http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2008/02/21/500-million-firefox-downloads-complete-500-million-grains-in-progress/
"Firefox just reached 500,000,000 downloads. This is an absolutely phenomenal milestone for Firefox. It is sort of hard to imagine what that number means. For some perspective, that’s roughly the audience size of 10,000 Rome Colosseums combined. It would be the weight, in kilograms, of 8,500 Boeing 747 airplanes. In dollars, for $500 million you and 15 of your friends can fly to the International Space Station."
Friday, February 22, 2008
Smashing Magazine: Powerful CSS-Techniques For Effective Coding
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/21/powerful-css-techniques-for-effective-coding/
"Sometimes being a web-developer is just damn hard. Particularly coding is often responsible for slowing down our workflow, reducing the quality of our work and sleepless nights with pizza and coffee laying around the laptop. Reason: with a number of incompatibility issues and quite creative rendering engines it sometimes takes too much time to find a workaround for some problem without addressing browsers with quirky hacks. And that’s where ready-to-use solutions developed by other designers come in handy.
One year ago we’ve published the post with 53 CSS-Techniques You Couldn’t Live Without where we provided references to the most useful CSS-techniques which are often used in almost every project. Over the last year we’ve been observing what’s happening with the CSS-based web-development, and we collected most useful CSS-techniques we’ve stumbled upon — for us and for our readers.
In this post we present 50 new CSS-techniques, ideas and ready-to-use solutions for effective coding. You definitely know some of them, but definitely not all of them. Some technique is missing? Let us know in the comments to this post.
Thanks to all developers who contributed to the CSS-based design over the last year. The community appreciates it."
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Business Week: Social Media Will Change Your Business
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2008/db20080219_908252.htm
"Editor's note: When we published "Blogs Will Change Your Business" in May, 2005, Twittering was an activity dominated by small birds. Truth is, we didn't see MySpace coming. Facebook was still an Ivy League sensation. Despite the onrush of technology, however, thousands of visitors are still downloading the original cover story.
So we decided to update it. Over the past month, we've been calling many of the original sources and asking the Blogspotting community to help revise the 2005 report. We've placed fixes and updates into more than 20 notes; to view them, click on the blue icons. If you see more details to fix, please leave comments. The role of blogs in business is clearly an ongoing story.
First, the headline. Blogs were the heart of the story in 2005. But they're just one of the tools millions can use today to lift their voices in electronic communities and create their own media. Social networks like Facebook and MySpace, video sites like YouTube, mini blog engines like Twitter—they've all emerged in the last three years, and all are nourished by users. Social Media: It's clunkier language than blogs, but we're not putting it on the cover anyway. We're just fixing it."
"Editor's note: When we published "Blogs Will Change Your Business" in May, 2005, Twittering was an activity dominated by small birds. Truth is, we didn't see MySpace coming. Facebook was still an Ivy League sensation. Despite the onrush of technology, however, thousands of visitors are still downloading the original cover story.
So we decided to update it. Over the past month, we've been calling many of the original sources and asking the Blogspotting community to help revise the 2005 report. We've placed fixes and updates into more than 20 notes; to view them, click on the blue icons. If you see more details to fix, please leave comments. The role of blogs in business is clearly an ongoing story.
First, the headline. Blogs were the heart of the story in 2005. But they're just one of the tools millions can use today to lift their voices in electronic communities and create their own media. Social networks like Facebook and MySpace, video sites like YouTube, mini blog engines like Twitter—they've all emerged in the last three years, and all are nourished by users. Social Media: It's clunkier language than blogs, but we're not putting it on the cover anyway. We're just fixing it."
Gizmodo: Stairs Bookcase Actually Makes Me Want to Move to London
http://gizmodo.com/358636/stairs-bookcase-actually-makes-me-want-to-move-to-london
"Here's a great idea for anyone who loves books and doesn't have enough apartment space or a Kindle: a "secret staircase" made of English oak, lined with books left, right and center, leading to a loft bedroom in a Victorian 1898 apartments block."
"Here's a great idea for anyone who loves books and doesn't have enough apartment space or a Kindle: a "secret staircase" made of English oak, lined with books left, right and center, leading to a loft bedroom in a Victorian 1898 apartments block."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Bittbox: Dingbats Roundup: 16 Incredibly Detailed, Useful (and free) Dingbat Fonts
http://www.bittbox.com/fonts/dingbats-roundup-16-incredibly-detailed-useful-and-free-dingbat-fonts/
"Now, before I start, not everyone is going to think these are all useful, so if you don’t ever use tree silhouettes, fine. But some of us do. Personally, I love dingbats because (most of the time) I convert them to vectors in Illustrator and use them as very large elements in some cases. All you have to do is use the font in Illustrator and then go to Type > Create Outlines, and Bam. You got yourself a vector to work with. Here are some dingbat fonts that I thought you might enjoy."
"Now, before I start, not everyone is going to think these are all useful, so if you don’t ever use tree silhouettes, fine. But some of us do. Personally, I love dingbats because (most of the time) I convert them to vectors in Illustrator and use them as very large elements in some cases. All you have to do is use the font in Illustrator and then go to Type > Create Outlines, and Bam. You got yourself a vector to work with. Here are some dingbat fonts that I thought you might enjoy."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Visualizing Fitt's Law
http://particletree.com/features/visualizing-fittss-law/
"In preparation for the redesigns and overhauls we implemented in Wufoo, I took some time to revisit a few HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) fundamentals with the hopes of gleaning something new out of the decades of research dedicated to making interfaces easier to use. One thing that surprised me was how most of the material was pretty dense, heavily geared towards mathematicians it seemed and written in the impenetrable language of the academic elite. You’d think that if they’d really wanted to make an impact (especially on designers), they’d create documents that were a bit easier to digest."
"In preparation for the redesigns and overhauls we implemented in Wufoo, I took some time to revisit a few HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) fundamentals with the hopes of gleaning something new out of the decades of research dedicated to making interfaces easier to use. One thing that surprised me was how most of the material was pretty dense, heavily geared towards mathematicians it seemed and written in the impenetrable language of the academic elite. You’d think that if they’d really wanted to make an impact (especially on designers), they’d create documents that were a bit easier to digest."
Poolga: iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers
http://www.poolga.com/
"iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers from a selection of designers and illustrators from around the world.
We love our iPhones and we love customizing them. But we hate the standard wallpapers and cheesy nature themes available everywhere. That's why we create our own, and thought it would be nice to share them. So here they are. Enjoy!*
We upload new wallpapers every couple of days. Come back often and stay informed!"
"iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers from a selection of designers and illustrators from around the world.
We love our iPhones and we love customizing them. But we hate the standard wallpapers and cheesy nature themes available everywhere. That's why we create our own, and thought it would be nice to share them. So here they are. Enjoy!*
We upload new wallpapers every couple of days. Come back often and stay informed!"
Graphis '57 and '58
http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/graphis_annual_57_58
"As promised, here I will continue with my series on Graphis Annuals of years past (previously: ‘59/60 parts 1, 2, 3 and ‘71/72). This time I’ll be presenting some material from the 1957-58 edition. It’s not my favorite year but it’s an interesting year because you can see the past and future jostling for position. Though much of it feels distinctly 50’s some of the 60’s advertising style that would soon overtake everything was already making inroads. Below I have culled 22 images for your perusal, so happy perusing.
The issue begins with an introduction by Charles Rosner which I’ll spare you the bulk of. It does strike me as disrespectful and lazy somehow to not at least offer a few words, however, for context’s sake. So here is a single paragraph to get light your way forward.
Quote: “As for the impact [of advertsising] on society: the economic implications are closely linked up with deep-rooted inferences. The ‘social function’ of advertising is to stimulate wants, to make people dissatisfied with the little they have, and to work harder and earn more. Yet this function—to stimulate dissatisfaction—is relatively recent, for the goods people want, the auto, the washing machine, the radio, the television, electric iron, dishwasher, are all products of the lasty forty years or less. All this is part of the transformation, of the Western world at least, to a high-consumption society. There is more advertising in the United States not because salesmanship is a peculiar American virtue, or vice, but because of the comparative opulence of the country. As Professor Galbraith has written, A hungry man could never be persuaded that bread that is softened, sliced, wrapped and enriched is worth more than a cheaper and larger loaf that will fill his stomach.” —Charles Rosner, Graphis annual ‘57/58."
"As promised, here I will continue with my series on Graphis Annuals of years past (previously: ‘59/60 parts 1, 2, 3 and ‘71/72). This time I’ll be presenting some material from the 1957-58 edition. It’s not my favorite year but it’s an interesting year because you can see the past and future jostling for position. Though much of it feels distinctly 50’s some of the 60’s advertising style that would soon overtake everything was already making inroads. Below I have culled 22 images for your perusal, so happy perusing.
The issue begins with an introduction by Charles Rosner which I’ll spare you the bulk of. It does strike me as disrespectful and lazy somehow to not at least offer a few words, however, for context’s sake. So here is a single paragraph to get light your way forward.
Quote: “As for the impact [of advertsising] on society: the economic implications are closely linked up with deep-rooted inferences. The ‘social function’ of advertising is to stimulate wants, to make people dissatisfied with the little they have, and to work harder and earn more. Yet this function—to stimulate dissatisfaction—is relatively recent, for the goods people want, the auto, the washing machine, the radio, the television, electric iron, dishwasher, are all products of the lasty forty years or less. All this is part of the transformation, of the Western world at least, to a high-consumption society. There is more advertising in the United States not because salesmanship is a peculiar American virtue, or vice, but because of the comparative opulence of the country. As Professor Galbraith has written, A hungry man could never be persuaded that bread that is softened, sliced, wrapped and enriched is worth more than a cheaper and larger loaf that will fill his stomach.” —Charles Rosner, Graphis annual ‘57/58."
Six Revisions: 10 Web-building Resources You Should've Already Bookmarked
http://sixrevisions.com/resources/10-web-building-resources-you-shouldve-already-bookmarked/
"I spend a large portion of my day connected to the internet, and as a result I’ve amassed a large collection of websites and links pertaining to web development. Here’s 10 of my favorites:"
"I spend a large portion of my day connected to the internet, and as a result I’ve amassed a large collection of websites and links pertaining to web development. Here’s 10 of my favorites:"
Six Revisions: Eight Tips on How to Manage Feature Creep
http://sixrevisions.com/project-management/eight-tips-on-how-to-manage-feature-creep/
"Feature creep, also known as scope or requirement creep, refers to unforeseen requests for additions and changes that are outside the project scope. It typically happens due to inadequate requirements gathering, poor initial planning, and an unclear protocol for change implementation, among other things.
"Feature creep, also known as scope or requirement creep, refers to unforeseen requests for additions and changes that are outside the project scope. It typically happens due to inadequate requirements gathering, poor initial planning, and an unclear protocol for change implementation, among other things.
In this article, I’d like to discuss eight tips and suggestions, based mostly on my experience, to help minimize and manage the effects of feature creep in your own projects."
Neatorama: Evolution of Car Logos
http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/18/evolution-of-car-logos/
"This article should come in handy for the next time you’re stuck in traffic: have you ever wondered why the Audi in front of you has a logo of four interlocked rings? Did you know that the Cadillac emblem was inspired by a family crest of a nobleman who later turned out to be a fraud? Or that Volkswagen was Hitler’s idea?
"This article should come in handy for the next time you’re stuck in traffic: have you ever wondered why the Audi in front of you has a logo of four interlocked rings? Did you know that the Cadillac emblem was inspired by a family crest of a nobleman who later turned out to be a fraud? Or that Volkswagen was Hitler’s idea?
We took a look at the evolution of tech logos before. Today, let’s take a look at the fascinating stories behind the logos of some of the most popular cars in the world:"
Monday, February 18, 2008
Iwata Asks: Wii Fit
http://us.wii.com/wii-fit/iwata_asks/vol2_page1.jsp
"Now, for the second part of this series, I would like to interview the two men behind the development of the Wii Balance Board, the world’s first game accessory capable of measuring your weight and body balance. It’s interesting to note here that the two are from completely different divisions: one is from the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, which develops software, and the other is from the Integrated Research & Development Division, which develops hardware. I’d like to first ask Mr. Sawano to introduce himself and describe his responsibilities in developing Wii Fit. "
"Now, for the second part of this series, I would like to interview the two men behind the development of the Wii Balance Board, the world’s first game accessory capable of measuring your weight and body balance. It’s interesting to note here that the two are from completely different divisions: one is from the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, which develops software, and the other is from the Integrated Research & Development Division, which develops hardware. I’d like to first ask Mr. Sawano to introduce himself and describe his responsibilities in developing Wii Fit. "
Netdiver Best of the Year 2007
http://netdiver.net/newsarchive/boty/boty07.php
"Netdiver Best of the Year are more than a yearly retrospective - or a trendy compendium. We share the same space as TIME Best of the Year (via Google) and for an online sub-culture design magazine, we think that's pretty awesome.
"Netdiver Best of the Year are more than a yearly retrospective - or a trendy compendium. We share the same space as TIME Best of the Year (via Google) and for an online sub-culture design magazine, we think that's pretty awesome.
Review our 100 best of the best! These folks whatever their disciplines create memorable and dazzling projects, taking us to uncharted territories where imagination, skill, talent abide - inciting us to keep pushing forward."
NPR Free Live Concert Podcasts
Via Airbag Industries: Nekko Case live at the Disney Concert Hall. Thanks to Ryan for pointing us all to NPR's free live concert podcast. Amazing!
Fantasy League Typography
http://www.typography.com/ask/showBlog.php?blogID=75
"One of the things I most love about the design of the late nineteenth century is its unpredictability. Across all of the decorative arts there was a strong emphasis on novelty, and a succession of new technologies made it easier than ever to execute these strange and untested ideas. (You can see this in the terra cotta work of architect Louis Sullivan, or the elaborate inlays of furniture designer Gustav Herter.) The period was a riot of ornament, and to be sure, much of the work was awful: most of what we remember today is hopelessly cliché, or cloyingly overwrought. But then there are moments like these.
"One of the things I most love about the design of the late nineteenth century is its unpredictability. Across all of the decorative arts there was a strong emphasis on novelty, and a succession of new technologies made it easier than ever to execute these strange and untested ideas. (You can see this in the terra cotta work of architect Louis Sullivan, or the elaborate inlays of furniture designer Gustav Herter.) The period was a riot of ornament, and to be sure, much of the work was awful: most of what we remember today is hopelessly cliché, or cloyingly overwrought. But then there are moments like these.
Above is a piece of nineteenth century engraving, which looks as if it might have been the product of a CalArts group project by Wim Crouwel and Louise Fili. (The rest of my fantasy league is no less oddball; images after the jump evoke Jonathan Barnbrook vs. John Downer, and Max Kisman vs. Marian Bantjes.) These excerpts come from an incredible collection of American sheet music from the period 1850-1920, currently being exhibited online by Duke University. The documents from the 1870s are my favorites, many of which are from the hand of an engraver named Reed (note his signature hiding in the fourth image below.) His stylistic pairings are among the more remarkable — above, the constructed sans serif and swelled rules are unexpected bedfellows. But some of my favorite moments are those in which unrelated visual agendas collide in the letterforms themselves. Is there anything more fabulous than the monoline blackletter of "Mazurka Elegante" below, or the squared-off shapes of the final line, "Tiny Birdlings of the Air?" Will you check out that lowercase g? —JH"
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ditch Your Cable Company With Free, Legal Alternatives
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ditch-your-cable-company-with-free-legal-alternatives/
"Ditching your cable company has never been more viable than it is today. The rise of online, streaming TV shows allows you to save on one of the most expensive household bills if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of the convenience of having either a cable box or DVR. The main question you will need to ask yourself is what shows you actually enjoy watching. Several name brand shows are now available online in free, ad supported formats; if your particular shows are not available then you may be stuck with your cable company, at least for now. More and more shows are always coming online, so keep checking back to see if your favorite show is available."
"Ditching your cable company has never been more viable than it is today. The rise of online, streaming TV shows allows you to save on one of the most expensive household bills if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of the convenience of having either a cable box or DVR. The main question you will need to ask yourself is what shows you actually enjoy watching. Several name brand shows are now available online in free, ad supported formats; if your particular shows are not available then you may be stuck with your cable company, at least for now. More and more shows are always coming online, so keep checking back to see if your favorite show is available."
Psychology Today: Field Guide: Sarcastic Masters
http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070625-000002.html
"If there's such a thing as a congenital smart aleck, Rachel Mosteller is it. The 27-year-old Houston journalist has been ready with a well-timed barb since her elementary-school years. "I made my first quip when I was about 10. My parents were getting divorced right around my birthday, and I said, 'Well, isn't that a great present,'" she recalls. "That made my mom pretty mad."
"If there's such a thing as a congenital smart aleck, Rachel Mosteller is it. The 27-year-old Houston journalist has been ready with a well-timed barb since her elementary-school years. "I made my first quip when I was about 10. My parents were getting divorced right around my birthday, and I said, 'Well, isn't that a great present,'" she recalls. "That made my mom pretty mad."
Mosteller has continued to hone her sensibility ever since. "I tend to use it when I think people are taking themselves too seriously," she says.
Certified wisecrackers may see their snarky remarks as clever diversions, but because the distinction between a joke and an insult can be nebulous, they can easily damage relationships and careers with their one-liners. Frustrated by her company's practice of feting model employees with Hallmark-style gifts, Mosteller posted a send-up of the policy on her blog, The Sarcastic Journalist, in 2005. "You go and do something spectacular (most likely, you're doing your JOB) and someone says, 'Why golly, that was spectacular.' Then they bring you chocolate and some balloons," she wrote. Though she never disclosed her real name or the company's, higher-ups got wind of the post and she was promptly fired.
So why do wisecrackers keep their bons mots coming at the risk of alienating others? Though they may not be aware of it, sarcasm is their means of indirectly expressing aggression toward others and insecurity about themselves. Wrapping their thoughts in a joke shields them from the vulnerability that comes with directly putting one's opinions out there. "Sarcastic people protect themselves by only letting the world see a superficial part of who they are," says Steven Stosny, a Washington, D.C.-based therapist and anger specialist. "They're very into impression management."
Because humor and hostility often come mixed together, it can be difficult to pinpoint a wisecracker's primary intent. "Sometimes sarcasm is humor—purely a Don Rickles kind of joking—and sometimes it's just innocently insensitive," Stosny says. "But other times, it's devaluing." Everyone benefits from a wisecracker's comic relief, but if you are the target of regular swipes, it's best to assertively call the joker out. His hilariousness doesn't give him the right to belittle you."
White Hot: Silver loses its long-held top spot as the most popular car color.
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/412/white-hot;_ylc=X3oDMTE2MDVocjJhBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawNob3QtY29sb3Jz
"After seven years wearing the color crown, silver has been dethroned.
"After seven years wearing the color crown, silver has been dethroned.
For the first time this century, more white cars were manufactured in 2007 than those in any other color, according to DuPont’s most recent color study.
In North America, 19 percent of vehicles manufactured in 2007 were either white or "pearl white," which is white with an iridescent or metallic sheen. Eighteen percent of 2007 vehicles were silver, and 16 percent were black, including black with metallic effects.
White has also taken a decisive lead in other countries, including Japan and Mexico. In Europe, however, black was far and away the top color. See the charts below for the full breakdown."
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