Harry McCracken / is on Nostr

Boy journalist. Bon vivant. Southpaw. Fast Company global technology editor.

Last Notes

2023-09-01 08:11:44

I’m in Berlin for IFA, the CES of Europe.
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2023-08-30 14:37:13

I've used an iPad for almost precisely 12 years as my main computer. It's been a rewarding and productive experience. But for this week's newsletter, I wrote about the bittersweet side of caring so much about Apple's stewardship of its tablet platform. https://www.fastcompany.com/90945363/ipad-vs-mac-2023

2023-08-21 17:19:52

Everyone should read M. Mitchell Waldrop's The Dream Machine, an excellent book about J.C.R. Licklider, a top-level tech visionary who inspired all the other greats. https://www.fastcompany.com/90938713/satya-nadella-book-lists-jcr-licklider

2023-08-21 12:45:05

Working on my new Fast Company cover story on Satya Nadella, Microsoft, and AI reminded me that I wrote a Microsoft story back in 2012 that was never quite published. Here it is, with some backstory and bonus material. https://www.technologizer.com/2023/08/21/heres-my-unpublished-time-story-about-microsofts-windows-8-and-surface-from-2012/

2023-08-20 17:23:19

Sorry to hear this. The computer industry is so young that so many of its pioneering giants have still been with us. But that era is fading away. https://www.reuters.com/technology/adobes-co-founder-john-warnock-dies-82-2023-08-20/

2023-08-14 23:26:44

I missed this piece by my colleague Jesus Diaz about Adobe's wonderful new logo, which it's inexplicably not using as a new logo. https://www.fastcompany.com/90915228/adobes-awesome-new-wordmark-is-not-its-new-logo-but-maybe-it-should-be

2023-08-14 23:26:36

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@npub1f2z…0tu2 The iPhone apps.

2023-08-14 04:55:02

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@npub1gzw…ekgz If there was a current one that was largely similar to the original except with Bluetooth and modern sensors, I'd wear it.

2023-08-14 04:54:03

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@npub1f2z…0tu2 I have two Garmins these days and like them both (but am not crazy about the apps).

2023-08-11 16:04:08

I loved the Jawbone Up and Misfit Ray, in part because I like to wear a conventional non-smartwatch. But they both seemed to have serious quality-control problems. https://www.theverge.com/23820207/fitness-bands-less-popular-wearables-smartwatches

2023-08-10 21:29:07

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@npub1prs…6e5a Living in the San Francisco area, I'm frequently reminded that an area can be devastated and come back.

2023-08-09 21:31:21

Awful news about a wonderful place. https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/much-of-lahaina-maui-destroyed-wildfires-18287496.php

2023-08-06 00:52:21

I’ve been listening to this on Audible. It’s a remarkably good business book. https://www.harpercollinsleadership.com/9781400225439/becoming-trader-joe/

2023-08-05 20:01:24

I’m at the Vintage Computer Festival West.
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2023-07-17 23:28:58

Rate limits are the new social-networking hotness. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/17/the-spam-bots-have-now-found-threads-as-company-announces-its-own-rate-limits/

2023-07-12 15:44:19

This is unimaginable, and I feel guilty: I stopped buying Anchor Steam after they ditched their iconic labels for a dismal redesign, which felt like Coke getting rid of its logo. The worst San-Francisco-in-crisis news so far. https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/anchor-brewing-company-ceasing-operations-18196509.php

2023-07-06 06:23:46

Sounds bizarre, but I'm glad they already moved the last standing Doggie Diner head, which I believe was originally on the land this monstrosity would occupy. https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/outer-sunset-sf-50-story-tower-renderings-18185968.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight