5typos.net

True or not, it makes me feel better. /via @rands

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:53:28 -0430

True or not, it makes me feel better.

How Tim Cook is changing Apple

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:55:29 -0430

Adam Lashinsky, CNN/FORTUNE:

What shocked the Apple (AAPL) investors that day was that CEO Tim Cook popped into the room about 20 minutes into Oppenheimer’s talk, quietly sat down in the back of the room, and did something unusual for a CEO of Apple: He listened. He didn’t check his e-mail once. He didn’t interrupt.

Somewhat unrelated with the article, but during the past few months I’ve been trying hard to apply this hippie principle:

Be present, and give the other person your sincere —complete— attention.

Still not easy, but just like with multitasking: when fighting the urge to shift your attention to the next shinny object, you realize you were avoiding many of the harder details.

Bellroy Travel Wallet Kinda glad they’re out of...

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:50:10 -0430

Bellroy Travel Wallet

Kinda glad they’re out of stock.

The layout is absolutely brilliant and the build quality seems great. But I can’t justify getting one right n… OMG IT HAS A SIM CARD SLOT. Wishlisted.

/via Core77

Sony Fires Dan Harmon from Community

Sat, 19 May 2012 18:26:48 -0430

Sony Fires Dan Harmon from Community:

Dan Harmon:

I’m sorry. I’m not saying seasons 1, 2 and 3 were my definition of perfect television, I’m just saying that whatever they’re going to do for season 4, they’re aiming to do without my help.

Not cool. Not cool at all guys.

Apple: While we’ll produce 60 percent of the power used by...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:44:28 -0430

Apple:

While we’ll produce 60 percent of the power used by our Maiden data center onsite, we’ll meet the remaining 40 percent of our energy needs by directly purchasing clean, renewable energy generated by local and regional sources.

Soon this guys won’t have an Off switch.

‘Avengers’: Joss Whedon talks sequel, ‘Buffy’ and ‘X-Men’ parallels

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:11:58 -0430

‘Avengers’: Joss Whedon talks sequel, ‘Buffy’ and ‘X-Men’ parallels:

Joss Whedon:

“You know, I love all my raggedy children,” he said. “But if I could be anywhere, I’d be on board Serenity.”

Firefly is probably one of my favorite TV Shows ever: funny, great acting, cool story and SciFi. You should watch it.

Since we’re on the topic of Whedon’s past failures, you should this recent letter to his fans after The Avengers opening weekend:

If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you’re probably new here.

Browsers and Apps in 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:09:24 -0430

Browsers and Apps in 2012:

Tim Bray:

It’s like this: The browser’s doomed, because apps are the future. Wait! Apps are doomed because HTML5 is the future. I see something almost every day saying one or the other. Only it’s mostly wrong.

Exactly! Wait, what?

Seriously, while I think that the pendulum between Apps and Websites won’t settle for some time, I agree that a all-or-nothing scenario is unrealistic.

Both will continue to compete furiously in some areas, but it’s becoming clearer than when you want to share something from any of the walled-garden Apps, it needs to be an URL —a link openable in a browser.

Running a Successful Web Design Business

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:22:08 -0430

Running a Successful Web Design Business:

Paul Boag:

I have recently reworked the slide set and feel they are now worth sharing.

Nothing mindblowing, but good summary of things to keep in mind.

Dieter Rams: Design by Vitsœ

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:46:07 -0430

Dieter Rams: Design by Vitsœ:

Dieter Rams, on a 1976 speech:

You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people. It must be ergonomically correct, meaning it must harmonise with a human being’s strengths, dimensions, senses and understanding.

This is the prequel to his ten principles for good design, which should be every creators mantra.

Ikea's Biggest Product Launch In Years: A TV, Sound System, And Blu-ray Player

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:06:23 -0430

Ikea's Biggest Product Launch In Years: A TV, Sound System, And Blu-ray Player:

Mark Wilson, on Co.Design:

Whereas most electronics bathe themselves in blinding LEDs, Uppleva opts for clean lines and plenty of white space. It’s even less technical and more furniture-like than Dieter Rams’s classic, appliance-like electronics from the ’60s—you know, minus the unignorable 40-inch television staring you right in the face.

Francis Cayouette, lead designer of Uppleva:

The feedback we got is that people consider their TV as a piece of furniture. Why does it need to look like a spaceship then? It just doesn’t fit in most people’s home!

And here is where he sold me:

Ikea uses a lot of pictograms on their packaging. I wanted to bring this here and create a very clean and simple interface.

Still have to wait and see what Apple has up its sleeve in the TV department, but if this is available when I have to buy my next TV, Uppleva will be it.

UNIQLO WAKE UP Wake up with music that changes with the...

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:41:00 -0430

UNIQLO WAKE UP

Wake up with music that changes with the weather.

After watching the video it looks strangely compelling. Available for iOS and Android.

/via DesignTAXI.com

College & Electric Youth - A Real Hero. I’ve listened...

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:41:40 -0430

College & Electric Youth - A Real Hero.

I’ve listened to this song so many times the last two weeks I swear it sounds scratched on my iPhone.

Writing in the Dark

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:06:14 -0430

Writing in the Dark:

Kathryn Schulz, on NYMag:

The truth is, I love the dark arts, or anyway, the arts in the dark. I love the quiet and the solitude; love, especially, nighttime’s strange combination of adventure and calm.

Hear, hear.

Minimalist Clock Screensaver for Mac . Nice clean screensaver...

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:20:12 -0430

Minimalist Clock Screensaver for Mac .

Nice clean screensaver by Robert Padbury.

BTW, I’m back.

Bye Aba, Love You

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:49:45 -0430

How wonderful! Enjoy! Enjoy!

My grandma said this on Saturday when she heard I was going on a trip. She passed away in her sleep yesterday.

Anita Baldini was born in NYC. I could give a year, but she wouldn’t like that.

As the daughter of a General Motors man, she grew up in Brazil, Panama, and Venezuela (among other places).

Her older —and only— brother died in the Pacific during WII, he flew a TBF Avenger. He wrote “give all my love to Anita” in all the letters I’ve read.

My grandma wasn’t crazy about flying. This didn’t stop her for boarding everything from the Concorde to my Dad’s Islander to go on a trip. She loved trips.

She met Freddy Mateu, my Grandfather, on a ship from the US to Venezuela. They married in Cuba. “There’s no prof of that” he would say, and she’d puff her lips and shake her head.

She would speak to him in english and he’d reply in spanish. Their three children would use whatever language got them out of trouble.

Anita was the eternal American expat. People would commend her spanish thinking she had just arrived, ”I couldn’t tell them I had been in Caracas 30 years by then”.

She once told my uncle she was forgetting some of her english, he replied ”then you should at least learn sign language, because you don’t know spanish yet”. She had no problem with laughing at herself.

She never let truth get in the way of politeness. A disaster of a situation could be ”marvelous” if surrounded by good intentions. However, she had no issues arguing with a bartender if he hadn’t served the right whiskey.

Food and fashion were her passions. Both enjoyed in quality and not quantity. Well, this may not be entirely accurate with regards to sweets.

For us 6 grandchildren she was Aba.

As a kid, I remember Aba giving the most amazing presents (1st Nintendo, custom Powell Peralta skateboard) and always having delicious lunches.

As an adult, her fierce independence, incredibly peculiar sense of humor and attitude, are things I admired.

She also told real stories. Her stories didn’t have a problem mentioning that Abu (grandpa) was being difficult, or somebody was an ass —”don’t tell you father I used that word”— or of hard times.

They were never sad stories, in most cases her sincerity was laugh-out-loud funny, but I still learned that attitude was a lens that helped shape your view of the world.

How wonderful! Enjoy! Enjoy!

To be completely honest, I can’t remember exactly if she said wonderful or marvelous. She said both words so often I can picture her perfectly saying either.

And I think that has to be one best ways in the world to be remembered.

How Barry Levinson’s Diner Changed Cinema, 30 Years Later

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:54:29 -0430

How Barry Levinson’s Diner Changed Cinema, 30 Years Later:

S. L. Price, Vanity Fair:

Levinson should get royalties any time two or more men sit together in a coffee shop.

Had never heard of this movie. Planning on watching it this week.

Aaron Sorkin: I create these shows so that I can write...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:04:29 -0430

Aaron Sorkin:

I create these shows so that I can write them

Regarding his upcoming new show on HBO, The Newsroom.

I love Sorkin’s style. Sometimes it’s predicable in a feel-good way, but he gets you to care so much about his characters that you thank him for this moments.

The ABCs of XRY: Not so simple passcodes

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:10:35 -0430

The ABCs of XRY: Not so simple passcodes:

At four guesses per second, it would take about 40 minutes to try all possibilities, with an average break time of 20 minutes.

Good article about iOS Passcode security. Short story: turn OFF Simple Passcode and use —at least— a 5 letter passcode.

Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Internet & PC: Bank...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:53:11 -0430

Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Internet & PC:

Bank statements, theater reservation […] This will be in a compact form in his own house.

What a visionary.

For me, this is the equivalent of making a hole in one without being able to look down the golf course.

/via Swissmiss

El Chigüire Bipolar Re-imagination My friend Juan Ravell is the...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:47:00 -0430

El Chigüire Bipolar Re-imagination

My friend Juan Ravell is the co-founder of the beyond amazing El Chigüire Bipolar.

It’s The Onion for Venezuelan news, with the same lever of brilliance —even the NYTimes thinks so.

Just the motto makes me lose it everyday:

Partial news without veracity from a rodent with with psychological issues.

However, visiting the site is painful for me. It’s too content dense at first sight, and overcrowded with banners. The last point is a bit unfair, since in a country with an oversensitive government, a satirical news site attracts few advertisers out of fear.

Juan today asked for some general feedback on Facebook, and while we have talked about the site design before, I couldn’t help spending half an hour exploring what a cleaner layout could bring.

The ~~plagiarism~~ inspiration comes from The Boston Globe, for me the best designed newspaper website right now.

My (hopeful) hypothesis with the above mockup is that smaller number and less prominent ads will make it more likely for users to notice them, and not block them out mentally¹.

Like every person running a successful (at least by pageviews) business, the idea of taking down ads probably seems counterproductive to Juan, but I strongly believe that relevant and unobtrusive ads make the user more likely to act on them.

Anecdotally, I showed the current design and the mockup to a few people and one of the comments about that: -“I don’t like that the new design has ads”-. I think right now the ads blend in with the noise of the side content. ↩