Tom MacWright
Software engineer and writer; worked on Mapbox and built Placemark and Simple Statistics, and blogs at macwright.com.
Everything they publish, on ppll ↗
Tom MacWright did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsFinding personal qualities as something to imitate instead of desires and possessions (cue the segue into Girard's Memetic theory) seems like a better way to live.
- 7 days earlier
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Their wordsMapbox GL's license is not open source and requires the developer to have a Mapbox account and follow their Terms of Service.
- 11 days earlier
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Their wordsSoftware that's composed of hundreds of little modules from hundreds of authors is a lovely idea that doesn't work with malicious actors.
↗Technology optimism hourmacwright.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
Decentralized networks can be both principled and mainstream-popular without giving up usability.
Their wordsIt's exciting, and shows that you don't have to accept a bad set of tradeoffs to make tech that's both principled and popular.
↗Technology optimism hourmacwright.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
Longer device upgrade cycles are beneficial because they reduce e-waste, pollution, and churn.
Their wordsBut either way, it's good that upgrade cycles are longer: it means less e-waste, less pollution, less churn overall.
↗Technology optimism hourmacwright.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 weeks earlier
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Their wordsVirtually nothing that uses Bluetooth is reliable, and this is no exception.
↗Printing tiny photos for paper journalsmacwright.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsFor Chinese-based consumer electronics like this, the hardware is usually a lot better than the software.
↗Printing tiny photos for paper journalsmacwright.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
AirPods' reliability comes from using a proprietary protocol rather than standard Bluetooth.
Their wordsAirPods work flawlessly because they're cheating with a proprietary Apple-only protocol.
↗Printing tiny photos for paper journalsmacwright.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 7 weeks earlier
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Their wordsThe governed have something the governors need: labor, tax revenue, military service, consumer spending. This dependency is the source of democratic leverage.
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Their wordsthere's a consistent theme where Gen Z (and millennials, to some extent) are rejecting the AI hype while older generations are optimistic and coincidentally in a position to benefit from it.