The Pew Research Center did an extensive survey on public perceptions of privacy and security in the so called post-Snowden era. There are a lot of interesting takeaways in the report.
Media
Kermit and sentience
Some light Saturday reading. A short story by Holli Mintzer about a school project and a lovable green frog.
Chappie trailer
[VIDEO] Ever see District 9? If not, I’d urge you to go find it. Absolutely brilliant movie.
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp and lead actor Sharlto Copley are teaming up again in the upcoming Chappie. Watch the trailer below. Dev Patel (big fan), Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver too. Can’t wait for this one.
Buy a Disney movie in iTunes, watch it on Android device, and vice versa
Back in February, Disney launched its Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) service on iOS. In effect, Disney movies you buy via iTunes are available in your DMA locker for you to stream on your iOS devices. Now, Android has joined the fray, meaning you can watch all those iOS-purchased Disney movies on your Android device and, if you buy movies on an Android device, you can watch them on your iOS device.
Dave Grohl’s incredible gift to music lovers
Music that touches you at a deep level is a rare delight. Same with a book, a movie, a piece of art or anything that is the result of the creative process. Today I had the good fortune to stumble upon something that did this on several levels.
Sonic Highways is a documentary series on HBO, put together by Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters. The series is an incredible journey, taking you on a deep musical exploration of eight cities, building a song in each city based on the musical foundation found in that city.
Honda “Dark Side” spot created in Final Cut Pro X
Over the weekend, I posted a link to this fantastic Honda commercial. You have to actually play it to understand the mechanic. Well worth it.
Turns out, the project was build using Final Cut Pro X.
Mark Zuckerberg to host live Facebook Q&A
Want to ask Mark Zuckerberg a question? Here’s your chance.
Apple has a huge TV opportunity thanks to proposed FCC rule change
Earlier this week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed a far reaching rule change (detailed in this blog post) that would level the playing field and give non-traditional video suppliers access to programming that is currently only available to cable and satellite providers. This would open up a huge opportunity for Apple.
Video review of the Retina 5K iMac
Terrific review of the Retina 5K iMac. So well done. Trying hard to resist the urge to order one right this second.
Mac, iOS developer debuts at no. 5 on Billboard’s comedy charts
Former Apple developer and evangelist James Dempsey and his band, The Breakpoints, a WWDC regular, have hit the big time.
Ben Bradlee, legendary Washington Post editor, died yesterday at 93
Ben Bradlee was a towering figure on journalism, guiding the Washington Post as it challenged the US federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers and was a driving force in uncovering the Watergate scandal that ultimately unseated US President Richard M Nixon.
Insane CGI
[VIDEO] Just no words to describe this video. It’s incredibly creepy, yet compelling. Amazing CGI work.
Behind the scenes on Disney’s Big Hero Six
Fantastic look at some of the technology behind Big Hero Six. For example, from about two minutes in:
One of the things that our boss, John Lassiter, encourages us to do is to try to find something that people have never seen before. So if you’re making a move with a robot, he’ll say, “Look at all the famous pop culture robots. Look at WALL-E, look at C-3PO, R2-D2, the Terminator, the whole list, and then come up with something that occupies its own air space.”
Brilliant.
Bill Murray on The Howard Stern Show
If you are at all a Bill Murray fan, this is a real treat. An hour and thirteen minutes of Bill being Bill. Delicious.
Ana Yang gazillion bubble show
[VIDEO] This is mesmerizing.
The Autocomplete Song
[VIDEO] Heh. The words to this song were written by an iPhone, using autocomplete. It’s actually pretty catchy.
The Birth of Pong, an excerpt from Walter Isaacson’s new book
Walter Isaacson is best known as the author of the official Steve Jobs biography. His new book is called The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.
The Birth of Pong, an excerpt from the book, tells the story of Nolan Bushnell and the birth of the arcade game.
The incredible craft of David Fincher
[VIDEO] David Fincher is a phenomenal talent. If all he ever did was direct The Social Network, that’d be enough. But he directed Se7en. And He directed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And Fight Club. Oh, and the first two episodes of the Netflix series House of Cards.
You get the idea. The video below is an incredibly well put together, detailed look at Fincher’s craft. If you love film, this is se7en and a half minutes well spent.
Jan Hooks, long time Saturday Night Live cast member, dead at 57
Bummer. She was comedy glue, helping hold together some wildly irreverent and complex sketches, giving them a center.
Tuck me in
Vogue profile piece on Jony Ive
A lot has been written about Jony Ive, much of it biographical and centered on his design milestones. This piece is different. It paints a picture of Ive, does a better job capturing his spirit.
The definitive West Wing
If you are, or ever were, a fan of Aaron Sorkin and The West Wing, this oral history is a must read. Delicious.
Elton John creates song on the fly from oven instructions
[VIDEO] Elton was on a chat show and was challenged to create a song, on the spot, from a set of oven instructions. Genius.
Rumor tracker
Emergent is a real-time rumor tracker. The idea is to track rumors and, ideally, confirm them as true or false.
Jimmy Fallon and Robert Plant sing an awesome iPad duet
[VIDEO] Back in March, Billy Joel came on the Tonight Show to take Jimmy Fallon’s iPad for an incredible ride with just a brilliant duet.
Now it’s Robert Plant‘s turn. The only thing that could have made this better is if they launched into D’yer Mak’er. Now that would have been something to see.
Music video animation makes its way across multiple iPads and iPhones
[VIDEO] This is an incredibly creative video for the song Knock Knock, by Brunettes Shoot Blondes. I would love to know how they made this.
BendGate backfires
Nice writeup from AppleInsider focuses on the controversy itself, how it ultimately benefits Apple and injures the companies that have tried to take advantage of it.
Two new iPhone ads, starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake
[VIDEO] The people who manage Apple’s advertising have a good ear for voice talent. Both Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake have very recognizable and, more importantly, likable voices.
Fighting gravity
[VIDEO] Two dancers rappel a short distance down the side of Oakland’s City Hall, then do an incredible gravity-defying dance on the side of the building.
Man races a train from one London tube station to the next
[VIDEO] All the ingredients are there. One person with an iPhone on the train to record the runner leaving and await his return, and a GoPro camera on the runner’s head to record the actual run. Loved this.