Father Of C And UNIX, Dennis Ritchie, Passes Away At Age 70: After a long illness, Dennis Ritchie, father of Unix and an esteemed computer scientist, died last weekend at the age of 70.
[I stared for years at his “C” book on my brother’s shelf wondering what that was all about… and I’m part of chain of knowledge, passed on from developer to developer. The most fun I have with computing is teaching. RIP, condolences to his family.]
Source: TechCrunch
Kerntype was developed by Mark MacKay for Method of Action, a new educational website on design, entrepreneurship and gardening, created by himself and his wife. Nicely done!
A guy walks into a shop that sells ties. He’s opened the conversation by walking in.
Salesman says, “can I help you?”
The conversation is now closed. The prospect can politely say, “no thanks, just looking.”
Consider the alternative: “That’s a [insert adjective here] tie you’re wearing, sir. Where did you buy it?”
Conversation is now open. Attention has been paid, a rapport can be built. They can talk about ties. And good taste.
Or consider a patron at a fancy restaurant. He was served an old piece of fish, something hardly worth the place’s reputation. On the way out, he says to the chef,
“It must be hard to get great fish on Mondays. I’m afraid the filet I was served had turned.”
If the chef says, “I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your meal…” then the conversation is over. The patron has been rebuffed, the feedback considered merely whining and a matter of personal perspective.
What if the chef said instead, “what kind of fish was it?” What if the chef invited the patron back into the kitchen to take a look at the process and was asked for feedback?
Open conversations generate loyalty, sales and most of all, learning… for both sides.
[Of course, these simple examples (as important and relevant though they may be in context) are important as a lesson. Many of us get used to closing conversation. What if we were more open even if not directly related to our job? And the flip side. I’ve had many open conversations about a wide range of topics without anyone in the room telling me something important like “I’d prefer you work this way…” or “Why don’t you do more of this?”. Watch out for that…]
Source: Seth’s Blog
Marco Arment:
Android phones have been one-upping each other with screen size a lot recently. It’s an interesting tactic that seems to be working, at least relative to other Android phones. When comparing phones side-by-side in a store, the larger screens really do look more appealing, and I bet a lot of people don’t consider the practical downsides.
Apple generally tries to make it instantly obvious which of its products are better — what the trade-offs are. 16/32/64 GB: pay more, get more storage. iPhone 4S vs. 4: faster, better camera, Siri.
Bigger-screen iPhone proponents are telling me via email that they don’t necessarily want Apple to replace the 3.5-inch models with a 4-point-something inch one — just want a bigger screen model added to the lineup. But then which is “better”? I think it’s likely that many customers’ intuition would tell them that bigger must be better, and they’d make a choice they’d come to regret. What appeals to you in-store, side-by-side, isn’t necessarily what will appeal to you in long-term actual use.
★
[All true. But the point is subtle one. Many people may not care. It’s the same problem being complained about in other threads that the “4S” is not “5”. That somehow all new internals wasn’t exciting enough for the tech press. But here, tech guys are arguing over whether a 4 inch screen is better compromise than a 3.5 inch screen and whether an individual’s hand (specifically the person looking at this issue) can reach the entire screen as get it larger and is that a problem or not. For some, a larger phone with a bigger screen will be a better solution. For others, and I count myself among them, it wouldn’t be. At some point, a device stops being a “phone” a starts being something else. And with that you’ve now entered a very complex space of tradeoffs and design decisions. Size, weight, thinness, pocket sizes, cost, capability, battery life, experience all weigh in on what a device is… and worse yet, you have to live with the decision for a while before you’ll know whether it works or not and why. That is always an expensive proposition for users. It’s why reviewers who review a lot of “stuff” often seem more picayune than the rest of us… it’s not that they’re more opinionated and more demanding although many of them cultivate that belief. It’s that they’re forced to use many more designs. When you do that, you feel the failure in your hand. (“Man. That’s annoying!”). Yes, in the store a larger screen will have a positive impact, but carrying it in your pocket, not necessarily being able to reach across its surface and other issues may not be noticeable at first. It may feel like a cool drink of water in hell, or it may be one of those things that annoys you many times a day.. Hard to say from here. But that sucks.]
Source: Daring Fireball
via Frank : For Steve: We all have that same opportunity. Take a moment to consider your job. Boil it down to its essence: you make things for other people. The most important concept to learn from Jobs is embedded in how we feel after using one of his products. That very same thing is happening now in his wake. Look closely and you will see it: wonderful experiences have an afterglow to them. The delight we find in what we do is in some way lost in the moment, but captured in our memories.
[There’s been a lot of lessons to remember lately. Trying to embed them more deeply in my life right now.]
The Friends We Never Meet: I’ve watched people — friends — die from cancer. It’s horrible. And I saw in his face that he knew, just like they knew.
There’s so much more I’d like to say. Comparisons with exceptional people I respect from history and how rarely and brightly their lights shine, so rarely that we can name many of them even hundreds or thousands of years later. Or the fleeting nature of life, and how important it is that we do our best with what time and resources we have.
But mostly, since I learned in a text message from Corinne that “Steve Jobs died”, I’ve been thinking about friends we never meet. People we interact with every day but in a very one-sided way, and how they can be important to us without them ever knowing it.
And how it hurts to lose them, even if they were never really there.
[Brilliantly said.]
Source: Truer Words – A Journal
SJ: Ten years ago today, we still had not yet met the iPod. The last of Steve’s five decades on this Earth ended up being his most accomplished by far. Remember that whenever you think your best days are behind you. We can’t control when our lives begin, and we can’t really control when they end. All we have is what’s in between. Make it count.
[Yes.]
Source: Apple Outsider
It’s really simple. The United States has been run for the benefit of a very small group of people. That was never the idea of this country. This must change.
Occupy Wall Street is not part of any party. It’s not left or right, although many of the people that are part of it look left. But if you look at the groups that are forming around the country, you’ll see that it looks more like America than it does any single political discipline. If it works, it should be equally comfortable for a Republican who yearns for real representative government in the United States as it is for a labor union member, student or retiree. It should be the thing that we all agree on. The principle that Lincoln spoke of in the Gettysburg Address. A government of the people, by the people and for the people. Whether it perishes from the earth is the question. Imho.
The 99 percent message is brilliant, but it’s problematic. What if I were a member of the 1 percent (I might be). Would my participation be welcome?
[Dave points out some of the problems. Unsaid is that the message of these people is muddled and unclear. But he also clarifies quite a bit.]
Source: Scripting News
★ Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot:
One of Jobs’s many gifts was that he knew what to give a shit about. He knew how to focus and prioritize his time and attention.
[And is one of the most critical skills any of us can develop. Not just the ability to prioritize, or the often mistaken-as-a-skill being able to blow stuff off. But the true, “focusing on the important things”. Thoughtfully deciding that something is worth the limited amount of time and attention and focus we have, and choosing that this, right now, is the thing. Because not doing that is a waste of what limited time we have. Even the longest life is short measured in time. Lisa wondered how long after Steve’s passing I would say something to her about the fact that he was only 9 years older than I am now. I did tonight. If today was my last day was it well spent? And not in the overly dramatic way that sounds at first read. I often must be careful with my capability to be maniacally intense, and I work on the balance needed to focus that kind of energy. I’ve often been asked “be more like this person or that person”. I don’t always fit comfortably into other people’s worlds. In my personal life that’s not a problem, but it is something that affects my work life. It’s time to ensure that I don’t live in that situation for any length of time any more. It’s draining and uncomfortable, and it wastes what precious time I have. Today I got a chance to have some heartfelt conversations, crack a bottle of wine with some friends, and care for Noah. Now, I’m going to snuggle with my wife, and put this day in the “attaboy” column. With Yom Kippur arriving tomorrow eve, may everyone be signed and sealed for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year. May anyone mourning the passing of loved one this past year find comfort and grace and joy in the new one.]
Source: Daring Fireball
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Luxardo maraschino cherry or an organic cocktail cherry. Turn to face Cupertino and raise your glass.
(Yes, it’s a variant on a Manhattan. Yes, I’m having one right now. Yes, this is sincere. We mourn in our own ways.)
[Heh.]
Source: Coyote Tracks
turnings :: daniel berlinger 