A Flash in the Pan ⇥
Adobe is stopping development on Flash Player for browsers on mobile.
Another Android advantage down the toilet allows me to exercise my knack for horrible puns.
Day: 8 November 2011
Siri’s Mysterious Blue Underline ⇥
Great article by Corey Woodcox, trying to figure out why Siri thought he was looking for a “gay bar” instead of “Graybar”. Cue rimshot.
[W]hen I touch the blue underline in a text, I get options on a word Siri wasn’t sure about.
I did not realise that Siri commands were editable. This seems like it defeats the point of Siri, but it makes sense as a way to teach Siri your unique inflection.
Color ⇥
Color was launched in March as a sort of Instagram for people around you. It was a laughable idea from the beginning because it never answered the question “why?”. Why would you want to share photos of a party with people at the same party?
At some point recently, Color.com (archived version) changed to the current version, which teases a soon-to-be-released live streaming app that would integrate with Facebook, a la Qik circa 2009.
Color is now video, instead of photos. It now uses Facebook instead of trying to start its own social network. And it now broadcasts worldwide instead of sharing with people next to you. Apparently, this version was previewed a couple of months ago, according to Fast Company:
In late September, around the time of Facebook’s f8 developers conference, [Color founder Bill] Nguyen revealed the all-new Color, an app integrated 100% into the Facebook platform, which also features Peek (now officially called Visit).
Color still hasn’t answered the question “why?”.
Simple ⇥
From their introduction post:
Using Simple, you can make purchases with a Simple Visa card, pay bills, earn interest, set up and track savings goals, and much more. Simple replaces your bank, but we are not a bank. […] We partner with chartered banks that hold your deposits in FDIC-insured products.
This sounds (and looks) very smart, but there is something inherently suspicious about handing over your financial information to a startup. I am rooting for these guys, because they seem to have a great perspective on how banking should work, but there is that slight trepidation that can’t be shook.
Georgia Pro and Verdana Pro ⇥
A version of Verdana I might consider using, and they made Georgia even better, to boot. I think these are fantastic updates, albeit very expensive ones. The base license for a family is $560, plus $560+ per year to use them on the web. Still, if you’re IKEA, this might be a good investment.