The Bottled Walkman

Sony’s W Series Walkman is a barebones MP3 player with one key selling point: it’s waterproof. But that can be a difficult thing to highlight on store shelves — at least when you’re limited to traditional retail packaging. For its customers in New Zealand, Sony decided to try something different. Hat off for the guy …

Bolts Framework: Tasks

[[object saveAsync:obj] continueWithBlock:^id(BFTask *task) { if (task.isCancelled) { // the save was cancelled. } else if (task.error) { // the save failed. } else { // the object was saved successfully. SaveResult *saveResult = task.result; } return nil; }]; Bolts is a collection of low-level libraries designed to make developing mobile apps easier. The first …

The Frequency of Humanity

Every day on Earth, an estimated 371,124 people are born and 154,995 people die. When you ask Wolfram Alpha about these rates, the scientifically inclined site returns a curious corresponding quantity: the frequency in hertz. If you subtract the death rate from the birth rate, you get a net rate of 216,129 new people a …

The Psychology of Waiting, Loading Animations, and Facebook

When Facebook users were presented with a custom loading animation in the Facebook iOS app they blamed the app for the delay. But when users were shown the iOS system spinner, they were more likely to blame the system itself. The Psychology of Waiting, Loading Animations, and Facebook →