Acts of Volition

I just ate what may have been the finest meal of my life (which may not say a lot, but it's the greatest compliment I have at my disposal).  •  If you are ever in Portland, Maine be sure and check out Katahdin Restaurant on High Street. I alse recommend the mountain by the same name (I don't climb …

While spending a few days in Portland, Maine I had the unfortunate opportunity of watching some classic in-room american television. ESPN showed a military showcase and airshow that was the year 2000 equivalent to the now hilarious and frightening US and Soviet propaganda videos of the 50s …

Let him know he is missed. If you are going to send him foolish bluemountain “e-cards” please use his spamorama email address: rob51@usa.net  •  Get well soon Rob.

re: apple legitimizes amazon patent tomfoolery  •  Mastah programmah John Carmack (his company, Id Software created Doom and the Quake series of PC Games) on software patents:  •  “  •  “The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind …

A French artist creates a mutant rabbit.

A few months ago, Amazon.com went after BarnesandNoble.com with their absurd ‘1-Click Shopping’ patent.  •  Now Apple has legitimized the foolish patent by licensing 1-Click Shopping for the Apple Store.  •  If you locked a few reasonably intelligent web developers in a room for six weeks to …

Thanks to Don at IslandEdition.com for the kind words in the Island Web section of the latest issue (and it is a fine issue, as usual).  •  <sarcasm>  •  It's good to see that we still control the media even with Kirby gone.</sarcasm>  •  The smart folk at IslandEdition.com put it nicely …

Pearl Jam, always the peoples band, is releasing 25 double-CDs of 25 full concerts mastered and recorded straight from the soundboard.  •  Retailing at around $10 each, for about $250 you can own a big chunk of the 2000 Binaural Tour. That may seem like a lot to spend in one go on music but people …

I'm as skeptical of the Olympics as the next steroid-scandal-weary member of my generation but while watching the CBC's typically brilliant coverage of the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, I was weak.  •  It was a ceremony so fine, it was easy to forget that the Olympics …

actsofvolition.com access may have been somewhat intermittent for some of you over the last week or two. We apologize for the annoyance. Things should get back to normal this weekend.  •  At least we are not the only ones; Both zeldman.com (alistapart.com has been down for weeks) and k10k.net are …

Speaking of defining oneself with material goods (as I was a few posts ago), I have found my dream vehicle, the Audi A2. The Audi site calls it “Discreetly distinguished - not attention-grabbing”. Just like me.  •  The A2 combines the smart and sleek lines of the 2000 VW Jetta with the practical …

Why is it that every time Apple releases a new product their site goes down? I realize that they must have an enormous spike in traffic, but it should be completely predictable and can't be near the kind of traffic Yahoo get's on an average day.  •  While I'm picking on Apple, at last Apple expo …

After stomping all over Apple in a previous post for what I maintain are completely stupid problems with their website and receiving a flood of angry emails* from Apple fanatics drunk from the broth of marketing genious, I will grant Apple these points:  •  They do have beautiful and large product …

I have mixed feelings about the unfortunately named Raging Search (raging.com) by AltaVista.  •  I like that I can choose my font and color scheme (I recommend verdana with the default colors). Other nice options include being able to turn off basically every feature (spelling suggestions, etc …

re: Napster Thrives!  •  rob said:  •  “  •  I question CNN's line:  •  “  •  “That made Napster the fastest-growing software application ever recorded by the Internet research company.”  •  ”  •  ”  •  CNN may have their ‘fact’ straight, but the hell is the “Internet research company.”

It's true: You can now get Acts of Volition on your handheld (or PDA, or Palm, or whatever the hell you want to call it).  •  The handheld version of aov includes the 10 most recent posts to the site for your ‘waiting-in-line-at-the-bank’ reading pleasure.  •  The Acts of Volition AvantGo Channel …

The Open Directory Project at dmoz.org is another wacky love child of the AOL-TimeWarner merger. Other bizarre offspring of the corporate mega marriage include Mozilla and Gnutella.  •  Basically an open-source version of the Yahoo editorial system, dmoz has the advantage of having actual human …

I'm not sure what this means but I'm sure you can deduce something from it. Here is a top-down view of the 50 most visited websites on the web.

I know criticism is easy but that doesn't mean you can't be particularly good at it. Jeff Stark, the associate editor of Salon Arts and Entertainment, is very good at it.  •  Read his article Rock is dead and well at the MTV;; Video Awards at Salon. Sure, criticizing the MTV;; VMAs for being low …

Signal vs. Noise - take a few minutes to read the many pages at their company site, 37signals, and wonder why you aren't as smart as they are.  •  dack.com - the sarcastic bastard and creator of such brilliant works as  •  Amazon 2001: A Navigation Odyssey  •  Jeffrey Zeldman Presents - for web …

I remember reading an article about how the web and hyperlinks were going to change the way children thought. At the time I dismissed it as mumbo-jumbo about non-linear thought patterns and other such nonsense. I fear the hypothesis have been proven true in myself.  •  Sitting in an evening …

Humankind Systems, maker of a fine webmail template I bought recently, seems to be diversifying.  •  Their product, The Flasher, occasionally flashes on your computer screen while you work with affirmative messages like:  •  cigarettes taste bad  •  smokers are ugly  •  lung cancer is painful …

A fine demonstration of how to make a point with interactive media by the Laramara Foundation. Be patient and do what it says. Try It >>  •  Requires Flash and a set of speakers.

From Jakob Neilsen's Alertbox column on Regulatory Usability at useit.com:  •  “  •  “I don't like the Government telling Microsoft to make their software even worse by preventing them from integrating features into the operating system. I also don't like the notion of user interfaces designed by …

Despite being an unfortunate Amazon.com rip-off (and we all know how much I hate rip-offs) Startech, a computer accessory manufacturer, has an exemplary website in terms simplicity, product information, and something which is often overlooked, high quality, hi-res, kick-ass product photography …