Weekly Links & Thoughts #36
Here is a weekly selection of thoughtful opinion pieces, interesting analyses and significant yet under-reported information bits from the digital and technology world. Published and commented every Thursday, just in time so you have something good to read during the weekend.
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- Is it ever worth not knowing the truth?
A crucial question which you would get lots of different answers to if asking various people. I usually prefer the truth over staying in the dark. However, when it comes to personal health, I do have doubts that learning through a DNA analysis about future diseases (possibly with no cure) would be easy for me. - Facebook Launches M, Its Bold Answer to Siri and Cortana
I find this to be the most exciting thing Facebook has announced lately. Can’t wait to be able to test it one day. - You Really Don’t Need To Work So Much
Excellent piece. This quote resonated especially with me: “In other words, the long hours may be neither the product of what we really want nor the oppression of workers by the ruling class, the old Marxist theory. They may be the byproduct of systems and institutions that have taken on lives of their own and serve no one’s interests. That can happen if some industries have simply become giant make-work projects that trap everyone within them.” - Ways to think about cars
Very insightful and comprehensive analysis. - A look inside Google’s new OnHub wireless router
Google’s very first own Wi-Fi router does not sound so special – until you realize that this device could eventually be turned into the hub for the smart home. An argument against that would be that Nest, Google’s (or rather Alphabet’s) smart home subsidiary, seems to be the better candidate for that. However, the company has a track record of pushing competing products. - How the World Will Change
Futurist and Google director of engineering Ray Kurzweil has high expectations about what will happen during the next 20 years. However, seeing how many people already today struggle with the rapid changes of our times, I have my doubts that all this can happen at once without severe social disruption and possible unrest. - This Turkish maths teacher is getting around a government ban by using Periscope to teach 1000s of students
I did not think of live video broadcasting apps such as Periscope or Meerkat as possible tools for spreading education, but here we go. - iOS 9 content blocking will transform the mobile Web: I’ve tried it
This indeed sounds like a massive change ahead and a big big threat for online publishers who rely on display ads. - Young cancer patients are ignoring medical advice and choosing ‘diet-based’ treatment approach
“Wellness bloggers” keep spreading unscientific health advice and their huge following prefers to listen to them instead to actual science. Tackling Misinformation is a major challenge of the digital age. - Investigators use Spotify to track down a wanted woman
Those of us who use music streaming better never need to go into hiding. - Foursquare by the numbers: 60M registered users, 50M MAUs, and 75M tips to date
Foursquare seems to fully have embraced its slow growth strategy. And who knows, maybe this will eventually work out. I still like to use it. - The End of the Affair: A Retrospective of My Time With Last.FM
To be honest, I was not even aware of that Last.fm still exists. I had been a big fan when I still heavily listened to MP3 (before music streaming took over). Judging from this piece, there are still active users, but the end seems to be close. - An Honest Guide to the Stockholm, Sweden Startup Life
Nice one. Stockholm is a great city for startups, no doubt.
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