512 Pixels

On CNBC:

I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.

[via My Investing Notebook]

In his extensive review:

As a tech writer it was great to be able to use and live with the TouchPad for a while. There are many things I appreciate about webOS, and I’m glad I was able to spend some time with a non-Apple device for once. But, alas, the TouchPad is far less likable than I expected it would be. As it is I would not recommend it to anyone I know — even my friends with webOS phones.

This is the most in-depth review I’ve seen of the TouchPad. It was a ton of fun to read.

It’s a real shame the TouchPad seems like somewhat of a misfire. I want webOS to succeed, and Apple needs a good competitor in this space.

I like the guy, but this is just awkward.

Alex Payne:

If what you’re doing isn’t making you happy, you probably won’t do a good job at it. You might even subconsciously sabotage yourself.

Mike Elgan:

Google makes billions of dollars in revenue each fiscal quarter. That money comes about by the same process that all companies use: They sell a product to their customers. Their customers pay money for that product.

Who’s Google’s customer? You? Really? When’s the last time you paid Google for anything?

Advertisers are Google’s customer. What do they sell to advertisers? They sell you. Or, at least, they rent you out, or provide access to you.

Print this out, and tape it to your laptop.

[via Daring Fireball]

I’ve been experimenting with different options for uploading video to Tumblr. The service’s built-in video player with play Flash on the desktop, and H.264 for iOS devices, but it will not play H.264 for those of you who don’t have Flash installed on your Mac.

Vimeo Plus looked like a great option, but it doesn’t play nice with Tumblr.

Moving forward, I’ll be posting videos for Tap to Focus to YouTube, then embedding them within Tumblr’s dashboard. That way, they will play in Flash, or in H.264 for iOS devices.

If you run a Mac without Flash installed, I highly recommend the YouTube5 plugin for Safari.

Charles Moore:

In practical terms, the closest analog Apple makes to the Cube today is the Mac mini, which it’s made in various iterations since 2005, and which has has been a lot more successful than the Cube was - for good reason. It’s much more versatile, genuinely minuscule, and development of wireless peripherals and data connectivity technology has helped, as has the mainstream shift to reasonably-priced flat screen monitors, which were just beginning to gain traction in the desktop world a decade ago - and, as we’ve noted, they were still prohibitively expensive during the Cube’s short time on the market.

The Cube concept was seductive, but it left a fair bit to be desired in practical execution. For me, while I admired my Cube, I soon determined that it wasn’t quite what I needed - not the compact desktop laptop substitute I’d been hoping for, and of course it didn’t have the option of battery power. I ended up swapping it after about six months for a year-old but immaculate Pismo PowerBook. A good decision as it turned out.

This is an amazing set of photos. These make me sad that my kids aren’t growing up in an era with such an exciting space program.

Of note, I was born the day this photo was taken.

[via Shawn Blanc]

I’ve launched a new side project, named Tap to Focus. It’s a tumblelog full of short, hopefully adorable — or at least odd — videos shot with my iPhone 4.

Sadly, Tumblr’s video player is Flash only on the desktop. Sorry about that. See update.

Christopher Breen:

So now, a brief look back. And yes, I mean you die-hard AppleWorks users. If you want to use a Mac running Lion, your time has run out. AppleWorks won’t work.

[…]

Although this should go without saying, if you’re still using AppleWorks today to generate files and wish to stay current with Apple technology, it’s time to set AppleWorks aside and start using up-to-date tools. Continue using it and you’re only generating more work for your future self.

I will genuinely miss AppleWorks.

I wonder if this version will crash when trying to apply layer masks…

[via reddit]

What an amazing world we live in.