Extra Future

Year: 2011

  • PROTECT IP Act Breaks the Internet

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [A 4 minute video you need to watch today][link]. PIPA is a truly disgusting piece of legislative bile which exists entirely to give big media companies even more control over the internet and your life. [link]: http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/ “PROTECT IP Act Breaks the Internet”

  • Andy Baio’s First Article for Wired Epicenter

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [The beginning of a weekly must-read][link]. Andy is good people, a good writer, and sharp as a tack: >On Wednesday, Google retired a longer-standing “plus”: the + operator, a standard bit of syntax used to force words and phrases to appear in search results. The operator was part of Google since its launch in 1997…

  • Stuff I Made: Metroid Title Theme

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    Some years ago I made this version of the Metroid title theme on my Mac. I think it is sufficiently moody/creepy. Enjoy! Download: Metroid Intro (M4a, 2.2mb)

  • How to bring good design to a platform

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [Marco Arment is, once again, on point][link]. One of the largest problems with Android is the same problem Windows has had since its launch: The lack of attention to detail, nuance, and usability focus in the built-in applications and OS make developers feel like they can be lazy. Based on my experience with the Android…

  • Metroid Source Code Expanded

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [Nine text files in which you will find the complete source code for the original Metroid game for the NES][link]. I assume this is the code for the American NES cart version, and not the slightly superior Japanese FDS version. [link]: http://www.romhacking.net/documents/459/ “Romhacking.net – Documents – Metroid Source Code Expanded”

  • “The background needs more texture”

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [Neven Mrgan provides a simple, but lovely, anecdote, about Steve Jobs.][link] [link]: http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/11090229578/steve “Steve – Neven Mrgans tumbl”

  • CSS Shaders

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [Adobe’s John Nack:][link] >So, yeah: Adobe’s using Flash-derived technology to make HTML5 more competitive with Flash. > >Crazy, right? Not at all: this increases your ability to present visually rich experiences, and that increases Adobe’s ability to sell you tools for creating those experiences.  The different playback technologies are just means to those ends. Working…

  • Ghostery

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [A browser plug-in that automatically blocks covert ad trackers, tracking pixels and other hop-ons.][link] [link]: http://www.ghostery.com/ “Ghostery”

  • Amazon Plays With Fire

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    >[Fire isn’t a noun, it’s a verb, and it’s what Amazon has done in the targeted direction of Google. This is the first shot in the new war for replacing the Internet with a privatized merchant data-aggregation network.][link] [link]: http://cdespinosa.posterous.com/fire “Fire – cdespinosas posterous”

  • SEO for Non-dicks

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [Matt Gemmell:][link] >I fully acknowledge the value of, and need for, actual SEO; I just think that in many cases, the tactics employed under that title would better be described as Search Engine Manipulation or even Abuse. A post full of sound advice. Dirty SEO is one of the lamest things I see smart companies…

  • The 3D Software Rendering Technology of 1998’s Thief: The Dark Project

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [A write-up / retrospective by the primary author of Thief: The Dark Project’s 3D rendering engine][link]. An interesting historical curio, from the time just before hardware 3D rendering was commonplace. via [Shawn Medero][shawn]. [link]: http://nothings.org/gamedev/thief_rendering.html “The 3D Software Rendering Technology of 1998’s Thief: The Dark Project” [shawn]: http://shawn.medero.net/ “Shawn Medero”

  • Super Smash Land

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    by

    Phil Nelson
    in

    [A jaw-dropping demake of Super Smash Brothers in the style of the original Game Boy][link]. Can’t say anything more than wow at the moment. PC-only. [link]: http://www.supersmashland.com/ “Super Smash Land”