October 2007

In Manhattan, the price of a slice of plain pizza and a subway fare always cost the same (+-25 cents).

If you see subway fares going up, be prepared to pay more for pizza too (and vice versa).

Flash 9 and Video on the Web (via)
Reminds me of the move to Flash 6, when we could finally load dynamic JPGs:

You can load and play .mp4,.m4v,.m4a,.mov and .3gp files using the same NetStream API you use to load FLV files now...

...The Flash Player itself does not care about file extensions, you can feed it .txt files for all it matters. The Flash Player always looks inside the file to determine what type of file it is.

Google’s Response to Facebook: “Maka-Maka” - If Google pulls this off, this could be big:

The real killer app for Google is not to turn Orkut into a Facebook clone. It is to turn every Google app into a social application without you even noticing that you’ve joined yet another social network.

I flew to LA recently, and as we were waiting to take off, I noticed some interesting bootup screens on the monitors. Apparently Delta uses Linux:

If you're looking for good vino, you have to try The Show 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (and it's only $16 friggin' dollars).

Related:
Cork'd review of The Show 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Where Hip-Hop, Martial Arts and Chess Meet - I love the photo for this article.

Hip-hop, martial arts, chess. An odd trio? Not at all, according to RZA, a founder of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan.

“Hip-hop is a battle game,” he said. “Chess is a battle. Martial arts is a battle.”

The three disciplines came together on Oct. 13 in the Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center, where the Hip-Hop Chess Federation held the Kings Invitational tournament. The federation, founded by the writer and lecturer Adisa Banjoko and Leo Libiran, a visual artist, seeks to use “music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence,” according to its Web site.

Imagine you work hard developing and then selling your own product. Not only does it work great, but it looks beautiful too. You have Designed all aspects of it - inside and out.

Now lets say there's one big component of it that you must integrate that's made from another company, which doesn't work well - its a kludge riddled with bugs.

I can only imagine this is how I would feel as a PC maker if I built a beautiful product like this and had no other option but to load Windows Vista on it:

Remember that Vista is considered by many as so bad they're either opting to downgrade back to Windows XP or simplying giving it the cold shoulder.

The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory

"Ultimately, this drive is a math calculation," Roy says. Maher looks blank. Roy points to a series of cells in the spreadsheet. Maher scans it, then turns the page, searching. "See," Roy says, "that's the average we're looking to hit: 90."

"I know this average," Maher says quietly. He flips through more pages. "I'm looking for the extended stretches of big speed, the long stretches where we can really hit it and make time."

Roy straightens. "Well, those don't really exist," he says. "You'll see. It's very rare to run over 100 for even a minute or two... "

"Oh yeah?" Maher says smiling. "Well, I'm about to change that."

Head's up to Bryan Larrick for pointing out this great article in the NY Times regarding Surface Navigation Help for Subway Riders.

Ever wonder what the true meaning of design is? This is a prime example. Design, in the broadest sense, is a solution to a problem. To be more specific, design is anything that improves peoples' lives.

Sure, you might not think this compass is useful in midtown, where all the streets and avenues are aligned in a nice little grid, but if you're over on West 4th Street in the West Village (where there's no semblance of a grid) - these things will be lifesavers.

This made me laugh this morning:

Last month, Nokia kicked off an advertising campaign attempting to talk smack about the iPhone's closed system.

That campaign will be irrelevant very soon with Apple bringing a software development kit (SDK) to developers for the iPhone.

That's how Nokia rolls people. See, they draw attention away from themselves and on to their competitor's product, while also developing their own imitation of said product.

You just have to have a little patience, people.

Bill Gates Presents the One (Really Big) Ringy Dingy

Microsoft never ceases to amaze me:

That day, Bill Gates plans to introduce Microsoft’s invasion into their business, with a new line of software for what the company calls “unified communications.” That means it is meant to integrate all the ways that people talk to each other: voice, video, instant messaging and more elaborate forms of online collaboration.

If it is successful, this software will accelerate the shift of communications from specialized devices and networks onto Internet-based networks, desktop PCs and microprocessor-based servers. And that, in turn, could challenge the economics of the remarkably profitable telecommunications industry.

Wow! Awesome. Unified communications. Using the power of the desktop and servers. Sounds like they're started to listen to what Google started doing over a decade ago?

Hold up. HOLD UP! I spoke too soon, the article continues:

On Tuesday Mr. Gates and his lieutenant Jeff Raikes will focus on marketing three software packages: Microsoft Communications Server 2007; a client software application dubbed Microsoft Office Communicator 2007; as well as a collaboration program, Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Ah, I knew there was a catch.

I swear I've seen an example of unified communications somewhere before, a place where you can video chat, text chat and make presentations in real-time... hmmm...

Its been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. - I'm excited about this, not so much for myself (because like any decent person, I have all my Zeppelin), but for younger generations who need to get the Led out.

Seth Godin nails it once again with his entry on How to create a great website. My favorite principle:

4. What works, works. Theory is irrelevant.

Let's keep today's post simple because my life is crazy. Just a circle.

A Study We Can Relate To: Millions Shop Online During Conference Calls
Well duh.

BlackBerry sales unfazed by iPhone - This doesn't come as much of a surprise. Blackberries are the de facto mobile device for a lot of business people. In much the same way that Zune sales are effecting iPod competitors and not iPods, iPhone sales are effecting Blackberry competitors, not RIM's Blackberry. I wish people would stop trying to create rivalries where none exist. The Blackberry and the iPhone are 2 totally different products with different target demographics. Saying "BlackBerry sales unfazed by iPhone" is like saying. "Toyota sales unfazed by Mercedes".

Brian Romero - Cartoons Illustration Design Mayhem (via AisleOne)

A Joyful Reunion, Full of Wide Smiles and High Kicks

During Van Halen’s years with Mr. Roth, it was a group of guys in their late 20s and early 30s who were, with a streak of trouper’s irony from Mr. Roth, amping up the teenage hormonal urges of songs like “Hot for Teacher.” Now they are guys in their 50s reviving the heyday of guys in their 20s who were thinking like teenagers.

Then and now, it’s done with virtuosity.

In the Dark with Kurt Cobain

from the article:

Azerrad caught his subject at a rather poignant moment. Frances Bean had just been born, grunge was a juggernaut, and Kurt was contemplative, candid, and lucid—able to reflect on the factors that would inevitably kill him. "Drugs are bad for you, and they will fuck you up. I just knew that I would eventually stop doing them. Being married and having a baby is a really good incentive," Kurt says late in the film. "If I would've kept doing drugs, I would have lost everything." This line is truly devastating. Likewise when Azerrad asks, "Is yours a sad story?" "No, not really," Kurt responds. "It's nothing that's amazing or anything new, for sure."

What we have below is a demo of Thermo, Adobe's new initiative to allow designers to work on Flex applications - but in the language of designers, not developers.

From watching the demo it looks like Dreamweaver for Flex, since it has the Code/Design toggling.

Import Photoshop file ... oh hell yes.

Hey Microsoft - are you taking notes?

Video found via aralbalkan.com

My favorite part of the movie Get Rich Or Die Tryin' was when 50 Cent used to deal drugs, and he would iron his money.

He ironed his fucking money. Now THAT is a professional.

I loved this idea so much that I now iron all my money. Try ironing your money* and tell me it doesn't feel pro.

* Remember, dollar bills are made of linen, not paper, so you're not going to hurt your cash.

Most people are aware by this point that Microsoft has released their Flash competitor, Silverlight.

The problem I have with Silverlight is that I can't find any good examples of websites or other interactive demos (other than the kick-ass ones Schematic has created).

Can anyone point me in the direction of Silverlight examples that aren't video players? The examples that they show on Silverlight.net are horrendous and basically reinforce the fact that Microsoft is a company driving technology for technology's sake - they don't care about good Design (capital 'D'), they're technocrats.

Microsoft is trying to play catch up, but they don't seem to care about the end user and designing experiences or applications that will benefit them. We're also seeing this echoed their other 'later runner' products like Zune and Windows Vista (people are actually opting to downgrade back to Windows XP). Everything seems to be a day late and a dollar short.

Should we care about Silverlight? If so why?

Why should I as a interactive designer use Microsoft Blend over Adobe Flash? (ignore the fact that I'm on OS X)

In industry where Adobe Flash dominates online video and rich interactive applications (Youtube wouldn't exist without Flash video) and designers and developers work well with the application - what is Microsoft bringing to the table that is innovative?

I think its important to open up discussion on topics like this instead of blindly accepting new technologies.

Have comments? Post em below.

The Barbarians Are At The Gate, But Microsoft Moves To Protect Office Revenues - By their very nature, corporations like Microsoft are not capable of taking risks in the name of innovation - unless they are creating a new paradigm or a new market.

Microsoft realizes that Google Docs - available online and free - is a threat to its Office suite of products (primarily Word & Excel). In response, they're ramping up for their own online versions of their products, but they're not getting it right:

Microsoft is falling into the classic trap of failing to realize the disruptive nature of a new competitive technology, instead focusing on the massive revenues it generates from their aging Office suite.

Someone makes a good point in the comments of this article, "You realize if Microsoft shipped a full online Office product, they would cannibalize themselves, right?"

This comment is true, but an online Office product would only cannibalize themselves if they remained entrenched in their current business model. Short term, this is the easier path to take, but long term, Microsoft shouldn't expect its products to be viewed as relevant or useful.

Contrast this screw-up by Microsoft with the risk Apple is taking with the iPhone. One of the reasons Apple is able to dive into the mobile industry is because they're being disruptive and establishing a new paradigm. Aside from the innovative Visual Voicemail, Apple is not locked into any crappy AT&T specific services for broadband, games or anything. You sync your iPhone with iTunes, which not only allows you to sync music and video content, but also patches bugs and adds new features. AT&T is simply a communication connection - as it should be.

Apple also don't have any presence in this market, so like Dylan said, when you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose.

Of course this is only partly true. Apple could have lost years and years of preparation and research and tens of millions of dollars that went into making the iPhone ...but that's why it's called taking a risk.

Risks have potentially huge payoffs.

I love the comment Paul Arden makes in his book, Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite:

Most people are reasonable, that's why they only do reasonably well.