Worth reading but looooooooong.

Worth reading but looooooooong.

Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger

I occasionally will write a long article. This article is, I have to say, longer than even what I would write. But it explains a tremendous number of really important things extremely clearly: power production and use, the history of cars, how these things all fit together, and how Tesla is trying to change that. There’s no way I could give you a useful short summary, because the point of this article is that, by the time you’re done reading it, you’ll understand all of the things well enough that you can join in very serious conversations about them.

So don’t feel compelled to read this at one sitting — but this is an article you may want to bookmark, and read bit by bit, because by the time you reach the end, you’ll have learned a lot.

Chrome on Android has a built-in Google Search function.

Originally shared by Craig Froehle

Chrome on Android has a built-in Google Search function. Tap and select a word or phrase, and a blue Google ‘g’ circle appears on the bottom of the screen. Tap that circle and up comes a quick Google Search on that word or phrase, overlaid on top of your webpage so you don’t have to leave whatever it is you’re reading. Nifty! 

Since getting & wearing a Pebble, I’ve been thinking a lot about smart watches; what the hell are these things?

Originally shared by Emlyn O’Regan

Since getting & wearing a Pebble, I’ve been thinking a lot about smart watches; what the hell are these things?

– They are a watch like a smart phone is a phone. ie: almost not at all. If you want to get to the heart of the smart watch, I think you probably need to remove the “watch” aspect of the watch face. Display anything but the time.

– They are worn, which makes them a lot more immediate than a phone (surprisingly). I find myself looking at mine a lot.

– Notifications are ok; not nothing, but certainly not a killer app. You can’t really do much with them; screen out pointless ones, yes, but really you need to go back to a phone to interact with them.

– The watch face is king. Anything hidden behind the watchface is basically pointless. This is almost entirely a one-app-at-a-time device, and that app is your watchface. Being able to cycle through alternative watchfaces is a thing, though. Like changing your clothes.

 

– This is the first outward facing screen, a display screen. It’s for other people to notice as much as for you to use. So what’s on it needs to reflect something about you (in the same way as a t-shirt slogan). Corollary: if the screen is black most of the time to save power, that’s a one way ticket to the sock drawer.

As for the Pebble: it’s always displaying its face, it’s got a real week of battery life; I’m loving it. 

This is ridiculously awesome.

This is ridiculously awesome.

Originally shared by Emlyn O’Regan

What’s the time, monk?

If you liked the Ciphers of the Monks number system (https://plus.google.com/+EmlynORegan/posts/JwV9Dn8jra7), I’ve published a watchface using this system for Pebble watches. Free of course. There’s absolutely no way to link the published app to you (oops Pebble, bad idea), but you can search for Ciphers of the Monks. 

I built this because Jodie O’Regan got me a Pebble for my birthday recently. Loving it, bless her cotton socks. This is my first shot at making something for it. 

There are sound engineering reasons for getting rid of windows.

There are sound engineering reasons for getting rid of windows. I’d be happy with lots of displays instead, especially if they gave me an enhanced view of the outside.

Originally shared by Tom Moncho

I’ve seen this reported before, but this article has more details. I know this horrifies some people, who are nervous fliers to begin with, but I think it’s amazing. Can’t wait to be on a flight like this!