New Site’s Up - Sorta

I’ve taken the MobileMe approach and pushed the new site design up before it was 100% tested and proofed. I’ll be doing more in depth browser testing as time allows. Lots more to do, I was just eager to get it up and out.

Bill Gates Usability Email

I was heartened to read the Bill Gates usability rant gleaned from the anti-trust documents. This email shows me that Windows usability issues were more institutionalized and were the result of an obese org, not because Gates didn’t ‘get it’.

via ethan

New Project Launched: The Satchelist

For some time now I have struggled to find the right bag for my laptop and mobile gear. What started out as a problem for snooty businessmen in airpots and techies and has grown to be the bane of the common coffee-shop exile. We all need a bag for our stuff (hat tip to the late George Carlin), but find that bag can be a daunting task. Hopefully that’s where the Satchelist can help. We launched the Satchelist last week and are slowly building up a listing of reviews, insight and conversation about laptop bags, mobile gear and more. If you have ideas, reviews or thoughts let us know, we’d love to hear them. In the meantime check out the site, tell where were wrong or share a story or two. We’re looking forward to sharing our passion with you.

Kevin Pollak Is Wonderful - Example #344

(via alex)

A therapist discovers he has six weeks to live and gets brutally honest. Oscar Nominated. Written and directed by Rob Pearlstein.

Public Service Announcement

Just a heads up - if you link to a video on current tv bad things can happen. Here’s just a few of the awful things that will will befall you thanks to the common sense-loving, internet gods:

• A baby seal will be clubbed out of spite
• Your Prius will be repossessed
• The elbow patches on your tweed blazer will fall off
• Your carbon offset credits will get ruined in the washing machine (as will your hacky sack hippie)
• Your favorite organic-only grocery store will sudden close (NO, the humanity!!)

Preparing for the new arrival

We’ll be having our second child this week (most likely Thursday) and posting here will likely slow considerably. I’ll be posting more as time allows and sharing photos, etc. for those who are interested in such things. We’re very excited around here and look forward to the new arrival!

Elevator Up Offices

Zeeland, Michigan’s elevator up is a hosting and development shop with some pretty sweet new office digs.

Shit Matters in Design

There are too many great quotes in this clip to even start calling them out. Take a few short minutes to check it out. The task for the students was developing a pooper scooper, hence the fecal theme.

Focus on value, don’t become a commodity, don’t be a jerk. All good things to think about.

The Problem With Microsoft…

While discussing a few projects today we were discussing this notion of an ‘iPhone Killer’, and I kept coming back to the success of the iPhone hinging on ‘winning’. Every step of the way, as the iPhone and similar Apple products were created, the design of the product won out, over other demands and constraints. I’m sure there were executives pushing to add more features, marketing folks wanted a bigger logo, etc. But in the end the product and the vision of the designers won. Now that’s not to say it was exactly the product they set out to make or that there weren’t concessions, but all done to serve the product and its users.

So why is that not the case with the Zune, Vista or any number of Microsoft products? It’s not because their people aren’t talented or capable or inspired. Let Steve Jobs tell you why in this famous piece:

If you’ve ever asked a friend or colleague why they use a Mac this is why. They amy not be able to articulate it with the same vigor and confidence, but at the end of the day this is the ‘it’.

Paint - Fully Digital Now

Someday you might be able to erase with two eraser tools side-by-side…oh to dream.