September 2010
3 posts
3 tags
Blockbuster files for bankruptcy →
It was only a matter of time.
4 tags
Top-aligned labels make forms faster to fill out →
Anthony at UXMovement (emphasis his):
Top aligned labels have proven to be faster and easier to fill out than left or right aligned labels. This is because top aligned labels require half as many visual fixations than left or right aligned labels. Top aligned labels also allow users to move down the form in one visual direction, instead of two visual directions with left and right aligned...
3 tags
SublimeVideo Player to be released as a service →
Looks like it will work similar to Typekit. The beta will be free, but the full version will be a yet to be determined pricing model.
6 tags
The Wilderness Downtown →
An online music video by Chris Milk and Google featuring “We Used To Wait” by The Arcade Fire built in HTML5. Very impressive and a sign of things to come I wager.
4 tags
Gmail Priority Inbox →
Doug Aberdeen, Software Engineer for Google:
As messages come in, Gmail automatically flags some of them as important. Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most (if you email Bob a lot, a message from Bob is probably important) and which messages you open and reply to (these are likely more important than the ones you skip over)....
August 2010
8 posts
5 tags
John Rust reviews the new Sharpie Liquid Pencil →
John Rust:
For each pencil or pen, I simply picked it up and started writing. I didn’t scribble the pens beforehand to get the ink flowing, and I didn’t deliberately apply any extra pressure when writing. As is to be expected, the generic pen took a few letters to start writing properly, while the G2 pen worked perfectly from the start. The pencils both worked perfectly. The Liquid Pencil,...
4 tags
How to Run a Meeting →
Michael Lopp just has a way of nailing this management stuff for us geeks and he does it again with meetings:
I bag on meetings because like any nerd I expect the universe to be efficient and orderly and there is no more vile a violation of this sense of orderliness than a room full of people randomly bumping into shit and calling it a meeting.
If you ever sit in meetings—or especially if you...
4 tags
Announcing the jQuery Mobile Project →
John Resig:
Absolutely critical to us is that jQuery and the mobile UI framework that we’re developing work across all major international mobile platforms (not just a few of the most popular platforms in North America). We’ve published a complete strategy overview detailing the work that we’re doing and a chart showing all the browsers that we’re going to support.
Right now we’re working...
5 tags
Brent Simmons: Flexibility and Power →
A nice article on where the focus of software is heading. This bit really rang true with me:
You don’t spend your time skinning your audio player anymore, in other words. You just play music. And you do other things while the music’s playing.
Way back in the day I used to do a lot of app skinning. Hard to believe I used to have time for something so trivial.
/via Shawn Blanc
4 tags
New Sharpie Liquid Pencil →
Writes like a pen. Erases like a pencil. Becomes permanent after three days. Can’t wait to try it.
2 tags
Gestalten.tv: All the News that's Fit to Post →
A behind the scenes look at The New York Times graphics department and the methodology behind the creation of their superb graphic work.
July 2010
13 posts
2 tags
Netflix on PS3 Going Disc-Free This Fall →
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, in a recent earnings call:
“Before our next call in October, we expect to be launching a major new version of our Sony PS3 user interface which doesn’t require a disc and is dynamically updated continuously with the latest Netflix UI improvements,” Hastings said.
Great news.
5 tags
User Interface Design Framework for Illustrator →
If you create wireframes using Adobe Illustrator, you’ll want this framework. It includes hundreds of GUI elements, 260 vector icons and 200 different button styles.
4 tags
How to hold an Apple press conference →
Jason Kottke’s prediction on how the press conference will go:
As the first-question scrum begins, Jobs will start madly ringing up purchases on the very loud register while pointing to his ears, shaking his head, and shouting “gosh, I’m sorry I can’t hear you guys over the sound of the register”.
4 tags
3 tags
Google Releases App Inventor for Android →
Google is attempting to bring Android software development to the masses with their free software Google App Inventor for Android. I think the demo video is probably a good example of the kinds of apps we can expect to see from this.
7 tags
Icon Reference Chart from Hicksdesign →
Jon Hicks is putting together a great reference for creating icons on a variety of platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Android and more. The chart has specs for icon size, format, corner radius and more. Bookmarked.
6 tags
EpicWin →
A to-do app combined with a role playing game for your iPhone. Could just be cheesy enough to be fun. Or not.
2 tags
Custom Styles for Squarespace Search Results Pages
I’m finding Squarespace to be a good service when you need to turn something around quickly without a lot of development resources. But if your design breaks out of the traditional two- or three-column blog design, you may find yourself wrestling with some of their naming conventions and system limitations.
One issue I’ve encountered (and it appears a few others have too) is you...
3 tags
jQuery for Designers: Debugging Tools →
A great overview by Remy Sharp on the various debugging tools available for the big five web browsers.
4 tags
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Fake →
A new application from Todd Ditchendorf, creator of Fluid:
Inspired by Apple’s Automator application, Fake looks like a combination of Safari and Automator and allows you to run (and re-run) “fake” interactions with the web.
Power Users will love Fake for automating tedious web tasks like filling out lengthy forms and capturing screenshots. Developers can use Fake for...
3 tags
The Yahoo! Style Guide →
A new online and offline resource for writing and editing for the web. The Writing for the Web section seems a little basic right now, but there’s some good stuff in the Editing 101 section.
6 tags
Translation From Apple's Unique Dialect of... →
John Gruber, as Apple:
We cannot believe we had to write this fucking letter.
June 2010
22 posts
4 tags
Proportional leading with CSS3 Media Queries →
Andy Clarke shows us how to adapt the leading of our page designs for fluid layouts using Media Queries. Great stuff.
4 tags
Flash and the HTML5 tag →
John Harding, Software Engineer at YouTube:
YouTube is dependent on browser enhancement in order for us to improve the video experience for our users. While HTML5’s video support enables us to bring most of the content and features of YouTube to computers and other devices that don’t support Flash Player, it does not yet meet all of our needs. Today, Adobe Flash provides the best platform...
4 tags
Web Development Frameworks →
A pretty comprehensive list of available frameworks for PHP, CSS and JavaScript.
3 tags
Hulu Plus →
A lot of buzz around Hulu Plus right now. I think it looks great. Not sure I need another $10/month bill, but what might push me over the edge is all the devices it will support—specifically the PlayStation 3.
Hulu Plus and Netflix combined would be about $20/month compared to the $100/month I’m currently paying for cable. You do the math.
4 tags
iPhone vs. HTC EVO & HTC EVO vs iPhone4 →
It’s the deadpan delivery on these computer generated voices that gets me. Hilarious.
3 tags
2 tags
What's wrong with Flash Cookies? →
I recently posted about how to delete your Flash cookies and John Graham-Cumming has a few reasons why you just might want to do that.
2 tags
Working lightsaber created →
Only $200? I’ll take two.
4 tags
Coding Cheat Sheets →
A selection of free, printable quick references for a variety of languages and web technologies.
/via cameron moll
3 tags
4 tags
Launchlist →
A single serving site built using CSS3 and HTML5 that web designers can use to check their work against before publishing live. Pretty slick.
/via CSS3 Watch
3 tags
“Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think...”
– Timothy McSweeney’s Short Imagined Monologues: I’m Comic Sans, Asshole
3 tags
When can I use... →
Shows compatibility tables for features in HTML5, CSS3, SVG and other upcoming web technologies. Wouldn’t say this is the prettiest display of this information I’ve seen, but it seems very comprehensive.
4 tags
3 tags
Loremify →
Tobias Ahlin:
Loremify is a one-click tool to copy Lorem Ipsum. It lets you wrap in html, specify the amount of text, and copy it to your clipboard—all in one click. It runs as a Dashboard Widget in Mac OS X.
I’ve been using Loremify for awhile now and it really is useful.
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Adobe Flash Player Website Storage Settings panel →
See what websites are storing stuff on your computer using Flash. You can manage the amount of disk space allotted to each site as well as adjust your global storage settings.
4 tags
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Coda Notes: a Safari Extension →
Cabel Sasser:
When you install Coda Notes, you’ll get a new button in your toolbar. Click it to see all our annotation tools, built right into Safari. Draw some notes on your favorite website. Communicate changes, ideas, concepts, or problems. Then, when you’re done, hit the Send Notes button and the whole page flips over as a postcard.
Enter your comments, e-mail addresses, hit the nice...
1 tag
5 tags
Google Chrome Extensions for Web Developers →
Includes the indispensable Web Developer extension by Chris Pederick, though it has some limitations compared to the Firefox implementation. For example, you can’t work on local files using the Web Developer extension in Chrome, which for me is a big limitation.
May 2010
11 posts
1 tag
HTML5 Watch →
Neven Mrgan’s new blog:
My goal is to collect examples of creative, innovative, and unexpected use of emerging web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3. It’s an itch I need scratched for myself, and something I expect others will find useful too.
/via matthewb
3 tags
1 tag
jQuery for Designers →
Remy Sharp on his new site featuring jQuery tutorials targeted towards designers:
It’s so simple, I was certain I could teach designers with very little programming experience that they could add some simple, and more complicated effects to their pages and understand what they were adding.
Looks like a great resource.
3 tags
Google Font Directory →
Google:
The Google Font Directory lets you browse all the fonts available via the Google Font API. All fonts in the directory are available for use on your website under an open source license and served by Google servers.