Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Steve Jobs — an incredible visionary who will be sorely missed.

The iPhone 4S has a much faster CPU, a much faster GPU, a much better camera, a highly advanced voice-AI system like nobody has ever seen, better battery life, an improved antenna, international GSM roaming ability on CDMA-locked phones, a 64 GB option, and better carrier availability. It is extremely likely to become the best-selling smartphone in the world.

Would as many people be disappointed if Apple had released the same device but called it the iPhone 5?

Marco Arment on the iPhone 4S. I couldn’t agree more.

Siri. The intelligent assistant that helps you get
things done. All you have to do is ask.

I, like several others, found myself skeptical about the practical everday uses of Siri, Apple‘s new voice command assistant that’s built into the new iPhone 4S. People are adverse to voice command utilities because they always seem to be more trouble then they are worth. However, I believe that, with a proper implementation, Siri can be of use to the everday user. I immediately thought about my Mom, and how perfect such a tool would be for a user like her. She knows how to complete the majority of tasks on her iPhone, but there are several features she doesn’t use to their fullest capability. Siri could assist her in accomplishing those tasks. It will be interesting to see how it’s used, as well as how it develops over time. Apple knows what they’re doing, so I’m sure it will grow into a seamless part of their product.

If you’re building web applications, spin.js is an excellent resource to add to your toolkit. You can dynamically create loading spinners with JavaScript. You no longer need to use a loading .GIF to accomplish this. The best part is that you can change the spinner speed, width, color, size, etc. on the fly, without the need for making a new .GIF.

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Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don’t take the time to do that.

- Steve Jobs on design. There won’t be another innovator quite like him.

The Hit List is a simple, yet sophisticated application to manage the daily chaos of your modern life. Based on the simple concept of making lists, The Hit List lets you plan, forget, then act when the time is right.

After a couple years of being in beta, The Hit List finally goes 1.0. In addition to the mac application, the iPhone app has been submitted and is in review. It should go live in the App Store soon. I used Things by Cultured Code for a long time, but the lack of sync caused me to abandon it. They have been working on sync for some time, but I’m tired of waiting. Recently, I’ve been using Teux Deux as a simple todo list, but I’m now using The Hit List since its 1.0 release. It’s well designed, feature-rich, and has a nice amount of flexibility to work the way I want it to. I look forward to the release of the iPhone app.

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