I thought Posterous would be a worthy replacement for my old blog, but it's not. The lack of features is frustrating. So, I'm moving back a local installation of Wordpress at apmeyer.com. I'm still trying to determine if I want to keep Posterous for any reason... I am guessing the answer is no.
So, if you've been following me here please follow me at apmeyer.com instead.
Today's theme: It aint easy being beautiful.
Check out the latest episode of Put This On, a fantastic web series on how to dress properly.
Then check out this beautifully-shot video featuring Chicago-based Oxxford Clothes (via @devour), the only remaining factory in the United States that makes their suits by hand. I want one. Or two. I don't really need that 401k.
If you have not yet subscribed to Devour, you should.
Dan Wineman at Venomous Porridge conceptualizes the new AppleTV remote -- the love child of a Magic Trackpad and iPod Touch. I think he might be on to something. In principle the concept is similar to a Wii-mote, minus the buttons. I still think this controller cannot rely solely on a trackpad. And while accelerometer integration is fun, it's still missing that essential tactile feedback. Add second "home" button to the left side of his concept and we might have a winner.
First, what kind of apps would make sense for an iTV? It’s not a touchscreen device, and you don’t carry it around with you. You operate it from your couch. So the obvious category is games.
But you need some kind of controller to play a game, unless Apple is working on its own version of Kinect, which I doubt. An Apple Remote doesn’t really cut it, and while an iPhone or iPod touch would make a great game console controller, as has been pointed out, it’s unlikely that Apple would require one: no game publisher is going to invest in developing a game whose market is restricted to owners of two separately-purchased devices, and iTV sales would be hobbled from the start. At least one standard controller needs to be included in the box for the iTV to be a viable gaming platform, so that controller has to be relatively simple and inexpensive.
Read More: http://venomousporridge.com/post/1014900307/itv-speculation
Like Dan Provost, I am very excited to see what Apple has planned for its next AppleTV. Speculation is that it will run iOS and feature apps, much like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. But, as a veteran user of the AppleTV and Mac Mini for my home theater, I am very skeptical of where they'll land on the device's remote control; A critical feature of any home theater or gaming component.
I have tried (and struggled with) numerous ways to comfortably and effectively control Apple's home theater-specific devices. On the AppleTV I use the Apple remote. On the Mac Mini I currently have a Magic Mouse and bluetooth keyboard simply to interact with the machine for things like ripping, file organization (though I do much of that on my iMac via screen sharing) and application launching (Plex, Hulu Desktop and Front Row). Once in these applications I fall back to the Apple remote.
I've tried using the iPhone to control the AppleTV and Mini, but the lack of tactile feedback creates a frustrating experience. Touchpad is probably the best way to use the iPhone as a remote control. The trackpad mode of the app is very usable, allowing one to interact with the screen without staring at the phone -- a critical feature of any remote control. As a trackpad the iPhone actually does offer tactile feedback; The edges of the phone indicate boundaries.
In "remote control" mode, however, Touchpad is inferior to the Apple remote. Staring at the controller to know if you're actually pressing the [virtual] buttons is not conducive to a pleasant television viewing/browsing/gaming experience. Tactile response is critical so the eye can remain on the television display.
Apple hates buttons, yet has a keen focus on usability. So, what will they have in store for a remote control? Buttons are essential for a tactile experience. Yet a trackpad can be practical in some situations. A combination of the two would be interesting. An iPhone or iPod touch by itself is a very expensive and ineffective controller, but as a supplement it could be amazing. It also adds a huge expense that would ensure a low acceptance of the AppleTV. A controller that's solely a trackpad will be a failure. Especially for gaming apps. So, the Magic Trackpad seems an unlikely candidate.
A media event has been announced for September 1, so we'll soon know the game plan.
It's been a busy few weeks. This morning I finally got around to reading some items I previously Instapaper'd. One of which was an article from designer/blogger Andy Rutledge titled Plato's Cave. Of all the design professionals I follow, Andy is the most philosophically inspirational. He often writes of maintaining standards and holding professionalism in high regard. These are virtues I admire and strive to apply to my career.
The article highlights why I enjoy working for a small company -- or for myself. I've spent enough time in corporate settings to know that someone else's lack of standards need not shape my perception of reality. Such an environment can be devastating professionally and personally.
That's not to say all corporate environments are driven by ignorance or lack standards. Don't get me wrong. Many are on the right path with leadership that sees beyond Plato's shadows. At Interval those are the clients we seek. I also don't mean to imply that small companies, or even freelancers, are immune to these pitfalls.
Give Plato's Cave a read and be sure to add Rutledge to your RSS reader.
Excerpt:
I understand where this sort of contemptuous attitude comes from, as I’m familiar with the Allegory of the Cave, from Plato’s The Republic. (I encourage you to follow the link and read before continuing.) I know well how those who have only ever experienced the distorted echoes and shadows of what is professionally possible might fiercely attack anything that challenges their ignorance. It is human nature to believe the limits of our perception to be the entirety of reality.
Too often, however, what passes for professionalism in the experience of designers, even company CEOs, is but a shadow of what is possible and what is right. When that ignorance is reinforced by what is deemed to be success, it forms an armor that is difficult or impossible to penetrate with any sort of challenge.
Your dilemma: Your contact sent you a 72dpi GIF of their logo -- and it's spinning. Fantastic. Unfortunately, you're working on a print piece and what you really need is a vector file. You ask for the EPS but they don't know what that is and claim one doesn't exist.
Mmhmm.
So, how do you obtain the logo file you need? There are various corporate logo databases online. Most suck. They are a collection of half-ass attempts at recreating icons and typefaces. Search them first if you like, but chances are you'll be unhappy with what you find -- if you find anything at all. Instead, turn to your client's website. No, don't drag a logo off the homepage. That's how you ended up with the atrocity in your inbox. Instead, search the site for some PDF files. See where this is going?
Find a PDF with the logo visible. Open it in your browser, Reader, or whatever PDF viewer you prefer. Zoom in and out on the logo itself. If it looks good at 25% and 1,000% it's most likely vector art. If it gets pixelated it was rasterized before the PDF was generated and won't serve your needs. Find a good one? Good. Let's get that logo out of the PDF.
You can typically open PDFs in Illustrator or other vector-editing applications. I'll assume you have Illustrator. If you don't, play around with whatever you do have -- but you're on your own. In Illustrator attempt to select the logo. If the entire contents of the page are selected start breaking things apart. No, not your physical surroundings, but the visual elements of the file. Use the "Release Clipping Path" and "Ungroup" option until you can select just the logo itself. As you break up the elements you may notice large selectable areas that appear to contain nothing. Just delete them so they're out of your way. But be careful not to delete portions of the logo in the process.
When you're able to select the logo alone, copy and paste it into a new file. Save it as an EPS. Done.
You may need to do some additional work to ensure the colors match PMS values defined in the organization's brand standards. But if your contact sent you a GIF to begin with they undoubtedly have little concern for color matching or quality. So, you're probably in the clear.
Note: You can also open PDFs in Photoshop and other photo-editing applications. If that's your only option and your application can open PDFs you won't get the EPS, but you can probably get something better than your GIF alternative.
Wordpress plugins I install immediately and use on almost every site I create:
All-In-One SEO Pack
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/
WP-DB-Backup
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/
Askimet (Of course)
http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins/Akismet
XML Sitemap Generator
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/
W3 Total Cache
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/
This tutorial will show you how to setup a rotating homepage graphic in Wordpress using custom fields. A rotating image -- one that refreshes on each page load, or transitions using JavaScript -- is a great way to keep a website feeling fresh, and a great way to steer readers to important content. This technique can be used for more than images, and can be used on any template. Not just the homepage.
This is my plea to Apple to put some effort into their calendar application, iCal. The software has potential, but its limitations are annoying. My primary gripes:
1. I cannot accept appointments received through the iPhone mail software. I have to return to my desk to accept invites or even view the details -- even though iCal is on the phone. 2. I cannot move appointments from one calendar to another on the iPhone. I have to recreate them. 3. The biggest annoyance: I cannot specify a default email address for iCal's response emails. These are the messages sent back to the appointment originator, letting them know if I accepted or declined. As far as I can tell iCal simply uses whatever email account you have highlighted -- I've tested this and found it to be true. This is problematic as I use Mail to manage several accounts. I am switching to Google Calendar. I already use Google for a number of other tasks. I might as well add Calendar to the mix. It's formatted beautifully for both my phone and desktop and none of the problems listed above are present. I will also be dropping Mail for my professional email accounts in favor of the gmail interface. We already funnel our domains through Google so there is no additional setup. Considering how amazing many of Apple's applications are. It's mind blowing how lackluster their "daily-use" applications are.Mail and iCal, I will not miss you. Not one bit.
