Fairness is the unspoken promise of most video games. Controlled by an omniscient and omnipotent designer, a video game has the capacity to be ultimately just, and players expect that it will be so. (Designers also have an incentive to… Read More ›
Articles
The Inside Story of BitTorrent’s Bizarre Collapse
BitTorrent had already tried to be the next Netflix, starting long before Netflix had become the next Netflix. The company was founded in 2004 by Bram Cohen, inventor of the open-source protocol that lent the startup its name, and Ashwin… Read More ›
When Apple wins, we all win
All of a sudden the wireless headphone market is a thing. After years in which wireless audio solutions have been nothing more than a novelty that dispenses with wires in favour of terrible quality audio, we now have the AirPods… Read More ›
The Final Flight of Martin McNally
Finally alone after eleven hours of feverish demands, threats and hostage exchanges, the hijacker pulled off his shaggy brown wig and began to disrobe. He shrugged out of a burgundy sport coat, white dress shirt and yellow trousers — it… Read More ›
One device for each task
I have spent many years searching for the perfect smartphone and latterly doing the same with watches, and multiple other products. It reaches the point where the search is more fun than the end result and it can also be… Read More ›
The true diversity brought forth was virtual…
I guess you could argue some small portion of the physical diversity moved to people’s choice of case. My girlfriend has one with a built-in loop- I’d find it clunky but she loves the security of it. A silver lining… Read More ›
To Trolls, With Love
It’s hard to convey the scope of harassment I’ve experienced in recent weeks. There were death threats, doxing threats, and rape threats. I think of the source in abstraction, as if it’s some moldy monstrosity in its mother’s basement, less… Read More ›
Living In The Beautiful Bubble Of The Not-Quite Internet
There was a guy who occupied most of my thoughts through the first semester of college. He lived upstairs, in the only single in the entire dorm. He had chestnut hair and the muscled arms of a rock climber. He… Read More ›
This year, we’ll probably need a little space from our smartphones
Do you find yourself looking at your smartphone a little differently these days? Thinking that maybe it’s time for a little break? If you are, you’re not alone. From hacking to fake news, to filter bubbles and work emails after… Read More ›
Tom’s home screen
Here is my home screenshot as requested. I’ve only changed a couple things this year. The main feature for me on my home screen is the bottom row (above the dock) where I have the four apps I check most… Read More ›
McGST 