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Harry McCracken

@harrymccracken.com

8.4K followers 4.2K following 1.8K posts

Fast Company global technology editor. Boy journalist. Bon vivant. Lefthander. Westcoastian. 🇺🇦 Sign up for my free Plugged In newsletter: https://www.fastcompany.com/section/plugged-in

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · Jul 16

Here’s a feed of stuff from Fast Company and people who write for it, which I created using Flipboard’s Surf app.
bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 17h

Here’s the final chapter of our oral history of YouTube. We talked to CEO Neal Mohan, veteran creators, and other folks about how the company became a huge force in TV, podcasting, and TikTok-style short video—and how AI could be its biggest sea change yet. www.fastcompany.com/91413109/you...

Inside YouTube's battle against AI slop - Fast Company

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and others detail how the platform took over TV, podcasting, and shorts, and whether AI will help or hurt its future.

www.fastcompany.com

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 1d

This company has been a blight on the profession of public relations forever, and is apparently using AI to scale up its awfulness.

(It’s not just UK media they bombard, though I’ve long tried to block all contact from them.) pressgazette.co.uk/news/automat...

Automated PR tool is bombarding UK media with AI-generated content - Press Gazette

'Olivia Brown' reads websites, writes press releases then 'relentlessly' sends emails.

pressgazette.co.uk

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 1d

What possibile justification is there for this? www.404media.co/apple-banned...

Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses

Eyes Up's purpose is to "preserve evidence until it can be used in court." But it has been swept up in Apple's crackdown on ICE-spotting apps.

www.404media.co

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 1d

What!?! I own two Synologys and can’t imagine being required to buy drives from Synology.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 2d

I am intrigued.

Street signs reading CAUTION: FALLING MATERIAL

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Reposted by Harry McCracken

Amy @lolennui.bsky.social · 2d

George Orwell’s Animal Crossing

Someone in a frog costume facing down a line of police in riot gear

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 2d

But I didn’t have anyone in particular in mind.

Content violation: harrymccracken
Television speech in which a portly man with fluffy orange hair in his late 70s loudly announces he's tripling tariffs on Denmark

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

One ride in a Tesla robotaxi, and I’m already in debt to Elon Musk.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

It was a short ride for testing purposes!

Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

I finally got off the waitlist for Tesla’s robotaxi service and took one. Not very exciting—there was a guy behind the wheel just in case—but about 80% cheaper than a Waymo.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

This question is for people using iPads running iPadOS 26 with a physical keyboard.

Using touch gestures, it’s easy to flick an app to the left or right to have it take up half the display. But I can’t accomplish the same thing by flicking the trackpad in a similar fashion. Can anyone do it?

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

One key tip for iPad SlideOver (which works in the newly restored version): If you’re using a physical keyboard, press the Globe key and \ to pull up the currently SlideOvered app. I didn’t know this until recently, and it became one of my favorite iPad features.

Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

It’s great to have SlideOver back, and Apple’s willingness to restore it gives me some hope that it will make additional minor tweaks to iPadOS 26 that make it more usable for those of us who don’t want the iPad to be a Mac. www.macrumors.com/2025/10/06/i...

iPadOS 26.1 Beta 2 Reintroduces Slide Over Multitasking - MacRumors

With the second beta of iPadOS 26.1, Apple tweaked multitasking on the iPad to reintroduce the Slide Over feature. Slide Over was removed in iPadOS...

www.macrumors.com

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

Downloading it now!

Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

As far as I can tell, ChatGPT made up most or all of this advice. Googling easily provided the correct fix, which is unrelated to all this.

installed a new filter in my pur faucet system, and the red light is still flashing
If your PUR faucet filter's red light keeps flashing even after you've installed a new cartridge, it usually means the filter reset mechanism didn't register properly. Here's what to try:
• Step-by-step fix
1. Make sure the filter is seated correctly.
• Remove the filter and reinsert it firmly.
• It should click or snap into place - if it's even slightly off, the sensor won't detect it.
2. Reset the indicator light manually.
• Hold down the reset button (usually on top or near the light) for 5-10 seconds.
• The light should flash green, then turn off - confirming the reset.
• If it stays red, release and hold it again for another few seconds.
3. Run cold water for 5-10 seconds.
• Some models require water to flow through before they register a new filter.
4. Check for battery issues (if your model has them).
• Some PUR faucet systems use a small internal battery that powers the light.
• If the light doesn't change no matter what you do, the battery might be dead (unfortunately, it's often not replaceable — you'd

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 3d

Maybe the story here is that David Ellison doesn’t know what he’s doing? www.wsj.com/business/med...

Reposted by Harry McCracken

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 4d

Stolen valor here as Trump seems to take credit for … 9/11?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump: "Please remember I wrote Osama bin Laden exactly one year ago, one year before he blew up the World Trade Center. And I said, 'You gotta watch Osama bin Laden!' ... I gotta take a little credit."

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 4d

Getting whiplashed by Sora flipping from being an IP free for all to a party pooper.

Sora prompt trying to generate a cartoon about a bald nearsighted man

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 5d

When stuff like this happened during the first term, CEOs of large companies felt obligated to express their anguish.

CNN @cnn.com · 6d

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt

37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Harry McCracken

taber @kvetch.gay · 6d

this is wild: while Stephen Miller's guy was in Minnesota for his uncle's funeral, somebody was able to see his entire phone and take pictures of his Signal group chats talking about military deployments to Portland, and brought them to the Strib (gift link: www.startribune.com/trump-offici...)

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 6d

If this isn’t illegal, it’s appalling. Then again, America has a great national tradition of ignoring $1 coins. Just ask Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/b...

Treasury Plans to Mint $1 Commemorative Trump Coin - The New York Times

The coin, bearing President Trump’s face, would honor the 250th birthday of the United States.

www.nytimes.com

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 6d

For this week’s Plugged In newsletter, I wrote about why I’m guardedly optimistic that OpenAI’s Sora is a keeper—and far more interesting than Meta’s theoretically similar Vibes. www.fastcompany.com/91413733/ope...

OpenAI’s Sora could save social networking—as long as it doesn’t ruin it - Fast Company

While Meta’s Vibes offers a sea of AI-generated sameness, OpenAI has imbued its similar app with a spark of life. It’s tons of fun, for now.

www.fastcompany.com

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 7d

Wow, thank you!

Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 7d

Playing around with Sora.

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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · 7d

I feel like going and parking somewhere just to enjoy this unexpected windfall.

Dear Customer,
We are reaching out regarding a recent class action settlement involving ParkMobile. If you are receiving this email, you are a member of the class. As part of the agreed resolution, you are entitled to receive a benefit in the form of a discount code for use within the ParkMobile app.
No court ever found ParkMobile liable for anything; rather, this settlement was reached to allow the company to continue focusing on providing excellent service to its customers.
You are eligible for up to a $1.00 credit to be applied to ParkMobile's service fees. The code provides a $0.25 discount on ParkMobile's service fees and may be used up to four times for a total discount of $1.00. The code will expire on October 8, 2026.
For residents of California, the code will not expire. The code will only work for accounts associated with email addresses that are in the class.

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