Linked List: March 15, 2011

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Twitter Adds Always-Use-HTTPS Option ★

Everyone who uses Twitter should turn this on.

White House Forces State Department Spokesman to Resign for Condemning Abuse of Private Manning ★

Glenn Greenwald:

So, in Barack Obama’s administration, it’s perfectly acceptable to abuse an American citizen in detention who has been convicted of nothing by consigning him to 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement, barring him from exercising in his cell, punitively imposing “suicide watch” restrictions on him against the recommendations of brig psychiatrists, and subjecting him to prolonged, forced nudity designed to humiliate and degrade. But speaking out against that abuse is a firing offense.

Flare 1.0 ★

New photo editing app for the Mac from The Iconfactory. The focus is on preset filters for adding effects and styles to photographs. The UI is swanky and the default presets are pretty fun — sort of like Instagram, but with the full power of a Mac behind them. Even better, you can tweak each individual effect within a given preset filter, create and save your own presets, and download/share new ones.

Regular price $20, but it’s on sale through March 18 in the Mac App Store for just $10.

The Abuse of Private Manning ★

The New York Times:

Private Manning is in solitary confinement at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va. For one hour a day, he is allowed to walk around a room in shackles. He is forced to remove all his clothes every night. And every morning he is required to stand outside his cell, naked, until he passes inspection and is given his clothes back.

Military officials say, without explanation, that these precautions are necessary to prevent Private Manning from injuring himself. They have put him on “prevention of injury” watch, yet his lawyers say there is no indication that he is suicidal and the military has not placed him on a suicide watch.

Torture, pure and simple.

Instagallery 1.0 ★

Swell Instagram client for the iPad, by Troy Gaul. It’s weird seeing Instagram photos “big”. $1.99, cheap.

Andy Ihnatko’s Advice for Tablet Makers ★

Andy Ihnatko:

If you try to build something the size of an iPad that tries to work kind of like an iPad, you’re pretty much admitting to your potential customers that Apple has The Real Thing and you’re selling a knockoff. One that costs $100 to $300 more, for some reason.

This is why I’m more optimistic about RIM’s PlayBook than any other non-iPad tablet on the immediate horizon. Steve Jobs railed against the futility of 7-inch tablets last year. RIM shrewdly took this as a sign that Apple isn’t going to make something like that. As a result, the 7-inch PlayBook starts off with an immediate and clear answer to the question “What makes this tablet different?”

Jon Bon Jovi Blames Steve Jobs for ‘Killing the Music Industry’ ★

Dave Wiskus nails it:

You know who never complains about the shift to digital music? People who buy and listen to music.

You Are All in Publishing ★

Jeffrey Zeldman:

So I asked, “Who here is in publishing?”

A few hands were gently raised.

Uh-huh. “And how many of you work on the web?”

Every right hand in the room shot up.

Matt Haughey: ‘Lessons From 11 Years of Community’ ★

Matt Haughey’s talk from SXSW: pretty much everything you’d want to know about how MetaFilter works. Fascinating stuff. (Via Kottke.)

Apple’s Role in Japan During the Tohoku Earthquake ★

From an email sent to Kevin Rose by a friend working for Apple in Japan:

You know how in disaster movies, people on the street gather around electronic shops that have TVs in the display windows so they can stay informed with what is going on? In this digital age, that’s what the Tokyo Apple stores became. Staff brought out surge protectors and extension cords with 10s of iOS device adapters so people could charge their phones & pads and contact their loved ones. Even after we finally had to close 10pm, crowds of people huddled in front of our stores to use the wifi into the night, as it was still the only way to get access to the outside world.

Donate to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund ★

Not sure what to say about the catastrophes in Japan, other than to encourage everyone to donate. It’s the most effective way for most of us to help.

North 3 ★

So, what are you doing this month?

In March 2011 Ben Saunders sets out to reach the Geographic North Pole solo and unsupported, and aims to break the North Pole speed record in the process. In 2005 a guided team using dog sleds and several air-drops of food reached the Pole in 36 days, 22 hours, and in 2010 a Canadian team reached the Pole on foot in 41 days, 18 hours with one resupply flight. Ben is travelling solo and on foot, with no support en route.