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A few of this week’s 37signals staff posts at Twitter.

@uptonic: “XML is like violence – if it doesn’t solve your problems, you are not using enough of it.” –Nokogiri.org

@rjs: A programmer at 37 just surprised us with one of the freshest UIs I’ve seen in a long while.

@jamis: Called the Apple Store. “Sure we have that battery!” Walked 1 mile to Apple Store. “Battery? What?” And then it rained.

@JZ: Neat idea: dingbat fonts for web icons using font-embedding techniques. http://pictos.drewwilson.com/

@kiranmaxweber: As expected, the @goincase Slider Case for iPhone 4 is perfect. Highly recommended. http://bit.ly/bHhm51

@mattlinderman: Some cool vaseline-on-the-lens shots at “Four Fun and Easy Ways to Make Your Photos Look Vintage” http://bit.ly/auQ5Jj

@rjs: Summertime tip: Two shots from the Nespresso machine, sugar, ice, martini shaker, and a lowball glass. Perfect.

@sstephenson: AmEx’s customer service is worth the cost of admission. Just called about a fraudulent charge from July; they’re overnighting me a new card.

@jamis: Does Rite-Aid’s “with us, it’s personal” slogan strike anyone else as vaguely sinister?

@jasonfried: Audi’s Haptics Team focuses on sensory experiences: http://audiworld.com/news/10/sensory

@jasonfried: BusinessWeek 2001: “Sorry Steve, Here’s why Apple Stores Won’t Work”: http://bit.ly/Z2uNK

Some recent posts at the 37signals Product Blog:

Highrise
Migrating contacts from another CRM app into Highrise
Bill Kobrin recently migrated 5,922 contact records from another CRM app into Highrise. At Highrise Answers, he explains the step-by-step process he used to first export a .csv file and then import it into Highrise.

Inside Hospitality uses Highrise to help restaurants deliver a better guest experience
“Highrise is our daily life line and keeps everyone in the company on the same page. It lets everyone know instantly what was said last, to whom and what needs to happen next. We also love how all the company’s information as well as all contacts are all on the same page. Seriously, how could things be easier?”

Basecamp
TrackRecord is a simple time monitoring app for Mac OS X that interfaces directly with Basecamp
TrackRecord is a new time monitoring app for Mac OS X that integrates with Basecamp. Features include: idle time tracking, time filtering, timer log, collapsable project view, and drag-and-drop support.

Chicago Tribune article discusses how Basecamp and other software can make telecommuting easier for companies and employees
“A shift toward working from home” is a Chicago Tribune article that discusses how software can make telecommuting easier for companies and employees.

Video shows how to add To-Do List Templates in Basecamp
Andy Traub created a video that shows how to add To-Do List templates in Basecamp.

Gcamp offers a way to interface with Basecamp from your Google Apps Gmail interface
From the Google Apps Marketplace: Gcamp connects Google Apps Gmail and Basecamp to allow you to add a to-do item, to-do list, or post a message to Basecamp directly from an email message. It’s a free app.

GetResponse uses Basecamp to bring international teams closer together
“I’d say the to-do-lists, milestone and time-tracking features are the most mission critical for us though. As a leading email service provider, we need to deliver quality-tested, easy-to-use solutions on time. Basecamp gives us the ability to make our deadlines, knowing that everyone knows the role they play – that everyone plays − so we’re always on the same page. It really allows teamwork to happen.”

Article details how entrepreneurs use Basecamp and other tools to run an office-less business
“It’s very inexpensive and even the clients love it, because once the administrator has subscribed, any individual or business — clients, vendors, employees — can simply join in without a need of downloading.”

Draft
PC World: “37signals’s Draft Brings Sketching, Collaboration to iPad”
PC World offers up a quick review of Draft.

Backpack
How to subscribe to a Google Calendar in Backpack
To subscribe to a Google Calendar in Backpack Calendar, here’s what you’ll need to do (this is now a slightly different process due to recent changes at Google Calendar).

WSJ: Backpack helps small businesses, agencies and entrepreneurs
“Backpack helps small businesses, agencies and entrepreneurs keep and track to-do lists, notes and other documents, discussions and schedules all in one spot.”

Multiple products
Startup toolbox includes Basecamp and Highrise
“I’ve spent a bunch of time trying to put together the right “toolbox” for our start up, and have shared it below in the hopes this will help all you would be starter uppers out there.”

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The consensus: The new digs are sweet. Plus, it’s got a table that actually fits us all! [photo by SH]

A few of this week’s 37signals staff posts at Twitter.

jsierles: Just completed the lengthy but educational 37signals server move to ServerCentral. Thanks for some great years of service, @Rackspace!

uptonic: The new Squarespace iPhone app has a great aesthetic: http://bit.ly/cmuHBy /via @jz

jasonfried: SoundPrism for iPad looks incredible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=385CymvTecU

37signals: 37signals Developerland has the all info you need to integrate your applications with 37signals products: http://developer.37signals.com

sh: Vote! Customer Service awesomeness panel by 37signals and Campaign Monitor. Mr. Pibb + red vines. http://tinyurl.com/2anslv7

JZ: Photo: Panasonic : Earphone Note Great packaging concept and execution. http://tumblr.com/xqhfkspzz

sstephenson: Stay looks handy for switching between internal and external displays: http://cordlessdog.com/stay/

Continued…

A few of this week’s 37signals staff posts at Twitter.

dhh: Just saw an old piece of ascii art for my old mid-90’s Amiga BBC Electronic Confusion: http://yfrog.com/hqjz6p – those were the days

sstephenson: Apple’s battery charger is diminutive next to the competition: http://twitpic.com/2blt5x

sh: People in my personal life don’t seem to realize: I email all. Day. Long. The last thing a plumber wants to do after work is fix a toilet.

mattlinderman: Timelessness in graphic design: An in-depth examination of decades of National Geographic magazine design. http://bit.ly/9QrlR9

jasonfried: The administrator-to-student ratio at major universities has doubled since 1976: http://bit.ly/bGGcX2

kiranmaxweber: Any time spent in @textexpander is time well spent.

uptonic: Decision time: Are you chilling or relaxing? Pick one and stick with it.

jasonfried: Jazz lovers – check out the great selection of streams at jazzradio.com: http://www.jazzradio.com

jamis: illustrating is so, so much harder than programming. But I’m learning a ton.

dhh: Someone did a video application for our iOS position. Just a quick web cam presentation of themselves and an app. Great way to differentiate

longstride: my BIG news!! RT @@37signals: Please welcome with us our new support ninja, @longstride! Today’s his first day!

mattlinderman: Back in the 70s, after 2 decades of cool temps, “Global Cooling” theory received attention in Time & Newsweek. http://bit.ly/r74xi

joshpeek: I respect @github’s attitude towards new feature requests. http://bit.ly/ax20HM Product design is not a popularity contest.

Big Think Interview With David Heinemeier Hansson:

Some of the questions asked:
What inspired you to create Rails?
Ruby on Rails lowers the technical expertise necessary to create a web application; is expertise becoming less critical?
How simple can things get in terms of programming?
Do you think any company can dominate the Web the way Microsoft dominated computers circa 1992?
What do you make of Apple’s mandate that all apps for iOS devices be written in specific languages?

There’s a transcript of the interview available and this summary (excerpted below) offers links to specific parts of the video.

Hannson also talked about the highly anticipated release of Rails 3, saying they’re “incredibly close” to unveiling it. And he admitted to us that he feels “let down personally” by Apple’s choice to restrict what programming languages can be used for smart phone apps. It was an “insecure move,” which Hansson finds strange because Apple is “winning on their merits.” It’s another case of absolute power corrupting absolutely, just like with Microsoft in the 90s, even though now Microsoft is “irrelevant” to Hansson.

Read the rest of the summary.

We’re excited to welcome Jason Rehmus to the support team at 37signals!

Jason (“JR”) joins Sarah, Michael and Kiran to make sure potential customers, current customers and loyal customers are happier every time they talk to us. Adding a fourth person to support, gives us the breathing room that’s going to be required to move support forward. Our design, programming and operations are revered – it will take time, but support is next in line.

Jason continued the 37signals signals tradition with a unique job application at 37signalsNeedsAnotherJason.com – NOTE: We do not. ;) – similar to the ones created by Jason Zimdars, Craig and John. Jason first applied to a support position with 37signals in 2007 and impressed us with every email, call and in person meeting. Jason really loves helping people.

Please join us in welcoming Jason!

A few of this week’s 37signals staff posts at Twitter.

@asianmack: Great view on popular cameras used on Flickr. Surprised they don’t tie commerce to this. http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

@jsierles: Have you hugged your sysadmin lately? http://www.sysadminday.com

@jasonfried: Airlines: Make it easy to share an itinerary before it’s booked. Would make it easier to book a flight for someone.

@rjs: Coudal is so good http://www.coudal.com/monona/

@jasonfried: My one-hour video interview with Big Think for the HP Input|Output series is now online: http://bit.ly/csvBCt

@dhh: If you can’t make money off 30 million units sold, you’re doing it wrong. LG posts Q2 loss: http://bit.ly/aE3×6i

@dhh: We’ve crossed another milestone for Rails development. More than 1,600 people had at least one patch accepted: http://bit.ly/OFVfJ

@rjs: Dan Benjamin’s “The Pipeline” interview with Adam Lisagor is worth listening to http://5by5.tv/pipeline/22

@jasonfried: Create your own handwriting font in 5 minutes on the iPad with iFontMaker: http://2ttf.com

@mattlinderman: Interesting: About 70% of Groupon’s customer service reps are connected to the local theater scene. http://bit.ly/9I9Al8

Some recent posts at the 37signals Product Blog:

Campfire
Introducing Campfire for iPhone
Ember officially became 37signals Campfire for iPhone (iTunes App Store link). As an added bonus, we’ve dropped the price from $9.99 to $0.00. Campfire for iPhone is free!

Draft
Draft for iPad updated to version 1.0.1
Draft, our iPad app that lets you quickly-sketch-and-share via email or Campfire, has been updated to 1.0.1. The update is now available in the App Store. Included in this update is: Unlimited undo, Unlimited redo, Save a sketch to your photoroll (Share button), and Save a sketch to the clipboard (Share button).

Basecamp
New in Basecamp: Custom favicon and iPhone icons
Basecamp now has a favicon and iPhone icon (shown at right) that you can customize with your own logo. A favicon (short for favorites icon) is the tiny graphic you see in your web browser next to the URL in the address bar on many popular websites.

How Para Plan Plus uses Basecamp to save money, keep data safe, and reduce administrative pressure
“The back-up and main ten ance of the serv ers for Base camp were far better than any thing that we could have afforded ourselves, and it meant we didn’t need the space for a server in our own offices any more. That meant we could almost entirely cut out IT hard ware and main ten ance costs and actu ally gain more reli­able tech no logy. We’ve prob ably saved as much as £15,000 over the past three years as a result.”

Mimecast uses Basecamp to “save considerable time and money over classic project management tools”
“Today Basecamp is used by Mimecast to coordinate and control external and internal projects – from simple archive migrations through to more complex large scale deployments for our customers. The range of tools available in one place, and allowing our customers to login and view or edit their own project is a huge bonus.”

“Basecamp is how Peer Pressure Creative gets business done”
“Basecamp helped Peer Pressure Creative deliver a strong open line of communication during the build of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open website. The project consisted of 8 Women’s Open representatives who were involved in the build and our team. Needless to say, basecamp made our lives (and our inboxes) much happier by having everything all in one place. Keeping track with milestones, to-do’s, and time tracking made all the difference in this project.”

Continued…