Category Archives: Opinion

A Worthwhile Degree

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Michael Cohen

Part of the current right-wing sneering about the student loan relief program that the President is setting up has to do with hard-working tax-payers being forced to finance “worthless” things like philosophy degrees. As one who worked toward two such … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion, Politics, Technology | Tagged ebooks, Expanded Books, Voyager | Comments Off

The Star Spangled Banana

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Michael Cohen

There’s been talk lately about changing the national anthem because the song’s lyricist was a slaveholder. Good enough, but, honestly, it should be replaced on its own lack of merit. First, the song has four verses, though almost nobody knows … Continue reading →

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Great Moments in Discoverability: Away in Slack

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Michael Cohen

My colleagues at TidBITS and I use the Slack app so we can discuss article ideas and production. Ordinarily, I have Slack open on my Mac when I’m working and, ordinarily, I have my state set to “Active” (the default … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion, Technology | Tagged apps, user experience | Comments Off

I am not David Redux

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Michael Cohen

[Author’s Note: A couple of decades ago, I wrote the following essay after I was called, yet again, “David” instead of “Michael” during a meeting. It lived on a site of mine for a while until the site, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Opinion, Reminiscence | Tagged identity, revelations | Comments Off

Ozymandias at Mar-a-Lago

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Michael Cohen

I met a traveller from a strife-torn land Who said: “An orange and empty head of stone Screamed at the people . . . Near it, in the grandstands, Half drunk, a bitter correspondent, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Literary, Opinion, Parody, Poetry, Politics | Comments Off

Green Shoots

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Michael Cohen

Things look grim for our ship of state, but they could be grimmer. President 💩🔥💰 is not having everything his own way. He just took it on the chin from the 9th Circuit. News about Flynn’s pre-election discussions with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion, Politics | Tagged optimism | 1 Comment

Why So Violent?

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Michael Cohen

Recent events, featuring shootings by police, shootings of police, children shooting themselves, parents shooting children, and, just in general, a whole lot of shootings, makes me ask, why are we so violent in the United States? It’s not the guns—or, … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion | 1 Comment

“I Do Not Know”

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Michael Cohen

Lauren Goode, at writer at The Verge, says that Apple’s forthcoming watchOS 3 is “an admission that Apple had it all wrong when it came to interactions on the first-generation Apple Watch.” It is no such thing, although the headline makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion, Technology | Tagged Apple, Apple Watch, user experience | Comments Off

Some Apple Watch perspective

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Michael Cohen

It’s been interesting to watch the coverage and analysis concerning Apple Watch. It does do this, it doesn’t do that, it’s pokey, it doesn’t work with sleeve tattoos, and, of course, it’s really expensive considering that it has no killer … Continue reading →

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Album covers as seen through a shower door

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Michael Cohen

When you play music from your iTunes library, the Remote app on the Apple Watch shows the album cover behind the controls. However, a translucency effect renders the cover an unrecognizable blur. I applaud Apple’s attempt to give the user some additional visual … Continue reading →