The below article should appear in the July issue of the UK internet mag, .net (unrelated to the Microsoft framework, ewww). Since I know few of you will have access to the issue, I thought I’d post it here, too. But in case you are so geographically inclined, it never hurts to support a decent […]
In the annals of self-help and fluffy business books, this idea is nothing new. But it seems to bear repeating, anyway: So if you wanted to change this business model of orifices, as Jobs described it, would you play it safe, as the Nokias and Motorolas of this industry have been doing for many years, […]
Instead of 1,000 words, let me just give you a picture to introduce this article: Thanks, eBay. Caution: probably outdated screenshot. This one’s from the library, folks, about a year old. But at one point, it was there, and really… that’s enough for me. It was the best of times, it was the worst of […]
Creative Commons-licensed, copyright thetourist. This is an Olivetti Valentine portable typewriter, photographed in the Musem of Modern Art. I just bought one, which inspired this post. Aside from my obsession with letterpress, I’m also obsessed with pen and paper, clay, photography (darkroom work, especially), Polaroids (1, 2), old postcards, unusual collage media, antique engraved book […]
Another experiment. I dug up yet another scribbly half-baked essay and decided to turn it into an audio entry. I have a nice mic that I bought for this purpose and I’m learning a bit about audio production here and there (thanks Geoff!). The final result, not edited except to remove 3 “ums” (which I […]
In the screencast I did with Miles, we ended up talking quite a bit about how I approach the development and brainstorming process when I’m working on a new project. People seemed intrigued by the topic of conversation, so I’ve been preparing a longer treatise on the subject. In short: pen and paper is your […]
How do you raise awareness about stuff you make? How do you get people to download and try it, or sign up and try it—be it commercial, shareware, open source or otherwise free? How do you reduce the time you spend answering stupid questions which are answered in the FAQ, wiki, README, or whatever (if […]
What better way is there to learn than to look at what you shouldn’t do? Lush isn’t just a nice word for “borderline alcoholic,” it’s the name of a global company. Lush makes its millions selling juicy bath-stuffs, shampoos, lovely soaps, and “bath bombs” which splutter bubbles and foam and tasty smells when dropped into […]
Certain color combinations can make your eyes water, others can make your eyes practically leap out of their sockets in delight. Colors can help instill confidence in a product, company, or design—or undermine it. Color can set the mood, or destroy it. Color can make you fit in, or stand out—and it depends on your […]
Have you ever used the Rails console? I’d love to see a show of hands (or comments, really). If not—boy, are you in for a treat. The console lets you fiddle with parts of your Rails app—models especially—in a real-time environment, instead of waiting for page reloads and clicking on links and using object dumps […]
