Andy Naselli recommends some apps and gives some suggestions for using your iPhone more efficiently.
NY Times Ready to Charge for Online Readers
They haven’t made a final decision yet, but it looks like they will soon, and that it will involve charging. This is an interesting development as newspapers try to figure out their business model in the new environment.
How Much Do You Tip the Pizza Guy?
I’ve never been clear on this — until now. Turns out there’s a whole website devoted to this issue.
My favorite page is what the tip is not. It is not:
- One dollar.
- Leftover coins.
- Saying how much you appreciate the pizza and the driver, but not giving a tip.
- Included in the bill.
- Included in the delivery charge.
- Included in free delivery.
What do you tip? The answer is here.
Finland Makes Broadband a Right
And the Newsweek author who recounts this thinks it “makes sense.”
This is what happens when you don’t know what human rights really are — you end up trivializing the concept altogether.
The 50 Ugliest Cars of the Last 50 Years
BusinessWeek has a half-century of automotive eyesores.
(I happen to think that some of the ugliest cars around are still on the road. But, I’ll hold my tongue!)
Changing the Subject Line in Mac Mail
If you’ve ever wanted to do this in order to make the required action more clear in an email you’ve received but aren’t acting on right away, here’s how.
The Wonder of Apple's Tablet
The Washington Post has a good article on the much-rumored Apple tablet. Here’s the best part:
Conventional wisdom suggests that Apple will not be able to succeed where so many others have failed. But Apple makes billions defying conventional wisdom.
The truth is that most of us don’t understand the allure of a tablet computer because they’ve all sucked up until now. It’s the exact same reason that I didn’t understand the iPhone at first. My cellphones leading up to the iPhone ranged from “okay” to “junk.” The idea of getting one with such a high price tag was insanity to me. But within seconds of using the iPhone, I was able to tell that Apple had made something completely different. It wasn’t a cellphone as I had known them. It redefined the category. And while there are no sure things in the tech world, I would bet that Apple’s tablet will do the same.
TechCrunch: All Rumors Point to the End of Keys/Buttons
TechCrunch has a good article on how things are progressing away from buttons and keys toward touch-based computing. The day of exclusively using touchscreen interfaces may come sooner than we think.
2009: The Year in Tech
A recap at Fox News.
The Value of Design
Well stated, from a Time article from a few years ago (but still very relevant):
Most high-tech companies don’t take design seriously. They treat it as an afterthought. Window-dressing.
But one of [Steve] Jobs’ basic insights about technology is that good design is actually as important as good technology.
All the cool features in the world won’t do you any good unless you can figure out how to use said features, and feel smart and attractive while doing it.