ABZU & other things

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ABZU

I like my computer entertainment trippy rather than action packed like this trailer for computer game ABZU

Best battle of the bastards meme after the Game of Thrones episode caused an outburst of video creativity. Equating Jon Snow to Leeeeeeeroy Jenkins was genius. Whilst we talk about the fragmentary nature of online content, mainstream media is still providing the key cultural moments.

Design

The outlandish Rolls-Royce self-driving car of the future: Vision Next 100 | ExtremeTech – it has more of the design language of a Bristol than a Rolls Royce. Mercedes has an interesting take implying that UNHW individuals would still like the choice to drive rather than a self-driving car

Amazing analysis of typography in Blade Runner. The level of detail is impressive. It also speaks volumes of the set designers and visualisers like Syd Mead

FMCG

Even the world’s biggest candy company doesn’t think you should be eating this much sugar | Quartz – there is another explanation to consider. Does having M&Ms in a McFlurry cheapen the brand or act as an economic substitute for a bag of M&Ms?

Philadelphia Is the Nation’s First Major City to Pass a Soda Tax | Time – research on the effectiveness of this could be decisive in future legislation. It is interesting how it has also being rolled out in Mexico and discussed at a policy level across Europe

Online

Grandma with incredibly polite Google searches | BGR – it reminds me of my parents ‘Ask Google about…’

US asks to join Irish data protection court case – Schrems argues that the use of these clauses does not change the fact that Facebook is still subject to the US mass surveillance program, and that the CJEU has already found them to be in conflict with EU law

Software

Samsung to Buy Joyent | WSJ – interesting move by Samsung. It makes sense for them to by as software and cloud has been a weaker capability than hardware design

WeChat Moments – The Holy Grail of Social Media Marketing In China | Racepoint Global – my ex-B-M and Racepoint colleague James on WeChat

Web of no web

Biz Break: Apple Watch outlook may be dimming | SiliconBeat – the rationale is interesting and is category-wide rather than an Apple-specific platform. More on the Apple Watch here.