found via soulcookie

As people who read this site know, i have a penchant for Microsoft schadenfreude. I savor it, and then spit it into a bucket.
This one tasted pretty good (via TechConnect):

According to the data gathered by web analytics firm StatCounter, Microsoft’s decision engine, Bing, has seen its US search market share decline for the first time in September. Launched in June, Bing has gained market share in the summer months and topped 9.64% in August but as autumn rolled in, in September, it lost more than 1% and settled at 8.51%.

Talk about fizzling out quickly.

In the bar I told Dean ‘Hell man, I know very well you didn’t come to me only to want to become a writer, and after all what do I really know about it except you’ve got to stick to it with the energy of a benny addict.’

• from On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

If they hadn’t done it with the iPhone, I might consider this post far-fetched:

Steve Jobs said people don’t read any more. But Apple is talks with several media companies rooted in print, negotiating content for a “new device.” And they’re not just going for e-books and mags. They’re aiming to redefine print.

Exciting times we’re living in.

From ReadWriteWeb:

Yesterday, Palm released an update of the Pre software, webOS. While most of the reporting surrounding the new OS involved the important update which brings paid applications to the Pre’s App Catalog, another under-reported feature is actually just as (if not more) important. The Pre now lets you download over-the-air from Amazon’s MP3 Store.

Let’s hope Jon Rubenstein stops acting like a douchebag with the Pre-masquerading-as-an-iPod trickery with iTunes.
A clever man once said, if you don’t like the rules of the game, change the game.
While I understand the convenience of being able to sync your Palm Pre with iTunes, the reason the Pre is a great product is for all the ways it’s different than the iPhone.

This past Sunday I hit Red Hook, Brooklyn with Bryan to shoot some photos. It was a success.
I used my 85mm lenses and Bryan shot with a super wide angle so it’s great to see how much our shots differ.
Check out my complete Red Hook set.

Little belated shout out to my friend Promila on her site, Still Life.
She’s quite the curator of design and art.

When I spotted this car I had to look around me and make sure I was indeed on the upper east side of Manhattan and not Collins Ave on South Beach.

I had to do it:

UPDATE 18.09.2009 – After creating the image above, I went and posted it to my friend Dalematic‘s Facebook wall. I hadn’t anticipated what this action might start, but given Dalematic’s arsenal of design chops and knowledge, I should have.
Dalematic’s response #1:

The Combustion Chamber’s response #1:

Dalematic’s response #2:

The Combustion Chamber’s response #2:

Dalematic’s response #3:

The Combustion Chamber’s response #3:

Do Google and Microsoft understand what Human Experience is?
Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. They’re both companies run by engineers, so that’s bound to happen.
Google has launched Fast Flip and Microsoft has launched Visual Search – both of which are search-related tools. Both of which are confusing.

Google Fast Flip

Google explains Fast Flip on their blog:

Fast Flip also personalizes the experience for you, by taking cues from selections you make to show you more content from sources, topics and journalists that you seem to like. In short, you get fast browsing, natural magazine-style navigation, recommendations from friends and other members of the community and a selection of content that is serendipitous and personalized.

The problem is, Fast Flip doesn’t make scanning headlines any easier or enjoyable for me. Just because something is visually rich, doesn’t guarantee it’s easier to understand. When I want to scan news headlines, I, uh, scan news headlines. I don’t need screengrabs of websites to act as training wheels for me. Google News is more than sufficient for me.
I concur with Richard Ziade’s thoughts over at Basement.org:

What’s interesting about this tool is that it’s the anti-Readability. Instead of helping us get rid of the junk around what we’re trying to read, Google fossilized the layout – junk and all – in images.

Microsoft Visual Search

Then we have Microsoft’s attempt to make search results engaging by making them pictures. My co-worker Rob calls them ‘glorified image galleries’. The novelty of Visual Search wears off quickly and makes me pissed that I bothered to install Silverlight in the first place.
If Visual Search was integrated in some other Microsoft properties, it might add some value and move beyond a one trick pony.

Influencer:

2003 Land Rover Range Rover
Influenced:

2010 Ford Flex

Talk about simplicity with a grid. The website for A24 is absolutely beautiful.
found via Navistd

I was in Chicago a last month for Roundarch’s annual company event. Over the weekend I had no plans so I decided to explore the city. I texted my brother who, like me, lives in New York, but spent the summer in Chicago last year.
I asked him, ‘What’s the equivalent to the East Village in Chicago?”
He said, “Wicker Park”
Coincidentally, my coworker RJ lives in Wicker Park so he gave me a tour. He introduced me to the super awesome bookstore Quimby’s (For New York designer-bookstore-junkies, if you dig St. Mark’s Books, you would love Quimby’s).