People often falsely assume I advocate and use Apple products because I think they’re trendy or because I’m some kind of gadget freak.
The truth is our world is awash with badly designed, badly crafted things. Apple is one of the few havens in a sea of people and organisations that don’t give a fuck about the details. Attention to detail is why I use Apple products:
In July 2002, Apple filed a patent for a “Breathing Status LED Indicator” …They described it as a “blinking effect of the sleep-mode indicator in accordance with the present invention mimics the rhythm of breathing which is psychologically appealing.”
The other day, I noticed that my friend’s Dell laptop had a similar feature but with a shorter fade-in-fade-out period. Its rate was around 40 blinks per second, or the average respiratory rate for adults during strenuous exercise — not very indicative of something in sleep-mode.
It’s interesting how a lot of companies try to copy Apple but never seem to get it right. This is yet another example of Apple’s obsessive attention to detail.
Understated, via Mission Mission.
iPhonific. TUAW has the low-down:
The idea is that you shoot, edit and upload your photos entirely with the iPhone.
HungrySeacow Software has just released version 2 of YummySoup, my favourite recipe management software for the Mac.
With this version they’ve introduced a weekly meal planner and the ability to easily share recipes (subscribe to my favourite recipes).
They say they have an iPad and iPhone version in the works too.
Props to Iceland for going ahead with plans to pass the world’s strongest freedom of speech laws.
Time to look for a new web host in Iceland.
There are hundreds of parodies of this “Downfall” clip. The studio, Constantin Films, has ordered takedowns of some of them, and eventually even had this parody removed from YouTube. In this clip, Hitler is the producer, and his lawyers tell him why he can’t do a DMCA takedown and how the EFF could stop him. He desperately searches for other ways to protect the movie. Click through for the video.
I’ve been thinking about getting one of these Zepii electric scooters from The London Electric Scooter Company (they’ve just launched their website). You can watch a hands-on review here by Jason Bradbury of the UK’s Gadget Show, when they were first released a year ago. Relatively low carbon footprint. No emissions (if you’re electrical supply is renewable). No road tax. No congestion charges. Costs about £60 in electricity to run a year.
Great chart by Information is Beautiful:
It’s a “balloon race”. The higher a bubble, the greater the evidence for its effectiveness. But the supplements are only effective for the conditions listed inside the bubble. You might also see multiple bubbles for certain supplements. These is because some supplements affect a range of conditions, but the evidence quality varies from condition to condition. For example, there’s strong evidence that Green Tea is good for cholesterol levels. But evidence for its anti-cancer effects is conflicting.