Good Music: Björk
Even if you don’t like Björk’s new single, Wanderlust, you have no reason not to be into the marvelous, trippy video that accompanies it. There’s a 3D version of this out there as well, if you happen to stumble across your red & blue shades. (Bonus: The Ratatat Mix is a worthy contender to the original)
Blank is like Blank
Blank is like Blank is a cute blog that shares “analogies to live by”, such as:
Starbucks is like that crazy ex-girlfriend you still get together with:
You hate yourself for going back, but the familiarity makes it convenient, and until you find something better, it’s all you’ve got.
It’s also a great creative outlet for its creator, Justin Feinstein, a copywriter. I always find it interesting to see who’s behind some of these clever ideas on the Net. This thing seriously needs an RSS feed, though. Justin writes in the comments that he’s now added a feed! (via swissmiss)
Simulated Expressions
This video shows an initial test of the MDS (Mobile Dexterous Social) Robot … It illustrates the robot’s expressive range of movement using scripted animations and pre-recorded speech.
I can see these things taking the place of kiosks for check-in at airports and hotels in the very near future. This adds new meaning to getting an emotional response when interacting with a system. (via Dark Roasted Blend)
Good Music: Cut Copy
It’s been a while since my last music post, but I’m still going through at least 2-3 new albums every week. I’ve been stuck on tracks by Cut Copy over the last little while (both their new album In Ghost Colours, and their older stuff). Check out the video to Lights & Music above for some electro-rock goodness.
Last Wheels
Spring is in the air, and summer’s just around the corner. This will be my last summer with a car for a long time, as I’ll be selling my beloved Mini shortly before moving into my place downtown in August.
It’s been a great little car, and I’ve had a lot of fun with it. At the same time, I’m really looking forward to getting out of the routine of commuting back and forth from downtown.
Pick a Time Zone, any Time Zone
You know I don’t want to seem like I’m constantly being negative about the usability and Web issues I discover on my journeys around the Internets, but often the best way to learn what to, is to see what not to do. Take this Web app that shall remain nameless above.
In the registration form you’re asked to select your time zone, from which there about 100 to choose from (with duplicates no doubt), and as you can see above, shown in at least three different formats. Any idea where I’d find Eastern Americas? (Oh wait, there’s three of them right there but I never saw it since I don’t associate Toronto with Indiana or North Dakota)
Best practice: Ditch the time zone selection entirely. Most people have no idea what GMT is, nevermind that we’re -5 from it in the Eastern time zone. Ask the user for what city they’re in, and let the application do the heavy lifting in the background to cross-reference that with a time zone. Computers are tools to make our lives easier - don’t make me do data entry because it’s easier on your database.
Adobe Media Player
Adobe’s been doing some really cool stuff with their AIR runtime lately, and their new Media Player doesn’t disappoint. It allows you to stream or download video content from a number of different networks, or you can add your own (like Dear Toronto) by using an RSS feed.
From what I’ve seen so far, all of these AIR-based apps are really slick, and they give a great experience to the user. Certainly opens the door to a new world of possibilities for AJAX/FLEX/Flash developers.
Mahalo!
Mahalo is a Hawaiian word meaning “thank you.”
A big mahalo to Jason Calacanis and Mahalo for the mug!
Of course, I’m open to a wide range of free stuff!
Metronauts - The Rider Experience
My notes from today’s Metronauts unconference in Toronto on The Rider Experience and Efficiency, a session I co-proposed and facilitated with a couple others. More on this later.
Design and the Elastic Mind
I’ve written about Paola Antonelli before, but I think the above video by Cool Hunting gives even more understanding about her sense of design which I find so interesting.
She takes almost an engineer’s approach to the role of the designer, looking at it as a necessity for solving a problem and doing it in an elegant and novel way - innovation. I really appreciate the work she highlights because it’s some of the most thought-provoking and profound stuff you’ll see. No wonder why I have such a desire to visit MoMA!
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Adam is a User Experience Specialist at IBM in Toronto and also produces content of all kinds around the Web.
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