Reading List
A list of the most interesting things I’ve read this week, as not everyone sees me post them on twitter all day. It should go without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that I don’t endorse or agree with everything here. Stuff in quote marks, by definition, is quotation and therefore not me.
Me, me, me
- My slides from Responsive Day Out in Brighton (#responsiveconf)
- Opera: A proprietary software company doing open source right – interview and podcast with me and Andreas Bovens at Mobile World Congres
NEWT, HTML5 etc
- We’re not ‘appy. Not ‘appy at all. – UK government: “Our position is that native apps are rarely justified … Departments should focus on improving the quality of the core web service … When it comes to mobile, we’re backing open web standards (HTML5). We’re confident that for government services, the mobile web is a winner, both from a user and a cost perspective.”
- Good News about VP8 Licensing says W3C
- Google called the MPEG-LA’s bluff, and won – “Google received a license for techniques in VP8 that may infringe upon MPEG-LA patents … VP8 is a hell of lot safer and more free from possible legal repercussions than H.264 itself”
- Dealing with SVG images in mobile browsers
- Payments Task Force W3C: “The Open Web Platform does not yet offer standard ways to transfer money, demonstrate proof-of-purchase, and meet other payment needs. Without a standard, developers are forced to turn to native platforms, or use solutions that work for one service provider but not another.”
- The Good & Bad of Level 4 Media Queries
- DOM Futures – an explanation of DOM Futures, which are like Promises, but (am I being overly cynical?) not invented here
- Microsoft enabling Flash by default in Internet Explorer 10 “the primary device you walk around with should give you access to all the Web content on the sites you rely on”
- Meet the men who spy on women through their webcams – This is why W3C requires that “clunky” opt-in to accessing device APIs (geolocation, gUM, webRTC)
- New CSS tests – units and values by PPK
Industry
- Facebook users unwittingly revealing intimate secrets, study finds – “Researchers were able to accurately infer a Facebook user’s race, IQ, sexuality, substance use, personality or political views using only a record of the subjects and items they had “liked” on Facebook – even if users had chosen not to reveal that information.”
- Finally, a tablet simple enough for a woman to use </sarcasm> – “Do iPads or Nexus 7s scare and confuse you? ePad Femme is here to help!”
- Intro into running digital campaigns in China
- Can I buy an ethical smartphone? by George Monbiot.
- My Very Own Protocol Droid – naive Apple obsessive discovers other companies can make good things too. Favourite line: “Maybe Apple didn’t have it figured out after all.”
Misc, innit though?
- Posing As Progressives – On the anti-islamic “left”, censorship of free speech, anti-sex feminists
- What happens after Disney princesses live happily ever after?
- The Tweet hereafter – “Each of us will utter a final word. Some of them will be on Twitter.”