Just another WordPress weblog
Mike Gowen from the team behind Tick, an online time tracking application, will be doing a short presentation followed by a Q&A with fellow Refreshers. So, go on over and check out the application and if you have any questions about building, designing or launching a web based application, come out to the meetup and join the discussion. Visit the Refresh Miami site for more details and information.
It’s interesting to see how the command line is re-manifesting itself these days on the web.
YubNub
I believe YubNub was one of the earliest web applications to use command line functions. It works in conjunction with Google, allowing you to input combinations of words to either execute commands, you can even create new commands.
AIM Bots
With AIM bots you can retrieve information by writing conversational type lines of text.
Google Advanced Search & Operators
Google enables you to mix and add certain characters into their search field to perform specific functions.
Stikkit
Stikkit is a new application that I posted about recently. It uses keywords to categorize and classify the notes you write.
Quicksilver
Any mac geek is familiar with Quicksilver. It would be wrong to label this application as just a launcher because it really does so much more.
Twitter
Twitter uses certainkeywords in what they call “lingo” to perform specific commands.
Miami is fortunate enough to be hosting this year’s We Media conference and although I have never attended, the past topics and speakers have been interesting.
The conference will be running February 8-9 at the Storer Auditorium at the University of Miami. With this conference and with the recent involvement with Refresh Miami it’s nice to see the folks from UM reaching out and doing cool things.
If you’d like to register or get some more information please click over to their site to get the details.
Metalink is a project created by a good friend Anthony Bryan that I have been trying to find time lately to work on. I could easily make the claim as I did in the title of this post, but I really believe it.
It can be a little hard to explain what exactly Metalink is and does, Linux.com recently wrote an article that explained the process well, so I’ll steal from their description and just say that Metalink is an open source framework that any piece of software can use to greatly increase the speed of which they download files from the web.
Right now Anthony is trying to evangelize the idea and trying to increase adoption of the framework in various applications. I will be trying to help him communicate his ideas visually, which means working on Metalink’s identity, web site and some information graphics along the way.
As I work on the project more I’ll be posting along the way to try and document the whole process.
It’s no secret that the newspaper as a format is dying. Circulations of major newspapers are dropping all over the country… quickly. I’d like to pose the question, “Can newspapers borrow ideas or concepts from the web in order to revive the format?”
Maybe newspapers could run “premium” articles inside the paper for a week and throw teasers up on the site. If a reader on the site is interested in reading the rest of the article they can they can pick up the paper and for at least 7 days, have the chance to read the rest of the article or run free classifieds and target ads within the listings that would run longer and provide more value for the cost.
I could be way off on this post, because admittedly I’m not a regular reader of my local paper, but it just seems that newspapers need to do more than the occasional redesign and start coming up with big changes to the format to revive circulation.
I have to admit that I’m getting a little over web apps these days, there are just too many popping up to keep up with and so when I saw posts about Stikkit appear in my feed reader this morning I didn’t pay much attention. As I saw the name appear across many of the feeds that I read I decided to check it out out of sheer curiousity and I’m glad I did.
If you want to read more in depth reviews on Stikkit you can go here
I just want to add that Stikkit’s UI is beautiful. As a designer, the first thing I look for when playing with a new web application is the design and Stikkit doesn’t disappoint. It really does say a lot when you see a site or application that has been designed beautifully, it tells you that the people running the show actually care and that’s big in my opinion, it also just makes the whole experience of using the application fun and enjoyable.
Stikkit is way more than a simple notepad for the web, it combines bookmarks, notes, to-do’s and calendar all in one. Now I currently use a variety of services for all of these funcitions, but Stikkit is the first “all-in-one” application I would actually consider using full time if they continue to develop the product. I’ve always really wanted this type of “all-in-one” type service but past attempts that I’ve used just really didn’t execute things properly.
Definetly check this application out. It’s funny, every time I read or talk about Starbucks I come to find out that most people either love or hate the coffee chain. If you live in a city with good coffee shops readily available to you, you tend to believe Starbucks is the evil giant moving in and pushing out the little guy. If you live in the suburbs, every time a new Starbucks pops up you rejoice and diverge into thoughts and discussion about how you wish one would be built closer to you.
It’s interesting to see how different opinions are manufactured based on the many variables in a person’s life and in this case it tends to be location.
Anyone interested in screen printed posters or poster art in general, should head down to this exhibit at the ArtCenter on Miami Beach. The show runs up until the 19th of November. If you can’t make it out to Flatstock this is a good chance to see some of the great work and artists that have been represented there, including Orlando’s Jeff Matz, who did the artwork for Lakota’s Hope For The Haunted CD.
“Fast paced environment”, “Salary based on experience”, “Cutting edge agency”
Why does every job listing description have to contain so much static? I often wonder why people can’t just be real, tell us what position you’re exactly looking for, what your budget is and what kind of experience you’re really looking for.
I’ve been on the other side and I understand that people in HR or managers want to protect themselves, if potential employees know you have a large budget for the position they’re going to demand a higher salary, but it just seems that if we all just got a little more “real” we’d save ourselves some time and money in the end.
It’s just typical, every company is looking for the most amount of talent for the least amount of money, but that does pay off in the end, when your designer or developer isn’t happy.