Wiser Web Wednesday – a semi-regular link to posts of interest from around the web, by those far wiser than myself:

 

Vox
Ahh yes, remember those? The real video store? No doubt many of us spent a good few hours wandering the aisles picking out the perfect film on that perfect delivery vehicle – the VHS tape.

The decision to leave a movie behind on the next technological leap is market-driven, which makes video stores the last safety net for things our corporate overlords discard. (That’s why the chain stores died first — like Netflix, they peddled convenience and “all new, all the time” — Netflix came along and just did what they did more efficiently.) A real video store buys a movie and saves it, regardless of such considerations.

A lot has been said about the merits of “curation” in music streaming over the past year or so. Although unfortunately a tale of demise, it could be said this is an example of curation at its finest:
I worked in a video store for 25 years. Here’s what I learned as my industry died

 

Femsplain
Although only a few of those listed align with my own, as a father, I have an equal number of triggers which may set me off on varying degrees of sternly worded explanation and rationale to my children.

I finally understand, that he only gets as upset as he does, because he really really cares. About his family, his country, his home, his responsibilities — the care runs DEEP.

Unsurprisingly, all for much the same reasons mentioned above:
Papa Loco

 

James Greig
Sound familiar?:

Option 1: Pull out your phone, and automatically tap Twitter open. Scroll through your feed for a few minutes, the usual stuff, nothing that interesting. Then Instagram. Ditto for that feed. Then Facebook. Baby photos. More baby photos. Then you look up, and ten minutes have evaporated, and your train is pulling up in front of you.

Option 2: Pull out a book, and read for ten minutes.

Not such a bad idea:
Can’t concentrate? Try swapping your ‘smart’ phone for a monotasking device

 

Pens! Paper! Pencils!

While it is nice to uncap and let loose with a pricey pen, in the mayhem leading up to Christmas, I’d agree that finding value at the other end of the dollar spectrum can be equally, if not more rewarding.

Top end pens are exclusive and, thereby, excluding, and whilst I do like some really rather pricy pens I do much prefer it when I find a bargain

As a bonus in this link you will also see one of Ian’s fine sketches:
Dorset Countryside

 

The Pen Haul
Sometimes the cheap ones just do the trick. Although not to be confused with the Red and Black notebooks available at Officeworks in Australia (or perhaps they may perform equally well, I’m not sure), these appear to have the key criteria covered:

The characteristics that we look for are all there. No feathering, no bleed through (besides the above exception), fairly smooth with a tiny bit of tooth, and best of all you can still see the full depth of the ink, such as shading and sheen.

You never know where the next hidden gem will come from:
Black n’ Red Notebooks

 

The Clicky Post
Ok I admit it – part of me wanted this review conclude the Dyson pen wasn’t so great. Then we could at least say it sucked couldn’t we?

My apologies, and I will now show myself to the door. Before I go, at least read this great review of a pen it would appear not many of us are likely to find in our hand:
Dyson Biro Ballpoint Pen Review

 

Pentulant
There is something fairly satisfying in knowing exactly what writing experience you will get when purchasing a familiar notebook. In this case, the quality Rhodia experience. After that, you are left to experiment with external appearance at will, and I do love this Silver edition.

A great review, with images to match, capturing the essence of that gorgeous silver finish.
NOTEBOOK REVIEW: Rhodia Webnotebook Silver Edition

 

Macdrifter
How will you ever find these gems unless they are shared?

As usual, the documentation is the weakest part of the product. Every week I find some new reason to love my big phone.

Sometimes I get the feeling every OS update (whether i for X) simply brings a few more features I remain unaware of:
The Hidden Convenience in iOS 9

 

MacStories
Federico Viticci on Dropbox announcing a shutdown of the email app Mailbox and photo management service Carousel. No sooner had I read this than the official Saying Goodbye email came through from the Mailbox team.

Knowing this was coming (lack of development; rumours), the goodbye email was ironically one of the first I read using Spark mail by Readdle, having installed it on my iPhone that morning. Now that is indeed a great app.

Another one (or two) bites the dust:
Dropbox Is Shutting Down Carousel and Mailbox

 

Perfect Daily Grind
Although discussion on traditional Vietnamese coffee often focuses on the unusual sweet brew:

It’s a super concentrated shot of coffee – around 25 g of coffee with a small amount of water – and served with sweetened condensed milk. It can be enjoyed hot or cold, and this preference can vary from region to region.

A nice reminder here of the ritual involved in preparing a cup.

The Vietnamese coffee ritual is almost a revolution against our fast-paced modern lives. It goes against takeaway coffee culture, rushing in and out of shops to sip your coffee in environmentally unfriendly cups.

It’s for everyone who understands that good things take time. It makes you take a step back and enjoy the little things.

Isn’t that what we should all be doing — enjoying the little things:
Time to Slow Down and Rediscover Vietnamese Coffee?

 

HUH
This one via Ben Brooks.

Yes one of those unsurprising conclusions. I have been on Facebook for less than year, joining for a specific and very worthwhile reason.

I’ll continue, however it’s not hard to understand why quitting what is on many days, an endless feed of either “look at me” or conversely, a chronology of whinging, moaning and complaining might make you a little happier:
Study Finds Quitting Facebook Makes You Happier and Less Stressed

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