DISQUS

Congratulations on all you've done in such a short time. It takes big thinkers and even bigger doers to push things forward. Kudos, and see you in Orlando!

Congrats to everyone that reads the rumor blogs (at this point we even know the name - MacBook Air of the new tiny laptop). Here's one out of left-field for you:

iWeb will die. They will literally take the people who develop and market it to a field and will watch via CC cameras as they go all Casino on them. Seriously that app is as bad as any Apple has ever created. Maybe not a predication, let's call this one a dream.

Leopard will support wireless - the second-best bit of news will be the 10.5 updates needed to support all the magic they release will also fix wireless bugs in Leopard. Call it collateral improvements that benefit the masses.

Ok, ok now positive stuff - there will certainly be a new notebook form-factor, there will be some 'consumer-y' device and improvements to Apple TV. I think there will be a new application or enhancement to an existing application that will change the game in some fashion. Hardware will get the immediate accolades, but my gut says some software bit will be the true story.

Jake, I would say this equation works for most people/positions that look to engage new challenges and make real change. There are definitely cases of people staying in a position for decades and effecting real change and doing great work, but I would say in general the lure of new challenges and new opportunities will pull the best and brightest out into the daylight every 4-6 years. Just enough time to get up and running but not become burnt-out.

This goes for corporate partnerships/sub-contracting as well. When you sign a deal to be a partner you are assuming the other company's reputation and ability to execute. If they fail a customer you share you fail as well.

"Your internal org chart...means nothing to me" So very, very true.

While the blogging from Burma has gotten media play, I struggle to see how it's made a positive impact on the people there. People are talking about it, but to what end? The same goes for Darfur where there has been significant strife for over four years, yet little has happened to ease the humanitarian crisis there. Information is great but is it bringing about action?

"So? What are you doing to change the world today?"

Buying Apple products. Does that count?

Jake, speaking of cool offices/workspaces, checkout my collection (117 thus far):

http://www.crawlspacemedia.com/office_pics/

With all due respect Matthew I think you've missed the point. The iPhone is not for techies, it's for everyone else. It's truly designed for people who don't care about 3G or bluetooth modems or 30k apps. It's for people who want to open the box, plug it in and go. For people who want to check on movie times and google maps, read the news or view feeds. Sure, over time there will be more that it will do...but the elegance, the value is in the omission not the addition.


Jake, I'm guessing you may be waiting a long long time for that price...like any Apple product they tend to find a price point and stick to it, upgrading within those limits and not reducing the cost. So you'll see more/better/shinier before you see cheaper.

I'd hit up Carl at ngenworks.com in Jacksonville and just have a chat...

Colin, thanks so much! Really appreciate it.

I'd love an invite? Any chance?

Like I said earlier this week, it's not why I'm leaving Florida, but it's certainly a positive. Tough to trade the beaches and sun, but whirling death isn't as cool as it looks on teevee.

You need to polish up those icons for NNW.

NNW Icons

Wow, what is this? Your enthusiasm is admirable, but your misguided anger is not. You really seem to have very little understanding of what real, large-scale design is. Design is not just pretty pictures! It's not just coolness, it's not slick CSS tricks. It's understanding who's using the thing you're building and who's paying for the thing you're building. I walk the line everyday between how aesthetically pleasing a product can be and how people will use that product. If we asked developers to devote the majority of their time to the "aesthetics" and changing whims of branding and marketing they would have no time to spend on functionality. I battle every minute of my work day to balance how we effect change that's pleasing to the user and that serves their needs. But I have the perspective to understand how that balance works, in a software setting where people are paying money to USE what I design. You really should take a look at the work of usability/user experience design consultancies out there, and focus less on their websites, but on products they've been paid to create.



How dare you assume that usability folks are anti-design. Design is what we do. Our focus just goes beyond CSS and pretty graphics (not that we discount them) we just understand the balance that is required to serve our users; not ourselves. I am proudly a usability engineer & visual designer.

Excellent post and excellent comment by eric as well. I sat and looked at that last sentence for a bit and felt an ominous sense of urgency. I am perplexed about the division people find between usability and design, I feel the two are vital to one another's success. Aesthetics play a pivotal role in user perception of quality and effectiveness and as such cannot be neglected in the design of quality software.



But do weblogs really need to be user-accepted and held to some high software standard? Not at all! For many people, blogs are their sole creative outlet or at a minimum their playground. Is it important to have your text legible, yes. Is it important to have blue links on a white background, absolutely not. I think some people bash design because they aren't good at it or not willing to invest the time. But there are also people who would rather spend the time designing and trying new things then concetrate on their petty weblog listing rank. Who cares!?