Archive for March, 2007
March 29, 2007 at 11:06 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: Apple, iTunes, Ubuntu, Windows
While both CEOs insist they have a cordial relationship, Apple’s continued growth- as well as their recent jabs at Vista, has got to be something of a thorn in the Windows group side of late. Anti-Redmond propaganda is frequently seen in Cupertino, and the assault is rumored to get even more relentless as the launch of Leopard approaches.
In what many see as a jab back, Microsoft recently altered liscense terms, requiring Mac users looking to run Vista in Paralells to purchase more expensive flavors, such as business or Ultimate editions. No technical reasons for this exist; my personal opinion is MS simply wants to discourage the practice. With a virtualized copy of windows, MS’s dominant OS goes from being the magical software that makes the box work to merely a runtime environment required for some specific software applications. Not exactly the strongest foundation to build an empire upon.
In any event, look for both camps to beat their chest louder and louder once Leopard gets here. And if Microsoft somehow decides to fire a nastier shot back- which I am fairly certain they will if Leopard shoots out of the gate to glowing reviews, and the switch numbers keep growing, look for Apple to quit making witty banners for a second and fire back a gut shot of their own- iTunes for Ubuntu. Continue reading »
March 28, 2007 at 1:53 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: Adobe, Amnesty, Piracy
In any discussion of piracy, you’re going to encounter two camps of people: those that staunchly refuse to condone the practice, and either go without or find open source alternatives to pakcages they cannot afford; or the guy who thinks “information deserves to be free” and refuses to pay for jack shit. Like most things though, the vast majority of normal folks fall somewhere in the vast middle ground inbetween the extremes.
Casual copying takes many forms- maybe a student wants to learn an app, or a designer wants to work on his work projects at home when he calls in “sick”. It could be even more innocent, perhaps someone has switched platforms and doesnt want to have to reinvest thousands of dollars into digital goods he’s already purchased just because he got sick of dealing with a particular OS. Whatever the particulars, we all know there are hundreds of thousands of unliscensed applications floating around out in the wild, to the detriment of everyone- publishers can’t get paid, users can’t get support, it’s no good.
My suspicion is that many- if not most users- would jump at the opprotunity to “go legit”, but then they see the CEO of Adobe justify the $1700-$2500 price of admission to the latest creative suite by stating “Our customer is not typically price sensitive”. At which point desire to be a legit customer gets replaced with a desire to tell adobe to kiss their ass as they trek off to piratebay to grab it for free.
Is there a quick fix to this? I think so. Continue reading »
March 21, 2007 at 6:14 pm
· Filed under Producing · Tagged: design, DRM, type
While making the rounds today (thanks Jeff Croft, via John Gruber), I saw Chuck Davis of Letterhead Font’s “Open letter” regarding Font DRM”. Where to begin on this one…
I have no interest in “pulling a corey” and spending every waking hour crying like a little girl about the dangers of DRM. Nor am I naive enough to believe that no independent creative would steal from another indie creative. But on the overall topic of font theft and disrespect, I’ll say this: No warez kid you stop from stealing your typefaces would ever pay for any of your typefaces anyway, regardless of how you deliver it. Period. Once you accept that, it makes the rest of these obvious points all the more painful to watch unfold. Continue reading »
March 19, 2007 at 11:56 pm
· Filed under Living · Tagged: angst, Dodgeball, iPhone, SXSW, Twitter
My first stop in Austin last week was Casino El Camino, where I grabbed a bite with a local friend whose name I will omit to avoid any awkward moments for him.
When we first sat down to eat, he had a text message; he explained to me some dudes he knows made this service called Dodgeball and told me a little about thier offering. Cool.
Fast forward 3 hours later at the bar, he’s still putzing about with his phone, only now grumbling about “that damn dodgeball” and how it is usually dormant- except during SXSW, when it kicks into overdrive (for obvious reasons- thousands of nerds in one place, blah blah).
Anyhow, now that we are all back home, the internet is abuzz about those Twitter growth charts, with SXSW frequently popping up as the likely culprit for the explosive bloom. Well, I was there and it was certainly blowing up- litterally; I can’t recall how many times that first day I’d hear people grab their phones and exclaim “My twitter’s blowing up!”. No shit sherlock, that’s what it does.
By day two, the enthusiam was peaked; by the third day it sounded to me like most people were tired of the damn thing.
Continue reading »
March 15, 2007 at 6:07 pm
· Filed under Living · Tagged: design, film, Helvetica, SXSW
One of the highlights of my SXSW adventure was catching the world premier of Helvetica. Director Gary Hustwit was onhand with design anti-hero David Carson taking questions afterward, and both proved to be stand up, approachable guys aftward.
From the opening title build, we begin what appears to be a 2 hour helvetica love first, exploring the history- and ubiquity- of everybody’s favorite san serif. Massimo Vignelli’s contributions were particularly compelling, as the vintage modern design of the 60’s is refreshingly timeless today.
The film takes a 180 midway through, David Carson proving to be an effective emotional foil to the stark utilitarianism of the old swiss guard. And while it’s cool to see design superstars like Paula Scher lay down some knowledge, Erik Spiekermann was probably the most insightful- and amusing- commentator in the film.
The one thing that becomes abundantly clear is there are really just two camps most contemporary designers fall into: pro-Helvetica, or anti-Helvetica.
(this message was convienetly reinforced with the “I love Helvetica” and “I hate Helvetica” the ushers were handing out upon entrance to the theater- clever buggers.
Once you accept the fact you’re watching a feature about a typeface, the rest of the elements are rock solid. The visuals are shot in clean HD on location throughout the world, and the soundtrack was nice and fitting.
I think Helvetica is pervasive enough that even non-design nerds would enjoy it, but if you’re in the design nerd camp… Go see it, order the poster, and get the dvd when it comes out. And write Veer and tell them to make more design features. Considering that Target and Apple and driven design into the minds of millions, I’m surprised it’s taken this long to start exploring the discipline in film. Two great tastes, that taste great together, you’d think it’d be a no-brainer.
March 15, 2007 at 2:30 am
· Filed under Living · Tagged: nerds, SXSW, tips
I came out of my first SXSW with alot of observations and thoughts, and I’ll be posting them throughout the coming days. But right off the bat, there was alot of behavior I witnessed that damn near made me want to delete my blog and transfer to the direct mail, or even fast food industry.
Nerd fests are cool until they start to resemble LARPing cons, with flickr-enabled wifi digital cameras replacing duct tape and foam swords.
Without further ado, here’s a few pointers that will helpfully keep the tools in the shed where they belong. I would love to have snarky vice-like don’t photos to go with each entry, but i didn’t bring a digital camera every single place I went.
1) Big bags of garbage are for bag ladies.
Yes, I too was in awe when I saw the bevy of big sacks of crap awaiting me at check in- including the awesome interactive one designed by hometown hero Chuck Anderson, but the glee soon faded to meh when I realized they were 90% full of crappy magazines, ads for companies you really don’t care about, and media temple stickers. So right off the bat, you can lighten the load by about 30lbs simply by dumping the majority of it in the big dumpsters convienently located by bag pickup.
Once you do that, go take them to your hotel. The bars are crowded enough without 900 sq feet of canvas tote bags clogging the arteries. It’s handy, considerate, and makes you not look like a trade show scavenger.
Continue reading »
March 8, 2007 at 12:55 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: Apple, Leopard, multi-touch, rumor mongering
Not to keep grabbing stuff off Ars, but given the high amount of interest in the multitouch piece I wrote earlier, Ars is reporting Apple is seeking to hire a multi touch display engineer.
…a listing for “Senior Panel Process Engineer” was posted to a “widely-known job site.” The description for said job listing reads that the candidate will “lead the engineering activities to develop the new process and design for the multi-touch panel used in Apple products.”
The remainder of the job listing reportedly asks for someone who can design the multitouch panel from concept to launch, as well as develop the technology in such a way that would benefit both performance and functionality.
How this pans out is anyone’s guess, but I still stand by what I wrote last week.
March 6, 2007 at 1:37 pm
· Filed under Producing · Tagged: AdSense, income, revenue, user generated content
Perhaps you’ve noticed the google ads plastered around the site. Don’t start leaving nasty comments about layout issues just yet, it’s still a big experiment, and there will be some tweaks as I try to figure out the best balance. Put it aside for now though, there’s bigger stuff to tackle at the moment.
As for why it’s worth cluttering up the page with an ads from a network of questionable value, it’s simple: I am sick of other people getting huge cash payouts on the backs of “user created content”. (I am also sick of that phrase, especially when it manifests itself like this but that’s for another day). If my time, effort, eyeballs or thoughts are going to be padding anyone’s bottom line, shouldn’t it be mine? Hell, I work hard all day so other people can reap bigger benefits for my work, why should I let that permeate things I do for fun, or to relax?! Continue reading »
