voidstern/log

What devs should learn from Apple's user centric approach

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:00:05 +0200

What devs should learn from Apple's user centric approach:

Remove features. Get rid of options. Don’t ask the user to make decisions.

One More Thing…

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:00:05 +0200

It’s also why people who don’t use Apple products don’t understand what all the fuss is about. The fuss is about all of the fuss put into making sure every pixel is exactly where it should be on every screen, in every program, all the time.

A Kickstarter Project to Raise Money for Other Kickstarter Projects

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:00:06 +0200

A Kickstarter Project to Raise Money for Other Kickstarter Projects:

Meta.

Losing the HP Way

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:00:06 +0200

Losing the HP Way:

Though confirmed by this week’s HP decisions to change direction and ditch the PC business, let’s understand something: the HP I knew died many years ago.

Portal: No Escape [Video]

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:34:05 +0200

Portal: No Escape [Video]:

Live action portal short film.

Get a Free Android.

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:32:14 +0200

Get a Free Android.:

Get a Free Android to your haircut. Anyone still wondering why there are so many Androids sold?

The Expressive Web

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:17:53 +0200

The Expressive Web:

Adobe’s demo of what’s possible with HTML5/CSS3 in Edge.

Sweet Tea

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:05:37 +0200

Sweet Tea:

I’d rather use a service that has a strong, single-minded vision, even if some of the decisions aren’t exactly how I’d want them, than a washed-out, milquetoast service created by committee, designed to meet market demand, that tries to make everybody happy.

Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:00:05 +0200

Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone:

A friend of mine has a Nexus S and it is a pleasure to use. The UI is elegant and functional. The battery lasts for days. In short, it is everything that the Charge wasn’t. I’d love to see Google somehow mandate the stock Android experience on all phones, or somehow rigorously test all new phones before they could be launched.

Because open is just great.

My Dinner With Android - One month with Android

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:00:05 +0200

My Dinner With Android - One month with Android:

Let me further this by saying that this has nothing to do with “open” and “closed” systems. Maybe I went into this dumb experiment not knowing what “open” meant. But if I’m to learn anything, I guess I’ll take away that open means way too many shitty, plagiarized apps; the ability to add different, shittier keyboards; gaping holes left by Google to be filled by third parties2; dozens, if not hundreds, of different devices that may or may not be able to run certain apps or do certain things; and a general lack of coherency.

NPR: When Patents Attack

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:00:05 +0200

NPR: When Patents Attack:

Here’s what’s funny: When I’ve seen Nathan speak publicly about this and when I’ve seen spokespeople from IV they constantly remind us that they themselves don’t bring lawsuits, that they themselves aren’t litigators, that they are a defensive player. But the truth is the threat of their patent arsenal can’t actually be realized, it can’t be taken seriously, unless they have that offensive posture, unless they’re willing to assert those patents. And so it’s this very delicate balancing act that is quite reminiscent of scenes you see in movies when the mafia comes and visits your butcher shop and they say, “Hey, It would be a real shame if they came and sued you. Tell you what: pay us an exorbitant membership fee into our collective and we’ll keep you protected that way.” A protection scheme isn’t credible if some butcher shops don’t burn down now and then.

Why Mobile Web Apps Should Stop Trying to Act Like Native Apps

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:00:05 +0200

Why Mobile Web Apps Should Stop Trying to Act Like Native Apps:

Users of pretender apps get an experience that falls squarely in the uncanny valley — it looks like a native app, but something isn’t quite right. If you’ve decided to deliver your app via the Web, you should embrace the capabilities and constraints of the Web. Don’t spend time and resources making a pretender app, spend that time making a great app that works on the Web.

Beans and Noses » UIE Brain Sparks

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:01:05 +0200

Beans and Noses » UIE Brain Sparks:

No matter how much you try, you can’t stop people from sticking beans up their nose. The idea is blindingly simple, actually. Every so often, you’ll run into someone with beans who has, for no good reason, decided to put them up their own nose. Way up there. In a place where beans should not go.

The Nerd Handbook

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:09:04 +0200

The Nerd Handbook:

I wish this was more common knowlege.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 09:51:28 +0200

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

- Arthur C. Clarke

PERSIST

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:45:31 +0200

PERSIST:

In May of this year, Pixar animator Austin Madison kindly hand-wrote the following open letter to aspiring artists, in a bid to inspire them through times of creative drought.

The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:01:41 +0200

The Only Way to Get Important Things Done:

It turns out we each have one reservoir of will and discipline, and it gets progressively depleted by any act of conscious self-regulation. In other words, if you spend energy trying to resist a fragrant chocolate chip cookie, you’ll have less energy left over to solve a difficult problem. Will and discipline decline inexorably as the day wears on.

Apple is professional, the web is amateur

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:00:06 +0200

Apple is professional, the web is amateur:

If Apple’s going to succeed at the web, they have to unlearn a lot of what makes them Apple. No more pixel perfect web apps that feel like desktop apps, no more sites that look like glossy brochures, and embracing chaos and amateurism over order and professionalism. It is going to be very hard.

The iPhone is not easy to use: A new direction for UX Design

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:55:47 +0200

The iPhone is not easy to use: A new direction for UX Design:

As a user experience designer, I thought my job was to make things not suck. Until recently. As technology has evolved, human behavior has evolved along with it. Since behavior is the basis of user experience design, my job has evolved as well. Now, my job is to make things people love.

Previewing Windows 8

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:00:06 +0200

Previewing Windows 8:

Short version: They ported WP7 to the PC.