Reviews and other ponderings
In computing, a checksum is like a canary in a mine. It’s a number used to confirm that a much larger group of numbers is consistent and has not been been changed in some way. A tiny little indicator which does nothing by itself, and only serves to confirm the whole. My favourite example of [...]
I read an article yesterday (here) which purports to be a professional footballer (soccer player, for US readers) moaning about the poor standards of commentary produced by former professional footballers. Now, I am not a football fan, so bear with me. His main point seems to be that even though these former players know the [...]
I want to quickly put an unpopular opinion on record. I have a strong suspicion that Murdoch’s decision to charge for access to The Times Online will not fail. Clay Shirky, says the opposite here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/05/clay-shirky-internet-television-newspapers I have read a lot in the last few months which takes it for granted that the paywall experiment [...]
When Steve Jobs saw the first LaserWriter, in 1982, he seems to have had one of his great moments of insight. He knew that this was going to change the world. In fact, he immediately tried to buy the company, Adobe, who had invented it, but they turned him down. Undeterred, he got Apple to [...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/10/audiobooks-listeners-travel The above link leads to a Guardian piece by Mark Lawson, where he argues – sorry, let me rephrase that – he states that audiobooks infantilise the reader. Novels should be read in silence. Note the use of ‘should’, like a prissy TV chef insisting on the use of only the finest olive oil. [...]