Rolandt

Es gibt ein Programm, das ich auf Windows brutal vermisse: iA Writer. Gibt es bisher für iOS und macOS und gehört dort zu meinen am häufigsten benutzten Programme. Nun startet iA eine Kickstarter-Kampagne, um das Interesse der User auszuloten. Ich vermute, das machen sie, weil sie mit der Android-Version ziemlich auf die Nase gefallen sind. Android-Benutzer geben kein Geld aus, wenn sie etwas anderes umsonst haben können.

Was macht iA Writer für mich so wertvoll? Es ist ideal zum Verfassen von Texten. Fokus, Fokus, Fokus. Keine Ablenkung durch unwichtige Dinge. Und dabei brutal gut lesbar, so dass man weniger Schreibfehler macht. Seit ich mit dem Surface arbeite, hat meine Textqualität nachgelassen.

iA Writer für iOS, also vor allem für das iPad, kostet gerade einmal 5,49 Euro. Wer es noch nicht hat, sollte es unbedingt kaufen. Das Programm für macOS kostet 21,99 Euro und ist jeden Cent wert. Ich habe sogar mit iA argumentiert, den Preis anzuheben, damit sie mehr Umsatz machen und die Software besser unterstützen können. Hier ist meine Empfehlung noch deutlicher.

• iA Writer iOS (5,49 €)
• iA Writer macOS (21,99 €)

Die Android-Version ist kostenlos mit In-App-Kauf, um wenigstens den Hauch einer Chance hat, auch angesehen zu werden.

Bei der Windows-Version geht iA jetzt einen neuen Weg. Eine auf 20.000 CHF ausgelegte Kickstarter-Kampagne testet den Markt. Je nachdem, wieviel dabei rumkommt, wird iA die Windows-Version ausbauen. Ich wünsche Oliver Reichenstein damit viel Erfolg. Diese Software ist so wichtig für mich.

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The usually abstract, qualitative and sometimes quantitative chart type shows relationships. You can make them in R, if you must. Read More

Abraham Lincoln famously said in the 1860’s “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.“, and he’s right of course. George Washington already warned us a century earlier that “the greatest thing about Facebook is that you can quote something and totally make up the source.” Add to it the filter bubbles that algorithms create around you on Facebook, fake news and the influencing that third parties try to do, and you can be certain that the trustworthiness of internet is now even worse than it was in the 19th or 18th century.

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”, Abraham Lincoln hit the nail on the head in 1864 already.

Dealing with crap on the internet however sometimes seems something only for professionals. Facebook should filter better, or be more transparent. Online forensic research like Bellingcat does is the only way to disprove online deception. The problem is that it absolves you and me way too easily of our own responsibility in detecting crap. If something seems too funny, coincidental or too conveniently fitting into your own believe framework, it should trigger us into taking a step back. To take time to determine for ourselves whether Lincoln really said that, whether a picture was really taken where and when it is claimed, and if a source really exists or can be determined as trustworthy.

To be able to detect crap on the internet, you need crap detection tools. My Brainstorms-friend Howard Rheingold and others have put together a useful list of crap detection tools (of which I very often use the reverse image search tools like Tineye, to verify the actual origin of a photo). The list is well maintained and growing. The listed tools help you quickly check-up on things before you share something and reinforce a vicious cycle making more and more social media platforms toxic.

Not spreading dubious material is a civic duty, just like cleaning up after yourself in a public space. This makes crap detection a critical digital information skill. Download or bookmark the list of crap detection tools, add some of the mentioned tools as plugins to your browser, and use it to your advantage.

This course is about taboo, stigmatized, or otherwise morally controversial markets. Examples include trade in alcohol and other drugs, sex work, gambling, baby-selling, paid domestic labor, care work, human blood, organs, eggs, sperm, genetic material, viaticals, and pollution rights. We will read empirical studies and ethical arguments about these markets, focusing mostly on how exchange in these goods is practically accomplished and morally justified in theory and practice. We will also consider broader questions about the scope and limits, if any, of the market as a social institution, and its relationship to other sorts of exchange.

Syllabus (PDF)

I had this idea around the time Apple came out with Bonjour (née Rendezvous), and all these years later I realize I’m never going to get around to it.

Here’s the scoop:

The idea is microblog posts (tweet-like) but that live inside a specific network only.

You run a Mac app that:

• Lets you post short messages.
• Shows short messages from people inside your network.

The app runs a small webserver that’s discoverable via Bonjour, that has a specific service name. That webserver publishes a feed of your posts.

The app also downloads a feed from every other app it finds (and caches those feeds, for when other apps are offline).

In other words, it’s instant office microblogging with no centralized server. Completely peer-to-peer.

The design is what you expect — a reverse-chronological list of posts with usernames and avatars. You can reply, mention people, mute people, etc. (I think you’d follow everybody on the network automatically — so muting becomes the thing, not following.)

* * *

Important thing: your posts are network-specific. So if you go to a coffee shop or the airport with your Mac, you won’t be publishing your at-the-office posts.

* * *

I haven’t done research into whether this is do-able on iOS. Is it possible to run a little webserver, in a backgrounded app, that other people on the local network could connect to? Seems unlikely — but I don’t know. Cool if you could.

* * *

I have no idea how you’d make money with this one. If you charge for it, not enough people would use it to make it worthwhile. (The standard dilemma of social networking apps.)

Maybe, though, you could add some IAP features? One might be to let people add RSS feeds, so it could also function as a lightweight RSS reader. A person might want posts from Daring Fireball and wherever else added to their timeline.

Or just add that feature anyway, and do the whole thing for fun.

PS “Inside Story” is a long name. Should be one word. Scoops? Bulletins? Officecast? Gossip? (“Gossip” was, if memory serves, the name of an app Chuck Shotton was working on a long time ago. Probably reusable at this point.)

(I mean, c’mon, office Gossip. It’s so perfect.)

Ben Curtis posted feed_searcher to GitHub — it creates custom search feeds, and even has a handy Deploy to Heroku button. Cool.

(This is in reference to App Idea: Mentions).

An Uber spokesperson has confirmed that the American ridesharing giant will not expand its services into Winnipeg, Manitoba, due to a disagreement over the province’s proposed insurance plan structure for rideshare operators.

“Based on the deficiencies in the [Manitoba Public Insurance] proposed product versus the type of insurance that is available to ridesharing companies in cities across North America, Uber will, unfortunately, be unable to consider expansion of services to Winnipeg on March 1st, 2018,” an Uber spokesperson told MobileSyrup via email.

According to a story from BNN, Manitoba Public Insurance [MPI] — the Crown corporation tasked with providing auto insurance to residents of Manitoba — proposed four different insurance rate options that would cause Uber drivers to pay five percent “above their all-purpose coverage.”

“In the absence of a commercial, blanket policy designed to cover all drivers during ridesharing activity, Uber will find it difficult from a risk and compliance perspective to do business in Manitoba,” said the same Uber spokesperson. “We feel that this will be detrimental to the citizens of Manitoba who are seeking efficient, safe transportation.”

Manitoba’s provincial government passed legislation legalizing ride-sharing services on November 17th, 2017. The new rules will come into effect on March 1st, 2018.

Source: BNN

The post Uber will not expand into Winnipeg due to disagreement over insurance structure appeared first on MobileSyrup.

We’ve loved the Instant Pot since we first wrote about it way back in July 2016. The brilliant thing about electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot is that you can make dinner in under an hour with very little effort or attention. The results taste nearly as good as slow dinners made on the stove (sometimes better!), and you have only one pot to clean at the end.

Looking for an active vacation? We have picked 5 travel ideas for an active vacation. We have suggestions for cycling, hiking, horse riding, and other adventures. Read this post for some great ideas for an active vacation.

The post 5 Travel Ideas for an Active Vacation appeared first on Average Joe Cyclist.

We’ve been learning more about Indigenizing the university, and how we might approach that as an Institute. This article by Gabrielle Lindstrom is a great overview.

Indigenous pedagogy, which refers to a way of teaching using Indigenous educational principles, is grounded in creating, fostering and sustaining good relationships between student and teacher. Teaching moments are found in the human-to-human interactions which are reciprocal — my students understand that I have certain knowledge and experience they can learn from and I understand that I, too, can learn from my students.

and

Rather than compromising excellence, Indigenous epistemology, therefore, offers students the opportunity to strive for their full potential without compromising their human dignity or those of other cultures.

Fantastic. Indigenization is as much about shifting the power structure as it is about learning the history.

Source: How do we Indigenize post-secondary curriculum? | UToday | University of Calgary

Editor’s note: This was contributed by Elliott Zaagman a trainer, coach, and change management consultant who specializes in aiding Chinese companies as they globalize. To contact him, check him out on LinkedIn, or add ezaagman on WeChat. I am a podcast addict. I’ve never been much of a reader, and tend to spend lots of time on trains, […]

My favorite podcast app is made in Beijing originally appeared on TechNode

Mayor Robertson’s departure is a boost for the ever inventive local pundit industry.  Easy questions spring to mind, each worth a 3 minute CBC interview, and the media winner will be the pundit coming up with the most pithy clip (a.k.a. sound bite).

What’s the REAL reason the Mayor is not going to run?

What will he do next?

Who is now in the running for Mayor?

What will the new council look like?  Maybe Green? 

Here’s a sample of Pundit Fodder  gathered within a few hours of the Mayor’s announcement:

Nick Eagland [PostMedia outlet the Vancouver Sun]:  Experts predict top-level interest in vying for mayor . . . (Featuring well-known PT editor, and expert, Gordon Price).  “It would certainly be an opportunity for someone who has a sufficient degree of charisma — an overused word, but I think appropriate here,” he said. “Can you get people’s attention in a highly fragmented world in order to establish an identity for the party that people will park their vote with?” . . . With Robertson leaving, “all parties are now going to be confronted with a kind of existential change in Vancouver,” he said. He believes Vision recognizes that its “best-by date” has come and gone.
“You just accumulate this baggage and no matter whether you have a good record, all your people are going to see are the stains or the inadequacies,” he said.

Gary Mason [Globe & Mail]:     The mayor had become unelectable.
Despite his best intentions, and a list of worthy accomplishments, Vancouver’s Gregor Robertson – who said on Wednesday he will not stand for re-election – would have gone into the next civic vote dogged by the one issue that will cast a long and ominous shadow over his record: housing.

Kirk LaPointe [Twitter]:   It was my privilege to run against Gregor Robertson in 2014 and I respect his decision to not seek re-election. Today is his day and we need to properly reflect on his service to the city. I continue to reflect on encouragement about my political future.

David Moscrop [Twitter]:  “I talked it over with my family and it’s time to move on” is political speak for “I was going to get crushed in the next election.”

Derrick O’Keefe [Twitter]:  Gregor Robertson leaves mixed legacy. Deserves real credit for pipeline opposition. Progressive values got him elected but fatally undermined by ties to developers/corporate elite. Mayor fiddled while housing crisis spiralled. Vancouver needs a political revolution.

Andy Yan [Twitter]:  Another political ship claimed by the #vanre affordability iceberg?

Justin McIlroy [Twitter]:  Gregor Robertson will go down as the 2nd longest serving mayor in Vancouver history, and a person who presided over Vancouver during a period of gigantic change.   Rest of the political obit will take a few years to figure out.

Glen (Muscle Car) Chernen [Twitter]:   I am seeking the @NPAVancouver Mayoral candidacy and launched http://Chernen.com early this morning.

thekantastic [Twitter]:  Now that @MayorGregor has decided to retire, maybe he will have time to paddle for my dragon boat team?

A new macOS High Sierra bug first uncovered by MacRumors, allows any user running the operating system to change App Store system preferences without a password.

It looks like a fix to the issue is already included in macOS’ next update given that users running the operating system’s 10.13.3 beta have not been able to reproduce it. Thankfully for macOS users, the problem doesn’t allow access to sensitive user information and user and other more integral system preferences can’t be changed without an actual password.

It’s also important to note that in order for the flaw to occur, the admin must first be logged in.

In order to find out if your device is affected by the security flaw, open ‘System Preferences’ on your Mac, and click on ‘App Store.’ If the padlock icon in the bottom window is unlocked, click on it in order to lock it. Next, click on the padlock icon again to prompt an authentication window. A pop up should then appear that prompts the user to enter their username and password.

If your device is affected by the security flaw, input any password in the dialogue box and the padlock will unlock, granting access to the App Store’s preferences. I was able to replicate the security flaw with the 2016 MacBook Pro with TouchBar I’m using that’s running macOS 10.13.2.

Back in November, Apple released a security update to macOS High Sierra that fixed a serious vulnerability that gave users admin access to any Mac without inputting a password. The security flaw is likely to go down as one of the most serious to ever be uncovered in the tech space — apart from the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities — especially for an Apple Product.

While App Store preferences likely aren’t anyone’s radar in terms of being a privacy concern, this issue still speaks to some of the problems Apple has been experiencing lately, especially from a security perspective.

We’ve reached out to Apple for additional comment regarding this App Store security flaw and will update this story when we hear back.

Source: MacRumors 

The post macOS High Sierra bug gives access to App Store preferences without a password appeared first on MobileSyrup.

From the New York Times:

mkalus shared this story from Price Tags.

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For a start, change the Motor Vehicle Act’s name, so that all road users are considered in its contents.  After all, it isn’t 1957 any more.  More info HERE.  Check out this webinar by the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit:

Email:    bcinjury1@cw.bc.ca    to register for this webinar

Modernizing The British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act
To Improve Safety
For People Cycling And Other Vulnerable Road Users

Thursday, January 18, 2018
10:00 to 11:00 AM PST

Dr. Kay Teschke
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC

Abstract: This talk will review why the Motor Vehicle Act needs to be improved for people on bikes, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, horses, or on foot. It will review the aims of reform, outline 25 recommendations of the BC Road Safety Law Reform Group, and provide a more complete description of the reasoning behind 5 of them.

 

	mkalus shared this story from archpics on Twitter:
	I am pretty sure there must be tens of thousands of photos of then bridge from this location.

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mkalus shared this story from Price Tags.

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HERE‘s a video of several areas of Seattle, each filmed in a 3-year-long-interval time-lapse from the Space Needle. It reminds me of the video game SimCity — seeing the buildings go down, the vacant lots and parking lots go flat, then new buildings go up.

It looks like the first minute or so shows one part of AmazonVille.

Fun stuff to note. Ghost ships that appear now and then. Starting at the 3:25 mark, what looks like a good old Vancouver single-family neighborhood gets a lot denser.

HERE‘s the creator, Ricardo Martin Brualla at Hackernoon.com, describing the tech, truly a labour of love.

I started with two full panoramas a day for the last two years, more than 2000 panos. Then, the sequence was stabilized, as the camera shakes and moves over time, either by being knocked, or because of the wind and other forces of nature. The final step was to smooth temporally the sequence, to remove the variation due to weather and lighting conditions. The video below visualizes the process, but see the last section of this FAQ for more technical details.

President Trump’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to try to block publication of Fire and Fury, Michael Wolff’s revealing account of President Trump’s first 200 days in office. The publisher, a division of Macmillan, published it anyway. Now Macmillan CEO John Sargent has sent a memo to all of his staff about the role of publishers … Continued

The post John Sargent, CEO of “Fire and Fury” publisher Macmillan, shows how to respond to a high-profile attack appeared first on without bullshit.

FiveThirtyEight used a dataset on broadband as the basis for a couple of stories. The data appears to be flawed, which makes for a flawed analysis. From their post mortem:

We should have been more careful in how we used the data to help guide where to report out our stories on inadequate internet, and we were reminded of an important lesson: that just because a data set comes from reputable institutions doesn’t necessarily mean it’s reliable.

Then, from Andrew Gelman and Michael Maltz, there was the closer look at data collected by the Murder Accountability Project, which has its merits but also some holes:

if you’re automatically sifting through data, you have to be concerned with data quality, with the relation between the numbers in your computer and the underlying reality they are supposed to represent. In this case, we’re concerned, given that we did not trawl through the visualizations looking for mistakes; rather, we found a problem in the very first place we looked.

There’s also the ChestXray14 dataset, which is a large set of x-rays used to train medical artificial intelligence systems. Radiologist Luke Oakden-Rayner looked closer, and the dataset appears to have its issues as well:

In my opinion, this paper should have spent more time explaining the dataset. Particularly given the fact that many of the data users will be computer scientists without the clinical knowledge to discover any pitfalls. Instead, the paper describes text mining and computer vision tasks. There is one paragraph (in eight pages), and one table, about the accuracy of their labeling.

For data analysis to be meaningful, for it to actually work, you need that first part to be legit. The data. If the data collection process rates poorly, missing data outnumbers observations, or computer-generated estimates aren’t vetted by a person, then there’s a good chance anything you do afterwards produces questionable results.

Obviously this isn’t to say avoid data altogether. Every abstraction of real life comes with its pros and cons. Just don’t assume too much about a dataset before you examine it.

Tags: artificial intelligence, missing data

Cover image courtesy – here.

This series of posts is aimed at preparing oneself to face JavaScript technical interviews. Here is the source code.

In this post, I shall talk about let vs var, scoping, and hoisting of JavaScript variables.

let vs var

The main difference between let vs var is that they have block vs function scope respectively.

What is scope?

Scope is a set of rules for looking up variables by their identifier name.

In simpler words, scope determines visibility for variables.

Simple example:

 

In the first case, there is a ReferenceError, because the variable tmp is declared outside the scope of the executing code.

Declaration vs Definition of a variable

var tmp Here, the variable tmp is only declared. It isn’t defined, i.e. it isn’t assigned any value.

var tmp = 123 The variable tmp is both declared and defined here.

Variable defined, but not declared

All undeclared variables in JavaScript are global variables.

ReferenceError vs undefined

Variable hoist is undeclared, but notice the text for ReferenceError in the above message – hoist is not defined! Think of opening a PR to one of the browser JS engines to fix this message?!

Hoisting

Hoisting is a JavaScript mechanism where variables and function declarations are moved to the top of their scope before code execution.

Variable hoist is hoisted in the above code snippet and therefore logs undefined. In case of hoisting, this is how the JavaScript interpreter sees the code:

Temporal Dead Zone

A variable declared by let has a temporal dead zone (TDZ). When entering its scope, it cannot be accessed until the execution reaches its declaration.

In simpler words, let variables aren’t hoisted!

let vs var in loops

A var in the head of a for loop creates a single storage space for that variable.

In a let, a new storage space is created for each iteration of the loop.

The next time, someone asks you SCOPE, these are the things to keep in mind!

Source code for all the above code snippets is here.

 

Boris Mann @bmann
Why this one? Because @wirecutter says it’s the best one thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-c…

sillygwailo shared this story from Tom MacWright.

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I built a box breathing box.

Box breathing is a technique for keeping track of and controlling breath: four seconds inhaling, four holding, four exhaling, four holding. I read about the trick a year or two ago, and rely on it to get back to normal when I notice I’m holding my breath. I hold my breath when I’m nervous.

You can do it by counting to four, but it’s nice to have an external guide so that you can just concentrate on breathing. There are guides already, like iPhone apps and websites. I wanted something else.

I wanted something that didn’t receive notifications or show me content, a specific object for this task.¹ So I built this device from scratch.

The electronics came in one $50 order from Adafruit.

• 15x7 CharliePlex LED Matrix Display FeatherWing
• 3.7V 500mah LiPo battery
• Adafruit Feather Huzzah with ESP8266 Wifi
• Mini panel mount SPDT toggle switch
• Solder wire - 60/40 rosin core
• Feather Header Kit

The microcontroller is overkill: a 32u4 Basic Proto Feather would have run more efficiently.

I spent much more time working through newbie mistakes and setting up software than I did writing code. There’s little code involved.

I wanted the object to be excellent. Tactile. Soft but stark. With access to my dad’s workshop and his advice, and with a craft box donated by my mom, I built an enclosure from wood and plexiglass. These images, too, were taken in his studio. Many thanks for help on this project.

The enclosure is finished with many coats of a Minwax wipe-on polyurethane. The plexiglass top is lightly sanded to eliminate any shine.

It’s essential that the hardware stays in place, so we constructed wood shims for the sides and near the toggle switch.

The top is drilled out for the SPDT toggle switch, and the bottom has a Micro-B USB port for charging and programming. That’s one of my favorite features of the Adafruit Feather devices - a built-in battery charging circuit.

Someday I’d like to build a simpler version, possibly with an analog circuit.

It’s a good object, and building it was lovely. This is a box breathing box.

Price Tags: Now that Gregor Robertson has withdrawn from the race (and Andrea Reimer, Geoff Meggs and George Affleck – so far), who’s likely to be a candidate?  Here are my thoughts (plus SFU political scienctist David Moscrop’s), as reported in the Sun.  (BTW, I’m not a political scientist nor an urban planner – but thanks for the compliments).

 

As a dedication to victims of universal queer hate crimes, Woodcox uses his photographs as a solidarity stance to symbolize his belief in love and equality.

These photographs were intended to encourage people to recognize the interconnectivity between one another.

His fine art images have been featured on dozens of magazines and media sites, but what makes Woodcox’s work unique is his ability to make viewers question where the subjects come from by incorporating “strange or interesting elements.” These elements are inspired by real-life experiences and dreams. There will be more inspired photographs to come as Woodcox is currently on a 3-month tour around the 5 continents.

When discussing why photography stood out to him among other various forms of art, he says “Photography feels either like a fluke or destiny. I had no idea why I was so determined to try it when I entered college- I had never even handled a DSLR camera. Perhaps it was my love for art without talent for painting or drawing. I wanted to try something that would allow me to express myself more readily than those art forms.” If you noticed he prefers to shoot portraits, there is a reason for that too. He believes that portraiture takes photography to the next level because it allows for a more captivating story to be told.

With the title “What Are We Becoming?” photos like the one above truly speak to Woodcox’s sole purpose of photography.

“My purpose in photographing is to share my deepest truths, my most authentic self with the world. Being an artist is like a political act against common culture and doing what is expected; I have grown tired of our corrupt society and politics and I think sharing a brighter version of how life could be through my art is the best way to respond without contributing to the negative culture.”

While society may be overrun with electronic devices and the age of technology has caused us all to collect and connect online, it’s important to give our eyes a break from the screen and our mind a rest from overused unhelpful social media.

Building upon creating a brighter future, Woodcox shares his ideals about social justice issues around the globe, how it’s affecting us, and what he’s doing about it.

“I believe we are all connected and share similar experiences, no matter what our backgrounds. Everyone needs resources to survive or thrive, and we all want love in some form. I’ve been so fortunate to experience the beauty of humanity in 48 US states and 18 countries thus far, and everywhere I am greeted in different ways, yet with the same longing for inclusion and recognition. Social justice is common sense – everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect.  The fact that people are segregated based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, nationality, is a crime heavily thanks to corrupt governments and societies not supporting their diverse communities.”

Woodcox doesn’t beat around the bush when talking about subjects that are relevant, and most importantly need to be discussed in order to be changed!

“I think if most people were asked to directly hurt someone, they wouldn’t, but being disconnected through distance, voting systems, and the internet makes it easier for people to harm others with their words and political actions. My photos are a small way for me to share my ideas and try to bridge the gap between different communities; I’ve built such a large and diverse community behind my work, and perhaps sharing aspects of one community will help a different community understand better their differences and similarities, and will hopefully inspire others to accept each other regardless.”

If you’re interested in seeing more of Woodcox’s work, make sure to check his Flickr profile! He is also wonderful enough to share the knowledge in a few useful tutorials which will be shared via Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

A craftsperson knows what she’s making—and wants to make it well. She buys quality materials, follows a plan, and attends to details others might not notice. Craftspeople who do this find themselves in demand.

Artists are different. A lot of the time they don’t know what they’re making. So, they mess around—with no guarantee of success. On occasion, they discover something new. When they do, we pay attention. This is because captivating art takes us somewhere we didn’t expect.

There’s crossover between art and craft. Craftspeople explore through research and development. This can result in innovations like the iPhone. Conversely, even groundbreaking artists sometimes follow formulas. This might be why Warhol’s Marilyn looks so much like his Mao.

Exploration and craft are both important. The risk comes when you mix the two up. This happens when you over-commit to something with an unknown outcome. I compare this to pouring a concrete foundation—before you settle on a house plan. This might be a bad example. What idiot pours a concrete foundation for an unplanned house?

Sucky examples aside, I’m sure you’ve seen people do these sorts of foolish things. They commit their life savings to building a product that no one wants. They sign a costly lease before knowing how much money they’ll make. They commit to an ad campaign—without being able to express how their company is notable.

While it’s hard to know whether something will work out, you can take steps to get a better sense. You can do this with doodles. Doodles take many forms: Doodles are of test batches you make—before you order in volume. Doodles are the items you sell from a food truck—before you lease a storefront. Doodles are the new message you write your sandwich board every morning—before you paint a slogan on your trucks.

There’s little new in what I’m saying here. Some refer to this approach as “failing fast”. I hate this term, because it tricks people into thinking failure is the point. Others talk about minimum viable products (MVPs). This term is fine but abstract.

I come back to the word “doodles”. Doodles are cheap. Doodles are non-intimidating. Doodles are freeing. You can put down a lot of doodles—and throw them out if they don’t work. No big deal. They’re just doodles.

But sometimes a doodle is the beginning of a masterpiece.

The post Doodles appeared first on Eric Karjaluoto.

IMS Global, Jan 14, 2018

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From IMS today: "it has become known that one or more patents or patent applications have been filed that relate to the issuance, management, and display of digital credentials including Open Badges... IMS is making this location available to accumulate prior art—documented records or examples of designs and implementations of ideas similar to those described in a patent or application." The application in question might be the one from Pearson I reported on last November.

[Link] [Comment]

Philips’ Hue line of smart lightbulbs are widely considered as the best connected lighting ecosystems out there, thanks to its compatibility with a wide range of platforms and devices, including both Google Home and Amazon Echo.

At CES 2018, Philips revealed that it has teamed up with Razer to allow Hue products to sync with a PC. A new app, called Hue Sync is set to launch in the near future, allowing games, movies and music running on a Windows PC or High-Sierra Mac, to control the smart lightbulbs.

It’s still unclear exactly what functionality connecting to a PC will add to Hue, but it’s easy to imagine how the lights could work with music — think Nanoleaf’s Rhythm accessory, only without a built-in microphone. On the gaming front, lights could turn red when you shoot an enemies in a first person shooter, or lighting could change when a scene changes during a movie.

The PC-connecting platform is set to launch at some point during the second quarter of 2018, and is part of a larger version 3.0 Hue overhaul of the lights’ iOS and Android app. Philips also stated that with new version of its app, smart light groups will be simplified and that quick access to recently used scenes is coming as well. The company also plans to revamp the setup process for its smart lights.

Along with software upgrades, Philips is also planning to launch new Hue products as well, including outdoor Hue lights that are set to arrive this summer.

Source: Philips

The post Philips Hue lights can now sync with music and games on your PC appeared first on MobileSyrup.

Uber has been using a secret tool known as ‘Ripley’ to conceal incriminating data from police, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Between spring 2015 and late 2016, Bloomberg says Uber repeatedly used Ripley to avoid police raids in foreign cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Paris.

Bloomberg specifically cites a May 2015 incident in Montreal where a team of investigators for the Quebec tax authority raided Uber’s local office. The authorities believed Uber had violated tax laws and obtained a warrant to collect evidence.

Authorities, however, were unable to find any evidence. Bloomberg reports this happened because Uber managers were informed ahead of time on how to cover up any revealing information. According to the report, Uber managers across the globe are trained to page a number that alerts specially-trained staff at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, California.

Once the call is received, the personnel in San Francisco remotely log off every computer in a given office, which Bloomberg says was the case in the Montreal incident. The Quebec investigators ended up leaving Uber’s office empty-handed.

A year after the incident, the judge in the Quebec tax authority’s lawsuit against Uber wrote that “Uber wanted to shield evidence of its illegal activities.” Further, the judge said that Uber’s actions demonstrated “all the characteristics of an attempt to obstruct justice.” Uber maintained that it never deleted the files and cooperated with another search warrant in which the files were covered once again.

In a statement to The Verge, Uber said the following: “Like every company with offices around the world, we have security procedures in place to protect corporate and customer data. For instance, if an employee loses their laptop, we have the ability to remotely log them out of Uber’s systems to prevent someone else from accessing private user data through that laptop. When it comes to government investigations, it’s our policy to cooperate with all valid searches and requests for data.”

Bloomberg reports that Ripley was originally created in response to a March 2015 police raid on Uber’s Brussels office. Facing accusations of operating without proper licenses, police were able to access the company’s payments system, financial documents and driver and employee information.

The nickname for the tool, meanwhile, is said to be inspired by a quote from Ellen Ripley, the heroine played by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien film franchise. In the second film, Aliens, after the titular creatures defeat a squad of ground troops, Ripley suggests the heroes “nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

Source: Bloomberg Via: The Verge

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