March 2002
Don't interrupt me.
Posted by on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 10 comments
Cell phones make sense. No matter how annoying they might be to some people and regardless of the quirks of the early technology, they are an irrefutably logical step in personal communication. It simply doesn't make sense to have a phone number associated with a building. We don't call buildings …
I will survive
Posted by on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 2 comments
I've always been a huge fan of Sam Brown's illustrations and I've posted them on this site before. Go buy his book. It's great.
Long Bets
Posted by on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 1 comment
Wanna bet that by 2025, we will receive intelligent signals from outside our solar system? Put $2,000 where your mouth is and go do it! • Co-founded by Wired's Kevin Kelly, LongBets.com is a forum for those of us with big ideas and money to burn. For example, inventor/author/futurist Ray …
fancypants keyboards
Posted by on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 in - 8 comments
As I read Ars Technica, I came across a post and then a discussion about fancy new keyboards. The following caught my attention and facinated me: • Projection Keyboard • This little device was the first one to catch my attention. Sadly, they don't seem to discuss the technology used in its …
silverorange v2.0
Posted by on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 in - 7 comments
For those interested, silverorange (the web firm where I work) has redesigned their site. Feedback is welcome.
Google catalogues
Posted by on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 in - 10 comments
I know it's unusual for me to make posts about Google or any kind of web thing at all, but I can't remain silent any longer. I wont attempt to use the word "semantics" because I don't know what it means (I have since looked it up). With that being said, I will begin. • Maybe a month or so ago …
the many faces of instant messaging
Posted by on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 15 comments
These are a selection of the 'emoticon' graphics included in Microsoft's Windows Messenger, and AOL's ICQ. • The left column comes from Windows Messenger - included in Windows XP. • The right column is from the latest version ICQ, (perpetual) beta 2002a. • Uncanny.
BlogML: The Weblog Markup Language
Posted by on Sunday, March 10, 2002 in - 41 comments
A simple thought experiment in weblog semantics • “ • 1:37 PM - Joe makes a post on his blog about his golf vacation on Prince Edward Island • 3:24 PM - Joe makes a post on his blog about hang gliding in Newfoundland • Two weeks pass. • Sam searches Google for hang gliding in Prince …
it's mooglicious!
Posted by on Saturday, March 9, 2002 - 12 comments
To my great wonderful joy, I was pointed in the direction of a cover band called The Moog Cookbook. These Space Rockers cover classic rock songs and some new (circa 1996) pop stuff. • They reduce Green Day's "Basketcase" to slinky elevator muzak. Some other AOV favorites are Black Hole Sun and …
robots to persuade humans with human-like voices
Posted by on Sunday, March 3, 2002 in - 5 comments
AT&T Labs is commercializing their recent advances in text-to-speech processing (a.k.a. talking computers) with Natural Voices. While the live demo still reveals its robotic ancestry, a few of the pre-recorded demos could really pass for human. Listen to one of the better samples (70Kb Windows …
Simple for sale.
Posted by on Saturday, March 2, 2002 in - 11 comments
The web interface specialists at 37signals have turned their experience on themselves and served up at nice redesign of 37signals.com. The old site lives on as the 37signals manifesto (worth reading for any web professional). • With the new site comes a White Paper on Contingency Design ('design …