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Google Assistant Ride at CES 2019

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I’ve always had a healthy obsession with Disney Imagineers, so seeing a project like this outside of the shadow of The Mouse gets me super excited. Given the trend for consumers has shifted towards experiences, I wish more brands would create experiences like this. Yes, it’s Google. Yes, they have a ton of money. Yes, it was for CES, which is a big deal. I do think there’s something to take away from the general production of this idea for smaller brands. I hope we see more experiences like this pop up in the future.

GitHub free users now have unlimited private repositories

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GitHub Free now includes unlimited private repositories. For the first time, developers can use GitHub for their private projects with up to three collaborators per repository for free. Many developers want to use private repos to apply for a job, work on a side project, or try something out in private before releasing it publicly. Starting today, those scenarios, and many more, are possible on GitHub at no cost. Public repositories are still free (of course—no changes there) and include unlimited collaborators.

This is awesome news. Now I can move all my stuff from BitBucket to my free GitHub account!

Read the full post on GitHub’s blog.

Raspberry Pi made a cheaper version of its most powerful PC

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The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s goal is to make computing as cheap and accessible as possible, so today, it’s introducing a new $25 computer that shares many of the highlights as its top-of-the-line $35 device . The new model, called the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ , uses the same quad-core 1.4GHz Broadcom processor as the high-end Model B+.

I’ve messed around with an UNO Arduino and really see the potential just after an hour or so of playing with it. This new Raspberry Pi might be a reason for me to finally jump on buying a pi.

Source: Raspberry Pi made a cheaper version of its most powerful PC

Is Google’s AMP Worth the Effort?

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Today, Digiday posted a piece about the AMP’s dominance over Facebook’s Instant Articles (which isn’t a surprise) give the issues a lot publishers have had with it.

At my current agency, we’ve add AMP to a number of our client websites but have yet to really see a giant jump in their mobile traffic to AMP pages, even with SEO efforts specifically driving to those pages.

It’s actually been a significant amount of effort for minimal return. Even though the pages load a lot faster, I’m not totally sure it’s worth the effort right now.

Link Bait 2018-05-31

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I normally stick to tech news, but I’ve been looking for some personal help lately. I think the fact that scientists found the “spiritual” part of the human brain is super fascinating. Historically, scientists, sociologists, and the like have claimed that people of “lesser intelligence” are more spiritual, so it will be interesting to see how scientists try to quantify “spirituality.”
The most interesting post in this link bait is article on Quartz on how Resilience is the new happiness. Happiness has been something that’s been hard to come by for me lately. I’m just working and working (and working at home) with little reprieve from everything. I’d be curious to know if anyone else feels like they’re striving for resilience over happiness. I know I have been.

Whether your transcendent state involves a church, nature, or a stadium full of sports fans, it appears to have the same effect on the brain.
40-year-old SS7 is being actively used to track user locations and communications.
To be happy, you have to first learn how to be strong.
Gates has recommended 186 books on his blog since Jan. 2010. So get cracking.
created in Publicate

Today’s Link Bait

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There’s an abundance of things around the internets.

The way we evaluate our purpose has changed, and it’s making us miserable.
My being a zealous career-long time manager cost me more in relationship depth and quality than I ever gained in efficiency or productivity.
How to stop setting up definitions for overkill terminology and start doing the job. Cry of my heart.
Find out the environmental impact of your search-engine and overall internet usage.
“We sweep dust to remove our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments.”
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Link Bait

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I’m trying to force myself to post more to my own website since I spend so much time reading and researching around the web. I’m hoping that these round-up help other people (but they’re mostly for my own reference).

Imagine walking down the street and you see a poster for your favorite movie. By simply pointing your phone camera at the poster, the characters from the movie come to life, instantly immersing you in an Augmented Reality (AR) experience through your phone. AR target tracking is the next milestone…
Balint Seeber found that cities around the US are leaving their emergency siren radio communication systems unencrypted, and vulnerable to spoofing.
Heatmaps can show you the exact spots that receive the most engagement on a given page. Here’s why they’re so efficient for your marketing goals and how they can be integrated with your WordPress site.
What’d they get right, and what could they have done better? Product Design Lead Noah Stokes reflects.
A peek beyond the neon pink and yellow headlines and photos of YouTube stars.
created in Publicate

Instagram Announces You’ll Soon See “Newer” Posts In Your Feed

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I’m surprised that it took Instagram so long to add this option back after all the negative comments they got when they changed it over a year ago.

What users really want is a chronological feed, but today’s announcement is at least an acknowledgement that not everything about the algorithmic timeline is working.

Read the full article over on Wired: Instagram Announces You’ll Soon See “Newer” Posts In Your Feed

Overcast 4.1 Released

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Marco Arment released Overcast 4.1 in the App Store this week. One of the new features is a game changer.

Smart Resume is actually two features:

1. It jumps back by up to a few seconds after having been paused to help remind you of the conversation.

2. It slightly adjusts resumes and seeks to fall in the silences between spoken words when reasonably possible.

Both are subtle but noticeable benefits (my favorite kind), especially when you’re being interrupted a lot, such as while following turn-by-turn navigation directions.

Smart Resume is on by default, and can be turned off in Nitpicky Details.

John Gruber sums up the feature well: “My favorite type of feature is one that makes you think, “Why did no one think of this years ago?” This is that sort of feature.”

Check out all the of release notes on Marco’s website, then download Overcast to level up your podcasting.