Weekly Digest

Life
Work was pretty full on this week but got a lot done. Finished with an 8 mile walk n Saturday morning which was good…but tired me out. Slept like a baby last night. Still not got rid of this viral nonsense yet.

Media
Watched the first episode of Taboo last week. Stylish, moody but needs more plot and story. Also back into West Wing series 2 which is a magnificent counterpoint to American politics right now. If you haven’t watched it (really?!) or haven’t see it in years dive in and watch along with the excellent West Wing Weekly podcast.

Links

  • Uber debuts Movement, a new website offering access to its traffic data
    Uber is opening up in an area where it might make sense competitively for it to stay more closed off: The ride-hailing company’s new Movement website will offer up access to its data around traffic flow in scores where it operates, intended for use by city planners and researchers looking
    Great use of the data that Uber have amassed. For me this is what Ai in cars can bring, not just safer driving but
  • Twelve things you need to know about driverless cars
    By 2025 most of today’s drivers are unlikely to even want to own a car. But will we still have gridlock? Will you need to pass a test? We asked the experts From forecourt to scrapyard, a new car in the UK lasts an average of 13.
    Just moved into third year of the A3 so later on will be deciding on keeping, getting a new lease or moving to 2nd hand again. Tipping point soon but maybe not this year?
  • This Is What It’s Like to Read Fake News For Two Weeks
    A few weeks ago, perplexed by the persistence of fake news, I attempted to think like someone I wasn’t. On December 13, I created a dummy Twitter account. More of a clone, actually. I chose to emulate Michael Flynn Jr.
    Fake news has become so prevalent, not just online but in the newspapers as well, that I’m not sure it can easily be countered. Sad.
  • I wore men’s clothes for a month – and it changed my life
    It’s 9am and I’m having breakfast at the House of Commons. I’m wearing a three-piece pinstriped suit, matching tie and pocket square, and the confidence of a mediocre white man. To my left, a man is pouring me coffee; to my right, another is listening respectfully. How did I get here?
    Eye opening read. Didn’t expect the results.
  • Guy Makes Sweaters Of Places And Then Photographs Himself In Those Places
    Love it!
  • Bringing Wide Color to Instagram
    When captured by an iPhone 7 Plus, most of the oranges and colors in the room are outside the sRGB color gamut, so detail is lost unless we use a wider color space. The color space that Apple chose for its devices going forward is Display P3.
    A great, detailed and downright geeky post…and I love the results on the iPhone. More please, on all devices. And thats not just a plea to Apple but also iPad support please Instagram.
  • Final Fantasy 7 – An oral history
    We are saving your place in the story as you read. Today, it sits above a Doutor coffee shop a few doors from a train station in a busy part of Hiyoshi, Yokohama.
    Long, long read on an incredible game.
  • The 50 Most Beautiful Shots of The Star Wars Franchise
    Indulge!
  • The dream of Ara: Inside the rise and fall of the world’s most revolutionary phone
    It looked nothing like an iPhone, or anything Apple might dare to make. Hakkens imagined a smartphone made of interchangeable blocks, and each block — the screen, the battery, the processor, and so on — could be easily upgraded or repaired, so it wouldn’t end up in a landfill after two years.
    Never thought this would work and some of the idea’s are batshit.
  • Tony Fadell tells us the story of the iPod-based iPhone prototype
    This week marks the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone introduction, and with it, a flood of stories about the design and development of the device.
    Some good background from one of the actual team at the time.
  • How the world reacted to the first iPhone 10 years ago
    A decade ago today, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, and nobody knew quite what to think. It was expensive; it didn’t have 3G; there was no physical keyboard and the touchscreen didn’t have a stylus.
    Still interesting to see the reaction to the iPhone…especially Ballmer.
  • A closer look at the Nintendo Switch
    Nintendo finally unveiled launch details for its its new Switch console today (to recap: March 3rd worldwide for $299). While the pricing and availability are big news, the bigger news for me was the ability to actually play with the new console at an event in London. The console consists of a 6.
    Really not sure about the Switch. Pricey, lack of games, low tech specs. Still, I’ve ordered one as I’m intrigued…or an idiot!
  • The Greatest Chess Game ever played
    The Greatest Chess Game ever played: Garry Kasparov (2812) – Veselin Topalov (2700)
    Great commentary of a great game.
  • How An Allegedly Fake Video Killed A Much-Hyped Drone Startup
    On Dec. 20, Lily Robotics was up against a wall. It was five days before Christmas, and dozens of eager customers who had spent more than $499 to pre-order the company’s flagship product were wondering if they were ever going to see it.
    Cheeky fuckers. They faked the video, took in millions from people and never delivered the final product. With Kickstarter there is always an element of risk, but these guys look to be fraudsters which doesn’t help anyone on that platform.
  • How voice technology is transforming computing
    ANY sufficiently advanced technology, noted Arthur C. Clarke, a British science-fiction writer, is indistinguishable from magic. The fast-emerging technology of voice computing proves his point.
    It’s early days but voice offers an intriguing glimpse at a future without UI.
  • App Extensions Are Not a Replacement for User Automation
    Here’s a thought experiment. Let’s imagine that Apple decided to combine their engineering resources to form app teams that delivered both iOS and macOS versions of applications.
    Really thought provoking article by Sal Soghoian, an automation genius recently let go by Apple.
  • Euan McColm: Why voters should take no pride in the NHS
    It is a minimum requirement of any politician that he or she should be a passionate defender of the National Health Service. Few things matter more to voters than the NHS. We are sentimentally attached to it in a way that we just aren’t to other public services. This is quite understandable.
    Maybe we should focus less on Independence, eh?
  • Understanding the Diderot Effect (and How To Overcome It)
    I am not a psychologist, nor am I philosopher. But I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the goals we pursue, the things we own, and the items we buy. I find it to be a fascinating study into the human spirit. There are countless reasons we buy more stuff than we need.
    So this is why I buy so much shit.
  • How the inventor of Mario designs a game
    Shigeru Miyamoto’s design philosophy, explained.
    But maybe it’s Miyamoto’s influence that makes we want the Nintendo Switch.

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