Bill Gates Built a Machine For His Ice Bucket Challenge
Bill Gates turned his Ice Bucket Challenge into a little engineering demo, complete with a rope-and-pulley rig, and it's the first version of this meme that's actually made me stop scrolling.
Tech News
Tech News
Facebook Finally Forced Me Onto Messenger
Facebook finally forced me off in-app chat and onto the standalone Messenger app this week - plus some thoughts on the permissions hoax clogging everyone's feed.
That Full-Page Ad in the Times This Morning
Authors United took out a full-page New York Times ad today over Amazon's dispute with Hachette. Some thoughts on why they went print, and why the ad's clean villain story doesn't quite match how messy this fight actually is.
I Played With a Fire Phone and I Have Thoughts
I finally played with an Amazon Fire Phone at the AT&T store and walked away thinking Dynamic Perspective is a neat trick with nothing behind it.
So Now Everyone Wants to Carpool With Strangers
Uber launched uberPOOL and Lyft answered with Lyft Line within a day of each other this week in San Francisco. Some thoughts on the pricing, the copycat speed, and why I'm not sure I want to carpool with a stranger.
Playing With Amazon's Fire Phone So You Don't Have To
A hands-on look at Amazon's Fire Phone in an AT&T store a week after launch, and why the Dynamic Perspective gimmick wears off fast once the price tag sinks in.
A Week With the Fire Phone (In Someone Else's Hands)
I finally messed around with Amazon's Fire Phone at an AT&T demo counter this week, and the headline gimmicks left me a lot colder than the launch hype suggested.
Twitter's Timeline Views Number Doesn't Mean What You Think
Twitter's stock jumped 30 percent on a new "timeline views" metric nobody bothered to define, and I have some thoughts about vanity numbers, pageview anxiety, and short squeezes.
I Played With the Fire Phone at Lunch and I'm Still Not Buying One
A lunch-break trip to the AT&T store to try Amazon's new Fire Phone left me unimpressed by Dynamic Perspective and unwilling to pay $199 to get locked into it.
An Afternoon With the Fire Phone at the AT&T Store
I went and played with Amazon's new Fire Phone at the AT&T store on my lunch break. Dynamic Perspective is a neat trick that gave me a mild headache, and Firefly is basically a very good "buy this on Amazon" button.
I Went and Looked at the Fire Phone So You Don't Have To
I finally got my hands on Amazon's new Fire Phone at an AT&T store. Dynamic Perspective is a neat trick, Firefly is honest about what the phone is really for, and the price still doesn't make sense.
The Fire Phone Went On Sale Today, and I Still Don't Have AT&T
Amazon's Fire Phone hit AT&T stores today. After tilting one back and forth at a mall kiosk for ten minutes, I'm convinced Dynamic Perspective is a magic trick, not a feature.