Bookmarks for May 23, 2014

  • On the Future of MetaFilter – Marco.org
    Marco Arment discussing the Google-inflicted problems MetaFilter are having, pretty much nails what I consider a reasonable and sane attitude to Google: "People wonder why I’m so skeptical of Google and careful not to rely on them for too much. This is why: they’re in this unassailable position of absolute monopoly power for such a massive part of web publishing because too many people aren’t so skeptical."

Bookmarks for May 24, 2012

  • Kosmograd: Olympics Brand Exclusion Zone
    If I know anyone who lives in these zones (and I suspect I do) I *strongly* encourage you to buy competitor products, and leave them prominently in your windows. And, indeed, to pass this idea on. It would be *lovely* if the streets in these areas were plastered with the logos of competing brands – not as paid for advertising, but just as spontaneous citizen reclamation of the space that belongs to them, not to advertisers and marketers.

Bookmarks for April 10, 2012

Bookmarks for February 6, 2012

  • The ‘Eggs In One Basket’ Index – SplatF
    Dan Frommer take a look at major tech firms, and what percentage of their revenue is generated from for their largest revenue source. I was saying the other day that I would be happy to pay google a lot for their services, in exchange for an advertising-and-tracking free experience. I look at this chart, and I realise that it might even make (some) sense for Google to offer that option, just from a diversification-of-revenue point of view. I don't expect they will, and I'm sure there are big hurdles in their way that would stop it, but still, there's an awful lot of eggs in the advertising basket, there.
  • Britons give more to donkey sanctuary than abuse charities | Money | The Guardian
    This statistic is four years old, but I bet it's still true. People always look at me funny when I occasionally express my serious disgust with people who given to animal charities. I'm familiar with the walk-and-chew-gum theory, and indeed, use it myself when arguing for things like funding for the space programme, but that's an apples-and-oranges comparison – tech progress vs. abuse – while this is directly a "which abuse is worse" like-for-like comparison, at least to me. And many people appear to prefer to spend the money that they have available to spend on animals, instead of people. Because it really matter when someone shoves a cat in a bin, but much less when someone shoves their fist in someone else's face.
  • Who the hell do Camden Council think they are?
    Unfuckingreal. Local council decide that what residents really want, when hanging out in communal gardens of their flats, is a) to be on camera, and b) to have that camera tell them in the disembodied voice of authority to move on, or their photos will be "sent for processing". This photo of them, in their own garden.

Bookmarks for August 24, 2011

Bookmarks for July 7, 2011

Links for Wednesday January 5th 2011 through Thursday January 6th 2011

  • The Tearoom of Despair: Last night The Invisibles saved my life (24-month countdown remix)
    If you have not read the Invisibles then you should have. If you have read the Invisibles then you may enjoy this reminiscence of the experience of reading it for the first time.
    Tags: comics
  • Ninth Art: for the discerning reader
    Minor pleasure of the day: getting 9A back on one of it's original two domains. If the person who jumped on ninthart.com the instant that ISP incompetence cause it to lapse is reading this: please can we have it back? There's still hundreds of links pointing to your site that are dead. I will buy you the domain of your choice in exchange?
    Tags: trivia, 9a
  • Android Isn’t About Building a Mobile Platform | TightWind
    Solid analysis of Google's behaviour and strategy in respect of Android and the bigger picture. It's why I tend to call bullshit on their mantra a bit re: their evilness, because I would prefer to be the customer, not the product sold. I will admit that for a company set on selling me as a product, they provide a much better service than most in exchange, but even that's not all good, as it means they tend to blow away paid-for competition that does stuff (or might do stuff) better than they do.