Continued redesign struggles
Check out my recent efforts. I’m not quite happy yet, but i really need to get a new design out of the door, can’t stand the old one anymore. The design is still not browsable, so don’t wonder when you click a link and the current design comes up.
Two reasons why i want to switch to mac
First, i don’t wanna wait till 2006 (or even later) to get a possibly decent, possibly good, possibly awkward new os. Windows xp keeps annoying me, i can barely stand it anymore.
Second, if this is what microsoft considers aesthetic ui-design, i refuse to continue using windows. What’s the purpose of this screen layout, minimizing usable screen space, while trying to attract 5-year-olds on their way into windows-wizard-hell? The sidebar on the righthand side of the screen is the most ridiculous (and possibly annoying) thing i’ve seen in a long time. Does that clock give anymore information than the current design? Don’t think so. Watching tiny thumbnails in a sidebar? No killer application, not even useful, imho. Looks like they cram anything in there because they don’t really know yet what it’s good for.
I know that aero and avalon (which impressed marc canter quite a lot) are most likely far from being finished, but this is not about ui technology, but ui design and ui aesthetics. In the windows world currently both aesthetics and design suck and it doesn’t look like things are about to change.
For more not-so-promising screenshots of longhorn, look here.
Update: Look at that "save as" dialogue, it’s about 4 times bigger than the old one without increasing functionality! More horrifying screenshots here (scroll down a bit for the photo galleries section). I really have to escape this!
Anybody really wants this?
Boingboing: " ‘Hello’ simulates the experience of sitting down on the couch with a friend and showing them your photo album."
This resembles my worst nightmares.
Dell DJs battery life
I didn’t read this review yet (i’ll catch up tomorrow), but the fact that this little sucker keeps running for some stunning 16 hours according to specs (with the review claiming it kept running for almost 23 hours!) impressed me. I hope apple will get some pressure to increase battery life in the next ipod revision. On the other hand, with its massive weight of 7.61 oz (vs. 5.6 oz) it can sure hold a battery many times bigger than the ipod. If i had to choose between weight vs. battery life, i’d go with the lightweight, aside from the dell dj looking awkward, not just compared to the ipod, but any hdd mp3 player out there. (via gizmodo)
Sorry for the downtime
My provider suffered from a hacker attack yesterday and therefor my site went down for some hours.
iBook temptations
I just finished writing this post when i accidentaly closed the browser – sometimes i hate tabbed browsing in firebird. It was a fairly good post and i don’t think i’ll be able to rewrite it in all its glory, but i’ll try.
As most of you surely already know, apple released new ibooks with g4 processors and some other nice refinements today.
A while back i told a friend who switched to apple about ten months ago, that i would follow his lead as soon as apple either updates its powerbook line to g5 or its ibook line to g4. Now i’m taken by surprise that the latter happened today.
I think that apple did a surprisingly good job with this update, they crammed anything in i wanted: i hoped for built in bluetooth, and now it’s a bto-option; i expected usb 2.0, and it’s integrated; i waited for g4 processors in the ibook, and here they are. However, i still hesitate to buy one.
One of the reasons for this is that i bought my current notebook just about a year ago and i think it’s too early to buy a new one, even though i could easily justify the purchase to myself, because my current laptop fails miserably at the task i demand to be fulfilled above all others: to run mac os x.
Another reason is that, although i consider the new 12" ibook a pretty good deal, i don’t really have the money to afford one, because along with the ibook i’d need a host of peripherals.
A 12" display doesn’t cut it as a serious workspace, so i’d need at least a 17" tft-display, or even better a 19" one. Along with the display comes a new keyboard, because the ibook wouldn’t rest in front of me on my desk when attached to an external monitor. Not to forget a new cellphone and speakers because my current ones don’t really match the style of the ibook. I’m just glad i already got the (of course) also essential ipod, what else would itunes be good for without?
Looks like i’ll have to wait for the next revision…
Kill Bill
Actually i didn’t intend to comment on the movie, there are too many others who have already, but i can’t get it out of my head and i feel that i should mention here in this public place that i absolutely loved it. Go and see it.
Just returned from Takeshi Kitanos "Zatoichi"
I just saw takeshi kitanos zatoichi. It’s been screened here in vienna as part of the viennale, the vienna international film festival. I was quite lucky to get some tickets for the movie, as there’ll be only two screenings during the festival (the one today and one tomorrow) and there’s been a pretty long waiting line.
I really liked the movie, it’s perhaps the best film by takeshi kitano i’ve seen yet. I tend not to think about movies too much, but rather to just enjoy them, and i really enjoyed this one. It’s calm, humorous, gripping and highly entertaining. Highly recommended, not just to kitano fans, but everyone.
Trying out iTunes for Windows
I love it. Go and get it.
iPod recording and photo storage device
Gonna get the recording thingy! Go and follow ipodlounges or macrumors live coverage!
Update: itunes for windows just announced!
Update: more live coverage: ipoding
