Linked List: August 9, 2016

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Chrome Will Start Blocking ‘Behind the Scenes’ Flash Content Next Month ★

Anthony LaForge, “curator of Flash in Chrome” (talk about a shit job):

Today, more than 90% of Flash on the web loads behind the scenes to support things like page analytics. This kind of Flash slows you down, and starting this September, Chrome 53 will begin to block it. HTML5 is much lighter and faster, and publishers are switching over to speed up page loading and save you more battery life. You’ll see an improvement in responsiveness and efficiency for many sites. […]

In December, Chrome 55 will make HTML5 the default experience, except for sites which only support Flash. For those, you’ll be prompted to enable Flash when you first visit the site. Aside from that, the only change you’ll notice is a safer and more power-efficient browsing experience.

Finally.

Mark Gurman on the New iPhones ★

Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg:

The standout features will be a dual-camera system on the larger iPhone, a re-engineered home button that responds to pressure with a vibrating sensation rather than a true physical click and the removal of the devices’ headphone jack, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified discussing unannounced features. Apple declined to comment.

It sounds like the plus-sized iPhone really will be the only model with the dual lens camera. Depressing if true.

The new iPhones will remove the headphone jack in favor of connectivity via Bluetooth and the charging port. That will make room for a second speaker, said the people. Apple started allowing headphone makers to build headphones that can connect via the iPhone’s charger connector in 2014, the same year the company acquired headphone maker Beats Electronics.

That’s a dodge around the fact that Gurman apparently does not know what sort of ear buds (if any) Apple is including in the box. The iPhone already supports both Bluetooth and Lightning headphones, but the one that Apple includes in the box is the one that the headphone jack is being replaced in favor of.

Philadelphia TV Pioneer Captain Noah Dies at Age 90 ★

Sad local note:

Produced at the Channel 6 studios, the show at its peak was syndicated to 22 other stations across the nation. Locally, the Magical Ark’s audience in the early 1970s was larger than Captain Kangaroo and Sesame Street combined.

Organist Larry Ferrari provided the music, which included “Send Your Pictures to Captain Noah” and their theme song, “I Can Sing a Rainbow.”

When I was a kid, Captain Noah was the show to watch. Over 3,600 episodes.