I really think Jon Stewart has a more accurate understanding of modern media than almost anyone else out there. Regardless of your political positions, this video is worth a watch.
Category: Journalism
Instacast and Air Server: Podcasts at Home, Over Wi-Fi
I’m a big fan of podcasts.
I use Instacast to subscribe and listen to podcasts on my iPhone 4. I can listen to shows in my truck or at my desk easily. I also don’t have to deal with syncing my iPhone all the time for new episodes, since Instacast download shows right to the device.
At work, I usually have my headphones on. I plug my iPhone into my MacBook Pro’s audio-in jack, and launch the excellent (and free) LineIn application, which allows me to patch audio from the audio-in jack right to the headphone jack.
AOL Hell
Some people struggle to write for their whole lives, and only dream of ever getting paid for it. And here was I was, Mr. Big-Shot-Razor-Blade-Man, getting paid a real salary. I could sit at home and write in my pajamas while eating take-out food; and that’s what I did. I was so grateful.
But this was part of the problem. We — by which I mean me and my fellow employees — were all so grateful. Which allowed us to ignore — or willfully overlook — certain problems. Such as the fact that AOL editors forced us to work relentless hours. Or the fact that we were paid to lie, actually instructed to lie by our bosses.
IT Helldesk
Editor’s Note: I wrote this back in college, when I was working at The Daily Helmsman. Quite wisely, my editor didn’t publish it, but he just emailed me a copy of it he found on his laptop. I couldn’t pass up the chance to share it.
Dear IT Helpdesk,
You don’t know me. You probably don’t recognize my name, so I’ll start by introducing myself.
My name is Stephen Hackett. I am a student here at the U of M, and for the last 3 1/2 years, I have designed the pages of The Daily Helmsman.
On Hardware Upgrades, Lion and Bad Tech Writing
GigaOM’s Darrell Etherington on Lion:
The new operating system is the first to leave some Intel-based Macs out of the party, and even with the minimum specs, you won’t be getting the full experience.
I think this is the case with most OS releases.
[RAM] is the easiest place you can make an improvement with almost any Mac.
True. And it’s a cheap upgrade. But Apple hasn’t posted what the RAM specs are for Lion, so it’s not a stretch to believe it will be 1GB — just like Snow Leopard. Since Snow Leopard is required to update to Lion, no one will have to add more RAM to meet Lion’s requirements.
‘Hate. Love. Fear.’
Cody Fink has written a must-read for tech writers.
On Twitter and Journalism
This is a must-read from Brian Stelter who covered the Joplin tornado with an iPhone.
Paul Thurrott, Professional Douchebag
Leading off his recap of WWDC:
No discussion of a modern day Apple event can occur without at least some passing mention of Steve Jobs, who now both looks and sounds like he’s dying. I’m sorry to have to write that, and I know people get freaked whenever anyone has the temerity to even mention it, but come on. Aside from the weird psychological needs of a guy who feels he needs to market the hell out of products before an adoring crowd even though he is clearly–and literally–a shadow of his former self, the whole thing is just sad. Suffice to say I’m really pulling for the guy. But I am afraid for him.
On Tweets as Journalism
In the course of any news event, whether it’s an earthquake or a shooting or a revolution, there will be times when Twitter makes sense as a tool — as Stelter showed with his reports from Joplin, and as Sohaib Athar showed when he effectively became a journalist for a few hours during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. But that doesn’t obviate the need for articles or commentary or features.
Kindle Books Take Over Print Sales at Amazon
The Kindle has been a huge success, no doubt about that, but we are continually amazed at just how big a success it has become. Amazon too, apparently. The company just issued a press release to announce that digital book sales have now exceeded sales of all print titles, both hardcover and paperback combined. As of April 1st, for every 100 print books that Amazon has sold (of any kind) the company moved 105 Kindle books, and no that doesn’t include downloads of free titles.
On Journalism and Morality
Silas Bent, in 1926, on being a recovering yellow journalist:
Undoubtedly newspapers, in those days when they were quick on the trigger and crusaded on slight provocation, did grave injustice to individuals on many an occasion. They realized their power, and sometimes used it recklessly, sometimes for mere display. The present easy-going attitude is more comfortable for them and for their reporters, and certainly it is more comfortable for certain parts of the public. We have a politer daily journalism. It strives more earnestly to please, is more regardful of our wishes. Its morals are more urbane. Its temper is more flexible. It can see good in nearly anything.
Markdown is the new Word 5.1
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by friend Kevin Lipe, after a discussion over beer and pizza about writing on the Mac, and how it has changed over the years. Longtime reader may remember that Kevin is the guy I bought this domain name from. Kevin is a native Memphian, a musician and a great writer.
The First Cut is the Deepest
The first word processor I ever used seriously for any amount of time was ClarisWorks 2.1. We had a Performa 578 running System 7.5.5, and ClarisWorks was all I had. I spent hour after hour writing “books” — usually twenty pages or so of fiction, or, well, a seven-year-old’s idea of fiction — and printing them out, reading them to my parents and to myself and to anyone else who would listen. I was a writer, the world’s youngest important author. I knew how to do everything ClarisWorks could do. I even tried to wrap my head around Publishers, which were a weird feature I still don’t understand.