Category: Weekly digest

Life
A busy and tiring last fortnight. Made the most of the Autumn weather and had a couple of trips out to Perthshire. Both were glorious and really pleased with the camera and drone shots like the one below.

Also enjoying the new Apple Watch although I do have some niggles. Hope to get a post up later this week on the last 4 weeks of use.

Media
Forza Horizon 4 is just fantastic. A blip last week stopped multiplayer working smoothly but it’s a realy fun game with loads to do and enjoy. However, it won’t get much playtime over the coming weeks…

Red Dead Redemption 2 came out Friday and it looks stunning on the Xbox One X. Proper 4k and HDR and so far it looks and plays really well. I’ve only put around 6 hours in and it does get off to a slow start but the game soon starts to unveil more depth and suddenly there is tons to do but all at your own pace.

Links

• The Making of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2A small glimpse into Rockstar and how they make games.
• Red Dead Redemption 2’s labor controversy, explained – PolygonUgly side of these massive games – surely this needs to change?
• Did I Make a Mistake Selling Del.icio.us to Yahoo?Um, yes.
• 100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know ItClassics…and I know most of them!
• How McLaren Learned to Treat its Formula One Pit Crew Like Athletes | WIREDPit stops are still hypnotic to watch.
• Raye Montague, the Navy’s ‘Hidden Figure’ Ship Designer, Dies at 83 – The New York TimesGreat story, how many other unknowns are out there?
• A Dark Consensus About Screens and Kids Begins to Emerge in Silicon Valley – The New York TimesYou can see why Google and Apple are adding more controls and also reports around how much we use these devices.
• Apple News’s Radical Approach: Humans Over Machines – The New York TimesApple’s approach is very different to almost everyone else.
• I Know the Salaries of Thousands of Tech Employees – Power Trip – MediumLove the transparency here. I wonder what the impact would be if saleries were no longer private?
• Time Traveler by Merriam-WebsterNew words from the year you were born. My fav’s (from 1973) – diskette, fact-check, quango.

Life
Good weekend. Tickled a couple of websites, bit of DIY, out with the camera this evening and actually got some sleep unlike most of last week.

Media
Forza Horizon is just fantastic.

Holedown on iOS and Android is well worth playing. One of the best mobile games this year – so addictive.

Doctor Who – looked fantastic tonight. Well done all.

Links

• How to switch from Mac to Windows in 2018 — QuartzHardly anyone would do this 5 years ago. Now, not so sure.
• Why it’s hard to read the time on Infograph – Marco.orgLove the Apple Watch…but the faces need some work.
• Exploring Custom watchOS Watch Faces – David Smith, Independent iOS DeveloperHello Apple?
• How Google Pixel 3’s Camera Works Wonders With Just One Rear Lens | WIREDThe Pixel takes a really good picture…shame it’s Android.
• Why you have (probably) already bought your last car – BBC NewsMaybe a bit early to say this but when sorting a car last year it did cross my mind. The next 10 years could see the same disruption that phones have seen over the last decade.
• The Battle for the Home – Stratechery by Ben ThompsonEvery tech company is targetting the home. I think it’s hard to see past Amazon at the moment.

Life
Autumn has landed – from a gorgeous day on Saturday to…well…shitty rain and wind. Glad I got out and about up North yesterday and saw some of the Autumn colours.

Also been using the new Apple Watch for over a week now and really enjoying it. Big upgrade (for me) over the Series 0.

Media
Doctor Who – great first episode. Jodie Whittaker nailed it, the writing and story were pretty good and the reworked music also landed.

Ant-Man and the Wasp – watchable follow up although nothing very original about it.

Forza Horizon 4 – stunning looking game. Set in the UK and really enjoyable first few days with it, even if the streets are too clean.

Links

• HMS Queen Elizabeth first deck landings | Royal Navy – YouTubeFinally…been a long journey.
• Patrick Kielty on Twitter: “Dear @BorisJohnson, There is no better Brexit when it comes to the Good Friday Agreement and Northern Ireland. As you still seem bamboozled by all this Paddywackery here’s a few pointers for your next stab in the dark -… htGreat read from someone that actually understands the issue with borders in Ireland. Tired of the fakers talking constant bullshit.
• One Small Step for the Web… – Tim Berners-Lee – MediumInteresting…hopefully this leads to something of substance.
• Opinion | A Wise Man Leaves Facebook – The New York TimesGreat article on whats going on at Instagram.
• Six years in the making – YouTubeEmotional video from Chris on the lows and highs as he clinched his first championship.
• iPhone XS: Why It’s A Whole New Camera – HalideDetailed breakdown on why the XS camera is a big step up on the X. Tempting to upgrade but I’ll stick with the X for another year.
• Apple Park | FlickrThe detail of this model is jaw dropping.
• Voice Phishing Scams Are Getting More Clever — Krebs on SecurityBe careful out there. Scams are getting ever more believable.
• The death of Sheku Bayoh brings shame on Scottish justice yet again | Kevin McKenna | Opinion | The GuardianNeeds to be a public enquiry on this. Shameful.
• Wi-Fi now has version numbers, and Wi-Fi 6 comes out next year – The VergeAnother finally. The letters never made sense…hear that Apple?
• The split-second choreography of a long one-shotSo good. The effort to capture this shot is amazing. I would have sworn this was some camera trick rather than lots of people, a great set and some slick timing.
• Star Trek DiscoverySeason 2 looking good.
• Native Argentine Landscapes Explored in New Hand-Tufted Rugs by Alexandra Kehayoglou | ColossalThese look so good but if you need to ask the price you can’t afford them.

Life
A bit late with the update. On holiday from work (back tomorrow) and busy fixing the house, taking photo’s and flying a drone. Normal stuff really. Links this week are pretty Apple heavy – fun fun fun!

Media
Solo – average film and would have probably ditched it half way through if it wasn’t a Star Wars movie.

Bodyguard – well done all involved. Stuck the landing and plenty left to take another series forward.

Links

• Hillary Clinton: American Democracy Is in Crisis – The AtlanticSurprised it’s taken this long for Clinton to speak out.
• Twitter will soon let you switch between chronological and ranked feeds – The Verge
  Finally! I’ve no problem with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram messing around with timelines to ‘improve engagement’, just give me a toggle if I want to see chronilogical posts. Ruins Twitter as an event platform. Ruins Instagram when someone is posting images from an event or in sequence and they are randomly displayed to others.
• Henry – Rob Delaney – MediumThis is a hard read…tears ahead…but it’s so powerful. Best thing I’ve read in months.
• An Oral History of Apple’s Infinite Loop | WIREDSo many great stories.
• Daring Fireball: The iPhones XSLoads of reviews of the new phones from Apple but favourite was definetely Grubers and the focus on the camera improvements.
• iPhone XS Camera Review: Zanzibar — Austin MannA phone in the right hands can take some stunning pictures.
• Bokeh Comparison: iPhone XS vs. Sony A7 III — zeiPADSimilar to last year, this shows just what is possible now with a phone.
• Inside Apple’s iPhone XS Camera Technology – Lance Ulanoff – MediumBehind the scenes on the new XS camera’s.
• Daring Fireball: Apple Watch Series 4Grubers watch review was also a favourite. Looking forward to mine later this week.
• Apple Watch Series 4 Making of Fire, Water and Vapor faces – YouTubeI thought these were CGI – wrong!
• macOS Mojave: The MacStories Review – MacStoriesThe last (Apple) review is on Mojave – an interesting release.
• Jawdropping. What are the chances…and I guess someone somewhere is going to make a film on this.
• Incarcerated at Age 11 – Youth, Now – MediumSobering read.
• Instagram’s Co-Founders to Step Down From Company – The New York TimesShocker. Are we going to get even more ad’s now?
• The DJI Mavic 2 Pro: The best portable drone ever? – YouTubeFantastic review of the Mavic 2 Pro.
• Down to the last lap | Caterham Academy RacerCongratulations to my podcasting partner in crime for clinching the championship this year. Video’s are up on YouTube if you want to see some close racing.

Life
Weather has turned and I’ve got the next 10 days off. Woo hoo. The break will be good though no matter what the weather has in store.

Media
The Mighty Redcar – loving this. Great documentary – Redcar reminds me of Barrow. The soundtrack is also one of the best I’ve heard in years. Grab it on Apple Music or Spotify.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – Formulaic and predictable. Yawn.

Links

• Racism, the New Right and Media Failure – Bella CaledoniaThis is bang on – why Bannon is so dangerous.
• Amazon delivery drivers reveal claims of disturbing work conditions – Business InsiderAmazon have a lot to answer for.
• How Apple Watch saved my life | ZDNetEven a handful of stories like this show how important these devices are going to be as they get smarter.
• Daring Fireball: Thoughts and Observations on Apple’s iPhone XS/XR and Series 4 Apple Watch Introductory EventGood summary of what was and wasn’t shown by Apple this week.
• Exclusive: Apple designer Jony Ive on the new iPhone and Apple Watch – The Washington Post
  The watch was the star this week.
• Apple engineer Ken Kocienda on what it was like to design the original iPhone — QuartzAuthor of a great new book on how the original iPhone, and Apple, approached design and development.
• Making useful three-dimensional mapsSo smart.
• The map we need if we want to think about how global living conditions are changing – Our World in DataAnother great visualisation.
• Why the world is full of buttons that don’t work – CNN StyleDoor closing buttons in lifts are all fake – don’t care what anyone says.
• How the Weather Channel Made That Insane Hurricane Florence Storm Surge Animation | WIREDWow. All done with a gaming engine too.

Life
New toys arrived. Mavic 2 Pro – faster, longer battery, great range and a much improved image. A lot to like. Looking forward to some time off later in the month and getting some drone and normal pic’s out and about around Scotland.

Media
Bodyguard – gets better and better
Press – well made, great cast but flat opening for me
Hang Ups – so funny

Links

• Inside Twitter’s Long, Slow Struggle to Police Bad Actors – WSJ
  When Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey testifies before Congress this week, he’ll likely be asked about an issue that has been hovering over the company: Just who decides whether a user gets kicked off the site?
  Still prefer Twitter to Facebook, Masterdon etc and they’ve finally kicked off Alex Jones but there no doubting it’s become more toxic over the years.
• Colin Kaepernick, Face of N.F.L. Protests, Is Face of New Nike Campaign – The New York TimesGreat move by Nike. Sales up and they stop right wing white supremists from using their products.
• The Scunthorpe problem: When regular people get caught in the internet’s profanity filter — QuartzWelcome to my world 🙂
• My vision for a more tech-driven NHS – GOV.UK
  Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock’s speech at NHS Expo 2018.
  Don’t trust the Tories with the NHS but this post plus appointing Ben Goldacre is a good step. Will watch this with interest.
• KristoferA’s blog: Things you probably don’t want to do on your [airline] website’s payment pagesWhat. A. Fucking. Mess.
• commentThe Surprising Inspiration Behind Monument Valley’s Most Beautiful Levels | The Work Behind The WorkLoved the game and would never have guessed what lead to some of the level designs.
• Serena Williams’s U.S. Open Loss Was Humiliating—But Not For Her – The AtlanticGreat read – she has been treated terribly.
• Cameron Cox on Twitter: “Everyone should listen to this from Serena Williams.… “And this answer by Serena in the press conference should be heard by all.
• Opinion | I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration – The New York Times
  I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
  At least someone is fighting. But really, this is batshit bonkers stuff. It’s like a never ending Veep.
• Google turns 20: how an internet search engine reshaped the world – The VergeStill use so many Google products daya to day – quite the impact.

Life
6 months since buying my last drone…I may have bought another. There’s no may about it, the Mavic 2 Pro is currently on it’s way from China. Can’t wait to fly it and see the image improvements.

Media
Finsihed All or Nothing but it got a bit samey though the season and the last couple felt very padded. Interesting insight.

Bodyguard on BBC. Oooof – loved it. Jed Mercurio is at the top of his talents right now and Bodyguard got off to a flier – the cast were top notch too.

Links

• 2011 pocket camera vs. 2017 iPhone 8 Plus | The RobservatoryNot long until this years iPhones are laucnhed and we know every year the camera gets better, but this post comparing a 2011 pocket camera to last years iPhone shocked me. The pace of technology is staggering sometimes.
• Trump Claims Google Didn’t Promote His State Of The Union. Google And This Screenshot Say Otherwise.More bullshit. More right wing nonsense. The game is on, they want to control the message and social media doesn’t let them.
• How Ikea quietly tweaks its design around the world
  The Swedish furniture company just opened its first store in India–and just like Ikea does in most countries, it has carefully adjusted the inventory, design, and even food to fit local tastes.Never realised this…but of course they do.
• Franken-algorithms: the deadly consequences of unpredictable code | Technology | The Guardian
  The death of a woman hit by a self-driving car highlights an unfolding technological crisis, as code piled on code creates ‘a universe no one fully understands’
  I can only imagine that testing/debugging this is the stuff of nightmares.
• Tales from the far-flung Faroes – BBC News
  The people who live on remote rocks in the North Atlantic.
  Some amazing stories. The community is just clinging on in some of the islands.
• Scotland’s free tampons for students are the mark of an evolved civilization — QuartzWell done Scotland – should be proud of the steps we are taking.
• How to teach yourself hard things – Julia EvansReally enjoyed this. Lots to learn.