I just read and enjoyed this:
Social media platforms repeatedly use so-called dark patterns to nudge you toward giving away more of your data.
Read “How Facebook and Other Sites Manipulate Your Privacy Choices”
Author: chriwim
Recommended Reading: A Constructive Look At TempleOS
I just read and enjoyed this:
TempleOS is somewhat of a legend in the operating system community. Its sole author, Terry A. Davis, has spent the past 12 years attempting to create a new operating from scratch. Terry explains that God has instructed him to construct a temple, a 640×480 covenant of perfection.
Copy & Paste the Real World into Cyberspace
A very clever and impressive tech demo by Cyril Diagne allows you to copy & paste objects from your real-world surroundings into Photoshop using your smartphone:
4/10 – Cut & paste your surroundings to Photoshop
Code: https://t.co/cVddH3u3ik
Book: @HOLOmagazine
Garment: SS17 by @thekarentopacio
Type: Sainte Colombe by @MinetYoann @ProductionType
Technical Insights: ↓#ML #AR #AI #AIUX #Adobe #Photoshop pic.twitter.com/LkTBe0t0rF— Cyril Diagne (@cyrildiagne) May 3, 2020
The code is available on GitHub and it’s probably worth pointing out that BASNet, the machine learning smarts responsible for object recognition, are available on GitHub as well.
Recommended Reading: A year without conferences? How the coronavirus pandemic could change research
I just read and enjoyed this:
This is shaping up to be an unusual year — it might even be the year scientists stop going to conferences.
Read “A year without conferences? How the coronavirus pandemic could change research”
Recommended Reading: What the Death of iTunes Says About Our Digital Habits
I just read and enjoyed this:
The abandonment of iTunes heralded a broader shift in how Americans are assumed to approach their digital lives. You could call it the victory of Gmail. When it debuted in 2004, Google’s email software offered Americans a revolutionary new way of thinking about their digital footprint: Don’t.
Read “What the Death of iTunes Says About Our Digital Habits”
Previously: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
Recommended Reading: Computer Files Are Going Extinct
I love files. I love renaming them, moving them, sorting them, changing how they’re displayed in a folder, backing them up, uploading them to the internet, restoring them, copying them, and hey, even defragging them.
There are some good observations on how development has changed as well:
Years ago websites were made of files; now they are made of dependencies.
The other day, I came across a website I’d written over two decades ago. I double-clicked the file, and it opened and ran perfectly. Then I tried to run a website I’d written 18 months ago and found I couldn’t run it without firing up a web server, and when I ran NPM install, one or two of those 65,000 files had issues that meant node failed to install them and the website didn’t run. When I did get it working, it needed a database. And then it relied on some third-party APIs and there was an issue with CORS because I hadn’t whitelisted localhost.
Larry Tesler passed away
A very sad loss. Read John Markoff’s obituary for the New York Times here.
Most of the press is highlighting the invention of cut/copy/paste as his greatest contribution, while others are highlighting his passionate aversion against modes, but when I hear the name Larry Tesler, I’ll always think first of his law of the conservation of complexity.
Virtual Reality Apartment in Oculus Quest
Pretty neat. A great example of how VR and AR connect.
Recommended Reading: How ‘dark patterns’ influence travel bookings
I just read and enjoyed this:
If you’ve wondered whether there were actually 30 people trying to book the same flight as you, you’re not alone. As Chris Baraniuk finds, the numbers may not be all they seem.Ophir Harpaz just wanted to get a good deal on a flight to London.
Recommended Reading: The Endless, Invisible Persuasion Tactics of the Internet
I just read and enjoyed this:
Even the cheesiest, most cloyingly overearnest romance movies lack the pathos of the pop-up notifications you get when you cancel an online subscription.
Read “The Endless, Invisible Persuasion Tactics of the Internet”
engadgeted 