Hollywood Reporter reveals that the 23rd Bond installment will be titled:
Skyfall
Director Sam Mendes indicated the movie would involve shooting at the following locations:
London, Shanghai, Istanbul, Turkey, and Scotland
As with any Bond film, I’ll be eager to see it in theaters once released. With the 007 franchise, you can love it or hate it, but you know exactly what kind of movie you’re going to get.
(via df)
A take on the Google Reader update from former Google Reader Project Manager, Brian Shih:
Google released the previously announced set of changes around G+ integration and UI updates today, and boy is it a disaster.
He continues on visuals:
Taking the UI paradigm for G+ and mashing it onto Reader without any apparent regard for the underlying function is awful and it shows.
His take on Google+ integration:
Ok, before we get started – let me be very clear about one thing. I think integration with G+ should happen. Reader friends should be managed in the same place you manage G+, with the same metaphors (whether you think they’re flawed or not). Sharing should utilize the same infrastructure and plumbing that G+ does. I am not objecting to any of these things. Google has clearly made its bets with G+, and Reader should be part of those plans.
I find his views on the money. Google has every right to integrate Google+, but why do they trash the sharing functionality of Google Reader in the process? I understand that Google is trying to focus, even though it conflicts with their release-everything-as-a-beta-product DNA.
My discontent with the new Reader lies in the sharing workflow. It’s too many steps, as Brian explains:
But the new sharing flow around the +1 button has actually made it harder to share. Where you used to be able to click one button, or hit shift-s to one-click share to your audience, you now need to:
- Click +1 (no keyboard shortcuts for you)
- Click the text box that appears that says “Share to G+”
- Then choose your circle you want to share to (or let it default to public)
- Then click Share
Keep in mind that on top of requiring 3-4 times as many clicks, you also now must +1 a post publicly to share it, even if it’s shared to a private circle. That bears repeating. The next time you want to share some sexy halloween costumes with your private set of friends, you first must publicly +1 the post, which means it shows up on your profile, plus wherever the hell G+ decides to use +1 data. So much for building a network around privacy controls.
When Reader updated, I said the same message:
Google, please separate the steps of explicitly approving content (+1) and sharing content among friends (sharing to Circles). Just place “Share to Circle(s)” between “+1″ and “Email” under each Google Reader content piece.
While I didn’t spell out the new workflow as Brian did, I was talking about the same issue. Why does Reader make you +1 content that you don’t necessarily want to +1 before you are allowed to share? Why does Reader make you take at least 3 steps now compared to 1 step (hitting shift+S) before?
Luckily, there is a non-intuitive solution if you want to share Reader content to Google+ Circles. Brian shares:
If you click on the top right “Share…” field on the OneGoogle bar, you can bypass the +1 button. It’s just completely undiscoverable.
Ultimately, Google has every right to change Reader as it sees fit. Google provides Reader as a free product to users who derive some benefit. Google wants to align its products toward its bottom line, so they made Google+ the de facto sharing system of Reader. That said, users just want to 1.) read news & 2.) share content. It’s a shame that this latest update made #2 a bloated process.
(via googlesystem)
This post is all semantics and concerns Google Reader. Knowing fully well that most people have never heard of Google Reader (this guy uses it), allow me to rant.
Once upon a time, Facebook rolled out the Like button. It was widely adopted across the web.
Facebook Like Button
Facebook defines the like button as:
The Like button lets a user share your content with friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your website.
In the definition, there is no explicit indication that the Facebook user approves/enjoys/etc. the content shared. But as anyone who speaks English will tell you, Liking something indicates that you find the content shared agreeable.
Not surprisingly, this has led to countless occasions where Facebook users have ‘Liked’ content that they do not (in plain English) like. See this bit about AT&T users on Facebook.
Updated Google Reader Screenshot
Today, Google rolled out their Google Reader update.
Before today’s update, you could Star, Like, Share, Share with note, Email, Keep Unread, and Tag Google Reader content. Those are each separate, independent actions:
Google Reader - Before Update Actions
Google defines sharing content as:
When you find interesting items on Reader, you can choose to share them on Google+ publicly, or with a certain circles or friends. You can also add a comment in the sharebox to your shared items. Your comment will show up along with the item you’ve recommended in the streams of those you’ve shared with.
Today, you can Star, +1, Email, Keep Unread, or Tag Google Reader content:
Google Reader - Updated Actions
I’m OK with this except for one workflow detail. Before you can share any Google Reader item, you need to first +1 it.
Google explains that +1 means:
+1 gets conversations going. Click the +1 button to give something your public stamp of approval. Then, if you want to share right away, add a comment and send it to the right circles on Google+.
The ability to +1 a feed item (replacing “Like”), with an option to then share it with your circles on Google+ (replacing “Share” and “Share with Note”).
The Google Reader update makes you give your “stamp of approval” on content before you can share it with friends. With content on the internet, there is plausibly content that you want to share (because you find it interesting) but do not approve of. For me, the Google Reader content that I Like (in the broadest sense of enjoying and approving of content) is a small subset of content that I Share. But interesting content (shared) & approved content (liked) don’t need to intersect.
Google has a superior system in place. By that, I mean that +1 & sharing to Circles are two distinct actions in Google+ VS the conflated Like action in Facebook. Google, please separate the steps of explicitly approving content (+1) and sharing content among friends (sharing to Circles). Just place “Share to Circle(s)” between “+1” and “Email” under each Google Reader content piece.
Update 11/10/11: Share has been added.
Yuri Milner (left) by Debray Riveros
From a Wired profile of Yuri Milner:
The theory holds that the Internet is an advertising medium where users themselves create the vast amount of content. In other words, as Milner understands it, the same ocean of advertising revenues that have gone to traditional media might now go to the Internet, but without the offsetting costs of having to actually create content. Voilá.
“From margin standpoint,” Milner notes, “this is very magical.”
This isn’t breaking news in 2011, but it is a controversial point that users do all the work while companies (Facebook, Twitter, etc) get all the profit.
This is why in 2011, creating a web app can be done overnight, but traction on yet another freemium service is so hard to get.
When you think of a thermostat, what comes to mind? I picture an old, off-white colored box that’s dusty and sort of works. You know the kind I’m talking about that exists in American homes which nobody gives any thought to.
Typical Household Thermostat
Nest Labs, ran by Tony Fadell (of Apple iPod fame), just introduced their new thermostat on Techcrunch.
Did I ever think I would be posting about a thermostat? No, but this one has obvious iPod inspired DNA.
Nest Thermostat (via TC)
The Nest is simply a giant circle that you can turn left or right to decrease or increase the temperature. Oh yeah, it has one button on the screen in front. Does that sound familiar?
iPod
Also, the Nest appears to have a proximity sensor and has smartphone level guts. The latter (smartphone processing power) doesn’t do much to set itself apart on today’s market.
I don’t know what the current market for expensive thermostats looks like. Price-wise, the Nest is surely an expensive luxury product compared to your Vanilla off the shelf thermostat. But then the dollar amount for the Nest is relatively insignificant when it comes to your home’s central heating & A/C system. If you’re renting or selling your house, the Nest would be an easy way to increase the overall value of the property by more than the cost of the Nest.
While the Nest is nice, I don’t see people running out and buying it if their current thermostat is in an OK working condition. But as discussed in the previous paragraph, it could be a relatively inexpensive investment to set your home apart if you’re doing extensive renovations anyways.
I’m not in the target market for the Nest, but it’s nice to see startups target hardware. With Square, Fitbit, and Nest, it’s nice to see startups tackle “market disruption” via a non-CRUD web app.
Even if you live under a rock, I’m sure you’ve seen these. 2011 & 2012 is sure to be a wallet busting period with such AAA titles coming out.
The game is going to sell well, despite what haters say. Just like the iPhone 4S (in terms of haters and still breaking record sales).
Personally, I’m skipping MW3 due to the Activision/IW drama, but your average gamer doesn’t care.
I need to find a way to play this. The first and 2nd were some of the most beautiful and fun games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. Maybe I’ll bring my PS3 to NY.
Uncharted 2 was one of the few games where I actually finished the single player more than once (including the hardest mode). Sadly, I can’t even make this statement for games that deserve replays like Mass Effect 2 & Deus Ex: HR.
Asylum was good times, even if some of the melee challenge rooms were very hard. I’ll wait for this game to hit Steam as GOTY (with all DLC) several months down the road for like 20 bucks.
Side note: so many games are on sale for fractions of the $60 suggested new game retail price within a couple months on Steam or through traditional retailers. Add to the fact that all the DLC is included in a definitive GOTY edition, you can save tons of money if you have any patience at all.
This game will come out on Blizzard time, so maybe sometime before 2012 is over.
As much as I want to play it, I’ll probably have to skip it to avoid ruining my life. Not even kidding when I say that this game will cause me to get absolutely nothing done for years of my life looking back. I mean that as both a compliment to the quality of the addictive gameplay and in a scary, I’m not kidding sort of way.
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm.
What’s there to say besides I’ll be on this like white on rice. I made a quick and dirty SC2 playlist of IGN uploaded videos from Blizzcon that show the new units in action. The gameplay will get adjusted prior to HotS launch, but the new units already look like it will stir things up in a good way.
Via HN, Wikipedia states Betteridge’s Law of Headlines:
Any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word ‘no’.
If you think about it, this makes sense. Articles that could be answered by ‘yes’ choose to state the news in the headline rather than asking a fake question.
Or as Wikipedia explains it, “The maxim trends towards being universally true because of a simple principle of headline writing: if a story has enough sources to have a high chance of accuracy, a headline will be assertive”.
This interests me as it’s a news headline hack that tends to work. Find out the answer without having to go past the jump.
Starting October 10th, 2011:
A bold experiment in distributed education, “Introduction to Databases” is being offered free and online to students worldwide, October 10 – December 12, 2011. Students have access to lecture videos, are given assignments and exams, receive regular feedback on progress, and participate in a discussion forum. Those who successfully complete the course will receive a statement of accomplishment. Taught by Professor Jennifer Widom, the curriculum draws from Stanford’s popular Introduction to Databases course.
If you’re interested in software or technology, databases are incredibly relevant to modern day computing. This free course may be technologically tough, but it will reward you with insights that you will be able to apply somewhere.
The elevator of success is out of service. So please take the stairs.
That’s the great opening line from EggsTravaganza, a local NYC food cart, in the video below. I’m sure they didn’t come up with it, but it’s a great saying.
This reminds me of Mark Cuban’s post about how he fought the good fight non-stop to get where he is today.
Hey Access Main Computer File,
This is straight out of the future, but it’s here today.
From a place you equate with the golden days of yesterday, the Waldorf Astoria has a nice video map in the lobby:
This impressed me, because it’s 1.) helpful and 2.) something you would see in today’s video games.