FROM THE ARCHIVES OF PRAGPUB MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2009
Choice Bits: Overheard on the Intertubes
by Michael Swaine
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Wading into the chatterstream in hip boots, we wield the Axiom of Choice with gleeful abandon.
What’s Hot
Top-Ten lists are passé — ours goes to 11. These are the top titles that folks are interested in currently, along with their rank from last month. This is based solely on direct sales from our online store.
And Here’s What Folks Are Saying…
Getting someone to switch because you offer more of what they were looking for when they choose the one they have now is essentially impossible.
— Seth Godin
Ahh, now we learn what is meant by “locked down.” You will only be able to run Google’s Chrome OS on new machines made for it.
— Robert Scoble
Kindle versions of non-bestsellers will cost you a lot more than $9 or $10. Try $16.
— Shelly Brisbin
Things That Are Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile…
Miami installed the first ATM machines for rollerbladers.
— Ed Yourdon
AirTran to sell ads on seatbacks. Does this apply to 1st class and Biz class or just coach/steerage passengers
— Roy Robinson
Example from Japan of QRCodes is placing them on Taxi stands. Cell users scan QRCode to get a cab right to them.
— Chris Kieff
For those of us who want the convenience of sleeping at the airport… there’s these amazing things right here! “Sleep Box” they go by the name of…
— Chris Burns
Six Degrees of Bacon…
These Bacon-Flavored Rolling Papers are available individually or in a box of 36. Single packs are $1.95, while the bulk pack will set you back $30.
— GearFuse
Do we really need bacon-flavored envelop[e]s?
— Jason Mosley
Hi all, and welcome to my blog project. I plan to do 365 different nail designs in 365 days….
Today… in honor of my love and devotion for bacon, I chose to do bacon fingernails.
— The Daily Nail
In the weeks leading up to our upcoming launch event for J&D’s Bacon Ranch Dip & Dressing Mix, BaconPOP bacon-flavored microwave popcorn and our newest but still top secret invention, we thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane and recap the story of last year’s launch event gone wrong for Baconnaise. Namely, Mayonnaise Wrestling.
— BaconSaltBlog
We Like to Think of It as Refactoring…
Twitter ditching suggested users list.
— Guy Kawasaki
In a move that continues to shake the Second Life community of content creators, merchants, and consumers, Linden Labs has declared that free virtual content will no longer be searchable without listing payments on their website portal.
— Outland Traveller
Twitter has stopped asking users the completely uninteresting question, “What are you doing?”
— Jared Newman
About the Author
Michael Swaine served as editor of PragPub Magazine and was Editor-in-chief of the legendary Dr. Dobb’s Journal. He is co-author of the seminal computer history book, Fire in the Valley, and an editor at Pragmatic Bookshelf.
