Blog archive
I’ve written extensively over the years for various blogs and websites, some my own, and some professionally. I’ve spent some time migrating old blog posts, articles, and ebooks from other sites into this new home. This library is still incomplete, but growing as I identify old content I’d like to restore, and I’ve noted any cases where content has been modified since its original publication date.
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2026
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Exactly 10 years ago to the week, I wrote a post about how Microsoft and Google getting into hardware was transforming the technology landscape. I bemoaned the state… -
I’m fascinated by the words Apple chooses for its product names. This company is ruthlessly selective with the products it builds, and for decades has effectively defined the…
2025
- Standalone JavaScript to calculate elapsed time from a date
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Since I’ve been alive, our government has felt static and immovable. The same parties, platforms, and personalities have dominated the national stage for decades and resisted younger voices…
2024
- Slouching towards Bethlehem
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As more companies report data breaches, my personal credit card numbers are compromised, and especially as I become more familiar with cybersecurity, I’ve become increasingly preoccupied with where… -
The Pioneer 10 and 11 probes launched by NASA in 1972 and 1973 were the first manmade objects with sufficient escape velocity to exit the solar system. While… - Bulk update image sizes in a directory
- Update Markdown file creation dates
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There’s tech in this thing that doesn’t seem like it should be possible. The extended reality features are the biggest thing for me—app windows casting shadows onto nearby… - Flyback transformer
2023
2019
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Of course they shouldn’t do it. But what if they did? What features would they leave behind, or bring to iOS? Where does it make sense for them… -
In the 1985 novel Ender’s Game, one of my favorite young adult sci-fi books, the “Nets” are the equivalent of the Internet, where characters can instantly communicate with…
2017
- What to expect at WWDC 2017
- Why watchOS development still makes sense in 2017
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If recent rumors about this summer’s iOS 11 announcement and this fall’s iPhone hardware refresh are to be believed, Apple is going to be betting big on augmented… - Android Wear 2.0 forces developers to rethink their smartwatch UX
- Accessible design in modern app navigation
2016
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Google shores up Android’s loosest edges for a billion users and every screen size - Android Instant Apps will reinvent mobile software
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Even with the Cubs winning the World Series and national politics inspiring breathless headlines, perhaps one of the strangest things about 2016 has been the transformation of some… - With iOS 10, HomeKit actually matters for iOS app developers
- How to build more useful and engaging Apple Watch apps with watchOS 3
- Delivering more engaging Apple Watch apps with graphics & animation
- Google unifies Android user experience with Pixel
- Designing effective watchOS apps
- Google Assistant will give Android app developers AI superpowers
- How bots fit into your app’s UX
- watchOS gets less complicated with complications & dock
- iPhone 7’s Taptic Engine API helps app developers shake things up
- Getting apps from A to B with Maps SDK
- Widgets in iOS 10 make iPhone feel like Apple Watch
- How apps can use iOS 10’s Messages SDK to join the conversation
- Thinking post-app interactivity with iOS 10 Notifications
- SiriKit gives app developers a voice
- Why chat bots work
- What is a chatbot, and why should brand marketers care?
- Building a chat bot
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When iOS 7 was first previewed to the public at WWDC 2013, it seemed Apple was obsessed with extending its devices’ thinness to its software. Fonts were ultralight,… - How chatbots factor into the future of mobile UX design
- Designing apps for micro-interactions
- What CareKit means for the patient experience
- Personalizing mobile loyalty programs
- Optimizing loyalty programs for mobile
- Incentive-based design
- Best practices of implementing Touch ID within financial apps
2015
- Video: Slack App Store, Self-Driving Ubers
- Video: Cortana for iOS, 3D Touch for Android, Verily
- Video: LinkedIn and Yahoo messaging updates, Android emoji
- Video: Top tech gadget gifts (Black Friday)
- Apple TV, home fitness & the future of the workout video
- Video: Square goes public, Pandora acquires Rdio, Apple Pay in Canada
- Apple’s approach to Android development with Apple Music
- Video: Tumblr messaging, YouTube Music, iPad Pro
- Video: Pinterest Shop, Twitter Like, 4-inch iPhone
- Video: Apple TV, iOS 9.1 update, Instagram Boomerang
- Video: Apple Pay at Starbucks, new Motorola Droids, Facebook Notify
- Video: Microsoft Lumia, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book
- What the new Apple TV and tvOS mean for the future of art
- Video: Nexus 5X & 6P, Android Marshmallow, Nest Weave
- Google builds its product empire with Nexus and Chromecast
- Enabling quick interactions with 3D Touch on iPhone 6s
- Video: Amazon Fire TV, iOS 9, Surface Pro 4
- Video: iPhone 6s, iPad Pro, tvOS
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The biggest news from the Apple event doesn’t run iOS. Alongside massive enhancements to its iPhone and iPad product family, Apple today focused on a product it once… - 5 iOS announcements to expect at Apple’s September event
- Video: Facebook M, Samsung Pay, iPhone 6s is coming
- Video: Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Google OnHub
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Apple’s new streaming service launched to massive hype this summer, bringing a new Beats Music–infused flavor to Apple’s iTunes-centric media ecosystem. Apple Music transforms how Apple approaches media… - Video: Windows 10 is here, the new Moto X, Livetext
- Video: Apple Watch earnings, Facebook video, Microsoft Send
- What you need to know about watchOS 2
- What’s new in iOS 9: top features for developers
- Video: iPhone 6s orders, iOS 9 beta, Showtime
- What to expect at WWDC 2015
- Video: Android M, Android Pay, Project Brillo (Google IO)
- Android news to expect at Google I/O 2015
- Extend iOS app brand experience to Apple Watch
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Because the Apple Watch display is so small, and because there are so few items that can be economically displayed within Watch apps, the elements that designers have… - How to build Apple Watch apps that make an impact
- Mobile car rentals will transform the travel experience
- Apple Watch Glances help brands make important data accessible
- Facebook Instant Articles, Verizon Got Mail, Google Fit update
- How to make the most of Apple Watch notifications
- Showtime cuts the cord, Google gets grub, Fitbit files IPO
- Video: Microsoft Build, Google Chrome on mobile, Snapchat
- Siri on steroids
- Apple Watch Sport unboxing and setup pictures
- Video: Apple Watch launch, Google Fi, Facebook Hello
- What we learned from Punchkick’s inaugural developer hackathon
- Streamlining the traveler journey with mobile apps
- Apple Watch orders, iOS 8.4 Music app, Android Wear
- Connected travel: the mobile, digital, all-knowing travel agent
- What is OBD—and what does it offer connected car apps?
- What do CarPlay apps and Android Auto apps mean for drivers?
- What makes a car “connected”?
- Leveraging Bluetooth in the connected car
- Designing connected car apps for drivers
- Periscope, Messenger, Xbox Fitness
- Video: Meerkat, Windows 10, Nintendo
- ResearchKit gives medical researchers new tools to serve patients
- Apple Watch event, Microsoft Cortana, Google Store
- Expectations for Monday’s Apple Watch event
- Layer helps any app integrate a chat feature—instantly
- Video: Pebble Time, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple Watch invite
- How Pebble Time could prove to be Apple Watch’s toughest competition
- 5 mobile banking features that bring value to consumers
- Video: Samsung LoopPay, Apple Car rumors, Facebook VR
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As smartphone cameras become more capable, mobile photography has become a hotbed area for technical innovation and user experience improvements. Photos are storage hogs, and users take and… - Apple Pay reinvents mobile e-commerce for iOS apps
- Everything is mobile now
- Video: Apple earnings call, Snapchat Discover, Apple Watch release date
- Google Now introduces app integrations to connect with audiences in new ways
- Native app development is the ebook’s next frontier
- What the “app unbundling” mobile strategy means for consumer brands
- Snapchat debuts new mobile-first content strategy
- Windows 10 changes how marketers think about mobile app development
- Facebook Lite shows how data impacts mobile-first app design
- Video: Microsoft Windows 10, WhatsApp for Chrome
- You need to care about Microsoft’s Project Spartan
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In 2015, some friends invited me as a guest on their podcast All of the Above to discuss ebooks and the evolution of “books” as a concept. As… - Video: Google Project Ara, Samsung Tizen smartphone
- What Google’s investment in Nest means for brand marketers
- Video: Biggest CES headlines for brand marketers
- Why automakers should care about CarPlay
- What CarPlay does, and how it works with cars
- Samsung is betting big on the Internet of Things
- How CarPlay works with apps
- Getting CarPlay from A to B
- Streaming apps take note: Google Cast now supports audio
- Meet the company spearheading the connected car industry—and they don’t make cars
- Video: Mobile Marketing Trends of 2015
2014
- Xiaomi is poised to become larger than Samsung
- Best mobile games of 2014
- Video: Android Wear watch faces, Sony Smart Eyeglass
- Mobile is not enough
- Video: Android Studio, Facebook Search, IBM + Apple
- Apps are the new books
- Video: YotaPhone 2, Google Glass with Intel
- Apple patents system to reorient dropped iPhones in midair
- Microsoft continues mobile streak and acquires Acompli
- Video: 5 gadget gifts they didn’t even know they wanted
- Lollipop makes Google’s case for unity
- Video: Snapcash, Uber and Spotify, WatchKit
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As promised, Apple released its WatchKit framework yesterday to allow developers to begin exploring the company’s forthcoming Apple Watch. But beyond the new controllers and tools for developers,… - Microsoft Band signals Redmond’s next chapter
- Comparing HealthKit & Core Motion
- Video: Nexus 6, Android Lollipop, iMessage
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When digital music first entered the mainstream in the early 2000s, there were very few reputable and legal ways to download coveted MP3 files. Countless gray-area download services… - Google redesigns Android, one app at a time
- Big data is mass transit’s next stop
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When Android took the scene on the T-Mobile G1 in 2008, its aesthetic resembled the Google of a bygone era. Software buttons were covered in a gloss and… - Amazon Echo, WatchKit, iOS 8 in Context
- Two screens are better than one
- Open the podcast doors: how the podcast renaissance came to be
- Quantify me: digital products for the quantified self
- PhotoKit helps developers call the shots
- Fitbit expands its fitness footprint with new wearables
- What is CurrentC, and what does it mean for Apple and Google?
- iPad Air 2 has hidden NFC, Amazon has a hidden app store
- Rooms are Facebook’s volley against Reddit
- Google reinvents email (again) with Inbox
- Apple thins out and fleshes out its iPad lineup
- End of an era: Microsoft phases out Nokia brand
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From SMS to Apple Watch, iMessage has grown into more than a replacement for text messages - Three new tablets, two new OSes, and a “smart cuff”
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Beyond the smartphone, the average American customer interacts with a number of different screens over the course of their daily lives. They review documents and websites on their… - iPad Air 2 has an “Apple SIM” to let customers use any carrier
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After Apple introduced its iPad in 2010, many Android manufacturers began building tablets for Google’s platform to match it. Motorola released its ill-fated Xoom, Samsung pumped out early… -
As Google began refocusing its software development efforts toward mobile, the search giant became increasingly invested in its Android operating system as a counterpoint to Apple’s meteoric iOS.… - What’s next from Google: Android L, Nexus 9, and Nexus 6
- Metal takes game development to the next level
- What to expect at Apple’s October event
- Responsive content strategy: how content needs change on mobile
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How iOS 8 lets third-party apps talk to one another, with the operating system as referee - iCloud Drive demystifies backup
- Apple Watch and the Fitness app want to replace your fitness tracker
- Swift is the language of Apple’s future
- Apple iPhone 6 sales continue, Samsung Gear VR, Say Hello to Ello
- 10 million iPhones prove Apple has learned to multitask
- Touch ID gives developers a sixth sense
- Say hello to Apple Pay: Apple’s coming for your wallet
- CloudKit makes sense of the cloud
- Android One connects the next 5 billion smartphone users
- Microsoft and Minecraft, wearable power suit, Apple buzz
- Apple Pay reinvents shopping—but what will it mean for retailers?
- Google Voice merges with Hangouts for free calls on Android
- Say hello to iPhone 6: Apple’s flagship has a growth spurt
- It’s here: the biggest news from Apple’s iPhone 6 & Apple Watch event
- Motorola stuns with new fleet of Moto gadgets
- HomeKit will define the house of the future
- 5 Expectations for Apple’s Tuesday Media Event
- Is this a sneak peek at Apple's smartwatch?
- Apple aims to reinvent healthcare with HealthKit
- As Apple’s Event Looms, Samsung and Sony Make Their Plays
- Save the Date for iPhone 6, “Yo” for a Smartwatch
- Apple Pay and NFC will revolutionize ticketing
- All banking is mobile banking
- Responsive versus adaptive web design
- Auto/mobile: CarPlay, Android Auto, and the future of the connected car
- What does the retailer of the future look like?
- How print publishers can adapt to mobile
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In just over a decade, Facebook has grown its user base to unimaginable heights and has built an empire that dominates the web. As the company has begun… - Wearables will reinvent theme parks, concerts, event venues
- One tap for pizza, same day book orders, 1 billion coupon users
- Microsoft reflects on its website’s 20-year history
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Like many mobile giants, Facebook wants to be an integral part of as many of your mobile experiences as possible. They’re looking to increase their presence on your… -
In 2008, Facebook released the first version of their iOS app to coincide with the launch of the App Store. The app’s interface was built to match the… -
In recent years, Google has put an increased emphasis on the design and consistency of its products’ web and mobile interfaces. At this year’s I/O developer conference, the… - Microsoft plans to merge Windows Phone and Windows for PCs
- What does Foursquare’s two-app strategy mean for mobile?
- Apple’s iTime patent, Dropbox’s “goof-around” week, Google’s Wi-Fi pay phones
2013
2012
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Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Nietzschean posthumanity -
An analysis of Citizen Kane and literary tradition - Net neutrality and its discontents
- Résumé.pdf, Sent from my iPhone
- Government is the very model of a modern Mrs General
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Some five years ago almost to the day, a 15-year-old version of myself launched a serial weblog about politics and philosophy. As I attended a neoconservative Catholic high…
- Escape from expectations
- Keep you in the rear of your affection
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Sex, gender, and politics in Le Guin & Haldeman - Class, warfare
- Some cold equating
2011
- The dig
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Yeats’s The Second Coming and cyclical Christian mythos -
“After Waiting for Godot,” George Szanto quotes Darko Suvin in his essay on Beckett’s most famous play, “writing dramas like Eliot or Williams, Camus or latter Ionesco is… - “Break of Day in the Trenches”
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An analysis of Samuel Beckett’s Malone Dies, modernism, and postmodernism -
- Rhetorical devices in Swift
- Minor literature and cultural otherness in The Lonely Londoners
- Misogyny lost, and regained
- Malone Dies, but where does he shop?
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Not to belittle the symbolic magnitude of Osama bin Laden’s assassination, both for American morale domestically as well as foreign perception and relations, but something irked me about… -
The desire of Western societies to begin organizing themselves more efficiently gave rise to curious clusterings of peoples and structures that became centers of commerce, culture, and government.… - Wish list for iOS 5
- Root of all evils
- On secularism and naturalism
- Mac OS X Lion wishlist
- Modernism and the machine
- Exit through the Gift Shop is an elaborate hoax
- How do you spell Gaddafi anyway?
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The Lost Generation, a term coined by author Gertrude Stein to refer to the loose community of expatriate writers and artists living in France after the First World… -
Until relatively recently, literary history has trended towards the fantastic. These were fairy stories, dealing with supernatural beings, forces of nature, and the oft-hapless humans who interact with… -
Radiohead devotees are an interesting bunch. Since—along with millions of other fanatics the world over—my fandom of the Oxford experimental band borders on religious devotion, I was obviously… - The next phase — the Masoni Review
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A feminist critical analysis of The Great Gatsby -
How Apple won the everyman - Best albums of 2010
- Welcome to the Masoni Review
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A Marxist critical analysis of The Great Gatsby - His count of enchanted objects
2010
- Sexual hysteria and interior design
- Free pancakes
- Sexual hysteria, starring Colin Firth
- [She obeys.]
- Factory farming & greenhouse gas emissions
- On moths “the” and “a”
- Cultural evangelism and bizarro-enculturation
- Dominion as doublespeak
- Gregor Samsa awoke one morning a symbol for himself
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Cold War paranoia in Roald Dahlʼs children’s novel -
The function of animals in The Life Aquatic - E(a)rnest attempt at sympathy
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One of the essential elements of our science-fiction-and-fantasy-obsessed culture is the understanding of what constitutes a monster. Most of these popular stories involve a monstrous entity in some… - The short happy dichotomy reversal of Francis Macomber
- Oppression and the American dream
- Francis Macomber defines humanity
- Waxing indignant
- Waning passion, waxing relationships
2009
- Top 5 albums of 2009
- Whitman and the American identity
- On living deliberately and remembering not to talk about it
- Make-believe memories
- Secret worlds
- Edgar Allen Poe and Incubus
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In recent years, political platforms endorsed by rock musicians been elevated to a prominent position in popular culture and in the psyches of mainstream Americans. Artists with uncompromising… -
David Bowie’s Major Tom and Ground Control, retold as a Twitter timeline in 2009. - Apple’s new offerings
- Newport pleasure!
- Why I fear for the future of Apple
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Among the more uncommon experiences is the realization that one of your close friends is destined for greatness. Thus was the singular thought running through my mind after… - The promised land in the age of discovery
- Video: New book by Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth
- Importance and impact of Duchamp’s Fountain
- District 9 will blow your mind
- Ice floats, or how I learned you don’t need science to write science-fiction
- Time travel is a bunch of hooey
- Mad City
- Video: Andy Thomson discusses the psychology of religion
- Two thumbs “up”
- Existentialism, nihilism, and a very watchable screenplay
- Karma and the Oresteia
- Watchmen, the original and the film adaptation
- The Hours
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
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When the Kansas School Board in 2005 decided to teach the theory of intelligent design alongside established theories of evolution, there was an uproar among more level-minded citizens…
2008
- Gun control & civil liberties
- Aesthetic experience & Radiohead
- On immigration
- This city deserves a better class of criminal
- Seeing Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin in concert
- iPhone 3G review
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Like I said when I started this blog, I’d give my opinions on “anything and everything,” including things like flying saucers. While I don’t take them (or their… -
Apple has all but completed the transition from their previous .Mac services to their new replacement, called MobileMe. Loosely defined, MobileMe is a collection of web applications and a… - WALL•E
- Elephant Shell
- Barack Obama
- Yeats’s “The Second Coming”
- Consolers of the Lonely
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Feminist ideals in Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa - The Wombats
- Prayer in metaphysical poetry
- A daring venture, perhaps too daring
- Why my iPods make me so happy
- How to bring back the 2D dock in Mac OS X Leopard
- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
- Put your Mac display in negative
- Change your dock on Mac OS X Leopard
2007
- First impressions of Mac OS X Leopard
- My [teenage] philosophy on life
- Favorite music
- iPods classic, nano, and touch
- iPod (6th generation) tomorrow
- iPhone, post-release
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The iPhone was announced at the Macworld Developers’ Conference in January 2007. When it was first announced, it created a media frenzy. The next great gadget from Apple… - WWDC 2007 predictions, follow-up
- WWDC 2007 predictions, updated
- WWDC 2007 predictions
- The risks of American escapism
- About Masoni
- Effectiveness of labor union actions, 1875–1900