Mecandes' Humble Abode

Review of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Mecandes — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:51:43 +0000

Having surprised myself by quite enjoying Commodore: A Company on the Edge by Bagnall, I decided to try the Steve Jobs biography by Isaacson. We’ve just come [...]

A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs – NYTimes.com

Mecandes — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:32:20 +0000

Shared by Mecandes "Death didn’t happen to Steve, he achieved it." At a memorial service for her brother, Mona Simpson recalled his love of beauty and his family, and his final moments.

A panoply of moons and rings

Mecandes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:43:16 +0000

Take four moons, some rings, a schoolbus-sized spacecraft, and mix them together. What do you get? Magnificence. That stunning shot is from the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. The big moon is Titan, and by big, I mean bigger than the planet Mercur...

50 Graphic tributes to Steve Jobs

Mecandes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:09:06 +0000

With the passing of Steve Jobs this month, designers around the world are creating tributes. Considering the impact Jobs had on the technology and design fields, it’s not surprising to see the number of creative designs created to pay homage to his l...

Jonathan Ive: Steve Jobs stole my ideas

Mecandes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:30:41 +0000

Shared by Mecandes Will definitely be interesting to see what comes from Ives from now on... Apple's design wizard, Jonathan Ive, considered Jobs a friend. But he bristled when the Apple chief took credit for his ideas.

Official Google Reader Blog: Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-up

Mecandes — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:01:30 +0000

Shared by Mecandes I have been interested to see whether they would integrate Reader with Google+, but not pleased to see them removing features; I make a lot of use of my shared item page and feed. Many of Reader's social features will soon be avai...

Angry Birds Creator Rovio Eyes $1B IPO

Mecandes — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Shared by Mecandes Investors must think the Angry Birds onslaught is only just beginning: the three year old game is worth "north of" a billion dollars? Rovio Entertainment, creator of Angry Birds, plans to launch an IPO in 2012.

Ottawa to review safety of anti-bacterial soaps – The Globe and Mail

Mecandes — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:30:26 +0000

Shared by Mecandes It probably wouldn't have occurred to me to mistrust such things; whadda ya know. ...some environmental and health advocates fear the chemical may interfere with thyroid function, promote resistant strains of bacteria or create da...

Moods on Twitter Follow Biological Rhythms, Study Finds – NYTimes.com

Mecandes — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:21:52 +0000

An analysis of Twitter messages suggests our moods are driven in part by a shared underlying biological rhythm that transcends culture and environment.

BBC News – Is the internet re-writing history?

Mecandes — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:36:01 +0000

A think-tank report claims young people are not being taught how to judge between truth and propaganda on the internet.

More Than Child’s Play: Ability to Think Scientifically Declines as Kids Grow Up

Mecandes — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

If your brownies came out too crispy on top but undercooked in the center, it would make sense to bake the next batch at a lower temperature, for more time or in a different pan--but not to make all three changes at once. Realizing that you can best te...

Stubbornness Increases the More People Tell You You’re Wrong

Mecandes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:18:56 +0000

By Duncan Geere, Wired UK A group of psychologists working at HP’s Social Computing Research Group has found that humans are more likely to change their minds when fewer, rather than more, people disagree with them. ...

Bethesda tempted by A Game of Thrones adaptation – Joystiq

Mecandes — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:45:50 +0000

Shared by Mecandes I think, like BioWare, they're probably smart to stick with their own IP. Why split the profit when your own stuff sells just as well? Bethesda was in talks to adapt George R.R. Martin's supremely popular Game of Thrones book seri...

Leaks show U.S. swayed Canada on copyright bill – thestar.com###

Mecandes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:33:35 +0000

Shared by Mecandes Dear U.S.A.: I know we're friends and all, but we don't really want to be quite this friendly. A confidential cable released by WikiLeaks shows a Canadian minister mused about letting U.S. officials see proposed legislation before...

Doctors slam alternative medicine proposal – Toronto – CBC News

Mecandes — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:48:24 +0000

Some medical groups worry that proposed guidelines on how Ontario doctors should approach alternative medicine may require physicians to accept and incorporate the practice.

Timothy Zahn’s Heir Comes of Age | GeekDad | Wired.com

Mecandes — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:20:45 +0000

If you haven't read the Thrawn Trilogy, this is a reminder of why you should.

CBC Spark: Alice Marwick on Technology Refusal

Mecandes — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:30:09 +0000

Shared by Mecandes An interesting discussion. We do need to have the freedom to discuss and critique social media services, even if they are free and their use is optional. The "if you don't like it, don't use it" argument is always an invalid respo...

Nasmith to Illustrate GAME OF THRONES

Mecandes — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:20:40 +0000

Shared by Kalanna FANTASTIC news. You've been asking for it. And now we're doing it.I'm delighted to be able to announce the forthcoming publication of a new, deluxe, limited edition of A GAME OF THRONES, to be published by my friends at Subterrane...

Hey, Bethesda! Let's settle this! : The Word of Notch

Mecandes — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:16:57 +0000

Shared by Mecandes If Bethesda's PR team has any sense left at this point, they well accept this challenge with good humour. ;) The only negative thing going on at this moment is the Scrolls trademark lawsuit nonsense, and I think I came up with th...

The Evolution of Apple Ads | Webdesigner Depot

Mecandes — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:21:20 +0000

Shared by Mecandes Fun to look back -- I kind of miss the days of text-heavy computer magazine ads. :) Apple first started advertising its products in the late 1970s.The 80s showed a wide variety of ads, some of which served to convince consumers t...

Fanbois treat criticism of favorite brands as threat to self-image

Mecandes — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Have you ever found yourself frothing at the fingertips while explaining why someone doesn't deserve to use an iPhone because of their deeply flawed sense of aesthetics? Have you been the type to declare that those who don...

Google To Acquire Motorola Mobility

Mecandes — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:22:24 +0000

Shared by Mecandes I guess we know now why Google didn't bother getting in on the Nortel patents. I wonder if anyone at Apple or Micrsoft or RIM are throwing chairs around the office this morning. Google announced early on Monday morning that it wil...

Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books : NPR##

Mecandes — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:41:07 +0000

Shared by Mecandes Way too many of these have been on my to-read list for years... More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. Explore the winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey

What If Tim Berners-Lee Had Patented The Web?

Mecandes — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:02:11 +0000

You may have seen the stories a week or so ago about how it was the 20th anniversary of Tim Berners-Lee putting up the first web page. While many, many people still confuse "the web" with "the internet," Berners-Lee's creation really did help take wha...