Late sentences 13 August 2014
Flew out to SF on Sunday and got a bit behind on posting this.
Business
Ultimately, I think these numbers confirm my hypothesis: Apple is indeed the preferred vendor for people at the top of the market, but because the iPhone is priced (about) the same everywhere in the world, its market share is a function of a country’s average income and the way in which that income is distributed. http://stratechery.com/2014/iphone-india-versus-china-week-daily-updates/
“If our book consumption remains as low as it has been,” he wrote, “at least let us admit that it is because reading is a less exciting pastime than going to the dogs, the pictures or the pub, and not because books, whether bought or borrowed, are too expensive.” http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2014/08/09/orwell-is-amazons-latest-target-in-battle-against-hachette/
Although we’re sad to be leaving, the whole team at Crossroads Café owes a huge debt of gratitude to our customers for only peeking in, ignoring our daily fresh baked goods, not showing up to any of our live events, and just generally being uncaring pricks http://www.theonion.com/articles/goingoutofbusiness-sign-thanks-neighborhood-for-3,36627/
Ethics
Wikimedia, the US-based organisation behind Wikipedia, has refused a photographer’s repeated requests to remove one of his images which is used online without his permission, claiming that because a monkey pressed the shutter button it should own the copyright. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11015672/Wikipedia-refuses-to-delete-photo-as-monkey-owns-it.html
Right now, more money goes into fighting baldness and erectile dysfunction than hemorrhagic fevers like dengue or Ebola. http://www.vox.com/2014/8/4/5963751/the-real-cause-of-the-ebola-outbreak-its-not-what-you-think
Education
We have tried aristocracy. We have tried meritocracy. Now it’s time to try democracy. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118747/ivy-league-schools-are-overrated-send-your-kids-elsewhere