October 31, 2003
Is Reuters going as The Onion this Halloween?
Rumsfeld unsure of missing 'mojo'
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he does not know whether or not he has lost his mojo, as a leading news magazine suggested, largely because he doesn't really know what mojo is..."And they asked me that, and I said, 'I don't know what it means.' And they said, 'In 1926 or something, it had to do with jazz music."
Classic Rummy.
The Geek Definition of "Easy"
I love how fantastically difficult an "easy" install procedure can sound to a regular computer user. Granted, my grandmother is not likely to stumble haplessly onto an article entitled An easy way to install Microsoft's TrueType core fonts on linux, but I don't see anything easy about their 9-step procedure:
Replace YOURHOMEDIR with your home directory. If you're unsure of what is, use the command echo ~ to find out. For this to work you also need to create the directories $HOME/rpm, $HOME/rpm/RPMS/noarch and $HOME/rpm/BUILD
That's much easier than downloading the fonts and dragging them to a folder on my hard drive! Silly me...
October 30, 2003
Dark Matter
You know winter is knocking on the door when you can feel it getting dark outside around 4:30 even though you aren't looking out a window.
View All At Once
Too many sites force you to navigate through multiple pages of results. Let's say you're shopping for a frame at Ofoto's store. The site makes you click through four pages that each contain only six items per screen. I bet the site would increase sales if it gave customers the option of seeing all 24 items on one screen. The current way requires too much drilling to uncover all the items.
Gap, on the other hand, does a better job here by offering a "view all at once" link. Yes, it's a lot of images to show on one screen but for many visitors that's a better option than clicking back and forth to compare products.
October 29, 2003
Shopping.com Grid View
A month ago we announced our redesign of Shopping.com (Before and After). We also mentioned that there was more work to be done and more improvements would be launched soon. Well, one just launched today -- the Grid View. The Grid View makes it easier to browse items visually, while the Row View provides a little more information about each product.
Even more coming soon. Stay tuned.
Light Fast Food
"In the Temples of Supersizing, Eating Light Draws Converts" (NY Times) rates the healthy offerings at fast food restaurants.
To find out if low-fat sandwiches and salads are tasty and satisfying enough to make people give up their Whoppers and Big Macs, I set out three weeks ago to systematically taste the items billed as healthful at Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Blimpie and Subway. Some of this food was quite edible. Most gave healthy food a bad name.
October 27, 2003
Kids Play
"Was the age of Pong, Atari, Mattel handheld football, and Donkey Kong really all that great, or are we just blinded by fuzzy, warm nostalgia?" asks Electronic Gaming Monthly. In Kids Play, the magazine captures reactions from today's kids to games from the 80s. [via Webmonkey]
Magazine: [In Japan, Space Invaders] was so popular that there was a shortage of the coins used to play it.
Kid: But you can get this game on a cell phone. Why would you want to pay for it in an arcade?
October 24, 2003
Saying vs. Doing
I love seeing survey results that don't reflect reality. In this one, 77% of people say they read every single word, or at least enough to understand (what does that mean?), of their credit card contract before signing. The same study revealed 63% say they do the same on rental car contracts.
Bullshit.
Last week I rented a car and watched the 6-7 people in front of me sign their life away without even reading a single word (except for maybe the "sign here" part). I did the same (and you know you do too). People don't want to look like bad consumers so when asked if they read, they instinctively reply "Yes." Please. We trust, we don't read. What we say (or believe) is hardly what we do.
Kodak and Usability
John Steele Gordon says digital camera makers can learn from George Eastman (founder of Kodak).
Eastman had to convince the public that it could handle what had always been a very complicated technology. He turned the trick with what is universally regarded as one of the greatest slogans in advertising history: You press the button, we do the rest. The new Kodak was a sensation, and George Eastman became fabulously rich ...
... Digital photography will never be as easy as Eastman made chemical photography, of course. There is too much you can do with it. But the first company writing software for digital cameras that takes to heart George Eastmans most important idea for how to create a mass marketmake the product easy to usemay find the world beating a path to its door.
The story of how Eastman brought dry-plate photography to the masses is a great read to boot.
Come on, Ofoto, You're Better Than That
Ofoto is a great service and a very well-designed web-based application. Their copywriting is clear, design is crisp, and their forms are refreshingly short and to the point. For example, to register all you need to do is fill out 4 fields: first name, email address, password, and password confirmation. This is a Good Thing. But, the registration form is deceptively sneaky. Take a close look (above, red boxes are mine)... On the left you have the purple section with the form fields and the "I agree to the terms of service" checkbox. You'd think that was it and you'd click the "join now" button to continue (which is exactly what I did). However, if you look in the upper right corner, you'll see an additional checkbox that signs you up for their mailing list (and this checkbox is checked by default). Pretty sneaky detaching that sign-up checkbox from the rest of the form. Come on, Ofoto, you're better than that.
October 23, 2003
Amazon Takes Search to the Next Level
A letter from Bezos explains you can now search the text of over 120,000 books (33,000,000 pages) at Amazon. For example, a search for "37signals" returns this page (and these too) from We Blog: Publishing Online with Weblogs. Here's how it works. Wow.
On another Amazon note... Their ship estimates are starting to piss me off. I ordered some "ships in 24 hours" software on the 20th, paid $15 for overnight shipping, and today, four days later, I get a notice that it just shipped and I'll have it tomorrow. So overnight shipping means I get an in stock item 5 days later. I've noticed this happening more and more with them. Ugh.
Logo and Layout Rip
From one of our loyal watchdogs: The folks at userneed felt they needed to rip off pieces of our layout, the sprit of our copywriting (they could definitely use some help), and, wow, that logo looks awfully familiar. Let them know what you think about their lift.
October 22, 2003
A List Ahead
Zeldman and company have been busy (and they just do it for the love of the game). A List Apart (3.0) is back. A new skin, new articles, new features, new live events, and new knowledge. We're all so lucky that this resource just keeps getting better. And, for those who don't know what it is, A List Apart Magazine explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on techniques and benefits of designing with web standards. Go check it out. And, how cool is it that there are 37 design articles?
Prediction: Wallpaper Cool
Wallpaper wil be considered cool again. Soon. Colored walls were cool in the 90s. Now white walls are back in. Wallpaper is on deck.
October 17, 2003
Gross vs. O'Reilly
Gross vs. O'Reilly: Culture Clash on NPR
In the Fresh Air interview, the tone was intense from the beginning. By the end of the interview, O'Reilly said he found Gross' line of questioning objectionable and hostile. He walked out of the interview, but not before he accused Gross of conducting the interview "in attack mode" and "full of typical NPR liberal bias." He also told her to "find another line of work."
October 15, 2003
Layout-o-Matic
Select a CSS layout type, width, and other options at Inknoise's Layout-o-Matic (in the spirit of List-o-Matic). "We've already been through the pain of making our layouts cross-browser compatible, so you don't have to!" [via Zeldman]
October 14, 2003
Eat Like A Pro
Dine on Wednesdays. Order like a chef. Bribe properly. Chat up your waiter. Avoid stupid menu tricks. Chicago Tribune food critic Phil Vettel tells how to make the most of your restaurant experience.
October 13, 2003
VoIP
High-quality phone calls over the Internet without having to pay a penny? Voice over IP is "going to change everything" according to this NY Times article. Anyone out there have any personal experiences with VoIP to share?
October 10, 2003
Dustiny
"A master motivator turns around lovable losers" (Chicago Tribune) discusses Cubs' manager Dusty Baker's emotional intelligence -- "a potent blend of self-awareness, social skills and empathy that allows him to motivate just about anybody." [via Jack Vinson]
Baker developed a style he likens to that of be-bop icon Miles Davis, who let his soloists move in and out seamlessly as Miles himself directed from the background..."He's the boss, so he can blow any time he wants to, right? But he doesn't push that weight around," Baker said. "He lets other people grow -- he lets 'em be a man. (He gets his solos too.) But he isn't rude and intrusive about it."
Add Your Own (now including Chicago)
Our friend Mark Hurst recently launched Addyourown -- a fast, easy and free way for people to find restaurants. What started out as a New York-only venture has spread to San Francisco and now Chicago. Give 'em a hand by adding some of your own restaurant reviews (or comment on someone else's).
October 09, 2003
Get Addicted
The Reflex Tester. My high, so far, is 0.284 with no cheating/guessing. Yours?
October 08, 2003
Onion Curse?
The Sports Illustrated cover jinx is one thing, but did you see who wrote a column for the Onion last week?
Did you enjoy the white tigers? Most people love the white lions and the white tigers. Siegfried and I often fight over which of us should get the spotlight, but in the end, the star of the show is always the cats. Everyone assumes that they work for us, but it's more the other way around! Luckily, I've always had a great rapport with those beautiful creatures.
Weird. Even stranger, the Onion apparently pulled the piece from its site after the incident. The Onion as arbiter of what's tasteful?
October 07, 2003
Esquire's Best
Five of the best stories Esquire has ever published.
A clear half dozen or so pieces did emerge, though, that seemed to possess the best combination of literary style and exacting reportage, timely urgency and enduring relevance, indelible impact on journalism and the world at large. Each of them could easily be declared, without fear of overstatement, the best Esquire story ever published.
Hillary Clinton Running For President in 2004?
CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM - Office Sought: President, Election Year: 2004. (Scoop via: Rense)
October 06, 2003
Namestorm
Direction, Focused, Manageable, Cover, Forward, Whiteboard, Flexible, Trajectory, Item, Milestone, Adapt, Central, Home, Steer, Grow, Organized, Umbrella, Safe, Project, Seed, Hub, North Star, Launch, Graze, Base, Simplify, Lens, Constellation, Review, Steady, Magnet, Group, Method, Order, Contribute, Direction, Spark, Bright, Track, Path, Spring, Horizon
Upcoming 37signals Public Speaking Engagements
Matt Linderman will be speaking at:
[10/21/03] forUSE: Second International Conference on Usage-Centered Design (Portsmouth, NH)
Jason Fried will be speaking at:
[11/22/03] NIU & AIGA Design Carnival (DeKalb, IL)
[12/10/03] Ragan Web Content Management Conference -- use discount code "310JF" and save $100 (Chicago, IL)
[01/28/04] CHI Squared, DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
Would you like us to speak at your company, conference, or event? Send us an email at talk [@] 37signals.com.
October 02, 2003
The Pixel Business
I just love this pixellated knock-off of traditional business-friendly stock imagery. Especially these classics: The multicultural handshake, the 15 minute break, and on the lookout for the get away car.
Mailinator
With Mailinator, you can avoid giving out your real email address when you are afraid of getting spammed. Instead, make up any address @mailinator.com on the spot and go check it later. The FAQ page may give you a chuckle as well.
Q: So Mailinator solves the Spam problem? A: Heck no. If it solved the spam problem it would probably be called IBMinator or MICROSOFTinator or something even catchier cuz we would have sold it and we'd be zillionaires off pursuing our real dream of helping nice people like Dr. Bahutu of Nigeria who keeps emailing us asking for our help transferring some funds...
Q: This sounds pretty insecure. What if I send important emails with sensitive super-secret information in them to mailinator? A: Then you are a stupid-head. That isn't what this is for.