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Connectedly:

One of the easiest ways for to jump into the connected home space is with some awesome connected lighting. Smart lights are simply bulbs (and usually a bridge or hub) that replaces your standard light bulbs and offer more functionality — namely being able to control them from your smartphone or tablet. These Wi-Fi bulbs are typically more expensive than standard bulbs, but last just as long (if not longer), plus they go above and beyond just keeping you out of the dark.

If I was a home owner, I’d probably investigate these (and other) kinds of lighting systems. Do any of you use/recommend any particular system you use in your own home?

Wired:

For almost nine months, I have been trying to set up an interview with (Edward Snowden) – traveling to Berlin, Rio de Janeiro twice, and New York multiple times to talk with the handful of his confidants who can arrange a meeting. Among other things, I want to answer a burning question: What drove Snowden to leak hundreds of thousands of top-secret documents, revelations that have laid bare the vast scope of the government’s domestic surveillance programs?

Interesting story about a fascinating and polarizing person.

An interactive children’s story platform, that lets you create a 3D character of your child and make him/her the hero of every story.

Go watch the video—it’s brilliant!

Cult of Mac:

The tragic news of Robin Williams’ sudden death has sent most of us on a YouTube binge, watching TV shows, movies, and stand-up comedy bits from the funniest man who ever lived, and now Apple is paying its respects to late-comedian with a new iTunes section.

CoM says, “if you scroll through you can find 40 of his other gems like “Death to Smoochie”…” I’m sorry. I loved Robin Williams but “Death to Smoochy” was an awful movie.

This article demonstrates how to use CSS transforms, perspective and some scaling trickery to create a pure CSS parallax scrolling website.

Check out the demo.

TUAW:

There’s a copy of the U.S. Constitution on each and every Mac in the Dictionary app.

You’ll not only find such exciting information as who was on the editorial staff and advisory board for the Dictionary, but also a bunch of useful references.

In addition to the aforementioned Constitution of the United States of America, there’s also a complete Language Guide, a history of the English language, a list of the fifty states and each state capital, a list of every President of the U.S. from George Washington to George W. Bush (not sure what happened to the current incumbent…), the Declaration of Independence, a list of countries of the world, a list of chemical elements from hydrogen to meitnerium, a cross-reference of standard to metric measure conversions, and the Arabic, Hebrew, Greek and Russian alphabets.

Kind of interesting, especially for us trivia nerds, but a little odd to have this info buried in the Dictionary app.

Today marks five years since the passing of one of the world’s most unique innovators of all time, Les Paul.

Much respect Les.

Wow, these are just great.

Certainly worth looking at the numbers and reading Tim Cook’s message.

Sébastien Page:

Even though they might not be able to activate the lost or stolen device, they might still try to put it up for sale, and if you don’t know what to look for, you might very well be buying an iPhone that has been locked and cannot be activated.

Good advice.

Nice post from Guy English. I agree with this bit: “That said, being opinionated isn’t the goal. Being useful is.”

Rob Richman reminds us that sometimes you should be thankful to be alive.

Mashable:

Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams died on Monday at the age of 63. As a performer, Williams had the rare ability to make audiences laugh and cry.In remembrance of Williams and his long legacy, we’ve compiled some of his finest moments from television, stand-up and film.

I was reminded by my friend Sly that I heckled Robin Williams during the taping of his HBO Special, “Live on Broadway”. He goes off on that Canada rant because some idiot in the audience (me) yelled out, “Yay Canada!” I met Williams years later on the show floor of Macworld Expo and we chatted for almost 30 minutes. I asked him about the heckling and he (jokingly) called me “an a-hole”. “You don’t heckle on Broadway!” he said.

This is how you can help. 100% of your donations go directly to the Make-A-Wish foundation. The Cancer Journal Project is completely self funded. We don’t keep a dime of your donation.

Help if you can.

The Verge:

Microsoft is bringing the Mac vs. PC battle back with full force today.

While the company targeted the MacBook Air at the launch of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft’s latest ads place both devices head-to-head. It’s a style that’s similar to how Microsoft has targeted the iPad and even Siri recently, and one that mimics Apple’s classic ads from the ‘00s. There’s three 30-second spots in total, and each focuses on the touchscreen and pen benefits of the Surface Pro 3 over Apple’s MacBook Air.

As always – don’t read the comments section.

The Conversation:

Researchers have developed a method to produce ammonia simply from air and water. Not only is it more energy efficient than the century-old Haber-Bosch process currently in use all over the world, but it is also greener.

Ammonia – made up of three parts hydrogen and one part nitrogen (or NH3) – has had a momentous impact on society. Without the mass production of this chemical, it is estimated that as many as a third of us won’t be alive. This is because its main use is to make fertilisers, which have helped improve crop yields and sustain a large population.

I had no idea that ammonia production “consumes nearly 2% of the world’s energy supply” but as the article points out, even this process is no where near as efficient as Mother Nature.

New York Times:

Steven P. Jobs established Apple University as a way to inculcate employees into Apple’s business culture and educate them about its history, particularly as the company grew and the tech business changed. Courses are not required, only recommended, but getting new employees to enroll is rarely a problem.

Although many companies have such internal programs, sometimes referred to as indoctrination, Apple’s version is a topic of speculation and fascination in the tech world.

As usual, take whatever Brian Chen says with a truckload of salt (he gets several details wrong, as usual) but it’s still an interesting look at a little known aspect of Apple.

Slate:

You don’t know night. Not real night, the way it was experienced pre-electricity; what we lost when we developed the ability to light up the night sky.

That sounds obvious to someone living near Times Square or in Vegas, but those are only extremes in a phenomenon that touches nearly all of us: Two-thirds of the world’s population, and 99 percent of people living in the continental U.S. and Western Europe, no longer experience what we might call true night — one free from the glow of artificial lights.

I’ve been a City Kid my entire life. I still remember the night I was walking outside on my dad’s farm and couldn’t figure out why, with no light around, it was so bright outside – I could see my shadow. I looked up and literally gasped at the sight of the Milky Way – which I had never seen before.

I loved playing with a YoYo when I was a kid. Tough to take this “championship” seriously but you have to admire his skill and showmanship. If I tried any of those tricks, I’d end up tied in knots tighter than a pair of handcuffs.

National Geographic:

National Geographic Traveler magazine received more than 18,000 entries from around the globe. With thousands of pictures to review, judges found themselves wandering through stunning ice caves, mysterious desert views, and intriguing scenes from cultures throughout the world. Which photos were selected as the best of the best?

As always, some absolutely incredible shots in this collection.

Here’s one for your bucket list. Follow the link to see the pictures. Words just cannot do this justice.

Pando Daily:

Using the highly scientific process of…hunting for fancy words in tweeted headlines…Beak allows users to calculate the grade level of their tweets.

Not scientific at all but fun to use for comparison’s sake. I tweet at a level of 7th Grade. Which sounds high to me.

New York Times:

You can sell old iPhones — a lot of Android phones, too — to a number of online companies. Gazelle.com, cashforiphones.com, usell.com and icracked.com are just a few of them. Amazon and eBay are also vibrant marketplaces for used iPhones. I don’t know which one offers the best price or which are the most reputable. I don’t have enough used iPhones to do comparison testing.

But looking at the prices offered for the used iPhone 5s may offer some insight into what phone to buy next if you intend to sell it after a few years of use.

I’ve used Gazelle for several iPhone sales. Not the best price but definitely the easiest and less hassle.

TUAW:

In the wake of China’s 6.5 magnitude quake that hit the country over the weekend, Apple is doing its best to help out. As reported by CRIENGLISH, Apple is donating 10 million yuan, or roughly US$1.6 million, to the relief efforts.

You have to feel for the people affected. I’ve been in three very minor earthquakes and they were terrifying. I can’t even imagine what a 6.5 magnitude quake would feel like.

I’ve always been a fan of Jackson, especially the Dinky models. They just feel really good in my hands.

Thanks to The Blueprint for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week. This week The Blueprint is featuring the IN1 is a multi-tool utility case for your iPhone 5/5s. Like a built-in swiss army knife for your phone. Choose from 8 colors. Get yours for $44.95, ships in 24 – 48 hrs.

This was more interesting than I thought it would be.

Grubstreet:

Pity the New Yorker who wants to eat an excellent burger for dinner while sitting at a proper table. The city is awash in outstanding burgers, but the simple task of ordering one at prime time feels like it’s become increasingly difficult.

The problem: More top New York chefs limit their burgers by selling them in very small quantities, or only at lunch, or only for the first 30 minutes their restaurant is open, or maybe just to the people sitting at the bar but not in the dining room, or possibly only on Mondays.

What a weird story and, I’m sorry, but “At Porter House, you can get the burger for $19 at lunch, or $26 at night at the bar” means I would never pay that much for a burger, no matter how good New Yorkers said it was.

AgileBits:

We are announcing that, for Mac and iOS users, our updates coming this fall for Apple’s OS X Yosemite and iOS 8—yes, including our awesome new Safari and in-app extension—will be free for current owners.

We’ve put 1Password for desktops on sale for 30 percent off, and 1Password for iPhone and iPad on sale for a whopping 40 percent off (1Password 4 for Android remains free-to-try through August 18!).

Get 1Password for Mac for just $34.99 and 1Password for iOS for just $9.99.

I personally highly recommend 1Password.

I’d love to have one of the EVH guitars. Not a bad price.