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pope52

90 karma · joined April 21, 2009

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pope52··on The Very Last Thing I’ll Write About Twitter
His comments on the difference between Twitter and Facebook are particularly interesting:

"Previously, developers took data out of Twitter and into the context of their own applications and services. The new design flips this on its head, bringing rich embedded content into the site from a host of brand-name web properties. (It’s worth noting that Facebook has done much the opposite: they started out with a very centralized build-it-within-our-walls model, then gradually grew their tendrils out into the web with Facebook Connect.)"

I'm curious how this relates to his later observation that "walled gardens" are doomed to fail. In both instances, the walls are being chipped away, but in the former, the content is being brought in, while in the latter, content is being let out.

pope52··on Aldous Huxley was right, not George Orwell
Original Source (2009): http://www.recombinantrecords.net/2009/05/24/amusing-ourselv...
pope52··on Safari 5’s ‘Reader’ Nudges Web Publishers to App Store
You'll note that Apple is already preempting this argument. Reader exists to offer clarity to the reading experience, removing "annoying ads and other visual distractions." iAds, on the other hand, is promoted as adding to a seamless user experience. Apple is bending over backwards to show that iAds are different -- not "annoying" like what we're used to, but something immersive and interesting.

Of course, much of this is marketing. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. An insightful article, overall.

pope52··on Safari 5
There has been an uncharacteristic quiet at the New York Times about yesterday's iPhone announcement. Usually, there is at least a more prominent article in the Technology section (Their current blurb is the lackluster "On Newest iPhone, Another Camera"). I wonder if "Reader" has anything to do with it.
pope52··on PR: Apple releases Safari 5 (Since It Has Been Wiped From PRNewswire)
They include an acknowledgment to Arc90 and Readability on their acknowledgements page.

file:///Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/Acknowledgments.html

pope52··on Making Keywurl work with Safari 5
I'm curious if it would now be possible to make Keywurl a legit extension with Safari 5.
pope52··on Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan
Along these lines:

Two pictures of the same location in Kabul, Afghanistan. The first one was taken 40 years ago:

http://kuvaton.com/kuvei/kabul_1970_then_now_2010.jpg

Also: http://kabulaus.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/darulaman-then-a...

pope52··on IPad TV
Throw in some some velcro and you're set.

http://vimeo.com/11886557

pope52··on IPad TV
Although the article is purely speculative, it is interesting to note that the iPad's "Videos.app" could easily be replaced by the Apple TV's touchscreen-friendly interface.

Also: "So, one more sidetrack: If video is moved off of iTunes, the App Store is a marketplace for apps, and our books are bought in iBooks, could this mean that iTunes could return, gracefully, to serve its original purpose? Could iTunes just be for music? I just blew my mind."

Unfortunately, this seems extremely unlikely.

pope52··on Gizmodo Banned from WWDC
"Banned" is a strong word. "Not invited" might be more appropriate.
pope52··on How to be a Great Lecturer (and Professor)
I realize that von Ahn is joking, but this one isn't terribly funny.
pope52··on What Makes Us Happy
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=605207 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=865853

Old, but still a very good read.

pope52··on How To Try Spotify Immediately, No Matter Where You Live
It will stop working very soon. Spotify checks your location constantly and not only when you download. It allows you to use it outside your original download country for 14 days. After a few days a bar will appear to notify you and after the two weeks it’ll stop working. The only option is to use a real UK proxy or TOR once after 14 days to give you another period of two weeks.
pope52··on Body-hacking: Tim Ferris's next book & request for help.
While I make no claim of knowing Ferris personally, I've read his book and blog.

He reads like an Infomercial. I'd trust his advice about as much. Do be careful, particularly when your health is on the line.

pope52··on Fake Steve Jobs returns
I'm curious to see how this turns out. I was under the impression that he burned his bridges with FSJ after his CNBC stunt:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/jan/15/steve-...

Although, he did hint he would be back after Steve's recovery in this ARS interview:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/07/the-real-dan-lyons...

pope52··on NoScript 1.9.2.6 removes the controversial Adblock Plus hack
The NoScript FAQ on the subject has also been updated: http://noscript.net/faq#qa3_21

For more background on this debate, check out this post at Adblock: http://adblockplus.org/blog/attention-noscript-users

pope52··on My Tiny TodoList: A simple open source todolist written in PHP and jQuery
Cleverly done. This is much better implementation than many of the more popular to-do sites out there.