Linked List: October 31, 2014

Friday, 31 October 2014

Casey Newton, The Verge:

There was a time when I struggled to come to terms with myself; when I felt alone; when I scanned the horizon looking for someone to point the way forward for me. There was a time when the only other gay men I knew were the ones I saw in TV and movies, and they seemed nothing like me. It feels embarrassing to say now that what I wanted back then was a role model — someone confident in himself, powerful, a real leader — to give me permission to be myself. But I very much did.

If you don’t think Tim Cook’s coming out yesterday matters, that it’s not worth savoring and celebrating, you are mistaken.

Adam Engst on BBEdit 11 ★

Adam Engst:

Bare Bones Software has released BBEdit 11, a notable upgrade to the venerable text editor that, I’m extremely pleased to say, requires an upgrade fee. Why would I be happy about the opportunity for current users to spend money? Because it reinforces the fact that we are Bare Bones’ customers. We’re the ones that Rich Siegel and company are trying to please.

It’s remarkable that an app I first started using in 1992 on System 7 is still going strong today.

‘The Life Aquatic’ Trailer in the Style of Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ ★

Nice work by Iván Róbert, mashing up two of my favorite films.

‘The Best Bullpen in Baseball Was Him’ ★

Loved this take on the Giants’ World Series victory from Adam Kilgore:

The Kansas City Royals clung this October to the well-founded belief they owned the most dominant bullpen in the major leagues. On Wednesday night, Madison Bumgarner emerged from the gates of the left field corner at Kauffman Stadium and informed them of their mistake. The best bullpen in baseball, Bumgarner let them know, with no shortage of menace, dangled from his colossal left shoulder. The best bullpen in baseball was him.

Bumgarner’s entire postseason performance, culminated with his amazing appearance to finish game seven, is one of the greatest athletic feats I’ve ever seen. And then to end the whole thing with the potential KC tying run just 90 feet away from home plate? Two days later I still can’t believe how good a game that was.

Former Android Leader Andy Rubin Leaving Google ★

Alistair Barr, reporting for the WSJ:

Andy Rubin, co-founder and former leader of Google Inc.’s Android mobile business and the current head of its nascent robotics effort, is leaving the Internet giant, the company said Thursday.

Mr. Rubin is starting an incubator for startups interested in building technology hardware products.

Took a lot longer than I expected, given the acrimonious nature of his being removed as Android’s chief. Maybe he was waiting for stock to vest or something?

How Spotlight Suggestions Handles Privacy ★

Great piece by Rich Mogull for TidBITS on how Apple is handling privacy with Yosemite’s new Spotlight features:

As a security analyst, I worry constantly about becoming biased, especially with a company like Apple whose products are so deep a part of my life. To avoid this, I spend a tremendous amount of time researching and validating my findings before publishing them. While this may be pie-in-the-sky thinking, I believe journalists and publications should make similar efforts to avoid bias, and tamp down the desire for explosive headlines that leads to inaccurate reporting, particularly when such articles increase paranoia unnecessarily.

Samsung Reports Lowest Profit in Three Years ★

Reuters:

The company, the global leader in smartphones, has lost market share in annual terms for the last two quarters, lagging Apple in the premium market and overtaken by rivals like Lenovo and Xiaomi at the bottom end.

Samsung said its third-quarter operating profit fell by 60.1 percent from a year earlier, to 4.1 trillion won ($3.9 billion), matching its guidance issued this month and signifying the weakest result since the second quarter of 2011.

The press has long pitted Samsung as a direct rival to Apple, but it’s always been clear that the low end of the phone market was a huge part of their mobile business. I don’t see how they get that back, now that Lenovo and Xiaomi have caught up, nor do I see how they take any of the high-end market from Apple.

But let’s face it: “only” $3.9 billion in profit is not a bad problem to have. They’re still a massively successful company.

Dan Frommer on CurrentC, and Why Retailers Are Unlikely to Devise a System Customers Will Like ★

Dan Frommer:

While Apple Pay is designed to make payments as easy as possible — by riding on existing payments infrastructure, with security and privacy in mind — using CurrentC actually looks harder than typical payment techniques. Because it’s designed to skirt the existing credit-card infrastructure, CurrentC’s current version only supports payments via checking accounts and certain store cards. And it comes with a questionable privacy requirement: To “confirm your identity,” CurrentC demands both your driver’s license number and social security number.

When it comes to actually paying, the system gets even more cumbersome. CurrentC describes the process on its support site: You need to select a “Pay with CurrentC” option on the register, activate your phone, open the CurrentC app, enter a four-digit passcode, press the “Pay” button, “either scan the Secure Paycode that the cashier presents (default) or press the Show button at the bottom of your screen to allow the cashier to scan your Secure Paycode,” select the account you want to pay with, and then press a “Pay Now” button.

John Moltz quips:

Not only will I never use this system, I will strangle the first person I’m behind in a checkout line who tries to use it.