Monday 5/12/2008 – 3:43 pm
I’ve changed the look of the site temporarily to try to squash some WP2.5-related bugs with my usual design. You’re free to call me and complain if this persists for too long.
Friday 4/18/2008 – 8:37 pm
Bruce Schneier at the NJ ACLU
Noted security guru Bruce Schneier gives an informative and well-reasoned talk about the state of security, “security theater,” and what it means to be secure.
(tags:
security
)
Thursday 4/17/2008 – 8:35 pm
Build a Pocket Theremin on the Cheap (Popular Science)
This will be my next electronics project. I have a feeling that Roxy (2yo daughter) would like to play with it too!
(tags:
electronics
diy
theremin
technology
gadgets
project
music
)
Wednesday 4/16/2008 – 8:35 pm
PHP Cheatsheets - VisiBone
Bob Stein of VisiBone fame adds PHP cheat sheets to his repertoire. If these are anything like his excellent JavaScript references, expect great things. (The JS regular expressions reference is especially fine; I’ve lent it to Perl coders at times.)
(tags:
PHP
development
web
)
Tuesday 4/15/2008 – 8:40 pm
Sony Design: Interaction Design
Sony’s Interaction Design Group shows off their chops with a three projects. While details are fairly light, simple and powerful interactions are shown off via video, adding a sense of the richness a well-designed single-purpose interaction can provide.
(tags:
future
interaction
design
)
Wednesday 4/2/2008 – 8:35 pm
Change We Can Believe In (Ask H&FJ | Hoefler & Frere-Jones)
Another example of design by committee producing inferior results to a single talented individual: the new British currency versus “new” American currency.
(tags:
design
currency
)
Wednesday 2/27/2008 – 8:28 pm
30 of the Most Creative Bookshelves Designs (FresHome)
I especially like the “Quad” bookshelves and the wall of diagonal cubes. And the Ceiling Bookshelves (mounting a shelf under the ceiling joists) would have been a great way to store items the co-op in grad school; I wish I had thought of it then.
(tags:
design
furniture
shelves
[…]
Thursday 1/17/2008 – 8:25 pm
The Road Witch Trial
Road witchery is DIY traffic-calming. The folks behind this site experiment with non-destructive legal and quasi-legal ways to alter traffic patterns in their neighborhoods, slowing drivers down, by focusing on the driver’s experience.
(tags:
art
community
creativity
design
diy
environment
transportation
cars
safety
activism
)
Monday 1/14/2008 – 8:21 pm
Want to Make an iPhone-Killer? Think This Over. (the product usability weblog)
Jasped van Kujik makes the obvious point that is somehow lost on most directors and above: making an exceelent product, an “iPhone killer” or something else more “like Apple” requires both investment and commitment. Time, money, people, and will.
(tags:
business
design
devices
apple
iphone
[…]
Thursday 12/27/2007 – 8:25 pm
Airport Security Study (Schneier on Security)
Security guru Bruce Schneier once again exposes current TSA screening practices as security theater. While a certain amount of security theater is necessary, it seems that TSA is focusing on confiscating prohibited items rather than preventing attacks.
(tags:
security
travel
airport
)
Wednesday 12/26/2007 – 8:20 pm
Software That Converts Sketches into Interactive Mechanical Systems (TechEBlog)
From MIT, a sketch interface that results in models of simple mechanical systems. Reminiscent of Crayon Physics at kloonigames.com/crayon/ and Chalk at http://www.konjak.org/chalk.htm.
(tags:
software
interface
physics
sketch
)
Wednesday 11/28/2007 – 8:26 pm
Another thing that’s wrong with most strategic planning (Herd)
Most strategic planning is neither, apparently. (That’s neither strategic nor planning.) Good to know. Focusing on real things happening now makes sense. Guessing at mass behavior that you can’t really understand until after the fact? Not so much.
(tags:
planning
strategy
thinking
business
)
Tuesday 11/27/2007 – 8:26 pm
Knife Maintenance and Sharpening (eGullet Forums)
Chad Ward treats the mechanics of kitchen knives and their care, especially edges and sharpening. But what sets this longish article apart are the (unheralded) examples of researched user-centric thinking within.
(tags:
advice
knives
sharpening
cooking
userexperience
design
)
Tuesday 11/13/2007 – 10:19 pm
It alarms me that so many sites have no background color. That’s right, NO background color. Sure, they look fine, but only by accident: I changed my browser’s default colors to blue text on a yellow background, and I’m seeing a lot of yellow these days (and a little bit of blue). Not everywhere, but […]
Tuesday 11/13/2007 – 8:30 pm
Content AND Presentation (Mark Boulton)
Mark Boulton outlines his (at this time upcoming) Web 2.0 Expo talk about typography on the web. This is an excellent companion to Stephen P. Anderson’s
In Defense of Eye Candy
because both pieces remind us that function and aesthetics are inseparable.
(tags:
typography
design
web
ux
)
Monday 11/12/2007 – 8:27 pm
In Defense of Eye Candy (poetpainter)
Stephen P. Anderson demonstrates how aesthetcs and emotion are inseparable from function, how efficiency and ease-of-use support and are supported by enjoyment. A good presentation to have in your hip pocket as you prepare to wow the (formerly) unwowable.
(tags:
design
usability
emotion
)
Thursday 11/8/2007 – 8:25 pm
The United States and Iran: At a Dangerous Crossroads (CSIS TV)
Sen. Chuck Hagel speaks of the many colliding difficulties in the Middle East, and points out just how poorly the US is and has been responding to the overall situation, as part of a cogent treatment of US policy toward Iran. Starts slow, finishes strong.
(tags: […]
Wednesday 11/7/2007 – 8:29 pm
Using JavaScript as a Real Programming Language
Mikonnen and Taivalsaari of Sun Labs express what seems like astonishment that JavaScript can be used as a “real” programming language. The paper explores in part the stylistic and expressive possibilities of JavaScript. (hat tip to Douglas Crockford)
(tags:
javascript
development
toread
programming
)
The Elements of JavaScript Style, part 2: […]
Friday 11/2/2007 – 10:34 am
A further reminder that what you do IS your brand:
The Other Problem With ‘Welcome: Portraits of America’
.
Monday 10/29/2007 – 8:31 pm
The Hughtrain Mark Two (gapingvoid)
Hugh MacLeod trims his weighty Hughtrain Manifesto down to a svelte 418 words. less is definitely more; this is a document that every marketer, designer, and exec (especially C-level) should take to heart.
(tags:
business
manifesto
hughtrain
creativity
ethics
communication
advice
marketing
)
Design engineering: the next step (Cooper | Journal of Design)
Alan Cooper […]
Thursday 10/25/2007 – 8:34 pm
YSlow for Firebug
The fine folks at Yahoo! have rolled their fourteen front-end optimization guidelines into an add-on for Firebug (itself an add-on for Firefox) that scores your site’s performance in cached and uncached scenarios. Very helpful.
(tags:
performance
javascript
web
development
browser
analytics
)
Steve Souders: “High Performance Web Sites” (Yahoo! Video)
Steve Souders discusses Yahoo!’s 14 front-end optimization […]
Wednesday 10/24/2007 – 8:28 pm
White Is the New White (A Brief Message)
Stephen Heller riffs quickly (is that possible?) on white and whitespace and fashion and design. A healthy reminder to include plenty of white, even if it isn’t exactly white the color. Air. Space. Ease. Important.
(tags:
design
color
)
Designing a Color Graphics Page (NASA Ames RC)
This checklist outlines an ordered […]
Tuesday 10/23/2007 – 8:35 pm
Photoshop Secret Shortcuts
Web Designer Wall reveals ome Photoshop tricks that, while not closely-guarded secrets, can save those of us who spend time there many minutes each day. They key to navigating Photoshop quickly are key commands and key/mouse combos.
(tags:
photoshop
shortcuts
tips
tutorial
productivity
cheatsheet
adobe
)
Monday 10/22/2007 – 8:30 pm
As Apple Gains PC Market Share, Jobs Talks of a Decade of Upgrades (New York Times)
There’s a nugget hidden in the third-to-last graf of this article: “there are no ‘verbs’ in the iPhone interface”. While this isn’t strictly true, it does nicely summarize the goal of direct, intuitive manipulation: no choosing to do, just doing.
(tags: […]
Saturday 10/20/2007 – 8:24 pm
Lazy Function Definition Pattern (Peter’s Blog)
Peter Michaux points out a closure technique where a function redefines itself when it is first evaluated. Interesting thinking which could be easily applied to browser capability testing (preventing repeated re-testing of things already known).
(tags:
javascript
programming
patterns
performance
)