Ernie Smith – Medium

Pinned

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

When Atari Was Politicized

The story of how the “Atari Democrats” came to shape the way politics and technology work together, for good and bad.

14 min readMar 24, 2023

--

--

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

Lessons In Pivoting: The Live Events Company That Became a Tech Company Overnight

The story of One Day University, an online education platform that learned something about its own ability to survive during the pandemic.

10 min readFeb 20, 2022

--

Lessons In Pivoting: The Live Events Company That Became a Tech Company Overnight

--

Ernie Smith
in
Debugger

This Cheap, Repairable Smartphone Is Okay, and Maybe That’s the Point

The new Teracube 2e is a sustainable smartphone and a glimpse of a better future for accessories

7 min readMar 26, 2021

--

1

This Cheap, Repairable Smartphone Is Okay, and Maybe That’s the Point

--

1

Ernie Smith
in
Debugger

The iPhone 12 Mini Isn’t a Top Seller — and That’s Just Fine for Apple

Apple finally created a phone for people who don’t really care about phones

5 min readJan 22, 2021

--

8

The iPhone 12 Mini Isn’t a Top Seller — and That’s Just Fine for Apple

--

8

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

Why Gmail Always Cuts Off Your Favorite Newsletter

Popular email clients, particularly Gmail, have a tendency to cut emails off after a 102-kilobyte limit. Why the heck is that?

11 min readDec 26, 2020

--

Why Gmail Always Cuts Off Your Favorite Newsletter

--

Ernie Smith
in
Debugger

How to Break Apple’s M1 Chip

My bad Dropbox organization habits brought Apple’s power-sipping MacBook Air to its knees in just a single day

3 min readDec 3, 2020

--

20

--

20

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

The Reason Low Overpass Crashes Are So Fun to Watch

Why low overpasses are often so damaging to trucks, RVs, and other large vehicles — and why the ensuing crashes are so fun to watch.

11 min readNov 1, 2020

--

The Reason Low Overpass Crashes Are So Fun to Watch

--

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

Why Iceland Banned Beer—But Not Liquor—for Nearly 75 Years

For decades, it was easier to get a bottle of vodka in Iceland than a pint of beer. The reason why comes down to Icelandic politics.

13 min readOct 13, 2020

--

Why Iceland Banned Beer—But Not Liquor—for Nearly 75 Years

--

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

Now You’re Playing With Power

How I found home networking nirvana with a powerline connection, a form of home networking that might be called poor man’s ethernet.

14 min readJun 3, 2020

--

Now You’re Playing With Power

--

Ernie Smith
in
Tedium

Why the World Still Needs Laugh Tracks

“Canned laughter,” a controversial element of most television comedy, feels unnerving in its quarantine-era absence.

10 min readMay 31, 2020

--

Why the World Still Needs Laugh Tracks

--

Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith

Editor of @readtedium, the dull side of the internet. You may know me from @ShortFormBlog. Subscribe to my thought machine: http://tedium.co/

Following

Help
Status
About
Careers
Blog
Privacy
Terms
Text to speech
Teams