David Ruddock, writing for Android Police:

But this “solution” has basically become an insult to Chrome’s users, forcing them to live inside a half-baked Android environment using apps that were almost exclusively designed for 6" touchscreens, and which exist in a containerized state that effectively firewalls them from much of the Chrome operating system. As a result, file handling is a nightmare, with only a very limited number of folders accessible to those applications, and the task of finding them from inside those apps a labyrinthine exercise no one should have to endure in 2019. This isn’t a tenable state of affairs—it’s computing barbarism as far as I’m concerned. And yet, I’ve seen zero evidence that the Chrome team intends to fix it. It’s just how it is.

GSuite allows users to have immediate access to all of their files, and the collaboration features are excellent. It’s not otherwise something users look forward to using. And Chromebooks are the same: they’re useful for a number of tasks, but unsatisfying for many users. Education loves them because they’re cheap and easy to manage.

Chrome OS has stalled out

Via MacSparky: Brydge has announced a keyboard for iPad with a built-in trackpad. It will of course use Assistive Touch in iPadOS to provide input support. Apple’s own Smart Connector makes for a keyboard experience that precludes the user from thinking about charging, while Brydge requires Bluetooth and separate charging. Despite this disadvantage, this is going to be a great addition.

Brydge Pro+ | iPad Pro Keyboard | Brydge Technologies

Constance Grady, writing for Vox, on why ebooks aren’t cheaper than dead tree editions:

And because ebooks are often more expensive than Amazon’s heavily discounted print books, traditional publishing’s ebook sales seem to have fallen off — and Amazon is more dominant than ever in the print book market. “It’s so much cheaper,” says Friedman.

In this new market, high ebook prices make it harder than ever for young authors in particular to survive. “The split has really hurt debut novelists,” says Friedman. “It’s hard to ask readers to take a chance on someone unproven at that high price point, and since the ebook market does lean towards fiction, it’s hurting the new people.”

Despite the Department of Justice’s actions to stop Apple and the big publishers from attempting to establish an agency model, the agency model is, in fact, exactly what is functioning in the ebook market now. So while Amazon can offer deep discounts on print books, sellers can set the prices for ebooks.

The 2010s were supposed to bring the ebook revolution. It never quite came.

My youngest son and I went out on our umpteenth phô lunch today, and as always, I wondered about established protocol. I’d like to follow the cultural norms, but there’s nothing worse than a food snob. I took to the internet to collect some of the wisdom about how to eat phô.

Sauces

There’s often sriracha, plum sauce, fish sauce, and red chili sauce. I dosed my first few bowls of phô with red chili sauce just because I like spicy food. According to Matt Rodbard, however, you should try the broth first:

As mentioned, when the broth is good, it’s something to be savored. So to blast it with these sweet and spicy flavors, before giving it a chance, is sort of criminal. My condiment policy with phô is similar to my condiment policy with hamburgers. The best don’t need it.

Loving Phô, dedicated to all things phô, agrees:

Phô lovers judge the bowl of phô served to them in a restaurant by sipping the broth first without putting in any seasoning or garnishing.

I see many people (mostly non-Viet and younger Viet generation) dumping in sriracha and/or hoisin sauce into their phô as the bowls arrive at the table. My question is, don’t they wonder how the broth tastes? Is it good or is it not good phô broth? If it’s not good phô broth then maybe they should try a better place.

Tri Vo, however, thinks the sauces might be a welcome addition for those who are expecting a more robust flavor from their phô; like the Guinness in the US, it’s not the same:

But if you live in the United States, it’s unlikely you’re going to get anything remotely close to perfection, even from a Vietnamese-owned business. Not to mention, ethnic food in the United States has the tendency to be a little blander, so it can adapt to a variety of palettes and tastes. Adding Sriracha and hoisin sauce can make the already bland soup feel more like home, more like what it should be.

And one vlogger’s attempt at Columbusing phô led to a raft of comments that suggest the sauce issue isn’t settled even in the motherland.

This video shows my favorite technique: a little sauce in a condiment bowl, and you can drag meat or noodles inside.

The Mechanics

At the table, there is a spoon, as well as chopsticks. My question was, do I use the spoon to drink the broth and the chopsticks to pick out the noodles and meat? Or is the spoon for Americans who don’t chopstick?

Happily, it’s just fine to hoist the bowl up to your face after you eat the noodles and drink it. The spoon is there to help agitate and incorporate the ingredients, as well as to let you enjoy enjoy some broth before you’ve eaten the other stuff. First We Feast shows how you can use the spoon in concert with your chopsticks to get a nice bite of many ingredients at once. Thrillist, however, notes that you should move the noodles to your spoon using the chopsticks, and eat from the spoon.

In the end, though, perhaps Scott Berkun’s advice is the best of all:

It’s no surprise all the experts have their laws, rules and traditions to which i say hooey. Traditions are great to try at least once, but you should always remember every tradition we have was invented by someone who tried something different than what had been done before:

Binge-watched The Morning Show over the holiday break. Like Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker, I had heard that the critics were–ahem–critical, but that viewers were generally positive. Like Star Wars, I thought it was a good watch. Some reviews:

Lucy Mangan, The *Guardian*:

Aniston is flawless – wholly convincing as a woman both broken by and rightfully raging at Mitch’s betrayal, a force to be reckoned with and a person who has had it up to here with a lifetime of negotiating other people’s whims, needs and prejudices. Everyone else – especially Billy Crudup as the network suit playing seven-dimensional chess with everyone – matches her point for point. The script has depth and endless torque and the whole thing is an exhilarating rush that makes room for nuance, thought and – though it’s definitely a drama – humour.

The Morning Show review – Jennifer Aniston returns in a masterwork for the #MeToo era

Jen Chaney, *Vulture*:

There’s a strong sense of momentum and controlled chaos in The Morning Show that engages from the jump…once you get drawn into the center of all this swirling activity, you wind up wanting to stay.

The Morning Show Wants You to Watch

Robert Lloyd, LA *Times*:

It’s more like a Manhattan “Game of Thrones,” really, in which various forms of subtle, even polite skulduggery, backstabbing and under-bus-throwing are enacted and discussed, with a lot of attention paid to power and gender dynamics in the workplace. Characters fight to “control the narrative.” “I just need to be able to control the narrative so I’m not written out of it,” says Alex, who wants to keep her show. “Controlling narrative is more powerful than you can imagine,” Mitch will say many episodes later, as he tries to turn things to his advantage. (There is not much in the way of noble sacrifice.)

Review: Watch ‘The Morning Show’ to the end. It’s better than you’ve heard

Jason Snell, writing for MacWorld on what Apple may introduce in 2020:

If I ran the zoo, though, I’d consider beefing up iPadOS’s cursor support and building a new iPadOS device—let’s call it iBook, because I’m in charge now and won’t be denied—with attached keyboard and trackpad. An iOS laptop. All the pieces are in place. I’d love to see it—but alas, I don’t really think it will. 2020 is a weird-sounding year, but an iOS laptop is too weird even for 2020.

I think the mouse and keyboard support is likely: the ability for users to buy an iPad and some accessories and have all of their computing needs met. We’re not far from that now.

2020 iOS Predictions: iPad Pro and so many iPhones

Via Six Colors, David Sparks considers the iPad to be Apple’s device of the decade:

Throughout the decade, Apple continued to push forward on hardware and (to a lesser extent) software. The currently shipping iPad Pro has some fantastic hardware, and I’m convinced the tablet platform is here to stay.

And it’s no accident: Apple sees the iPad as the computing platform of the future.

Apple Device Of the Decade: the iPad

Iron Fists and Kung-Fu Kicks on Netflix is an interesting documentary on the rise of the Kung-Fu movie. One of the most fascinating sections highlights the relationship between the genre’s signature kicks and physical stunts and the dance moves that came to be known as breakdancing.

Related from FactFile:

The Rock Steady Crew such as Kenneth Gabbert and Richard Colon state that breakdancing is influenced by Kung Fu movies and James Brown.

Iron Fists and Kung-Fu Kicks on Netflix

A bit more info on my post from yesterday on special education funding:

Special Education is unique in the State budget in that it falls under both the Adequacy Budget calculation and Categorical Aid. In addressing special education, the school funding law sought to discourage over-classification by districts. Consequently, Special Education Aid is not dependent on the number of special education students a district has. Instead, it is assumed that 14.78 percent of every district’s student population is classified as special education, with an additional 1.72 percent needing speech therapy.

Thing is, the 14% rate doesn’t reflect reality: NJ classified nearly 18% of its students in 2017.

School Finance 101: Special Education