Linked List: February 18, 2014

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Tinytype: A Compatibility Table Showing the Available Default System Fonts Across Different Mobile Platforms 

If this game were golf, Android would win.

Ad Age on Apple and Amazon 

Kate Kaye, reporting for Ad Age:

The lack of data both companies deliver is frustrating for marketers because these notoriously opaque giants sit atop incredible troves of information about what consumers actually buy and like, as well as who they are and where they live. One person familiar with the situation exec said Apple’s refusal to share data makes it the best-looking girl at the party, forced to wear a bag over her head.

Interesting take on Apple’s advertising initiatives, but it seems like the ad industry just doesn’t get it that Apple cares more about its customers — their experience, their privacy — than the advertisers. I also detect a sense of entitlement — not just that they want this personal information, but that they think they should have it.

‘Johnny Carson’, by Henry Bushkin 

And speaking of Carson, I’ve devoured this book by Carson’s long-time attorney and friend, Henry Bushkin. A guilty pleasure, if ever I’ve read one. It’s on iTunes too, of course.

Jimmy Fallon Kicks Off The Tonight Show 

Speaking of Lorne Michaels, here’s Jimmy Fallon’s first monologue as host of The Tonight Show, now broadcasting from New York for the first time since Johnny Carson moved the show to Burbank in 1972.

See also: this sharp piece by Owen Gleiberman for Entertainment Weekly: “Jimmy Fallon: More Than Jay or Dave, He Could Be a New Johnny Carson”.

In Conversation: SNL’s Lorne Michaels 

Great interview by Lane Brown for Vulture.

Other Leaked Galaxy S5 Specs 

The rumored display is rather astounding: 5.25 inches, 2560 × 1440 pixels, with a density of 560 pixels per inch. That’s more total pixels than a retina iPad. I know it’s AMOLED, and that means the sub-pixel count is a bit wacky, but still, that’s a ton of pixels. 2560 × 1440 is the same pixel count as Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Display.

At what point do you reach the point where the pixels are small enough? Apple has defined “retina display” as meaning that individual pixels are no longer discernible from a typical viewing distance. Is it worth it — in terms of cost and battery life — to shrink pixels to the point where they are no longer discernible with the naked eye from any distance? I’m genuinely curious to see this display in person.

‘VHS vs. Communism’ 

Ilinca Calugareanu:

I was raised in Romania in the 1980s, under a Communist regime that, among countless repressions, reduced television to two hours a day of dull propaganda, traditional music, patriotic poems and censored films. One day when I was 6, my parents found a way to borrow a VCR. They invited their friends, and all night they watched grainy VHS tapes of Hollywood B-movies. I remember the films, but more so I remember how I felt when I stepped into the living room — like walking into a secret, magical and free world.

All the dialogue on these movies was dubbed into Romanian in a husky, high-pitched woman’s voice. Throughout my childhood, these films provided a glimpse into the forbidden West, resplendent with blue jeans, Coke and skyscrapers. As Hollywood movies became ubiquitous through the black market, this voice became one of the most recognizable in Romania. Yet no one knew who she was.

After the 1989 revolution I learned the true story, which I present here in this Op-Doc video.

Rumor: Upcoming Galaxy S5 to Feature Fingerprint Sensor Built Into Home Button 

SamMobile:

The sensor itself works in a swipe manner, which means that you would need to swipe the entire pad of your finger, from base to tip, across the home key to register your fingerprint properly. Also, you would need to keep your finger flat against the home key and swipe at a moderate speed or else it won’t recognise your fingerprint. The fingerprint sensor is sensitive to moisture, as well. So, don’t try to use it with wet fingers because it will, literally, give you an error and tell you to dry your fingers first.

Swipe sensors have a bad reputation for being finicky, but we shall see. (Don’t miss the comments on this article; they’re a hoot.)