punkassjim

Loose Lips

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:40:00 -0700

The dude across the aisle from me on the train is the kind of guy Apple would never hire.

He’s using an iPad, and the dude sitting across from him started asking about it. Within 30 seconds, I knew he works for Palm, that he’s in social media marketing (i.e. webdouche), that his employers are having him evaluate the iPad for work, and that Palm is working on a tablet of their own.

On the one hand, duh, of course they’re working on a tablet. I haven’t seen official word, but I’d have assumed they were. On the other hand, if this guy is to be believed, Palm (or, I guess, HP) is just now working on a tablet and evaluating the iPad. Seriously? Is this why it took three YEARS for any other mobile handset maker to produce a device that effectively competes with the iPhone?

These fuckers are so hopelessly behind, it’s more than a little sad. And, for that reason, I think it’s in everyone’s best interests for this guy to learn to keep his trap shut.

Glenn Beck vs. Christ the Liberator

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:25:27 -0700

Glenn Beck vs. Christ the Liberator: I’m usually loathe to read anything from HuffPo, since it’s usually just as sensationalist, unreasoned, and inflammatory as Beck’s show is. But this Jesuit priest said eloquently much of what I’ve been thinking for a while.

(via tj)

venomous porridge: I’ll save you some time

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:23:06 -0700

venomous porridge: I’ll save you some time:

Sign up for Hulu Plus at $10/month.

Get cozy with your iPad, all set to watch the Louies you’ve had in your Hulu queue for the past couple weeks.

Discover that the Hulu Plus app has different content from hulu.com.

That’s right: not more content. Different content.

In particular, it doesn’t have Louie.

Or anything else that was in your queue, or much of anything current that’s worth watching, really.

Cancel Hulu Plus.

[…]

…if I’m going to watch your shows online — which clearly doesn’t bother you since Hulu is able to exist at all — if I’m going to watch them and, more importantly, give my affluent, highly marketable attention to your ads — your obnoxious, intrusive, poorly-targeted ads — what fucking business is it of yours which device I choose to do that with?

Sirs: you are already shitting in my soup. Must you take away the spoon?

I’m pretty glad I still haven’t put any real time or attention into Hulu. It seemed misguided from the start, and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. It’s a service that has plenty of “ooo shiny,” and almost no strong backbone.

Man Already Knows Everything He Needs To Know About Muslims | The Onion

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:00:56 -0700

Man Already Knows Everything He Needs To Know About Muslims | The Onion:

(via nickdouglas)

I might just be old-school, but I just don’t think Henry...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:50:07 -0700

I might just be old-school, but I just don’t think Henry Pym would say “It’s on, bitch” to Reed Richards. Funny, yes, but I don’t see it going down like that.

Nice. I didn’t even realize I had any Rush in the...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:36:05 -0700

Nice. I didn’t even realize I had any Rush in the rotation. Turns out: whole catalog.

dwineman: Today’s Buttersafe is amazing.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:29:12 -0700

dwineman:

Today’s Buttersafe is amazing.

No scuba diving or snorkeling allowed.

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:33:48 -0700

No scuba diving or snorkeling allowed.

‘The Big Picture’ App for iPad and iPhone

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:19:01 -0700

‘The Big Picture’ App for iPad and iPhone:

cameronmoll:

The two elements that have made The Big Picture a success over other photoblogs are the supersized photos and the inline placement of those photos, forgoing the traditional paginated view (which usually makes advertisers happier). With the iPad app, you get big photos but you lose the inline placement and the ability to quickly scan through all images. Instead, you have to swipe to the next photo — a very conventional interaction on iPad, but an interaction that counters what has made The Big Picture such a hit.

At the very least, I’d like to see an option that allows me to see all of the photos at once, e.g. grid/thumbnail view .

There’s a reason Mobile Safari doesn’t load all images on a single Big Picture post: It can’t. The images are much too large and numerous to all fit in the memory allotted to any one app. I still think the iPad can get better at caching data and pushing all those pixels around, but there are some limitations which disallow flexibility. At least they finally got this app published. Big Picture on iPad Safari has been broken the whole time.

Man, there’s so much to love about this, but I can’t...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:17:53 -0700

Man, there’s so much to love about this, but I can’t get past how Andrew preps that first sendout at 0:45. Straight-legged, leaning away and smiling, it almost looks unreal. They put so many comical touches into their routines, but that one kicks my ass for some reason.

Plus: bonus Rick-roll.

The Omnipotent China Red Army tells capitalism to “Beat...

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:34:40 -0700

The Omnipotent China Red Army tells capitalism to “Beat It.” (via DEVOUR)

Happy Friday, jerks. (via Ethan)

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:54:25 -0700

Happy Friday, jerks. (via Ethan)

shoesonwrong: More at I’m Voting Tea Party. [via...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:40:38 -0700

shoesonwrong:

More at I’m Voting Tea Party.

[via clusterflock]

Shinto Temples Near Pearl Harbor

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:07:36 -0700

toldorknown:

View Larger Map

I’m just saying.

Squashed: The Verizon-Google proposal isn't bad

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:43:35 -0700

Squashed: The Verizon-Google proposal isn't bad:

squashed:

hmwt:

On another note, it really chaps my ass when average Joes defend greedy capitalists, even when they are just playing Devil’s advocate. Capitalism is named such as it is the art of capitalizing on your fellow man. Recognize patterns.

While I’m normally happy to play devil’s advocate, I’m really not doing it here. I think Google has done a fine job of taking net neutrality from near-dead-in-the-regulatory water to near-guaranteed for the wired interet—which will set the pattern for how the wireless internet develops.

The thing that’s hard for me to wrap my brain around is this: as Richard Gaywood cogently asks, “Reword Google’s announcement for 10 years ago and to say ‘broadband’ instead of ‘wireless’. Come back to today. Do we still have Skype?” Now, the logical rebuttal would be to say that we didn’t have net neutrality legislation for wired broadband ten years ago, and Skype came up just fine, without being squashed out of the running. So, what’s so wrong about the telecoms and the big businesses proposing to limit the FCC’s regulatory authority on wireless?

Well, my answer is this: in the past ten years, the telecoms and the huge corporations have learned some hard-won lessons about when and where they’ve left money on the table. Ten years ago, the Internet was barely in its infancy, and none of these companies had a handle on how best to build (or work) the system in ways that would best benefit them for the long haul. Today, they are far, far smarter, and they are very clearly angling for leverage on the platform that will be the most important of the coming generation.

They’re cutting bait on the old technology, by proposing net neutrality legislation for the system on which they’ve already staked most of the claim they’re likely to ever get. But that juicy wireless market…boy oh boy, is that ever ripe for cordoning off lucrative little “sub-internets” in which they can generate false scarcity, exclusivity deals, and “prioritized” bandwidth sold to the highest bidder (which, to my mind, basically boils down to modern-day payola). Of the very small list of positive reviews of the Google/Verizon proposal, every last one of them has pointed out that it is about 50% great! Fantastic, even! But that other 50%? Hu-hu-hoooo boy, that shit’s pretty sketchy, and barely anyone’s swallowing it.

Broadband internet access needs to be subject to network neutrality regulation, whether it be wireline or wireless. Implementing net neutrality for only one and not the other only serves to open a window for telecoms and big corporations to help each other maximize their own bottom lines, and for small companies and startups to be left out in the cold.

Pencil Tip Micro Sculptures By Dalton Ghetti (via gruber)

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:26:59 -0700

Pencil Tip Micro Sculptures By Dalton Ghetti (via gruber)

merlin: But I guess I just feel like…what? I guess I just feel...

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:03:07 -0700

merlin:

But I guess I just feel like…what? I guess I just feel like why bother standing anywhere if programmatically notifying the API of a web server about it doesn’t inevitably lead to one of the computers eventually rewarding my careful standing-reportage by conferring the prestige, gratitude, and—yes—basic fucking human decency and respect that can only be accorded by triggering a ruby script that alters a small graphic on my phone.

Candidly? It almost makes me question the value of bothering to report what I’m standing near at all. It really does.

I’ve noticed a lot of friends lately, checking in at the local supermarkets and shopping malls. And all I can think is “I don’t get FourSquare and Gowalla. And I’m fairly certain they don’t either.”

Your beautiful eyes (via gruber)

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:00:07 -0700

Your beautiful eyes

(via gruber)

maniacalrage: Ted Olson on Fox News (via david and...

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:42:55 -0700

maniacalrage:

Ted Olson on Fox News (via david and charlietodd)

conormckeon:

Ted Olson, supporter of the recent California ruling to allow same sex marriages, also supports the right to completely destroy Fox News’ Chris Wallace in every way imaginable.

I can’t believe we’re still debating this whole issue and that there are people in our country who are against gay marriage, but if someone has to keep explaining things I’m glad there are people like Ted Olson around.

JetBlue Flight Attendant Pops Open Plane Chute at JFK, Slides Away

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:10:10 -0700

JetBlue Flight Attendant Pops Open Plane Chute at JFK, Slides Away:

This guy gets the “getaway of the day” award.

Slater demanded an apology from the passenger, the official said, but the passenger refused. The two argued before the passenger told Slater to “f— off”, the official said. The official said that Slater then got on the plane’s PA system and directed that same obscenity at all the passengers and added that he especially meant it for the man who refused to apologize.

Slater is alleged to have then activated the plane’s inflatable emergency slide, grabbed two beers from the galley, then slid down the chute, the official said.

(via gruber)