How about a negative story sandwich? Google isn’t getting much better for women, my new key switches are amazing, and Twitter defends their Nazis because they don’t want to offend the elected Nazis.
No? That didn’t make it better. I think the good things are supposed to go on the outside. But that doesn’t make sense. Bread is the most boring part of a sandwich.
Anyway, let’s take a look back at this week’s stories, shall we? Maybe others from around the web will be more positive.
In This Article:
Leaf and Core Rewind
Google Workers Sit In to Protest Retaliation and Sexism
Google elevates male sexual harassers at the cost of women.
Those darn Google employees! First, they were irrationally upset that Google was rewarding sexual abusers instead of firing them. Now they’re upset that Google is retaliating for calling out its culture of sexism, misogyny, racism, and sexual harassment. Those darn millennials, getting upset over a few million dollar payouts to men who honestly tried to buy employees as sex slaves.
Google hasn’t gotten much better. They ended forced arbitration, but have retaliated against women who spoke up. Looks like despite Google’s worst efforts and tiny changes, sexism persists at the sexist company. Who would have predicted that?
Twitter Won’t Ban White Supremacists Because it Would Include Republicans
Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
What’s the difference between a white nationalist and many sitting Republican legislators, including the president? If you ask an AI (and many other people), the answer is, “There’s a difference?”
Twitter does an excellent job of keeping ISIS off Twitter. But they can’t do the same for white nationalists. As it turns out, that’s because the methods they use to keep ISIS in check would likely flag Republican politicians, including the president.
Zealios V2 78g Review
This weekend, I’ve been typing on my favorite tactile switches ever, the Zealios V2 78g switches. These things are wonderful to type on, but they’re not completely perfect. Check out my review and the video for more details.
Around the Web
Usually, I only share stories from the week. However, a few stories this week are just too large to cover with just a paragraph or two. I hope to give them the full posts they deserve. As such, this section will include a few older stories that I wish I had shared earlier, as well as a few from this week. Enjoy.
Canon Made Its New Entry-Level DSLRs Incompatible with 3rd-Party Flashes: Michael Zhang, PetaPixel
Canon 5D Mark IV on the left has the center pin. New Canon SL3 on the right does not. Photo via PetaPixel
I’ve got a Vivitar flash from about 1980. It still works on my Canon EOS M3. That’s thanks to the center pin, which sends the signal from the camera to the flash to fire off. Modern Canon cameras have other pins on the top, which allow them to send more data. My EOS M3, for example, can mount an electronic viewfinder in this position. Now they’re using those data capabilities to lock out third party flashes.
This isn’t something that can be hacked back into the firmware either. Canon completely removed the center pin. Without it, there’s no way to tell third party flashes to flash. Perhaps someone will hack together cracked firmware and a mount. But, honestly? Most people just won’t buy a new Canon EOS SL3 or T7.
Fortunately, the EOS M50 is still an option, and it’s more compact as well. But who knows if Canon will cripple their next cameras.
Mouse Support Over USB-C Could Arrive for iPad Pro in iOS 13: Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider
According to a source at Apple, mouse support as an accessibility feature for the iPad could come with iOS 13. This may not be like your typical pointer mouse, like you’d have on a desktop, but instead a directional chooser for tabbing through items on the screen. It could, also, just be a mouse to use with your iPad. However, iOS wasn’t designed for mouse input. Some of the interface would likely feel crippled, and, when using any features that require multitouch input, it’ll feel like using a mouse that doesn’t have a right click.
The rumor specifically mentions working over USB, though it seems strange that it wouldn’t work with a bluetooth mouse or trackpad.
My theory is that, if Apple introduces mouse support as an accessibility feature, it’ll mirror VoiceOver. That is, movement of the mouse will highlight various items on the screen, and clicking will interact with it. This would be great for people with motor impairments that make accurate multitouch screen use difficult, and would enable them to use customized pointing devices as well.
I’ve been surprised before. Apple has been said to be working on PanelKit-like features, which work well with a mouse, as you can see in the video above.
iOS 13 will be revealed this summer, and released this fall.
‘Broken Jaw, Split Lip, Broken Teeth’: E-Scooter Accidents Can Seriously Fuck You Up: Hudson Hongo, Gizmodo
A broken Bird Scooter. Photo: CPSC
Fun fact about me: I skateboard to work every chance I get. I love it. It’s good exercise, it’s fast (and I love going fast), it’s a lot of fun, and, frankly, it’s just plain cool. Hop on the cruiser board, hit the streets, and get to work.
Some people just want to get somewhere quickly, with minimal effort, lower skill based barrier to entry (skateboarding is harder than it looks!), less fun, and fewer cool points. For those people, there are E-Scooters. Get where you’ve got to go on an electronic flying carpet.
Hey, getting where you need to be while minimizing your environmental impact? Maybe I’m being too harsh, that sounds kind of cool.
Photo via Bustin Boards, NYC.
E-Scooters are becoming more popular as more people abandon decrepit mass transit systems and can’t afford cars or traffic. They’re great for zipping around large cities with lousy public transit. In fact, though New York’s transit system is crumbling, the high number of stations keep people on the trains. In LA and San Francisco, however, where transit leaves a lot to be desired, the electronic scooters are far more popular. Streets are more often designed for bikers and skateboarders too, so they’re safer than east coast cities.
But they’re still not safe.
Combine that lack of skill required to just grab a scooter and go, an electric drive that removes the physical effort required to go fast, and the fact that most people aren’t carrying a helmet with them, and people are getting injured on scooters. A lot. Because of those handlebars and the forward standing position of scooters, they may be more dangerous than skateboards. You’re not in a good position to hit the ground and roll or find a soft place to fall.The handle can also get in the way of your legs, so you can’t run a fall off.
Skateboarding is still safer than most sports. E-Scooters? Perhaps not.
Feature Request: Cycling Routes in Apple Maps: Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac
Side note: I have the above Bike Lane “Song” stuck in my head almost every day.
I don’t use Apple Maps. I hate to do it, because they don’t care about privacy, but I use Google Maps. Apple Maps are fine if you drive everywhere, but if you walk often, rely on public transit (and would prefer to take the train or walk further over taking a bus), then Apple Maps isn’t for you. There’s one area in particular it fails at. Unlike Google Maps, Apple Maps doesn’t have cycling routes.
Cities, in an interest to increase safety, reduce congestion, improve the environment, and remove strain from public transit, have been installing more bike lanes. This is great for cyclists and, yes, electric scooter riders too (and skateboarders, but I’m sure you’ve heard enough about me).
Apple is supposedly an environmentally conscious company. It seems so strange that they wouldn’t have the most economical travel option front and center in their apps: human powered transportation.
Get with the program, Apple! Where are the bike lanes? An informal poll shows that a whipping 97.56% of people want bike directions. Who knows what the other people think.