- On this day in 1996, Apple acquired NeXT – Fifteen years ago today Apple effectively started its upward trajectory.
- Why big companies can’t change – "At the polar opposite position from big industrial companies sit startups, nearly every one of which begins with an effortless expression of why? Big companies ask What? then How? but almost never Why?"
- Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 – "I’m not going to say R.I.P. I don’t think Christopher Hitchens is at rest. I don’t think there is anything left of him to rest. I think he is dead. But tonight, I’ll be raising a glass of Scotch in his honor. The world is a better place because he was in it, and it is a sadder, less interesting place now that he’s not."
- The Rise and Fall of the Independent Developer – "My fear is that It’s only a matter of time before developers find the risks and expenses prohibitive and retreat to the safety of a larger organization. We’ll be going back to square one."
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s choice is beyond belief – "But what these cases illustrate is that in certain areas compromise is not possible because the rights of different minorities are mutually exclusive. When one group refuses to fulfil its job description because it disapproves of another group, there is no middle ground, no give and take."
- Turnabout is fair play – "This is so wonderfully, evilly devious. Superficially, it seems to support creationist methods—but what it actually is is a grand reductio ad absurdam."
- Google’s Business Model – Who is the customer and what is the product? (via @daringfireball)
- Björk: ‘Manchester is the prototype’ – "Biophilia is the Icelandic singer's new project – the word means 'love of living things' – and promises to push the envelope so far you'll need the Hubble telescope to see it."
- Protest The Pope – My images from todays "Protest the Pope" march and rally in London.
- Introducing: Yummy 2.5 – New version of Yummy, my iOS Delicious.com client, is now available on the App Store. Now includes iPad support, works better on iOS4 and has experimental pinboard.in support.
- No sense of humour at all – "Personally, I'd love to see the Pope in a debate on abortion, where he would actually have to address difficult questions and defend his own ideas. Best idea yet would be a debate on various controversial topics, like birth control, abortion, the role of women in the church, and homosexuality…with the Pope on one side, and Stephen Fry on the other. It could be perfectly respectful, and it would be hilarious."
- Audio slideshow: Hubble’s first 20 years – Amazing. Beautiful.
- Do liberals read only liberal blogs? – The dangers of the "long tail…" I deliberately go read Daily Mail headlines on a regular basis just to check that I'm sane. The moment I start to agree, please shoot me.
- Evolution Test – I just don't get it. Is evolution really that hard? How can you misunderstand it so badly that you can come up with this list of questions and think it proves… well, anything? (Part of me hates to single out this site as there are dozens, if not hundreds, of similar ones.)
- Crash Could Free Up Wall Street's Grip on Bright Young Minds – "But the big paychecks came with what economists call opportunity costs. Instead of spending their days searching for exotic trades, some of these Wall Street wizards could've been creating drugs, imagining software, or solving energy problems."
- The Norway Lesson: The Benefits of Good Financial Behavior – "Norway made it a point to budget, to save, and to protect against unnecessary risk. Then, it went on to buy when everyone else was selling." Any other country would have spent all earnings from oil on tax cuts (that's what happened with North Sea Gas in the UK), but Norway did the smart thing.