Superdoop News

Adobe now peddling scareware.

2012-04-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

From Ed Bott over at ZDNet:
"Adobe did something good this week, releasing a new version of its Flash Player software with automatic updating capabilities."

"They also did something truly awful—using their update page to push a third-party scareware program designed to separate naïve PC users from their cash."

This is completely irresponsible on Adobe's part. Flash is a big enough security problem on its own without customers having to worry about being scammed out of their money. A good rule of thumb; while surfing the web, never believe any image, text, or pop-up that tells you your computer is "infected" or "needs repair". These are always a scam to actually infect your system or get you to buy something. Another good rule of thumb; you don't need to pay for anti-virus software. There are several free options. Microsoft Security Essentials is a great solution for Windows PCs and ClamXav for Mac users (Clam also works with Windows and Linux).

The best rule of thumb; if you didn't seek it out don't install it.

SKIllustration!

2012-04-13T11:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a while but we're back, Jack! We've been busy working on some new sites and saving people's data.

SKIllustration is the site we've put together for Steven Kernen, artist and illustrator extraordinaire. Steven's site marks our first foray into HTML5 animation. With Flash rapidly dying HTML5 has taken over as the default choice for Superdoop's web animation and video initiatives. HTML5 is easier to design in, works on all major browsers and platforms, it doesn't require any third party plugins, and it doesn't pose and security risks. A win, win.

Hello, Little Printer

2011-12-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

Another video. This thing is too cool.

Address Is Approximate

2011-11-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

Simply stunning stop-motion animation using Google Streetview.

Just Say No to Internet Censorship

2011-11-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

From Tumblr, "Congress is considering two well-intentioned but deeply flawed bills, the PROTECT-IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

As written, they would betray more than a decade of US policy and advocacy of Internet freedom by establishing a censorship system using the same domain blacklisting technologies pioneered by China and Iran."

Get involved.

R.I.P. - Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

I met the man twice. Spoke a few sentences to him, I doubt he ever remembered. But I did.

“The future is already here, just not evenly distributed”.

2011-09-19T12:18:00.000-04:00

Ben Hammersley's prescient speech to the IAAC.

"Fundamental Truth Number two is that the internet is the dominant platform for life in the 21st century."

"We can bitch about it, but Facebook, Twitter, Google and all the rest are, in many ways the very definition of modern life in the democratic west. For many, a functioning internet with freedom of speech, and a good connection to the social networks of our choice is a sign not just of modernity, but of civilisation itself."

Jack Kevorkian to run HP.

2011-09-02T17:35:00.000-04:00

The Wall St. Journal has a lucid year-in-review of HP and the utter disaster it turned out to be.

Just when I thought HP was poised to be great again they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Post-PC Era.

2011-08-22T11:21:00.000-04:00

MG Siegler nails it:

"No matter what you think of HP’s big moves this past week, their step away from the PC world speaks volumes. They’re not doing it because they’re batshit crazy. They’re doing it because sales are declining and the margins suck. They’re doing it because they can’t beat Apple."

"It’s not a good sign for an industry when the leader of that industry quits and walks away. No amount of spin can change that."

Apple needs some competition.

The worst sites in the world.

2011-08-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

Slate tries to answer the question, "why are restaurant web sites so bad?"

"… I haven't ever seen an explanation for why this industry's online presence is so singularly bruising. The rest of the Web long ago did away with auto-playing music, Flash buttons and menus, and elaborate intro pages, but restaurant sites seem stuck in 1999."

"Say you're a designer and you've got to demo a site you've spent two months creating," Bohan explains. "Your client is someone in their 50s who runs a restaurant but is not very in tune with technology. What's going to impress them more: Something with music and moving images, something that looks very fancy to someone who doesn't know about optimizing the Web for consumer use, or if you show them a bare-bones site that just lists all the information? I bet it would be the former—they would think it's great and money well spent."

I've often asked myself this very question. Restaurant sites (and to a similar extent, band sites) are a morass of shoddy design, poor load times, and clunky navigation. Some of these sites are absolutely beautiful to look at but a complete failure as a functional web site. What many restaurant owners don't seem to realize is that their web site is often the front door to their business. Superdoop's philosophy, the simplest solution is often the best solution, might be a good foundation to build your front door upon.

You Will.

2011-08-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

Prescient AT&T ads from 1993. Narrated by Tom Selleck, directed by David Fincher.

One question; where's my stinkin' jetpack?!

Buying Stocks.

2011-08-08T10:48:00.000-04:00

A great post by Ron Delany about doing the basics to get the US economy back on track.

"I just bought some shares in an index fund that tracks the Wilshire 5000, which means I just bought shares in the 5000 largest American companies. I did this because I wished to take substantive action immediately upon learning of Standard & Poor’s downgrade of US credit. Standard & Poor’s, and to a lesser degree, Fitch and Moody’s bear much responsibility for the global recession from which we are trying to extricate ourselves. They maintained AAA ratings for companies run by abject criminals who knowingly, consciously, and systematically lied to US citizens and citizens of the world at large. Thus, they are culpable in the collapse of many banks (my own included) and their actions, among other things, drove thousands of families from their homes. As such, their opinion is worthless to me and it should be worthless to you."

404 Fun.

2011-08-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

A 404 error is the page of a web site one is automatically directed to when the web server can't find the requested link. Normally these are just generic, auto-generated pages but sometimes webmasters have a little fun with them. The fellows over at Nosh have spent a lot of time on theirs. Maybe a bit self-aggrandizing but still fun nonetheless.

iPad - The New Gamer's Machine?

2011-07-27T23:11:00.000-04:00

Electronic Arts' CEO, John Riccitiello, says that consoles are no longer the dominate gaming platform they once were and there may be a new sherif in town.

"Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?… We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago."

The times they are a changin'.

Mozilla keeps on truckin'.

2011-06-23T10:19:00.000-04:00

A mere 3 months after releasing a major update the Mozilla Foundation is at it again with Firefox 5. Download and give what many (myself included) consider to be the web's best browser a try. Improvements include:

• Better standards support for HTML 5, CSS3, MathML, XHR and SMIL
• Better visibility for the Do not track header preference
• Stability and security improvements
• Improved canvas, JavaScript, memory, and networking performance
• Improved spell checking for some locales

While you're at it, try their excellent email client, Thunderbird, as well. The web works better when unencumbered.

Verity.

2011-06-02T10:56:00.000-04:00

TermKit.

2011-05-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

An ambitious project to bring the Unix terminal out of the dark ages.

"The Unix philosophy talks about software as a toolset, about tiny programs that can be composed seamlessly. The principles are sound, and have indeed stood the test of time. But they were implemented in a time when computing resources were orders of magnitude smaller, and computer interaction was undiscovered country.

...while I agree that having a flexible toolbox is great, in my opinion, those pieces could be built a lot better. I don't want the computer equivalent of a screwdriver and a hammer, I want a tricorder and a laser saw. TermKit is my attempt at making these better tools and addresses a couple of major pain points.

I see TermKit as an extension of what Apple did with OS X, in particular the system tools like Disk Utility and Activity Monitor. Tech stuff doesn't have to look like it comes from the Matrix."

See it in action. Pretty slick!

Apple backs the little guys.

2011-05-24T09:55:00.000-04:00

Apple officially responds to patent troll Lodsys' claims.

"Therefore, Apple requests that Lodsys immediately withdraw all notice letters sent to Apple App Makers and cease its false assertions that the App Makers’ use of licensed Apple products and services in any way constitute infringement of any Lodsys patent."

Pretty black & white.

USB 3.0 vs Thunderbolt

2011-05-22T11:22:00.000-04:00

So Hewlett Packard in it's infinite wisdom has decided to bet on USB 3.0 instead of Thunderbolt. HP's worldwide marketing manager, Xavier Lauwaert said HP didn't see value in including Thunderbolt in desktops. "On

the PC side, everybody seems to be content with the expansion of USB 3.0. Do we need to go into more fancy solutions? Not convinced yet."

No convinced yet? Considering Thunderbolt is superior to USB in every regard, will soon be included on all Intel motherboards, and has a much longer life span ahead of it; what other convincing does HP need? The largest PC manufacturer in the world watches the rest of the industry move forward while it runs in place. Sigh.

Yet another reason to overhaul the patent system in this country.

2011-05-14T12:09:00.000-04:00

Patent-troll Lodsys is threatening to sue small iOS developers over in-App purchasing. All this company does license the patents it holds (bought) and extorts them over the little guys. I picture a couple of guys in shark skin suits; extortion (injunction) letters in one hand, clubs in the other, knocking on the doors of these small-time developers.

Their website is proof that these guys aren't legit; it looks like a domain placeholder. Shameful.

How GPS works in mobile phones

2011-05-05T10:35:00.000-04:00

A clear and concise explanation of how the iPhone finds your location and what data it stores. For the paranoid amongst us.

Front Pages from May 2nd

2011-05-03T10:51:00.000-04:00

A round-up of front pages from around the nation the day Osama went down.

The Appalachian Trail in 5 minutes

2011-04-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

A six month journey of all 2,181 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 5 minutes. Amazing.

Beleaguered Apple Announces Quarterly Results

2011-04-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

Apple Inc. posted their quarterly financial results: 3.76 million Macs sold during the quarter, 18.65 million iPhones, 9.02 million iPods, and 4.69 million iPads. A profit of $5.99 billion.

Wait, aren't they going out of business?

RIP - Download Squad

2011-04-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

Arianna Huffington, in her infinite wisdom has decided to shut down possibly the best software info site on the net. Download Squad, ye will be missed.