To turn back to technical topics — Adrian Courrèges has done an amazing job of deconstructing and explaining exactly what goes into rendering a frame of Grand Theft Auto 5.

This is a phenomenal piece of work. Not only does it deconstruct how a frame is rendered but it does so in a way that is approachable by people who are not necessarily graphics programmers. That’s not to say that people who don’t know the ins and outs will walk away with the ability to implement an engine like the one employed by GTA but, rather, that they can walk away with a basic understanding of the ingredients. These are the eggs that make the omelet.

Adrian concludes:

All in all there were 4155 draw calls, 1113 textures involved and 88 render targets.

That’s a lot of eggs. Adrian does a terrific job of explaining how it all fits together.

STOP DOUBTING THE IPHONE, THE MACINTOSH COMPANY

Thompson tears apart the fears of iPhone growth slowing narrative with compelling arguments. The gist is that smartphones are increasingly becoming the most important piece of technology people interact with.

Regarding the Macintosh.

Indeed, the Mac remains one of the strongest arguments for the iPhone’s continued success; there is precedent for a higher-priced OS-differentiated product housed in the best hardware outgrowing the competition in a saturated industry for years, and it just so happens to be made by the same company.

The rest of the PC industry is collapsing while Apple is still making money. If anything you’d think that might be a sign. Yet so many are hooked on the idea that when history repeats itself it does it in exactly the same way. That’s not how history works. History is perspective.

As Thompson points out in this piece, there are a number of issues that should trouble Apple. Unprecedented success with a product that remains top of class around the world and sells like hotcakes isn’t one.

Some time ago I culled a bunch of feeds I’d been following from my RSS reader and subscribed to the Stratechery newsletter. Asking for email isn’t something I often do. I don’t regret it. Ben’s thoughts are one of the first things I read in the morning. They’re sharp and well argued. I don’t always agree with his assessments but that’s exactly the kind of person you want to be reading more from.