Sean McDonald

Planner and technology enthusiast. Follow @seanmcdonald !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

[seanmcdonald]

Some backstory on the design and development of Monument Valley. Beyond being beautiful to look at, I like that it is accessible to active and passive ‘gamers’. It uses experiences and cues that aren’t alienating, nor so simple that they diminish the challenge.

[seanmcdonald]

Terrifying representation of how deep Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may actually be. Keep scrolling…

[seanmcdonald]

An interesting and relatively detailed look at how Coke came to associate itself with Christmas. I'm not sure that I feel the connection as strongly as it is implied in this piece, but interesting nonetheless. 

[seanmcdonald]

Great spot, but particularly impressive that it was shot entirely on an iPhone 5s. Let's see Samsung do that. 

[seanmcdonald]

A detailed look at the origins and evolution of the term "shorty" in hip-hop. Act like you know...

[seanmcdonald]

A worthwhile read for some perspective on how the iPhone has evolved with regard to its implementation of sensors. Launched with sensors focused on making the 'smartphone' experience better (capacitive touch, GPS, etc…) it is rapidly evolving to be much more aware of its context, and subsequently, perceptive of you and your needs.

[seanmcdonald]

The result of Uber's efforts, in other words, could be the creation of a techno-metropolis, in which people and goods are ferreted around seamlessly and, perhaps, automatically. It would be like something out of a sci-fi movie. And Uber would be standing at the center of it all, collecting a cut of every transaction.

A solid breakdown of Uber's potential, looking past transportation and deep into logistics. I like the comparison to Amazon, noting that it started as selling books exclusively and is now where got to get about anything. Uber looks to be on a similar path. via Uber Might Be More Valuable Than Facebook -- Daily Intelligencer

[seanmcdonald]

Love that 90s vibe… great track. 

[seanmcdonald]

If you wondered how Spotify works (and to some extent, its competitors like Rdio) take a look at this. Spotify has launched Spotify | Artists to explain the service to artists.

[seanmcdonald]

Really blown away by the possibilities this offers. The opportunity to reduce the barrier created by multiple coding languages and to allow programming and development to become infinitely more accessible and fast is really exciting. via  VentureBeat

[seanmcdonald]

Really like this "Hear What You Want" spot for Beats By Dre with KG. It builds out from a product benefit into a great emotional connection. I think we all play music to give us the soundtrack we want for whatever we're going through/experiencing and this spot nails that in an example that KG and his context are perfect for. via Ad Freak

[seanmcdonald]

Really loving everything about Beau's aesthetic. They go after the details across their bottle, labelling and packaging. And it's delicious.

[seanmcdonald]

And yet — there Mr. Ford sits, immovably: disgraced, largely powerless, but still the mayor. Is that his fault? The city’s? Or is it the fault of those who put him there in the first place, and sustained him through the long train wreck that followed: the staff who failed to report his misdeeds; the commentators who excused them; the partisans who ignored them. Disasters on the Ford scale, we are taught, do not just happen, and while the mayor’s endless supply of lies, manipulativeness and sheer chutzpah have helped to preserve him in office until now, he could not have done it alone. And of all his enablers, the most culpable are the strategists, the ones who fashioned his image as the defender of the little guy, the suburban strivers, against the downtown elites, with their degrees and their symphonies — the ones who turned a bundle of inchoate resentments into Ford Nation. Sound familiar? It is the same condescending populism, the same aggressively dumb, harshly divisive message that has become the playbook for the right generally in this country, in all its contempt for learning, its disdain for facts, its disrespect of convention and debasing of standards. They can try to run away from him now, but they made this monster, and they will own him for years to come. Get help? He’s had plenty.

An absolute heater from Andrew Coyne - read it. 

[seanmcdonald]

Keezy is an iOS app that lets you record and loop beatboxing in a really simple way. Love the idea and the video is fun too. 

[seanmcdonald]

Google/Motorola have announced their Project Ara, a modular phone similar to the Phonebloks device that was shared broadly several weeks ago. 

[seanmcdonald]

The design for Amazon's new headquarters in Seattle is pretty impressive. Great to see technology companies pushing design and sustainability with their headquarters (Twitter, Facebook, Apple, etc…).

[seanmcdonald]

Among children under 2, the survey found, 38 percent had used mobile devices like iPhones, tablets, or Kindles — the same share as children 8 and under who had used such technology in a similar survey two years ago. Tablets, in particular, have become far more common. Forty percent of families now own tablets, up from only 8 percent two years ago. And this year’s survey found that 7 percent of the children had tablets of their own.

This is definitely true in my household. My daughter is now 19 months old and can call my old iPad her own. She's able to navigate it on her own for the most part, playing alphabet games, switching between them when she'd like and watching videos. New Milestone Emerges - Baby’s First iPhone App - NYTimes.com