What might modern vision be today without the phone as its reason for being? If you were a nomadic goatherd in the Mongolian grasslands, you might not even consider presbyopia a pathology. Many nomads carry cell phones for calls and music, but, except to play games, they rarely gaze at them. Instead, they rest their eyes on the ever-moving flock, alert to vagaries in the animals’ collective configuration and inclinations; but simultaneously they soften the vision to wide angle, so as to detect peripheral anomalies and threats. On camelback in the wide-open grasslands, the eyes line easily with the horizon, which means their eyes take in distance, proximity, an unpixelated spectrum, and unsimulated movement. A panoramic view of the horizon line roots the beholder in the geometer’s simplest concepts of perspective: foreshortening, a vanishing point, linearity, and the changeable shadows cast by the movement of the sun over and under the horizon line. That third dimension—depth—is never, ever forgotten by the nomads. The sun rises and sets on depth.
On the other hand, it’s dumbfounding that Apple is ceding what are clearly markets of massive strategic value, even if not of direct value at Apple’s current scale. Said another way: sure, pro tools and the classroom may be a relatively small part of Apple’s overall business, but if they think they’re not linked to that overall business, they’re nuts.
Smartphone software and technology can accurately track the severity of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, leading to better drugs and treatment, according to a study.
Because Parkinson's symptoms fluctuate widely on a daily basis, it makes it difficult to track the progression of the disease and adjust treatment, researchers said.
A Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Taiwan-based iPhone supplier Foxconn said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy US consumer electronics maker Belkin International for $866m by way of a merger.
FIT Hon Teng said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday that the merger with Belkin, which manufactures products including wireless charging devices and networking products, will give it access to sales networks, technology and production capabilities. Belkin has more than 700 patents.
The HHKB Pro 2 is a compact, beautifully minimalist keyboard that feels wonderful to type on. However, you will have to make some significant changes to your typing style, and that can be really jarring at first. Getting used to the new placement of Ctrl and Backspace, plus managing without a proper F-row and arrow keys is a steep learning curve, but when you’ve mastered it, typing on this board is fast, comfortable, and satisfying. It really pays off the name.
Moog Music has launched an iOS app version of the Minimoog Model D, giving the hardware synth that was used by artists like Kraftwerk, Trent Reznor, and Gary Numan a faithful digital reproduction. The app launch comes just months after Moog said it was discontinuing building new Minimoog Model D synths due to it “being consumed at a much higher rate than anticipated.”
I absolutely love the irony in this: the fact that Brandon and Stephen, while pointing out a flaw in an API due to badly chosen types, made an honest mistake that could have been prevented if the original API had used better types, illustrates the point they were making beautifully: a more strictly-typed API can prevent accidental misuse.
In two lab experiments, nearly 800 people completed tasks designed to measure their cognitive capacity. Before completing these tasks, the researchers asked participants to either: place their phones in front of them (face-down on their desks); keep them in their pockets or bags; or leave them in another room. The results were striking: the closer the phone to the participant, the worse she fared on the task. The mere presence of our smartphones is like the sound of our names or a crying baby – something that automatically exerts a gravitational pull on our attention. Resisting that pull takes a cognitive toll.
As usual, I will be asleep when everyone else is furiously refreshing their live blogs.
Enjoy the event, and see you tomorrow.
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Thanks for reading.