Uncategorized

io9:

Add this to the list of things we never knew existed but now desperately need: The Evolution Door, a “flip-panel” invention by Austrian designer Klemens Torggler.

We’ve all opened a thousand doors but I bet you’ve never opened a door like this.

Many thanks to BiteMyApple.co for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week. Online retailer BiteMyApple.co has an impressive lineup of more than 60 successful Kickstarter products currently on sale. The retail site offers a wide range of accessories for the iPad, iPhone and other Apple devices.

I love the Olympics

PetaPixel:

In 50 seconds and one uninterrupted flowing video shot, UK directing duo US and advertising agency Grey pay tribute to six completely unique, culturally iconic images by expertly recreating one after the other.

If that sentence made no sense, it’s because it’s hard to describe what you’re about to see.

Rodin, Forest Gump, Mad Men, Michelangelo, Reservoir Dogs and Daft Punk all in one shot. Make sure you watch the behind the scenes video.

The New York Times has a “firehose” of live stream photos from the Sochi 2014 Olympics. It’s cool to watch but lacks context.

It’s truly amazing how many videos and photos we take each year on our iPhones. The big difference between the two types of media, is that photos are shared quite a bit more than videos. Vivoom wants to change that. […]

Salon:

I don’t remember any of what I’m about to tell you.

I died, in a way, and was reborn, with the same physical form, but not the same mind. I still to this day sit around with my family and listen to stories about the other Su.

Fascinating and terrifying story.

Interesting look into how Jared Sinclair designed his new RSS reader for iPhone, Unread.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed today that Olympic athletes are free to use any device they wish during the Opening Ceremonies, including iPhones. They are also not required to cover any logos on their devices.

Samsung must be pissed.

No matter how good the intentions or the system, there will always be those that try to take advantage. Apple’s App Store is no different.

James Martin:

I’m working on an initialism for a new standard of RSS Synchronization. It’s really, really simple synchronization, so the working title is RRSRSSS.

Sometimes you need an article like James’ to wake you up and realize you don’t have to read the same news from 10 different sites to enjoy or get the most out of RSS. Plus, it was funny.

Most people know that I’m a huge dog lover (I have two Border Collies) and that my wife recently opened Home To Stay Dog Rescue. Here is another great resource that has reviews, tips and more information for dog lovers.

In theory using photographs in your story should be simple, but it’s really not. Medium does a good job of letting users integrate photos, but as you scroll through some stories, you quickly see that some people just don’t get it, while other’s stories look great.

It’s called NameTag, and in Robocop-like fashion, the app can scan a person’s face and compare it to a records database consisting of millions of people.

If NameTag successfully finds that person, it spits back tons of information about them, including their full name, their relationship status, what school they went to, their current occupation, their interests, and more. It’ll even tell you if that person has a criminal record.

Google tells BGR that it has a ban on facial recognition apps. In other words, they haven’t found a way to make advertising dollars on that part of the creepiness yet.

I agree with all of these.

I really do hate these large companies and the shit they pull.

I actually laughed out loud when I read this.

I hated it when people used to tell me I could write, not get paid, but I’d get exposure. Fuck you, exposure doesn’t feed my kids asshole.

We followed Apple’s Rules, that is, we went into our Developer account and created the App “Paper”. The name Paper was assigned to us by Apple as NO ONE ELSE was using it.

While working on the app over many months, other apps named “Paper” came and went. How? Do to glitches in Apple’s system. A Developer can add other words to an un-available name, or open an account registered outside the US, create an app with the same name as an existing US app, get the app approved for sale outside the US, then set the app territories to make it available in the US! They can even change the name of an older, existing non-US app and enjoy what looks like an earlier first use.

We pointed these glitches out to Apple at WWDC 2012 and, well, the next day another “Paper” app, one which added other words after the name Paper so it could post in the US App Store, received an AWARD! We felt somewhat put upon. That other app was very well funded, money talks, and they had been out “breaking things” in our market for a while. There are Best Practices in the Developer world against, in Apple’s words, “confusingly similar” names. Why didn’t that matter for these guys? Why is this not only tolerated, but awarded? Which Rules do we follow; the posted rules, the rules others use, the rules which work, or the rules which we believe in? A conundrum in many areas of mobile today.

We approached the makers of that other Paper app on the floor of WWDC after they received their award, told them our story, and offer to discuss settling this. We even later sent a message to their CEO. Nothing. So we’ve been considering our options.

Now we see this other “Paper” app is upset that an even larger company has also chosen to name an app “Paper”, same trick, by adding more words to the end.

That’s the story of this app, welcome to the 1st, and what should be the only, Paper.

If true, this certainly makes FiftyThree’s complaints and demands seem hollow.

[Via DF]

Maria Konnokova for The New Yorker:

While the reasons for joining and using Facebook were not entirely homogenous, one factor kept emerging as the strongest motivation for use: the desire to keep in touch with friends.

I think most people would agree with this.

At the University of Texas at Austin, Gosling and one of his graduate students, Gabriella Harari, have been examining why people decide to leave Facebook. They have found three broad themes: people see Facebook as pointless and unnecessary, they see it as a problematic distraction, and they are worried about privacy.

So, the first two reasons people quit Facebook is also the reason they joined in the first place. Interesting.

Microsoft’s new CEO, Lenovo’s future, international markets, smartwatches, innovation you can’t see, Dan’s new iMacs, and more.

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code DANSENTME2 for 10% off), FreshBooks (enter AMPLIFIED in the “How Did You Hear About Us” section when you sign up for a chance to win a cake), Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME214 for 25% off), and HostGator (use code DANSENTME for 30% off).

Satya Nadella in an email to Microsoft employees:

We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.

Sweet Jesus, it only took him a few hours to say something completely insane.

John Gruber recently suggested that users who are annoyed by “Please Rate This App” panes should leave one-star reviews. […]

I hate seeing people lose their jobs. Last week several Macworld staffers lost their jobs in layoffs and now Time Inc. I’ve been through this and it’s not easy.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be speaking at Úll again this year. You can also check out the format change for the conference this year.

Hewlett Packard said Autonomy, the software firm it bought in 2011, overstated profits at one of its main British units by 81 percent in the year before it was sold in Britain’s biggest ever technology deal.

Little over a year after the $11.7 billion acquisition, the Silicon Valley company wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8 billion, accusing the management of accounting irregularities.

The former owner of Autonomy continues to deny that he overstated the profits, but it seems pretty clear cut.

Nadella was in charge of Enterprise and cloud for Microsoft, so to me, having him being named CEO seems like more of the same. I was kind of hoping for something different from Microsoft—a visionary, somebody that could really change things for them. Microsoft needs to move quickly and confidently in the mobile space to make up for what they’ve already lost.

Online retailer BiteMyApple.co has an impressive lineup of more than 60 successful Kickstarter products currently on sale. The retail site offers a wide range of accessories for the iPad, iPhone and other Apple devices.

The Truth About Cars:

That first weekend, Irv rolled 1,500 miles, returning to the dealership on Monday for his car’s first checkup. He hadn’t planned to drive through the weekend, but he says he was having too much fun to stop—up to Boston, down to Philly, and all over in between before returning to his home on Long Island. He’s been driving the P1800 enthusiastically ever since. On September 24th of last year, he hit 3 million miles.

I don’t think I’ve travelled three million miles in my lifetime, let alone in one car.