It was the internet before the internet. Now France’s Minitel, a pioneering Videotex information service used by 25 million people at its height, will be switched off after 30 years online. via paidcontent.org Continue reading

HEY HEY HEY! Watch this slide show! LOOK! We have modern chairs and minimalist light fixtures!! LOOK! It’s an orchid floating in a pool at sunset! Want to hear some DANCE MUSIC? Mute it any time you like! Just click the animated parakeet flying around the screen! You want to get into the site? Just click the smallest fork!!! DANCE MUSIC!!!!! via www.mcsweeneys.net I love this imagined dialogue and in all seriousness it is exactly why the NearSay Marketplace is there to help confused restaurant sites everywhere share their news in a better way. Continue reading

Take, for instance, a recent search for “cassoulet.” The top search result is a recipe from Epicurious, one of the larger and better sites. But if you refine by time, your choices are “less than 15 min,” “less than 30 min,” or “less than 60 min.” There is no option for more than 60 minutes. In truth, a classic cassoulet takes at least 4 hours to make, if not several days (the Epicurious recipe takes 4 hours and 30 minutes; yet there in the results are recipes under each of these three time classes. One from Tablespoon goes so far as to claim to take just 1 minute. (It’s made with kidney beans, canned mushrooms, and beef, so it’s not long on authenticity.) If you refine by calories, you can even find two cassoulets that are purportedly fewer than 100 calories per person: the Lamb Shank Cassoulet from Good To Know contains a full lamb shank and sausage link per serving, yet is supposed to weigh in at just 77 calories a serving. No such dish exists unless the serving size is a pinch. via www.food52.com :( But I want a recipe for Cassoulet that takes 1 minute and has 77 calories. Continue reading

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Here’s more from Carr: “One executive from a major publisher, who declined to speak for attribution because the company is in the midst of negotiations with The Atavist, all but wolf-whistled when I called. ‘It’s almost unbelievable that these three guys came up with something so spectacular,’ he said. ‘This is something we are all working on, and the solution that they came up with both in terms of the reader experience and the production is really remarkable.’” via www.mediabistro.com "Unbelievable" really? Just proves that everything really is just timing. It's nice stuff but really goes back almost fifteen years, - voyager expanded book, livereads, many many others. Just smart (and it is smart) multimedia into text with good use of annotations, extras, and windows. I don't know if it is the NYT coverage or the non-technical book publishing industry executives who have constant golly-gee moments that makes things like this and the "vook" into wonders of innovation. Perhaps the people who worked on this in the 90's don't work there, or maybe trade publishers are unaware to what goes on in textbooks or travel guides. Not do diss what the team at Atavist have done. Very nice examples of e-reading. I just bought Lifted and am looking forward to reading it. Continue reading

Conclusion: All New York Times Style section loathing is actually self-loathing. via gawker.com From "Why Is the New York Times Style Section So Loathsome? An Investigation" - nice piece. I was thinking where is my Bushmill's profile? About a Thursday Styles Article about a guy who seems to be decorating his apartment from things I've given recently given away over the past few years from team photos, club chairs... Continue reading

If the information is valuable to law enforcement, it could be lucrative for marketers. The major American cellphone providers declined to explain what exactly they collect and what they use it for. via www.nytimes.com Continue reading

Over a decade after the web portal stopped making sense, Facebook is trying to assemble itself, like some ill-conceived Voltron, into the next. via idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com Continue reading

via www.harpersbazaar.com They Would Be #1 On Amazon and satisfy their need for attention. Continue reading

One of psychology’s most respected journals has agreed to publish a paper presenting what its author describes as strong evidence for extrasensory perception, the ability to sense future events. via www.nytimes.com I knew this was going to happen. Continue reading

via gizmodo.com Now I really have to get an iPad. Continue reading

What’s the exit potential for Automattic? Our goal’s not to be acquired. via techcrunch.com Continue reading

I grew up across the street from the Dakota and wrote this essay on Mr. Beller's Neighborhood shortly after 9/11 about hearing the shots that killed John Lennon. I can't believe it was 30 years ago. Continue reading

Do you have a PSFC member in your life who has a sense of humor? Want to help fight hunger and bring some levity at the same time? These shirts and tote bag were inspired by a NY Times article about the PSFC that made me think of The Scarlet Letter. I am donating all of the profit from their sale to The Food Bank. Last year I was able to donate over $250 as a result. There come in many PSFC flavors; "On Alert", ""Grace Period", "Doing A Make Up" and are available for adults, toddlers, and tote-bag carriers. Get yours here. Continue reading

Lately I've been posting on definitiveink.tumblr.com. This space may resume at some point but for now I just don't feel like logging into it. Continue reading

At the rate we're going, chocolate is going to be a rare—and extremely pricey—commodity within the next twenty years. Somebody needs to light a fire under those Oompa-Loompas, stat. via gizmodo.com Continue reading

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Two weeks ago, Grewal took part in Wheat Ridge Cyclery’s Crooked Roubaix, his first competitive event since his retirement. Despite riding a mountain bike, flat pedals and hiking boots, Grewal finished the 90-mile gran fondo-style high-altitude event on dirt and paved roads in the leading group, crossing the line in fourth place out of a field of some 125 starters. via velonews.competitor.com Reading in the NYT about Thomas Muster's planned comeback in tennis made me think of this story from a few weeks ago. The fact that Grewal was riding a mountain bike with flat pedals and wearing hiking boots is just wild. Continue reading