Owain R Hunt

How Yahoo Botched Its Acquisition of Flickr

Sun, 27 May 2012 16:49:37 +0100

How Yahoo Botched Its Acquisition of Flickr:

If the Internet really were a series of tubes, Yahoo would be the leaking sewage pipe, covering everything it comes in contact with in watered-down shit.

Remember that scene in Arrested Development where George Sr. hears all his charges read out in one go?

The Avengers Defeated Irony And Cynicism

Sun, 27 May 2012 15:45:57 +0100

The Avengers Defeated Irony And Cynicism:

Yes, this is the world we live in, where the government can listen in to your conversations and might even be willing to nuke a major city, but we don’t have to live like it’s a dystopia. There’s still hope for decency as long as there are decent people.

I loved every minute of The Avengers, mainly because it was just plain fun.

The Facebook Fallacy

Sun, 27 May 2012 15:30:31 +0100

The Facebook Fallacy:

Facebook has the scale, the platform, and the brand to be the new Google. It only lacks the big idea. Right now, it doesn’t actually know how to embed its usefulness into world commerce (or even, really, what its usefulness is).

Maybe Germany got a bailout too

Sun, 27 May 2012 14:02:19 +0100

Maybe Germany got a bailout too:

In short, over the last couple of years, much of the risk sitting on German banks’ balance sheets shifted to the taxpayers of the entire currency union

You can’t get into debt without someone lending you money.

Some people are coming to kill us.

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:42:16 +0100

Some people are coming to kill us.

Behind a Press Release

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:20:44 +0100

Behind a Press Release:

Because Prototype 2 is great, and because nobody called me, and then started hiring people to run the show, I had my assistant start packing up my office days ago.

Good look at what happens beneath the surface when a guy gets fired from his own show.

The Avengers Request to Remove Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton from Dru Johnston

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:15:44 +0100

The Avengers Request to Remove Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton from Dru Johnston:

I’m writing on behalf of the Avengers here, but we wanted you to formally reconsider the inclusion of Clint ‘Hawkeye’ Barton to the Avenger initiative.

My thoughts exactly.

Copycats and innovators

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:10:48 +0100

Copycats and innovators :

How do I feel about all the Flipboard clones? I’d rather be competing with 1,000 copy cats than 1,000 innovators.

This tweet from Mike McCue was doing the rounds recently, and I don’t think I could disagree more. Innovation improves life for everyone. If my competitors are innovating, I’m challenged to do better, to improve, to earn success in the market. Copycats cause stagnation.

What Eduardo Saverin Owes America

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:07:57 +0100

What Eduardo Saverin Owes America:

Is this fair? No. It’s worse than that, though. It’s ungrateful and it’s indecent. Saverin’s decision to decamp the U.S. suggests he’s got no idea how much America has helped him out.

I’m conflicted about this whole issue. Yes, Saverin clearly owes America a lot. But how is what he has done any different to, for example, Apple wanting to avoid repatriation taxes on their profits? Why the outrage over Saverin compared to any other example of corporate tax avoidance?

Because Facebook is so high-profile? Because of the sums involved? Or because he’s left the US?

How iCloud and Core Data syncing works

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:55:19 +0100

How iCloud and Core Data syncing works:

Apple’s documentation for Core Data syncing via iCloud offers very little insight into how it actually works. Unfortunately, if you have no concept of what is happening behind the scenes, at least in vague terms, it is difficult to grasp what you should expect during the syncing process.

Fascinating.

BBC News - Pirate Pay torrent 'blocker' backed by Microsoft

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:43:35 +0100

BBC News - Pirate Pay torrent 'blocker' backed by Microsoft:

Pirate Pay has been backed by Microsoft and has so far worked with Walt Disney Studios and Sony Pictures to stop “thousands” of downloads.

The tool poses as real bit torrent users but then “confuses” peer-to-peer networks, causing disconnections.

Critics argue that the method will be ineffective in the long term.

Once again, attacking the wrong problem. In the big picture of piracy, BitTorrent is just an implementation detail.

Removing plugin dependencies from IB3 Nibs

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:04:28 +0100

ibtool --remove-plugin-dependencies --write MainMenu.xib.new --plugin ~/Downloads/BWToolkit/BWToolkit.ibplugin MainMenu.xib

(In this case, Xcode refused to correctly use the copy of the plugin I pointed it too, so I had to fall back to the command line.)

GitLaw: GitHub for Laws and Legal Documents

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:24:37 +0100

GitLaw: GitHub for Laws and Legal Documents:

Imagine a public system like GitHub but instead of source code being tracked, legal documents such as bills/laws are tracked (and just like GitHub, versioned in git). Imagine if, before any bill is introduced to Congress, its contents were posted on this publicly available medium with adequate time before a vote?

I love this idea. Whether you could ever get anything like this implemented is another story. You’d have to start small.

Top GOP Pollster to GOP: Reverse On Gay Issues

Sun, 13 May 2012 13:10:24 +0100

Top GOP Pollster to GOP: Reverse On Gay Issues:

It’s advising Republican candidates to emphasize the conservative nature of gay marriage, to say how it encourages personal responsibility, commitment, stability and family values. It uses Dick Cheney’s formula (which was for a couple of years, the motto of this blog) that “freedom means freedom for everyone.” And it uses David Cameron’s argument that you can be for gay marriage because you are a conservative.

Clergy Rebukes Media for Asking Wrong Questions About Amendment One - YouTube

Sat, 12 May 2012 01:17:49 +0100

Clergy Rebukes Media for Asking Wrong Questions About Amendment One - YouTube :

Finally got a chance to watch Rev. Barber’s remarks on NC’s Amendment One. Make time if you skipped it. http://t.co/vvx0C6S7

Tennessee Lawmakers Need A Reality Check

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:26:35 +0100

Tennessee Lawmakers Need A Reality Check:

The Gateway Sexual Activity Bill was passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives. The bill outlaws students handholding with each other while at school (because, according to the Tennessee House of Reps this is a “gateway” to sexual activity.) It also allows the parents of the student to sue the teachers if they feel the teachers aren’t doing enough to prevent sexual activity among the students.

Unfortunately not from The Onion. There’s two sides to the irritation over this bill: the obvious, “are you fucking kidding me?” side, but also “is this seriously what lawmakers think is the best use of their time and taxpayers’ money?”.

On making fun of Starbucks and being discerning

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:16:49 +0100

On making fun of Starbucks and being discerning:

I try to be discerning in everything, because I love it. I love the research and acquisition of specialty things, I love finding new and better versions of the things I like, and I love discovering the immense depth of hobbies and goods that most people never see.

Most people aren’t discerning, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not allowed to be.

An old post, yes, but as true as it ever was. (And yes, there’s a distinct element of either OCD or addictive personality disorder at work here — but I don’t care.)

Don't Mind Me: Zynga's Going Down

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:12:47 +0100

Don't Mind Me: Zynga's Going Down:

So the matchup is Zynga against the field, the field being every person in the world who knows how to, and has the will to create a social game. Who would you bet on?

Thoughts on RubyMotion

Tue, 08 May 2012 01:20:44 +0100

Thoughts on RubyMotion:

If you think that using RubyMotion is going to make it so you don’t need to learn Objective-C… you are wrong.

This actually echoes one of my main concerns about RubyMotion: a big part of development, of learning to build Cocoa apps, is trawling through tutorials and sample code. If your main reason for wanting to use something like RubyMotion is a desire to avoid Objective-C altogether (and given that current Ruby developers are the apparent target audience, this seems likely to be the case), how exactly are you going to learn?

Open sourcing - Alex MacCaw

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:19:40 +0100

Open sourcing - Alex MacCaw:

However, the majority of my work never sees the light of day. I’m constantly working on small projects and ideas, and for whatever reason they never get released publicly.

I want that to change; there’s no point in code languishing in my private Git repositories.

I personally subscribe to Tom Preston-Werner’s ‘open source (almost) everything’ philosophy - if it’s not creating ‘core business value’, release it to the world.