links for 2011-03-11

"What do we know about this new breed of amateur hack invoked by Eric Pickles"

Still very interest in the idea that one of the structural problems with local news is that the tradition newsdesk beats no longer match to the vertical topics that people are passionate about digitally .

"The Sinclair ZX81 was small, black with only 1K of memory, but 30 years ago it helped to spark a generation of programming wizards."

"The UX matters: it's the first thing potential customers see when a friend passes them their new phone in the pub. A well-designed UX is consistent, forgiving and rewarding; Nokia's user experience was inconsistent, unforgiving and hostile."

"So, we’re a fortnight on from running our first ever ‘pay what you think it’s worth‘ event. And, the burning question is – was it worth it?"

"Games are addictive in much the same way that a brilliant novel is impossible to put down, and a well-made thriller has us on tenterhooks from the first scene to the moment the credits roll. An addictive game, in short, is a good game". Oh no, now they will start saying books a bad for children's attention spans

"Even when he [Murdoch] goes out and makes announcements about technology – technology is the future, News Corp is a technologically advanced company – that is just what somebody has given him to say. He does not mean it, he does not understand it, he is incurious about it. He doesn’t use a computer, he doesn’t get email, he cannot get his cell phone to work."