I just went back and read the Playboy Interview with Marshall McLuhan from 1969. It's always fun to go back and re-read some of the ideas that played a role in shaping my thinking. As a nice surprise, two ideas seemed to jump out at me as particularly relevant today. The Phonetic Alphabet Was Our Ticket Out of the Tribe In the interview, McLuhan argues that tribal … [Read more...]
What could possibly go wrong?
Slashdot reported today that Microsoft is filing a patent to cover using "altered parasitic organisms" as a delivery mechanism for disease-fighting substances. It seems like a good idea... And there's no real potential for things to go horribly wrong, right? And Microsoft products always work so well... … [Read more...]
Innovation is Fast and Furious
Let's face it - slow and steady only won the race because the guy in the lead was such a dips#&t that he got caught snoozing. Innovation doesn't happen at a tortoise's pace; it happens because someone, somewhere takes an operatic leap of faith. Someone, somewhere finds a new application for an old tool or solves a problem we didn't even think needed solving. Apple … [Read more...]
Objects Could Help Design Themselves
Expanding on the previous posts, it's clear that the objects and gadgets (and spimes) we interact with understand a great deal about their current context and record a great deal about the way we use them. These facts present specific design challenges. Designing for Context First: As objects become increasingly aware of the context in which they are used, they can help … [Read more...]
Shaping Things: Helping objects help us
I'm currently reading Shaping Things, by Bruce Sterling. It's a brilliant essay examining the relationships humans have with objects. Specifically, it looks at the way designers interact with objects and how what it means to be an object and a designer are changing. The reason I'm writing about it here is that there is a fundamental shift not just in the way we experience … [Read more...]
Brand Spankin’ New WordPress
Wordpress released version 3.0 of the popular publishing platform today. I've already upgraded this blog to that version. You probably can't tell by looking at it, but it just feels better... Doesn't it? I've already benefitted from the bulk update option. That will be a real time-saver in the long-run. For a complete list of 3.0 features, visit the Wordpress Codex. … [Read more...]
Back to the Apps
A friend of mine is co-owner of an iPad. That's right, he shares it with a friend. While he doesn't have primary custody, he got naming rights and calls it "Paddington." Even though I called him a 12 year old girl, he offered to lend the iPad to me for a few days (after clearing it with Paddington's mom). As he handed it over to me, he said, "Without the internet, this … [Read more...]
Opera is faster than a potato
Opera's pretty funny take on the Google speed test videos. … [Read more...]
Weekly Wordle: Prufrock
Created at Wordle.com Wordle is an application for creating beautiful word clouds. This week's Wordle is based on T S Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." … [Read more...]
Why Microsoft Has It Wrong
Microsoft, or at least the software giant we've come to know and... well... the big software company, is going to die. Here's why:Kodak was in love with film. They thought there was no way that film was ever going to go away. Even as digital photography took hold and people were gradually won over by the convenience and capabilities of digital photography, Kodak stuck to … [Read more...]
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