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- Why Creativity Needs Shorter Copyright Terms – The subject line says it all. The “creative” industries have done a good job of convincing politicians that longer copyrights are better, but they’re only better for those middle-men…
- Giant ring detected around Saturn – “The scale of the new ring feature is astonishing. Nothing like it has been seen elsewhere in the Solar System.”
- I don’t go to restaurants to tell the truth – “Tips are embarrassing and stupid – they’re vestigial haggling in a society that has otherwise moved on. If you’re going to a restaurant to be served and eat a meal, why is the price of the delivery open to negotiation but not that of the food itself, the ambience, music, heating or use of the furniture? All of these things can disappoint or delight. It’s illogical to fix the price of one element but not the others.”
- A Sense of Entitlement: Tweetie 2 – I think Apple needs to do more here — to allow for paid upgrades — but I also congratulate the author of Tweetie for having the nerve to charge for a significant update. He’ll come across a lot of resistance but it’s absolutely the right thing to do and it, potentially, paves the way for smaller developers to do the same thing.
- Peep Show ‘won’t change’ for anyone – Looking forward to this. Slightly worried that it might overstay its welcome — how can you top eating a family pet in terms of gross out? — but then I thought that for the last couple of series too…
- Fail Yet Succeed? – Nice discussion of the kind of things that all software projects go through. Really this is about half of my job!
- “The Government” – “Try something. Every time somebody complains about the evils or failings of ’the government,’ strike out ’the government’ and see what results.” (via @marcoarment)
- People get red-dy – “The idea of a ginger festival may sound like little more than a bit of fun, but when 3,000 redheads came together for a recent gathering it became a bonding experience.”
- Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why. – “It’s not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It’s as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.”
- Clive Thompson on the New Literacy – Maybe the Internet isn’t the end of literacy after all…
- Galileo’s telescope reaches 400th anniversary – “Exactly 400 years ago today, on 25 August 1609, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galilei Galileo showed Venetian merchants his new creation, a telescope – the instrument that was to bring him both scientific immortality and, more immediately, a whole lot of trouble.”
- Creationists, now they’re coming for your children – “The Greatest Show on Earth is a book about the positive evidence that evolution is a fact. It is not intended as an antireligious book. I’ve done that, it’s another T-shirt, this is not the place to wear it again. Bishops and theologians who have attended to the evidence for evolution have given up the struggle against it.”
- Apple Answers the FCC’s Questions – A few interesting tidbits, including the fact that two reviewers look at every update, but I’d say that there was little of real substance here.
- The brutal truth about America’s healthcare – “But the truth is that the rich, and the insurance firms, just don’t realise what we are going through, or simply don’t care. Look around this room and tell me that America’s healthcare don’t need fixing.” Still finding the whole debate quite bizarre.
- UK ID Card Technology Cloned… – “… in 12 minutes.” Wonder when the government will get the message that ID cards are a bad idea. Oh, and there’s no such thing as unforgeable.
- The hidden truth behind drug company profits – “The idea of ring-fencing life-saving medical knowledge so a few people can profit from it is one of the great grotesqueries of our age. We have to tear down this sick system – so the sick can live.” Big companies and the patent system effectively kill the poorest and most vulnerable people.
- Bodega – Interesting idea: an app store for the Mac. Not run by Apple and hence no crazy review process!