be affected by it.
• Nutella ‘Hired’ an Algorithm to Design New Jars. And It Was a Sell-Out Success. | Inc.com
  Expect more crazy, I mean algorithmic designs to hit a supermarket near you.
• Leaked recording: Inside Apple’s global war on leakers | The Outline
  Thats an awful lot of effort to keep a lid on things.
• After Finsbury Park, Britain must tackle its preachers of anti-Muslim hate | Nesrine Malik | Opinion | The Guardian
  Been going on for far too long
• Radiohead – Man Of War – YouTube
  ‘Man Of War’, taken from the forthcoming album OK NOT OK 1997-2017, out June 23rd on XL Recordings. http://oknotok.co.uk/ http://ift.tt/ztFZEq DIRECTO…
  Great video
• Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’: An Oral History – Rolling Stone
  Read an in-depth oral history of Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer,’ drawn from new interviews with all the band members and their collaborators.
  20 years since OK Computer. Time flies. OK NOT OK came out on Friday and this is a nice interview to go along with it.
• Videos – Radiohead – Glastonbury 2017 – BBC
  Headlined Friday and I thought it was stunning. If you’ve got a couple of hours to spare it’s well worth a watch.
• Stormchaser films a new cloud type during spectacular sunset / Boing Boing
  Lovely video.
• The secret lives of IS fighters – BBC News
  Sobering piece from the BBC.
• The Crystal Maze 2017: the long journey to bringing it back | Den of Geek
  Who didn’t love the Crystal Maze? So glad it’s back and it looks superb.
• Brexit: Tory MP Leadsom says broadcasters should be patriotic
  This is scary. Don’t question us, get behind us, be patriotic. Disgraceful.
• IoT goes nuclear: creating a ZigBee chain reaction | the morning paper
  My Hue bulbs don’t feel so secure now.
• How we make a game called Hidden Folks – Imgur
  Nice background to how Hidden Folks was made.
• Interview: Scott Forstall and Original iPhone Innovators @ Computer History Museum – YouTube
  It’s long but there’s some gems in here from how the iPhone came to be…and some of the changes since.
• Reviewing the First iPhone in a Hype Typhoon | WIRED
  The original iPhone from a reviewers persepctive.

Life
The Grenfell Tower fire puts everything into perspective. People lost families, friends, possessions and it’s hard to see who is helping them apart form themselves. Heartbreaking.

As for me, last week wears really busy but I’ve now got a week off work. However it didn’t get off to the best of starts with our boiler being condemned on Friday. New one being fitted this week which will cause quite a bit of upheaval…and probably a new kitchen will be required. Sigh.
Media
More WipEout, more Ready Player One. Half way through and it’s so good.
Links

• Inside Walt Mossberg’s gadget museum – The Verge
  Mossberg looks at the cirtical tech releases from his long career.
• The 10.5” iPad Pro: Future-Proof – MacStories
  I picked up the 10.5 this week alongside a pencil and keyboard. What an awesome device…more from me on this soon.
• WordPress parent Automattic is closing its San Francisco office because its remote workers never show up — Quartz
  Automattic, the technology company that owns WordPress.com, has a beautiful office in a converted San Francisco warehouse, with soaring ceilings, a library, and a custom-made barn door. If you like the space, you’re free to move in. The office at 140 Hawthorne went on the market after CEO Matt Mullenweg came to the realization not…
  Flxible and mobile working is the future.
• WWDC 2017 — Some Thoughts – Learning By Shipping
  Putting some of the major announcements of new platform technologies in context. What are the implications for ARKit, Core ML, SiriKit. Also ow does iOS 11 and the iPad Pro 10″ improve “productivity’.
  More thoughts on WWDC.
• The secret origin story of the iPhone – The Verge
  Great read…although it’s kicked up a bit of controversy.
• Life and death in Apple’s forbidden city – the guardian
  Another extract from the same book, the ugly side of the devices we all love so much.
• Apple’s Tim Cook on Donald Trump, the HomePod, and the Legacy of Steve Jobs – Bloomberg
  The head of the most valuable company in the world talks to Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Megan Murphy.
  Cook opens up a little more…and loves AR.
• London tower block fire: What went wrong at Grenfell Tower? – YouTube
  Investigators are trying to establish how a fire in a London tower block was able to spread so aggressively and so fast. A renovation of the building was com…
  Background to the Grenfell fire.
• 5 Fires That Shaped Modern London – NYTimes.com
  Why do we need a disaster to shape rules and regulations?
• Grenfell Tower cladding: Claims fire-resistance would have cost just £5,000 | London Evening Standard
  Anger is growing over claims a series of safety failings led to the Grenfell Tower disaster after it emerged contractors could have spent just £5,000 more on fire-resistant cladding. A “Justice for Grenfell” rally is set to take place in Westminster on Friday evening, while numerous distraught residents have demanded answers from politicians over the blaze that killed at least 17 people on Wednesday.
  If this is true then words fail me.
• London fire brigade boss: ‘It was a massive risk, but it’s our job to go in’ | UK news | The Guardian
  Inspiring
• This exciting Brexit future feels like all the rubbish bits from the past | Marina Hyde | Opinion | The Guardian
  By default I link to one Marina Hyde post every week, but she’s that good.
• How Newspapers Lost Their Monopoly On Influencing Voters In The 2017 General Election
  The Sun and the Daily Mail sell 3 million copies a day between them. But their decades-long claim to dominating public opinion may have finally come to an end.
  A good thing.
• Winners of the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest 2016 – The Atlantic
  Amazing photo’s to lift the spirits
• Developers Who Use Spaces Make More Money Than Those Who Use Tabs – Stack Overflow Blog
  Bonkers. And you should use tabs, not spaces.
• Different languages: How cultures around the world draw shapes differently — Quartz
  Who knew?