John Gruber on the rise in the use of *asterisks* for emphasis in the plaintext age: "Neither appeared in print until the mid-'60s, when *sigh* began appearing. But *cough* doesn't appear until 1987. Both though, exploded in usage starting in 1997, and have risen steadily ever since. So I think I'm correct that this use of asterisks has been largely driven by Internet punctuation idioms."
Emphasize *this*
Literary history of the text message conversations in Apple ads
Max Read offers a history of fake Apple texts, 2011-2023—the chats to be found in the company's ads and marketing materials. Anodyne yet featureful, this "rigidly orthographically correct banter" mirrors… READ THE REST
The No CSS Club celebrates websites with no stylesheets, let alone javascript. There should be a No HTML Club for websites that are pure text
I was alerted to the No CSS Club, which celebrates (and satirizes) the nostalgic, minimalist and brutalist tendencies of websites which avoid the bloat of modern frameworks (and of everything… READ THE REST
Crappy AI-generated websites flourishing in search results
Trouble's brewing, what with all the unreadable AI dreck turning up in search results. Soulless and repetitious generated text is forcing out everything from the old machine-written junk (like those… READ THE REST
Save $169 on a lifetime license to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro and never look back
TL;DR: Revamp your digital world with this incredible lifetime license to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro, with its seamless interface and top-notch security, for only $29.97 (Reg. $199) until 11:59 PM on 1/07.… READ THE REST
Upgrade your tech for the new year with this refurbished iPad Pro, less than half price right now
TL;DR: Save over $350 on a refurbished Apple iPad Pro 10.5" 256GB, plus a free accessories bundle, with this sweet deal on sale for just $315.99 right now. Tech fans, it's time… READ THE REST
Make your rockstar dreams a reality for only $15.97 with this Guitar Lessons Training Bundle
TL;DR: The perfect last-minute holiday gift for an aspiring rocker, the 2024 Guitar Lessons Training Bundle is only $15.97 (Reg. $480) until 11:59 PM on 12/25. It's really never too late to make… READ THE REST
