Linked List: May 25, 2017

Thursday, 25 May 2017

Mossberg: The Disappearing Computer ★

Walt Mossberg:

This is my last weekly column for The Verge and Recode — the last weekly column I plan to write anywhere. I’ve been doing these almost every week since 1991, starting at the Wall Street Journal, and during that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know the makers of the tech revolution, and to ruminate — and sometimes to fulminate — about their creations.

Now, as I prepare to retire at the end of that very long and world-changing stretch, it seems appropriate to ponder the sweep of consumer technology in that period, and what we can expect next.

Godspeed on whatever’s next, Walt.

Nick Murray on Alcantara: ‘It’s Garbage’ ★

Interesting video by Nick Murray, discussing the merits of Alcantara, the synthetic suede-like product that Microsoft has used for their new Surface Laptop. Murray is coming from the perspective of Alcantara’s use in cars, not laptops, but he says it wears terribly on things you touch, like steering wheels and gear shifters, losing all its softness after just a few thousand miles. This might bode poorly for the Surface Laptop.