Shawn Yeager

Penguin and the iPad

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:16:34 -0500

Strong, no-nonsense language from Penguin’s CEO John Makinson:

The iPad represents the first real opportunity to create a paid distribution model that will be attractive to consumers.

We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do.

The definition of the book itself is up for grabs.

Asked how he felt about Apple’s 30-percent cut:

This is better than the equivalent print agency model, in which publishers let retailers keep 50 percent.

Luzinterruptus, Literature Versus Traffic, NYC

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:21:23 -0500

Luzinterruptus, Literature Versus Traffic, NYC

10 Billion Songs Sold in Less Than Seven Years

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:29:00 -0500

10 Billion Songs Sold in Less Than Seven Years:

iTunes Store launched in 2003, with 25 millions songs sold by year-end. By early 2006 the number was 1 billion. By mid-2008 the number was over 5 billion. 18 months later that number has now doubled. Astounding.

"While I’m sure you guys will concoct plenty of things we haven’t even begun to imagine, the things..."

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:13:00 -0500

“

While I’m sure you guys will concoct plenty of things we haven’t even begun to imagine, the things we’re super-excited to see are any completely new ways to visualize your Dashboard content. Check out Tumblr on Boxee for some inspiration.

Developers: We want to build the most robust, unique, and useful API we can, and your feedback is essential. Please pass on your thoughts and requests once you get started!

”

- The Tumblr Staff on their evolving API.

That, folks, is how it’s done; no waiting until it’s deemed bullet-proof to release. Put it out there, let those who are driven to do so kick the tires, then learn, improve, and do it all over again.

The Radio Department — “Heaven’s on Fire” A...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:47:00 -0500

The Radio Department — “Heaven’s on Fire”

A bit of mid-week dreampop from The Radio Department’s forthcoming album, Clinging To A Scheme, expected to release in April.

"There’s a real lesson here for anyone who wants to enter a crowded market: play to your strengths...."

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:30:00 -0500

“There’s a real lesson here for anyone who wants to enter a crowded market: play to your strengths. Think through what job that hot new startup does for its users. Don’t copy what they look like. Apply what they’ve taught you to your own business.”

- Tim O’Reilly, Google Buzz re-invents Gmail

The Neo Gramophone: Audio as Sculptural Artwork The Neo...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:13:59 -0500

The Neo Gramophone: Audio as Sculptural Artwork

The Neo Gramophone is both a throwback and step forward in one, with a polygonal minimal-modernist speaker form which hearkens back to an era of scratchy vinyl audio while actually abandoning the former medium for an updated feature of streaming audio via Bluetooth, complete with hidden subwoofer inside it’s horn speaker housing.

Music and Tech Recap — January 2010

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:10:49 -0500

Music and Tech Recap — January 2010:

This is a great run down by Gabriel Nijmeh of the flurry of activity that’s occurred over the past two months, from funding to new launches to analyst insights.

Good for a laugh, and yet this was the the effective state of...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:23:41 -0500

Good for a laugh, and yet this was the the effective state of affairs not so long ago. Indistinguishable from magic, indeed.

(via suzannexie)

"The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to shipping, as we get closer to an insight, as we..."

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:55:33 -0500

“The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to shipping, as we get closer to an insight, as we get closer to the truth of what we really want. That’s because the lizard [brain] hates change and achievement and risk.”

- Seth Godin, Quieting the lizard brain

These and other insights from Linchpin, Godin’s new book. It’s outstanding.

Nick Gentry’s Floppy Disk Art

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:48:00 -0500

Nick Gentry’s Floppy Disk Art

Big Brothers (via datavis)

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:41:52 -0500

Big Brothers (via datavis)

Fast Future CEO Rohit Talwar discussing a joint U.K....

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:00:51 -0500

Fast Future CEO Rohit Talwar discussing a joint U.K. government/Fast Future study on the top 20 most popular future jobs of 2030

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays..."

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:19:49 -0500

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

- Henry Ford

(via hiten)

Active Child — “Wilderness”

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:26:00 -0500

Active Child — “Wilderness”

"They’d rather watch web video than anything broadcast. There is nothing Hollywood makes that can..."

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:50:23 -0500

“They’d rather watch web video than anything broadcast. There is nothing Hollywood makes that can hold a candle to Fail Blog for them. Was it the control that the DVR gave them that made them so drawn the ultimate control of the Web? I’m not sure, but what seems clear is that they’re not going back.”

- Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired Magazine, describes the impact of DVR on his kids in The Decade of DVR

(via Mike Hudack)

Jason Lytle — “Rollin’ Home Alone” A newly...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:53:00 -0500

Jason Lytle — “Rollin’ Home Alone”

A newly discovered artist that I’m really enjoying, found along with many other free downloads at Insound.

Things startups do and don't need

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:24:22 -0500

Things startups do and don't need:

Both a check list for what to do and not do, as well as an early warning signal for when a venture has gone corporate.

"What we want from writing is cognitive automaticity, the ability to think as fast as possible, freed..."

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:43:32 -0500

“What we want from writing is cognitive automaticity, the ability to think as fast as possible, freed as much as can be from the strictures of whichever technology we must use to record our thoughts. This is what typing does for millions. It allows us to go faster, not because we want everything faster in our hyped-up age, but for the opposite reason: We want more time to think.”

- Ann Trubek, “Handwriting is History”

(via Christopher Butler)

Though I cling to the nostalgia of handwriting and still get great satisfaction from seeing elegant, cursive writing, I confess that mine has devolved over the years to the point of embarrassment. I simply don’t write enough to maintain the skill, save the occasional notes scribbled in my Moleskin during meetings or the annual batch of Christmas cards — less legible every year.

But to Trubek’s main point, I’m not sure I agree. Does it truly allow us more time to think, or do we merely rush on to the next thought or task with the time saved by typing?

Rework — 37signals

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:49:00 -0500

Rework — 37signals