Acts of Volition

I generally enjoy the simplicity of the window controls in Mac OS X — especially with the subtle visual simplifications in version 10.3.  •  While Windows (and the common linux GUIs, Gnome and KDE) have the common three window controls (minimize, maximize/restore, and close), they also have …

When those of us who live on our computers setup a new one – there is usually process of redecoration and customization. This process usually takes a few days, with a few little issues hanging around for a week or two. We install of our applications, we customize window and color settings, we set …

Though I’m usually glad to take most of the credit, much of my professional and personal design work is often the better for having been subject to collaboration and criticism from my co-workers.  •  After much teasing/coaxing/punching, my professional better half at silverorange, Daniel Burka …

I have some unsolicited advice from an armchair engineer to Apple.  •  Microsoft is planning for the eventual advent of much higher-resolution LCD panels that we currently have. Their next major operating system release will be entirely vector-based, not tied to the pixel or any specific …

I’ve heard many people complain that Apple is charging too much (or that they shouldn’t be charging at all) for the “point releases” (10.2, 10.3, etc.). I completely sympathize with these complaints. The last two point-releases, 10.2 and 10.3, each costs $129 US ($179 Canadian).  •  However, I …

My family has embraced the home computer. They use Hotmail to keep in touch with relatives. They use a scanner, despite absolutely terrible software that came with it (Canon). They use MSN Messenger to chat with friends (a lot). They use Microsoft Word to write papers, letters, and memos and print …

I’ve been using and enjoying the products of the Mozilla project more and more lately. I’ve been hooked on Mozilla Firebird for a while, and my recent Mozilla Thunderbird theme was my first real contribution (if you could call it that) to the movement.  •  I’m very interested in the success of the …

The Toyota Canada site pleasantly surprised me with this useful pricing chart showing the relative price range of most of their models. It might be even more useful if it were ordered by price rather than alphabetically, so I tried it out.

I hate skins and I love native GUI widgets. Microsoft and Apple had a relatively strong set of user interface controls that people are familiar with. Yet loads of developers seem keen on reinventing these devices from scatch. Media players seem to be particularly bad at this. Microsoft’s own …