Arranged Delirium

Common Fonts

2010-03-02T17:01:50Z

As students in web design work with CSS for basic formatting, this list of common fonts for Windows and Mac should come in handy. You are always best served by using fonts common to both platforms…

HTML 5

2010-02-23T10:26:13Z

In web development I’ve been explaining the differences between HTML, XHTML, XML and CSS - along with what to use, etc. Of course the future question will be when to implement HTML 5. Here’s some super-basic information about it. The question of whether to use HTML 5 though is one these students will have to answer in a few years, once the specs are finalized and support is more broad-based…

Leaving Facebook

2010-02-22T13:33:25Z

I’ve been telling myself to leave Facebook for months now. I never have time to log one - maybe once a month - and I have these feelings of selfishness as a result: like I’m not giving anything back to my community of friends. You see, I might log in monthly to see what folks are doing; but I never really update my profile or offer anything in return. So, it feels like another thing I need to get to, and never really can (i.e. fail).

Sounds like a personal problem? I suppose, and it doesn’t really bother me, but I wonder if I need yet another online social responsibility? A simpler life is definitely what I’m after…

And I’m not the only one thinking such things. The Courier Post recently ran an article discussing the idea and the trend of leaving these online communities. Give it a read. What do you think?

PS: I can across Julian Smith’s 25 things I hate about Facebook again while reading, so I’m linking to it here:

Google Chrome

2010-02-19T14:58:23Z

I’ve been slow to the Google Chrome experience. Primarily, because I use web technology a lot which means that I need my primary browser to work very effectively and very reliably. Of course, I’m always testing out various flavors of browsers, but making a switch is typically a big deal for me.

I almost considered making the switch to Chrome, which is a fine browser, but in the end I decided to stick with Safari, because it simply works better for me. But I’m also a huge fan of Firefox - and typically, that is what I recommend to others. Flash and javascript issues have kept me with Safari.

But this post isn’t about that.

What I’m actually writing about are the privacy concerns that many have raised with the Chrome browser. In part because they are valid concerns that everyone should be thinking about as the cruise the web, but also because they tend to be issues that affect most browsers and not just Chrome. There’s a great article/thread at this blog, which lays out most of the basics (though the screen shots are out of date). Of course, if it is really a concern for you, there are always ways around it including running a version based on the open-source Chromium. But in the end, and given my recent frustration due to Google Buzz, I’ve decided to just avoid it. Without any compelling need for any specific feature, there’s really no reason to use it…

Google Buzz Analysis

2010-02-18T10:14:18Z

David Pogue has written a piece on Google Buzz. He refers to my earlier privacy concerns as “paranoia” which just clearly indicates that he doesn’t get it; but in his defense Google has already addressed most of the issues that infuriated me. (I’m still killing my Gmail account though.)

But Pogue does a very good job of articulating the myriad of problems regarding the service. Its worth reading…

Gmail Privacy Hassle

2010-02-17T16:40:30Z

I’ve been using Gmail since it was a private beta. It’s basically been my most heavily used email account aside from my college account. In those early days of Gmail there were a number of folks ranting about privacy concerns since Gmail effectively maintains an index of all your messages. I never really cared too much because I don’t really conduct a lot of private discourse via email and I didn’t think there was anything there that I cared about others accessing.

I’ve been annoyed though by Google Buzz. In part, I was annoyed because I didn’t even know about it - these “social features” were simply added to my Gmail account. One reason I didn’t know about though, is because I never check my Gmail account via a web browser - I just use a separate email client because I have multiple accounts I’m checking all the time and its easier to do in one place. My major criticism is with the Buzz features that are enabled by default. I think these significantly impinge upon my privacy, and I think it should be my choice to enter into the Buzz. In essence, before you could change your settings settings, someone could see the people you most frequently email (or chat with). I know I don’t really have any privacy on Facebook, but I’ve always thought of my email as relatively private. Secondly (and an annoyance more than a privacy concern), the overall noise generated by this tool is too great and simply creates more unnecessary information to cull through. Its useless like Twitter.

In Google’s defense, they have made some immediate changes - and fast. But I expect such amateur behavior from Facebook - not from Google. Google is smart enough to have known better before implementing. Here’s a decent article from Silicon Alley Insider that has been following the story as it develops. Here’s a link to an update that covers the changes Google has made. The timeline toward the ned is helpful in learning how the story developed.

So am I abandoning all Google services? No - there are still many Google tools that work for me. Nonetheless, Buzz makes my Gmail account one more thing that I need to worry about in terms of maintenance. So, Goodbye Gmail. I didn’t really need you anyway…

GameSalad

2010-02-16T09:33:33Z

As I continue to reflect on our computer game course from last month, I’ve also continued to work a bit with GameSalad a tool designed to help you develop iPhone games, without taking the time to program them exclusively with Objective-C. Conveniently, Creative Mac has recently published a short review.

In some ways, it similar to AppMakr and it’s ilk of programming assistants, but GameSalad is much more robust. Most of the tools like AppMakr, simply coalesce RSS feeds into one convenient tool and let you change up some text and add some images. I could easily make a SamFee app for the iPhone with AppMakr, but then again, why? GameSalad on the other hand, would actually let me make a decent game. Now, if I only had a creative idea…

Body Image

2010-02-14T21:24:27Z

As a follow up to my last post which referenced the V Magazine size issue, here is a link to a recent interview with Crystal Renn (the plus-size model featured) which ran recently in the New YorkTimes. If you continue on and search a bit online, you’ll find a good amount of interesting commentary regarding the issue of body image and how it is represented to us via media.

Thoughts on Photo Editing

2010-02-10T12:04:16Z

I think we’re finally starting to see some of the lash-back against some of the more extreme photo editing that was so prevalent during the mid-2000’s. You know what I mean: the cover or story images that looked like some kind of 3D game characters rather than photos of real people. The New York Time ran a story relatively recently entitled Smile and Say ‘No Photoshop’ - if you can’t access it, do a search and you can get around the NYT required registration. In many ways, there’s nothing new to this - photographers have been re-touching images for decades - but digital technology has made this easier, faster, and more pervasive. And given the prevalence of our media immersion in the modern era, I’d say that makes things a bit different than it was a few decades ago. Check out the comments form the article too, as I think it helps us understand how many different ways there are of thinking about this. It’s a good discussion topic for class!

And as a continuation of the discussion regarding body image, take a look at these comparison shots from models.com and V Magazine’s Size Issue. You can find a ton of information on this story with a quick search online…

XHTML Primer

2010-02-09T13:03:30Z

For those of you transitioning from old HTML knowledge to our work with XHTML in ITL 370 , you may find this Quick Primer on XHTML Markup to be a handy quick reference for translating what you already know into what we’ll be working with this term. Actually, I think its likely useful for folks learning it the first time too - at least as a reminder of some of the materials we’re going through here at the beginning of class…

Photoshop History

2010-02-08T22:11:27Z

As we begin Photoshop work in my New Media course, this MacWorld article outlining some of the application’s history is proving to be quite timely. I have a love/hate relationship with the software. I’ve been using it for nearly 20 years myself and it’s remarkably versatile and useful. But the pricing and availability of it at this point has me looking for alternatives for my classes. I suppose I love the software, but hate the Adobe business practices.

In any event, it’s always provided an excellent production platform for considering the various social and ethical implications for our current use of media. One of the more recent dramas has been the result of the image below. You can read all about it in the National Post article.

BTW, if you haven’t checked out Photoshop Disasters, you ought to give it a look. SOme of the commentary is pretty funny.

Archaeology of Friendster

2010-02-05T19:27:49Z

Thanks for CH for sending along this video that ties together a couple of my primary interests: archaeology and social networking. While the fieldwork described in the Onion New Network piece might not be as glamourous or exciting as that conducted in the Mediterranean or the southwest US, it’s a lot less dirty and smelly…

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of ‘Friendster’ Civilization

Now you know what happened to Friendster.

More Thoughts on Apple Tablet

2010-02-04T20:08:25Z

Over the last week, we’ve seen more thoughts and impression on the Apple tablet device published. One thing that I’ve been personally interested in is the information regarding some the accessories, as that resolves my own issues with USB and SD capabilities (more info on the tech specs page). And, Engadget has a guide published that they’ve been updating as they learn more.

But I remain struck by the discourse concerning the product and the seeming unwillingness to see it as something other than what people expect to see. This isn’t a laptop. This TechCrunch article does a good job of representing the idea - and that may be the thing that folks are missing: This device isn’t really for technophiles. Its not a computer - its a media interaction unit.

Brian Caulfield from Forbes has a short piece up based upon his short experiences working with the device - though any of us with an iPod Touch could likely extrapolate. And his closing line articulates what I’ve been saying for a year now, and why I’m interested in the device: “Make a PC really small and it kind of sucks. Make an iPod really big, however, and it’s kind of great.”

So, I’ve decided I’m getting one, and I’ll post some substantial reviews once I work on it for a while.

Panera Bread iMac Man

2010-02-03T21:53:43Z

LOL. Gizmodo actually interviewed the Panera Bread iMac Man (see my post from last month). Apparently, he uses an iLugger...and he has two level 80 characters.

(...and this is one reason why I don’t want people taking my picture - you never know how it might get used!)

From Gizmodo
Step one: bring your iMac to a Panera Bread.
Step two: play WoW on it.
Step three: be old.
Step four: win the unconditional respect of the entire internet, forever.
UPDATE: This appears to be a habit.

5 Teaching Tips for Professors—From Video Games

2010-01-29T15:18:14Z

As our games course wraps up, I enjoyed this timely article at the Chronicle: 5 Teaching Tips —From Video Games. I’ve really come to appreciate how playing games can really teach problem-solving skills in ways that are inherently motivational for students. It reminded me of the early days of multimedia development when we could get students to pay attention to content merely because it was interesting to them. Then, that got me thinking about my own teaching and what elements are effective and which are less so…