January 2012
1 post
1 tag
Different. Just like me.
When I was a kid, I liked to sort my candy by color. I’m not OCD or anything, but I’m using “like” in a strong way here, as in: “I like to eat every day.”
I know this is pretty weird, but I’m over 40 now and I don’t show any sings of changing. I’m OK with weird now. When I was growing up I didn’t know anyone else who did this: no...
December 2011
3 posts
2 tags
Brains!
Core Animation is a lot like a zombie. I keep thinking I’ve beat it, that I’ve won. That maybe this time I’ve hacked off enough limbs and chopped it up enough that it’ll stay down.
Then it gets up, puts itself together and comes back for more of my brains.
3 tags
An honest question.
Kiwi
Fireballed: Yes!
New York Times: Yes!
Website traffic: OMG YES!
Sales: Not so much.
Stacks
Fireballed: No way.
New York Times: For a plugin? Are you kidding?
Website traffic: Not bad.
Sales: Great!
I know that Web Design and Social Networking are very different markets with different sorts of users, but I’m still amazed by how stark the contrast is.
What is the...
2 tags
Cooked Bird
Path and Instagram have shown that the social app war is far from over. The blind spot of the successful social web platforms like Twitter and Facebook appears their late to the game, lackluster iOS experience. Even with the iPad 3 due out in a few months the iOS Facebook UI has only recently become tolerable.
The just released, new-new-new Twitter, with the delivered-upon promise of...
November 2011
3 posts
2 tags
Stacks of Stacks: Stacks 2 Public Beta →
yourhead-stacks:
Today we’re releasing the Stacks 2 Public Beta. And there’s so much great new stuff, I hardly know which things I should tell you about first. Over a year in the making, this new version of Stacks has all the simple, easy-to-use layout control that you love and supports all those great…
3 tags
One to one.
Way back in the 80s, right after Apple had introduced the world to the graphical user interface all of the other PC companies scrambled to add windows and mice to their machines. For years when you sat down at an early Windows machine you saw this: you move the mouse and a bit later the pointer on the screen moved. As machines got faster the lag went away, until eventually it was gone.
But...
2 tags
Sandboxing in Practice
Lots is being written about Apple’s new sandboxing requirements: Is it secure? Is it the best way? Is it too soon? All good questions. It’s good that someone’s thinking about that stuff. A bit theoretical for my needs, though.
I just need to know the constraints, so I can build the best app possible within them. That sounds easy enough, right?
Sandboxing makes each app...
October 2011
4 posts
Daily Kos: A Voice From the 1% →
Many of the 53% crowd seem quite proud of their Christian faith. I am not religious myself, but I am reasonably certain that Jesus would not respond to the poor and unemployed with shouts of “Get a job!” I vividly remember what it was like to be poor. To be concise, it sucked, and my heartfelt sympathies automatically go out to anyone who has to experience it, especially children who are...
1 tag
How to test an HD TV
Management: We’re going to need a test for these HD TVs.
Engineering: Sure. No problem. We can do that.
Management: What’ll you need?
Engineering: A poodle, of course.
Management: Check. A poodle. Got it. What else?
Engineering: About 10,000 watts of florescent rainbow lighting. And bubbles. A lot of bubbles. Foam bubbles, a bubble shooter, giant bubbles, all...
1 tag
This isn't going to be easy.
When John and George died I had to stop listening to the Beatles for while each time. Not forever, but for a little while.
The same goes for Kermit, Mr. Rogers, and a handful of other greats. It’s just too painful to think that those childhood fixtures are no longer here making the world a better place.
After a while, it’s OK. And I’m OK. The strong emotions fade to...
4 tags
Just an upgrade. Just a phone.
People asked if things would be different when Steve left. It’s finally clear that they are, just not in the way that people would have predicted.
The new gadgets are still amazing, fast, and magical. They’re still miles ahead of their competition. And lots of people like me will still buy them. But for some reason, this time, that’s not enough.
The rest of the world...
September 2011
4 posts
Wind on a Leaf: Apple headlines for fall 2011 →
chartier:
Business Insider, day 1: Did Apple screw up its fall event announcement because Steve Jobs wasn’t there to open Calendar.app?
Business Insider, day 2: Here’s a chartfographic thingy showing why Apple’s announcements (and market valuation) are incredible and light years ahead of the competition
1 tag
1 tag
“the only people between a balanced effective tax rate among all social classes...”
– http://kottke.org/11/09/job-misunderstandings
A really amazing article about the misunderstandings in professions. It’s hard to believe that so much poignance can be squeezed from the same topic that Scott Adams pokes fun at day in and day out. There are so many working class heros among...
August 2011
5 posts
1 tag
I finally understand my dad
I was shaving and thinking of my dad’s old safety razor and how anachronistic it was, even 20 years ago when he was using it. And that’s when it hit me: I finally understand my dad. I finally know what my dad is. Let me paint the picture:
my dad has thick mustache.
his bike has a brooks saddle.
he dresses like no one else on the planet.
his hair is a bit too long.
he’s...
3 tags
1 tag
I love beach balls and pinwheels
Xcode: Oh hai! How are you doing today?
Me: I just relaunched you because you crashed. Again. So, you know, kind of shitty.
Xcode: Oh well, here are the last 20 windows that you had open about 45 minutes ago.
Me: I don’t really need those open any more. Just do a clean build of the code, OK.
Xcode: Let’s play beach ball!!! I love beach balls and pinwheels!!!
Me: ...
1 tag
All Roared Out
I’ve used Lion and the previews of it since the first debut over a year ago. At least one machine has been running it since it then. For about six months I’ve used it on my primary development machine.
I’m letting you know, because the first reaction I hear to any Lion critique is, “it’ll feel better after you get used to it.” After six months I’m...
3 tags
How much is too much? What's irrational?
Sergey Brin to Patent Chief: Apple knows how important these patents are, you have my approval to do whatever it takes to win: all crazy auction bids are approved.
Patent Chief talking to Google Auctioneer: Irrational auction bids are encouraged.
Auctioneer at the auction: We need irrational bids. We’ll bid π dollars. That’s irrational!
June 2011
9 posts
4 tags
Apple 3, Indies 1
Audion :: iTunes
Watson :: Sherlock
Konfabulator :: Dashboard
RapidWeaver :: iWeb
Apple 3, Indies 1
Alright Instapaper, it’s your turn, don’t let us down.
In all honesty, I consider this sort of stuff more fanboy lore than reality. The reality was that iWeb helped a lot of consumers find their way to user-friendly web publishing on the desktop. In the long run, I think...
1 tag
Get a job, hipster! →
I can’t tell if this is a joke or what.
2 tags
Diversity or Consistency
A while back a Kiwi user asked how to view Twitter’s trending topics. When I replied that it wasn’t possible with Kiwi he was confused. He told me that a Twitter client without trends just wasn’t useful at all. That seemed crazy at the time, no one I knew used that feature at all.
Kiwi had only recently launched, most of the feedback I received then was from beta testers and...
1 tag
When you need a paperclip... for science. →
The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie.
1 tag
Tripple Dribbble →
It’s three random dribbbles and a refresh button. And, well, that’s pretty good.
2 tags
Suppose you know someone really cool who's moving... →
No not me, I mean Dan Benjamin!
And suppose you want to listen to all his 5 By 5 podcasts, which you should, because they’re the best thing going. Then you’ll want to set up a little Fluid app for yourself to make it easy. Don’t worry, setting up an app isn’t as hard as it sounds and TJ Luoma walks you through the setup.
2 tags
Link Pocket →
Link Pocket is a quirky tool for storing and sharing links. I suppose you could say that it’s competing with Delicious, Pinboard, or ZooTool, but it’s really different. If you were to strip everything out of those other tools and take away all of their fancy UI, then you’d have something like LinkPocket.
I’m not exactly sure I could find a use for it, but I can’t...
3 tags
A SITE TO HALP U TALK BOUT UR KITTEH →
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, though. Friends don’t let friends LOLSPEAK IRL, got it!?
“Suggested first question for every Q&A session at WWDC: “What happens if I...”
– John Siracusa
It’s funny cuz it’s true.
(via chartier)
May 2011
34 posts
4 tags
Elastic Videos →
A pretty amazing demo of stretchy embedded videos on page. I’m still geeking out over the CSS. Even if you’re not into CSS and front-end design you should click on the demo and resize the browser window. It’s kind of fun watching all the videos stretch.
The Hunchback of Taiwan →
I mean, really, is Hunchback any worse than Padfone.
5 tags
SoftBox Pro for free →
Yeah, it’s just a big flashlight app for your iPad. But with some nifty settings too. And you can’t beat free.
2 tags
Worst tagline or worst tagline ever? →
This has to be the single worst elevator pitch ever conceived for a product. In all caps, just in case it wasn’t disturbing enough.
IT’S LIKE LETTING JOHN LENNON EMAIL YOU FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.
3 tags
San Francisco, we are GO for Stevenote. →
Nothing brings out the rabid fanboy in me like seeing Steve do the big show. It’s like an unfiltered drag from the source of the RDF.
And I’m very glad that he’s well enough to attend. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
2 tags
I friggin' love ponycorns!
I really love it when kids get in on the programming too.
Laughing Squid posted this story about a game made by Cassie, a 5 year old and her dad. Pretty cute.
Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure
it’s flash, but totally worth it
1 tag
Dribbble Adds Color Search →
Dribbble continues to add more cool stuff. They’ve added a search-by-color feature, Color Coding.
Make sure not to miss the details: two simple sliders let you guide the search algorithm to select how much of the shot contains the color and how close to the color the shot needs to be.
But with Dribbble, the most impressive part is the UI. It looks great, it’s super functional,...
4 tags
Where have I seen that before?
Victor Agreda Jr. in a piece for TUAW reports from TechCrunch Disrupt that Sparrow, the email client with a “unique” interface, will be adding support for other services. Facebook Connect, LinkedIn, and even Twitter are on the list.
Sparrow promises some future Twitter and LinkedIn integration. Clearly Sparrow isn’t just a Gmail client, it is becoming a powerful messaging...
1 tag
Mini Star Wars Characters →
They even did Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru!
The first person to use one as their Twitter avatar wins a prize.
3 tags
Calligraphy UI →
This UI makes me want to write a little iOS app to go with it. I have no idea what it should do, I just liked it.
2 tags
Double Plus Ungood
In a piece in the Telegraph Matt Warman quotes HP’s European head Eric Cador speaking about their upcoming Touchpad:
In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP’s products from our competitors, we became number one; in the tablet world we’re going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus.
I don’t want to get pedantic, but here’s the thing:...
3 tags
Can you run Linux in your browser? →
Of course you can. You’re an uber-geek. And you need this.
Because what you really want is a whole PC, emulated in JS, running inside a browser, booting Linux.
Found on stevenf.com
Maybe the best conversation I have ever had:
Daughter: We race sometimes at recess, but I never win because I'm a girl.
Me: I don't understand. Why does that matter?
Her: Because boys are faster.
Me: Oh... you think boys are faster.
Her: Yeah.
Me: Do you remember when I told you I used to race people when I was a big kid?
Her: Yes.
Me: Well I practiced very hard for four years so I could run faster than anyone else. That's a lot of practicing, right?
Her: Yes.
Me: And even when I got as fast as I will ever ever get, there were still women and young ladies who could run faster than me even if they were wearing a backpack with a heavy lunch in it and heavy shoes.
Her: Fast girls?
Me: Very fast.
Her: Why do we even have boys and girls, then?
Me: Because the things that are different about us do something very important. Do you know what that is?
Her: What?
Me: They make new people. Babies.
Her: I want to be fast.
Me: (BULLET DODGED) Then you will be.
Her: I want to be faster than you.
Me: You probably already are.
Her: I want to do everything.
Me: Do you remember when I told you I help people who can't see?
Her: The ones in wheelchairs?
Me: Sometimes, but most of the people I know and who can't see use dogs to help them walk around.
Her: Oh yeah. Special dogs.
Me: Yup. Do you remember how much I want to be able to play the piano?
Her: Yes.
Me: Well some of those people who can't even see the piano can play it better than I ever will no matter how much I practice.
Her: Boys and girls?
Me: The piano doesn't care who you are. Neither does the ground when you run.
Her: I'm going to be so fast.
3 tags
My Trackpad Training
So, I’m trying to train myself to use this Magic Trackpad. I’m getting a little bit better, it doesn’t feel totally frustrating any more. I feel like I can do basic web browsing without slowing down too much.
On the flip side, there are still certain things which confuse me. I’d really love to know how other people are using this device. Here are some of my...
2 tags
Dribbble Buckets →
Dribbble Buckets allow any Dribbble members to create collections of shots. Translated into non-dribbble-ese, it’s a way for any member, not just designers, to make groups of images that have been posted to Dribbble. Very nice. Very social. And, as usual with Dribbble, the way they’ve built it into the site is pretty slick.
My only complaint about Dribbble is the forced...
2 tags
You don't even need it!
So I’m just sitting in this cafe drinking my cappuccino, right. Just minding my own business, reading my email and stuff, when I hear a conversation drift in about a tablet the guy next to me is fiddling with. One guys says to the other,
“Hey, is that an iPad?”
“No. It’s a PlayBook.”
“Oh, that’s the one from the BlackBerry guys?”
...
2 tags
Movie Posters in Lego Minifig →
This summers blockbusters redone by @OldRedJalopy using Lego minifigs.
I’m thinking TF3 might be a better movie if Bay filmed it in minifig-3D.
2 tags
Macworld says I'm melancholy
Macworld’s Lex Friedman gives a good update on the current state of the Twitter policy change:
It means that unless Twitterrific and the rest issue updates to their apps by Twitter’s deadline of “the end of this month,” those apps will soon be unable to display or send your direct messages.
Actually, if I understand things correctly (and I’m not sure I do) unchanged clients...
Tintin's Adventures into the Uncanny Valley →
See also:
The Polar Express to the Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley
3 tags
Gruber nails it →
The best piece on Twitter’s xAuth policy change was written by Gruber. It’s almost three pages long and written only a short time after the news dropped, but it covers each detail. If you read one thing about the Twitter craziness then this is the piece to read.
Lego Wallpaper →
Awesome lego stud baseplate wallpaper. In a variety of colors too, not just the blue shown. I tweaked mine so it looks like the dark gray pieces. It’s my new desktop.
Also try searching twitter for Louie Mantia’s less widely published Logo version.