Harry McCracken
@harrymccracken.com
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
Pinned
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:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
No matter what, he isn’t getting my bowling trophy.
January 16, 2026 at 2:22 AM
No matter what, he isn’t getting my bowling trophy.
Courtesy of @newyorkbob.bsky.social, a photo of my CES chat with will.i.am on topics ranging from how he uses AI to make music (spoiler: he doesn’t) to his micromobility startup to his favorite teachers. At the end, he hugged me, which I did not expect.
January 15, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Courtesy of @newyorkbob.bsky.social, a photo of my CES chat with will.i.am on topics ranging from how he uses AI to make music (spoiler: he doesn’t) to his micromobility startup to his favorite teachers. At the end, he hugged me, which I did not expect.
At least he’s no longer signaling that he finds this situation hilarious.
Musk says he was unaware of Grok generating explicit images of minors
Elon Musk said on Wednesday he was not aware of any "naked underage images" generated by xAI's Grok chatbot, as scrutiny of the AI tool intensifies worldwide.
www.reuters.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:25 PM
At least he’s no longer signaling that he finds this situation hilarious.
I spoke with Apple’s Bob Borchers and Brent Chiu-Watson about the company’s new Creator Studio app subscription, which was probably inevitable. www.fastcompany.com/91474228/app...
Apple’s new Creator Studio isn’t just about getting you to subscribe to apps
Yes, the company is turning software into a service. But its new creativity bundle also helps clarify its strategy around pro tools, AI, the iPad, and more.
www.fastcompany.com
January 14, 2026 at 5:09 PM
I spoke with Apple’s Bob Borchers and Brent Chiu-Watson about the company’s new Creator Studio app subscription, which was probably inevitable. www.fastcompany.com/91474228/app...
Surprising to me that the president has largely avoided being confronted by random Americans he encounters until now.
January 14, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Surprising to me that the president has largely avoided being confronted by random Americans he encounters until now.
Reposted by Harry McCracken
I interviewed Scott Adams for this 1998 article for the New York Times, and I found him one of the chilliest and most uncomfortable interview subjects I would ever have, on a very friendly topic: putting your email address in your comic! www.nytimes.com/1998/12/31/t...
Cartoonists Old and New Are Drawn to the Net (Published 1998)
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:00 PM
I interviewed Scott Adams for this 1998 article for the New York Times, and I found him one of the chilliest and most uncomfortable interview subjects I would ever have, on a very friendly topic: putting your email address in your comic! www.nytimes.com/1998/12/31/t...
Reposted by Harry McCracken
We are not letting this go
If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.
by @cwarzel.bsky.social and @matteowong.bsky.social
If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.
by @cwarzel.bsky.social and @matteowong.bsky.social
Elon Musk Cannot Get Away With This
If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.
www.theatlantic.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:08 AM
We are not letting this go
If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.
by @cwarzel.bsky.social and @matteowong.bsky.social
If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.
by @cwarzel.bsky.social and @matteowong.bsky.social
Now I feel like looking for a famous defunct magazine to revive. Did anyone bother to renew the trademark on Byte and Dr. Dobbs?
Gourmet Magazine Is Back, as Unsanctioned New Media
The defunct food publication is re-emerging as a newsletter, with new leadership and zero approval from its original owner.
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Now I feel like looking for a famous defunct magazine to revive. Did anyone bother to renew the trademark on Byte and Dr. Dobbs?
Hard to remember now, but once upon a time, Dilbert was fresh, funny, and insightful. At first, I wondered if Adams’ erratic behavior was performative, and am still agog that he decided to torch his own career. RIP.
Scott Adams, Creator of the Satirical ‘Dilbert’ Comic Strip, Dies at 68
His chronicles of a corporate cubicle dweller was widely distributed until racist comments on his podcast led newspapers to cut their ties with him.
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Hard to remember now, but once upon a time, Dilbert was fresh, funny, and insightful. At first, I wondered if Adams’ erratic behavior was performative, and am still agog that he decided to torch his own career. RIP.
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Batman TV show, which I have always loved and continue to revisit. To celebrate, here’s a photo of me with my treasured Batman cup (and some Ritz crackers, and some peanut butter, and my grandmother).
January 13, 2026 at 5:45 AM
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Batman TV show, which I have always loved and continue to revisit. To celebrate, here’s a photo of me with my treasured Batman cup (and some Ritz crackers, and some peanut butter, and my grandmother).
Reposted by Harry McCracken
January 12, 1966
January 12, 2026 at 2:46 AM
January 12, 1966
I never add music to my Instagram posts and am not really sure where the suggested tracks come from, but at least it seems like the algorithm isn’t being whitewashed.
January 12, 2026 at 6:05 AM
I never add music to my Instagram posts and am not really sure where the suggested tracks come from, but at least it seems like the algorithm isn’t being whitewashed.
Looking on the bright side, this has been a invigorating moment for the beleaguered art of the editorial cartoon.
January 11, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Looking on the bright side, this has been a invigorating moment for the beleaguered art of the editorial cartoon.
Reposted by Harry McCracken
Reposted by Harry McCracken
If they weren't signing you up for the battery club, it ain't Radio Shack
Radio Shack* was at CES with an odd assortment of products. But it won’t really be Radio Shack until they restore the oid logo.
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
January 11, 2026 at 6:17 AM
If they weren't signing you up for the battery club, it ain't Radio Shack
The age of the gigantic CES booth is mostly over, and a lot of the central hall was devoted to smaller ones involving roundups of various well-known brands (some extant, some zombies) being slapped on random products. It was oddly touching to see Packard Bell at the show.
January 11, 2026 at 6:19 AM
The age of the gigantic CES booth is mostly over, and a lot of the central hall was devoted to smaller ones involving roundups of various well-known brands (some extant, some zombies) being slapped on random products. It was oddly touching to see Packard Bell at the show.
Radio Shack* was at CES with an odd assortment of products. But it won’t really be Radio Shack until they restore the oid logo.
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
January 11, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Radio Shack* was at CES with an odd assortment of products. But it won’t really be Radio Shack until they restore the oid logo.
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
* (I refuse to call it “RadioShack.”)
Reposted by Harry McCracken
I wrote about why buying print books at local bookstores is still so great (and why Amazon’s book shopping experience is in shambles). www.fastcompany.com/...
January 9, 2026 at 7:38 PM
I wrote about why buying print books at local bookstores is still so great (and why Amazon’s book shopping experience is in shambles). www.fastcompany.com/...
Reposted by Harry McCracken
I'm glad to see this pressure on Google and Apple. If any other company was running an active CSAM generator in public you better believe it would have been removed from their app stores by now www.wired.com/story/x-grok...
Why Are Grok and X Still Available in App Stores?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been used to generate thousands of sexualized images of adults and apparent minors. Apple and Google have removed other “nudify” apps—but continue to host X and Grok.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I'm glad to see this pressure on Google and Apple. If any other company was running an active CSAM generator in public you better believe it would have been removed from their app stores by now www.wired.com/story/x-grok...
Reposted by Harry McCracken
The killing in Minnesota and the lies that followed. www.pbump.net/o/the-killin...
The killing in Minnesota
They will lie about you and then kill you and they will kill you and then lie about you. And I don’t mean some ambiguous, imaginary “they” like the one the right blames for trying to kill President D...
www.pbump.net
January 8, 2026 at 4:29 AM
The killing in Minnesota and the lies that followed. www.pbump.net/o/the-killin...
I didn’t realize Woodsy Owl was still with us, and am surprised Trump hasn’t fired him or even had him arrested.
January 8, 2026 at 6:32 PM
I didn’t realize Woodsy Owl was still with us, and am surprised Trump hasn’t fired him or even had him arrested.
Reposted by Harry McCracken
Fun fact:
Chuck E. Cheese became a rodent only by accident.
He was supposed to be a coyote!
Learn this and more about the iconic American brand that launched 24 million birthday parties.
h/t @benjedwards.com and @harrymccracken.com
www.fastcompany.com/91448506/chu...
@fastcompany.com
Chuck E. Cheese became a rodent only by accident.
He was supposed to be a coyote!
Learn this and more about the iconic American brand that launched 24 million birthday parties.
h/t @benjedwards.com and @harrymccracken.com
www.fastcompany.com/91448506/chu...
@fastcompany.com
Chuck E. Cheese's next act: 'I won't stop until we have a movie,' CEO says
Chuck E. Cheese execs, many from Six Flags, are positioning the 50-year-old pizza arcade spokesrodent to ride nostalgia to new heights.
www.fastcompany.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Fun fact:
Chuck E. Cheese became a rodent only by accident.
He was supposed to be a coyote!
Learn this and more about the iconic American brand that launched 24 million birthday parties.
h/t @benjedwards.com and @harrymccracken.com
www.fastcompany.com/91448506/chu...
@fastcompany.com
Chuck E. Cheese became a rodent only by accident.
He was supposed to be a coyote!
Learn this and more about the iconic American brand that launched 24 million birthday parties.
h/t @benjedwards.com and @harrymccracken.com
www.fastcompany.com/91448506/chu...
@fastcompany.com
Reposted by Harry McCracken
Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night.
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night.
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...