Coda 2 & Diet Coda

Tomorrow, Panic Software will release Coda 2 and Diet Coda. This is kind of a big software launch for Mac/iPad folks who make websites. Be sure to purchase them tomorrow, because they will be 50% off that day only. In the meantime, take a look at Panic’s excellent HTML5 demo videos.

The Utrecht Traffic Garden

The Utrecht Traffic Garden: where Dutch children go to learn how pedestrians, bikes, and cars can all get along in harmony. Why teach them these skills so early? Because children in the Netherlands are expected to ride their bikes miles to school every day by age 12. It’s funny how old technology, over time, can become progressive again. Most people in the US don’t think it is even possible for these three modes of transportation to coincide peacefully.

(Via The Atlantic Cities.)

The Circle Is Now Complete

The Incomparable podcast has finally finished its epic, six-episode-long commentary of the Star Wars trilogy. Filled with smart, funny, geeky, informative, and nostalgia-inducing banter, these are the in-depth Star Wars commentaries I always wanted. May the force be with you:

• Star Wars Part 1: I Like My Coffee Like My Evil Sith Lords
• Star Wars Part 2: Death Star University
• The Empire Strikes Back Part 1: Darth Vader’s Office is Really Weird
• The Empire Strikes Back Part 2: Jedi Weekend
• Return of the Jedi Part 1: Skywalker’s Eleven
• Return of the Jedi Part 2: Also Known as Endor

There Are Two Tragedies In Life

Merlin Mann being brilliant as always in episode #66 of Back to Work:

Now you don’t have the excuse of not having gotten what you wanted.

Wanting things is nice. Things are neat: jobs, spouses, children, cars, houses, trinkets, etc. But sometimes they make lives worse. Much worse. If you’ve finally gotten that thing you always wanted, what excuse is there when things don’t go right? When everything is still wrong somehow? There remains no excuse. Nothing to blame. No safety net. George Bernard Shaw put it best in his play Man and Superman:

There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.

Or You Can Do It Right

In the latest episode of Mad Men, Don Draper listens to Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles. The cost of that moment? Around $250,000. I like this take by Jeff Bercovici at Forbes:

You can do it on the cheap, or you can do it right.

One Year Without Internet

Starting out for most as a curiosity in the 1990s, the internet has proceeded to quietly spread into every crevice of our lives. Things that used to require a phone call, a letter, a trip in the car, a visit to the library, or even a business trip can now easily be accomplished online. The internet also allows digital distribution of media that used to require physical objects: books, comics, magazines, newspapers, brochures, phone books, catalogs, maps, photographs, music, television, movies, and video games. Much of our social interaction now takes online as well via text messages¹ and various social media utilities. The internet means connection: not just to distant people, but to media and the world’s information. The internet surrounds us like the air we breathe, and is often just as invisible.

Starting today, Paul Miller at The Verge is renouncing the internet—and everything that comes with it—for a year:

I’m not leaving The Verge, and I’m not becoming a hermit, I just won’t use the internet in my personal or work life, and won’t ask anyone to use it for me.

As to why he would want to do such a thing:

I want to see the internet at a distance. By separating myself from the constant connectivity, I can see which aspects are truly valuable, which are distractions for me, and which parts are corrupting my very soul. What I worry is that I’m so “adept” at the internet that I’ve found ways to fill every crevice of my life with it, and I’m pretty sure the internet has invaded some places where it doesn’t belong.

These are good intentions, and I am anxious to read his entries as he documents the pluses and minuses of life without the internet. The situation as a whole is a bit strange, however. The Verge is a website that thrives on web page views, and Paul’s endeavor was surely green-lit because his posts would create publicity, drive more page views, and create advertising revenue. Not to imply that his intentions are less than pure, but in a way this experiment of Paul’s will actually encourage people to use the internet more. If someone wants to read about his experiences, after all, they have to visit The Verge’s website.

While the whole thing is all a little ironic, I commend Paul Miller for even attempting such a thing. Especially given his lifestyle, career, and location.² I have some of the same concerns he has about the internet’s effect on our lives, and hope to learn from his experiences. I can’t wait to see what happens.

1. I would argue that text messaging is an internet technology, despite being tied to cell phones for years. It is too similar to instant messaging to be thought of as distinct, therefore I now lump the two together.
2. New York City.

Digital Rights Management Is A Religion

John Gruber on DRM:

DRM is a religion for old-growth media executives.

This is an interesting statement. If by “religion” he means “ritualistic set of laws that, if kept, will lead to salvation”, I would agree. These people think being strict about using DRM will save them. They actually think it is possible to plug all the holes and stop piracy. Instead, DRM is the very thing driving people towards piracy, not away from it. What Gruber actually means, however:

Their belief in DRM is a matter of faith, not logic.

But I would posit the opposite: belief in no DRM is a matter of faith. Faith in people. Not logic.

Web Pages That Suck

I like the idea of highlighting web pages that have bad design. It is incredibly useful for a designer to see what not to do. For example, one can discuss the idea of mystery meat navigation all day, but seeing and using real-world examples is essential. Mere theoretical discussion can’t mimic the frustration incurred from using something poorly designed. Web Pages That Suck is a great resource for experiencing the worst design the web has to offer. The Daily Sucker page is especially helpful, because the examples provided are recent-enough to still be around.

The ironic thing is the Web Pages That Suck site itself has plenty of bad design. I haven’t figured out if this is intentional irony or not.

Images Of False Beauty

Probably my favorite billboard. Ever.

Bashing Stuff With Rocks

Eevee at Fuzzy Notepad has posted an epic rant about PHP:

Do not tell me that “good developers can write good code in any language”, or bad developers blah blah. That doesn’t mean anything. A good carpenter can drive in a nail with either a rock or a hammer, but how many carpenters do you see bashing stuff with rocks? Part of what makes a good developer is the ability to choose the tools that work best.

Until now, I was was thinking about learning PHP to bolster my web development skills. Glad I didn’t do that to myself.

(Via Marco Arment.)

The State Of iTunes

Jason Snell at Macworld on the state of iTunes:

The program should be simpler. It might be better off being split into separate apps, one devoted to device syncing, one devoted to media playback. (And perhaps the iTunes Store could be broken out separately too? When Apple introduced the Mac App Store, it didn’t roll it into iTunes, but gave it its own app.)

The iTunes we’ve all come to know has had a good run, but it’s reached the point where it is a crazy agglomeration of features and functionality. If someone were to design it today, it wouldn’t remotely resemble its current state.

I completely agree. iTunes is the most Microsoft-esque piece of software Apple continues to maintain. iTunes is all about bloat. Too many features and too much functionality crammed into one application. What I would like to see is separate apps. The Mac App Store is a start.

Another thing I would add is how the store aspect of iTunes and the App Store works. These are essentially web pages, but for some reason they always take longer to load than normal web pages. Noticeably longer. What gives?

Inside Apple Headquarters

Apple Gazette has cobbled together a few dozen photos taken inside Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. Even though I only worked on the retail side of things, I was privileged enough to get to see most of these sights myself.