01.08.14 |
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I use Safari as my primary browser with Flash disabled. But occasionally I’ll run into a site with Flash enhancements or video which is better run in Chrome, which has full Flash support. Before Alfred 2 I’d just manually copy my current URL and paste it in Chrome, but this relatively simple workflow makes it a lot easier. Now I just fire up the Alfred launcher and start typing ‘openinchrome’. After a few keystrokes it’s ready to go.
You can also read the original thread on Alfred Forums where there’s several similar workflow alternatives.
01.07.14 |
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I’ve always been a fan of Vimeo, especially their video player, which I’ve found historically more HTML5 friendly and more responsive than Youtube’s. So it’s impressive for them to launch a new player today that’s rebuilt from the ground up. I haven’t spent too much time with it, but so far it feels a lot speedier on startup time. Nice web integration improvements as well as noted in Vimeo’s blog post:
No more toggling into the HTML player — now everyone who has an HTML5-capable browser gets the HTML player. And when you’re in a modern browser, even if we can’t fully use HTML5, there’s a good chance you’ll get HTML controls.
01.03.14 |
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The Dissolve is one of my favorite new web sites from 2013. You’ve got a powerhouse group of film writers, many plucked from the A.V. Club. A classy site design with strong typography, easily digestible articles and clear navigation. So it’s fitting that their list of the top twenty films of 2013 is excellent. I don’t agree with all the selections (I’d rank Upstream Color far lower), but it’s a good place to start for films to catch up on you may have missed from last year.
01.02.14 |
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Federico Viticci over at MacStories knows his iOS apps very well. The guy oversees and has written hundreds of posts for MacStories, so we shouldn’t be surprised given the high quality of writing over there that he’s very well qualified in his opinions.
If you’re looking for some fresh apps to start the new year I can’t think of a better list to start from.
01.01.14 |
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The best take down of “holiday classic” Love Actually ever. Killer work by Lindy West at Jezebel.
12.31.13 |
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Kotaku’s Kirk Hamilton:
The Last of Us didn’t fall short. It accomplished precisely what its creators set out to accomplish. It was about love and companionship in the face of a world-turned-nightmare. It was about the horror of survival, and about the gnawing fear that accompanies scarcity. It was about loss and coping, about why we choose to continue living when all hope is lost. It will remain a noteworthy accomplishment for years to come, not because any one of its accomplishments was all that remarkable on its own, but because together they made it seem possible that blockbuster games this good might one day become regular—though never ordinary—occurrences.
Well said. The Last of Us was a AAA phenomenon who’s story still resonates with me months after its release. It was my favorite game of 2013, and I was glad to see Kotaku shared the same assessment. (Giant Bomb ranked it number one as well.)
12.30.13 |
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I watched The Wolf of Wall Street on Christmas last week and while the movie is far from perfect, I liked it a lot. But I’m troubled by the viewpoint promoted on Twitter and in blog posts on how the movie “glorifies” the endless parties of drugs, booze and sex. Yes, director Martin Scorsese spends very little time on the negative impacts of main character Jordan Belfort’s actions, and some are cheering his behavior. But while the movie was entertaining, I was still repulsed by Belfort and everything he stood for. The late great Roger Ebert put it best in this essay from back in 1992:
The most fundamental mistake you can make with any piece of fiction is to confuse the content with the subject. The content is what is in a movie. The subject is what the movie is about. Word counters like Medved are as offended by a Martin Scorsese picture as by a brainless violent action picture, because they see the same elements in both. But the brainless picture is simply a form of exhibitionism, in which the director is showing you disgusting things on the screen. And the Scorsese picture might be an attempt to deal seriously with guilt and sin, with evil and the possibility of redemption. If you cannot tell one from the other, then you owe it to yourself to learn; life is short, and no fun if you spend it disowning your own intelligence.
12.27.13 |
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Noah Horowitz over at the NRDC:
The Natural Resources Defense Council has just completed rigorous measurements of the power use of the newly released U.S. versions of the Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft Xbox One. We found that the new models have made substantial progress on energy efficiency compared to their predecessors, the PS3 and Xbox 360. But despite these power-saving advances, the new consoles’ higher performance and new features result in up to three times higher annual energy consumption than the most recent models of their predecessors.
What’s most telling about their research is for most common streaming usage – watching HD movies on Netflix or TV on Hulu – devices like the Apple TV and Roku use less than 5 ways. That’s 15 times lower than the PS4 or XBox One. It’s minor, but between that and the ability to easily navigate with a remote control, I tend to switch to my Roku or Apple TV for movies vs. my new PS4.
12.26.13 |
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Niles Schwartz, writing for L’etoile:
Carlito’s Way is a beautiful after-hours ride to nowhere, a late night discotheque frenzy of manic physicality blasting off and crumpling down with the same bullet, where the dancers are passionately moving as if to a final destination of perfection, but are escorted out, dozing, on last call…Now, Carlito’s Way stands as one of his [Pacino’s] last headlining triumphs, his subsequent noteworthy work having shared before-the-title acknowledgement: Robert De Niro (Heat), Johnny Depp (Donnie Brasco), and Russell Crowe (The Insider).
It’s still an amazing film, something I want to potentially revisit during the holiday break. Available on digital rental and Netflix via DVD.
12.25.13 |
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If you’re an iOS user there’s a lot of app sales going on for the holidays. But there’s no better single sales grouping than over at App Santa. Very respected iOS dev teams with some excellent apps. I use Tweetbot, Clear+, One Password, and Launch Center Pro daily. I only use Scanner Pro every so often, but it’s essential for keeping track of receipts, especially on business trips.