July 2006 Entries

Links

 

07.29.2006

Users Are Opting for More Dynamic Interaction

Interesting study from University of Hamburg which reveals that, over time, the use of the browser's back button has decreased by half suggesting a trend toward increased interactivity and form submission... [+]

07.29.2006

Compute! Magazine Archive

OMG! I just found this Classic Computer Magazine Archive: Compute! Magazine and I nearly cried. This is how I created my first (infinite) loop, my first game. This is how nerdy kids like me... [+]

07.29.2006

WYSIWYG Web2.0 Editor

Just found Aptana -- a free WYSIWYG XHTML/CSS editor for those of us who don't mind taking shortcuts. It comes preloaded with a number of javascript libraries such as Prototype, script.aculo.us, Dojo, etc. Available for Windows, Mac even Linux. Via blog.wired.com. [+]

07.27.2006

Happy Users Oversimplified

PingMag's article on 5 Web Design Patterns for Happy Users is attention-grabbing though somewhat presumptuous about the universal preferences of all users... [+]

07.23.2006

Gadgets Get Nekked

For hackers and physical computing enthusiasts, here's a site that bares it all for you. TakeItApart.net disassembles all sorts of gadgets...so you don't have to. [+]

07.23.2006

German Pranks

Dispelling the myth that the Germans don't have a sense of humor, for the past year in Germany, the police have been searching for pranksters who have been erecting flags bearing GWB's face... [+]

07.22.2006

Sustainable Cardboard House

Add The Cardboard House to the list of affordable kit homes with style. [+]

07.21.2006

More on Baby Product Design

Earlier, I pointed out a smart design solution for the dropped pacifier problem. Coincidentally, I ran into a BusinessWeek feature today on The New Baby-Gear Boom, a slideshow of redesigned products for babies. Except for one, the Philips DECT Baby Monitor, the products they featured were frightfully overdesigned and... [+]

07.20.2006

Taskonomy-Based UI

The inimitable Don Norman on Logic Versus Usage: The Case for Activity-Centered Design. He cites the findings of anthropologists Dougherty and Keller and their observation of task-based organization, or taskonomy, for how humans structure their tools according to activity. [+]

07.18.2006

Innovating for the Masses, Not the Money

Putting people at the heart of innovation: Power Laws Of Innovation via Core77. [+]

07.18.2006

Typographic-Speak

So, you at least know that leading is pronounced LED-ing (you do, dontcha?), now here's your chance to really impress others at the next typographic cocktail party. Great thread on how to pronounce those typographic luminaries' names such as Ed Benguiat and Zuzana Licko: How do you say "Tschichold?" and Pronunciation Question. [+]

07.18.2006

Smart Design Pacifier

About time someone solved the issue of keeping pacifiers clean every time they're dropped: Always Clean Baby Pacifier. [+]

07.17.2006

Client-Designer Relationships: The Abridged Version

In this day and age, I'm surprised to find the occasional client who still thinks a designer is no more than a (insert graphical application here) monkey. Seth knows otherwise and this is one of the many reasons I respect this man: How to live happily with a great designer. I'm inclined to include this in my proposals as a guideline for client-designer relationships...some clients can really use it. [+]

07.16.2006

Free AJAX Online Course

10-Week Free AJAX Programming (with Passion!) Online Course offered by Sang Shin beginning August 2, 2006. Prerequisites include... [+]

07.16.2006

SEO for Ethicisits

Simple, straightforward advice on how to optimize your site for search engines without going to the Dark Side. The Power of Natural SEO [+]

07.14.2006

Magazine Fonts Revealed

Font Shop goes to the newsstands and identifies the typographic mixes that make up a number of my type favorites including Wallpaper, Real Simple and Icon. Glyphs in the Glossies. [+]

07.13.2006

Password Exporter Extension for Firefox

I haven't installed any Firefox extensions in a while but this one is an exception. "This extension allows you to export and import your saved passwords and rejected sites between computers. Your passwords will be exported to an XML file and can be encrypted." Password Exporter 1.0.3 via Lifehacker. [+]

07.12.2006

Eyetracking Forms

Take an eye-tracking setup plus a bunch of forms and you have one set of interesting outcomes on optimal label format and position for online foms. Label Placement in Forms. My only quibble here is I don't know how long the form was that was used in the test (which is one reason why a designer may want to opt for applying labels beside their respective fields). Interesting read nonetheless. [+]

07.10.2006

Chopstick Design

I'm especially fond of chopsticks as they are the embodiment of simplicity and minimalism. (I even made a circuit-based chopstick game that's a little over-engineered.) So I was delighted to see PingMag's article on portable chopsticks: Portable Chopstick Designs. I love the Muji design (natch!) most of all. [+]

07.10.2006

Simplicity is about focusing on fundamentals

In Simplicity demands difficult choices, Jerry McGovern points to Apple and Google as examples of simplicity done right -- by focusing on the user experience for the most basic, common tasks. [+]

07.09.2006

Roll Your Own Eye Tracking Tests

DIY eye tracking using Open Eyes, open source code: Real-Time Eye Tracking, found via Digg. [+]

07.08.2006

Microsoft's Vista Fonts Pose CSS Headaches

Folks at NeoSmart Files take Microsoft's new fonts (see previous post on MSFT's new fonts) for a spin in the real world and find some prickly issues. CSS & Vista's New Fonts [+]

07.08.2006

Code Snippet Motherload

Snipplr Code 2.0 is searchable community-driven database for source code snippets, similar to koders (mentioned last 11/04). [+]

07.08.2006

W3C's Draft Spec for Columns in CSS3

The proposed spec outlines a more simplified approach to defining columns with new column properties such as column-count, column-width, column-rule and column-gap: Multi Column layout in CSS. [+]

07.07.2006

Impulsive Color

According to a brief article from Dr. Stephen Juan for The Register, Red-orange, black, and royal blue attracts impulse buyers. Interestingly enough, when I worked in magazine publishing, red-orange covers often did outsell other color covers in newsstands. [+]

07.06.2006

Reading Behaviors on the Web

Is reading on the Web really different? It's not all that different from offline reading behaviors, according to Caroline Jarrett, though, once again, context is the key. [+]

07.06.2006

SXSW Podcast

The podcast for the SXSW panel I was on this past March, Does Your Blog Have a Business, is now finally available! [+]

07.06.2006

Security Firm Urges PC Users to Switch

The BBC News and The Register each run stories endorsing Macs as they advise PC users to switch for security's sake. To help OS X newbies, here is a switcher's guide to Mac OS X software. [+]

07.06.2006

IT Support Humor

Dave, this one's for you. The Register is taking votes for your favorite IT support anecdotes. (Found via Slashdot). For you and others out there who provide IT support, I salute you. [+]

07.04.2006

Hot Dates, Geek-Style

Christian Montoya's tips for getting hot dates with CSS. [+]

07.03.2006

Feature Fatigue

Gerry McGovern waxes about feature fatigue as a shortsighted strategy: Complexity delivers short-term gain but long-term pain. [+]

07.03.2006

How I Spend My Workdays and Holidays

A pretty accurate pie chart of the time breakdown for web design/production: The breakdown of Modern Web Design. [+]

 

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