Page Flips Are Better Than Infinite Scroll

March 15th, 2010

I find my success rate with tracking my scroll position of long form content less than 100%. Page flips, on the other hand?  I have never lost my place … Page flips, when done right, are more usable than infinite scroll.

Dude has a point. Note: he’s talking about scrolling on the iPad. Not iPhone.

Your high IQ will kill your startup

March 4th, 2010

Being intelligent is like having a knife. If you train every day in using the knife, you will be invincible. If you think that just having a knife will make you win any battle you fight, then you will fail. This [belief] in your own inherent ability is what will kill your startup. Success comes from the work and ability you put in becoming better than the others, and not from some brilliance you feel you may have within you.

I enjoyed the thoughtful story, and it reminds me that success comes from smarts and hard work, not just smarts on their own.

OK Go: This Too Shall Pass

March 2nd, 2010

At Ignite LA on March 1, Adam Sadowsky unveiled the new OK Go video. It was one giant, beautiful Rube Goldberg machine that took 20 18 hour days, thousands of ping pong balls two pianos and several TVs to put together. The killer things: they did this in one take, things were in sync with the music, and at one point the song dropped out and had just the machine playing the music.

Seriously, this has to be the sweetest music video ever in life.

Flash and The Web, Continued.

February 26th, 2010

If you think people using iPhone OS devices are an important segment of your intended audience, you can no longer build a Flash-dependent web site. And if you don’t think people using iPhone OS devices are an important segment of your intended audience, you’re probably wrong.

Another good, in-depth discussion on the Flash/no-Flash on iPhone and iPad and what this move means for web designers/developers everywhere.

David Heinemeier Hansson – Unlearn Your MBA

February 23rd, 2010

Wow, this was good. My favorite highlight: discussing the lunacy of the 80 hour + workweek. I’m glad he went there, because I’ve seen people who believe in dedicating their every waking moment to a project or startup—and expect everyone else to as well.

I know you can’t always do it in 40 hours, but I really question the efficiency of someone who works 80 hours plus every week on a project.

Chalk one up to working smart, then work hard.

The McSweeney’s Mantra: Haven’t Tried It Yet? Do It Anyway.

February 16th, 2010

Never having done something before is a bad reason not to do it.

A good story on trying new things. McSweeney’s is such a pile of inspiration.

Teach every child about food: Jamie Olivers TED Prize wish

February 12th, 2010

While I’m acutely aware of our overuse of adjectives (especially on Twitter, where everything is a brilliantly awesomely stunning list of the 35 best CSS techniques) here on the Internets, I’ve got full belief in the fact that this talk is amazing.

In short, teach our children about food—we’ll be a better, healthier and smarter society. My kids will know, and I want to share it with every one of you.

TED Blog: Teach every child about food: Jamie Olivers TED Prize wish, now on TED.com.

Square

February 11th, 2010

It’s not easy to make a great, simple intro video to your product. But Square really managed to pull it off so well. Have a look!

Is Design More Important Than Engineering?

February 9th, 2010

Opinions will be formed, rightly or wrongly, within seconds of laying eyes on your site before they even have a chance to put your code to use. So before you go hiring a crack team of code monkeys, make sure to reserve some roster slots for design all-stars.

Or as I see it: no one will drive a car with tons of good features if they can’t figure out how to open the door. So I’d say that it carries a little more importance than engineering, maybe 60% to 40%.

High Personal Availability Is a Bug, Not a Feature

February 8th, 2010

Don’t get we wrong, there are many aspects of real-time goodness I love.  But the web used to be something we do and now it’s part of who we are.  So isn’t it time to reassess how we interact with it ?

I read this article a few times this weekend and think it’s a complete piece of bliss.

It struck a chord with me, as I’ve been contemplating similar things like: is my blanket high personal availability killing my productivity and peace? I think it is.

It’s why I dropped using AIM as a communication platform, it’s why I don’t always answer my phone when it rings. It’s why my email isn’t open every time I’m in front of the computer.

Why? It helps my productivity, helps my brain focus and it helps me get a good flow going for my work so I can give more to my clients, myself and those I love.

Of course, that’s not to say ignore everything. The point is to prioritize everything.

Definitely recommended reading.