Oink is an app that takes ranking to the next level. Instead of ranking a particular restaurant, you rank the menu items. This intro video kind of explains it all.
On the one hand, I can't imagine taking the time to do this as a user. I don't write Yelp reviews, I don't go on Amazon to review anything, I don't even leave App Store feedback. So, from that angle, I doubt I'll ever get into this.. it's just not my mode of thinking. However, from the usability angle of having loads of things around you ranked so you can get an idea of where the "best" stuff is seems pretty handy. Or would that just create a homogeny of what's "best" since there would just be a few tastemakers and everyone else following? Or is that just how everything has always worked?
Worth a spin? Check the site for incoming rankings or just get the app.
I'm giving this Raven browser a whirl this morning. They've differentiated themselves from their competitors with their "app bar" - which don't seem to be so much apps in the typical sense as they are a collection of common destinations within a certain site. For instance, if you installed the Tumblr app you'd get quick links for reading your dashboard and creating a few kinds of posts. The Twitter app leads you to your timeline, mentions or direct messages (like the official app).
My knee jerk reaction is to naysay it as being another bit of browser clutter that no one needs but I can honestly see the benefit of having certain sites relegated to their own "apps." Maybe it's a bit of over the top organization but it feels better than having 30 tabs open. The whole thing is built on top of WebKit so no complaints about improper rendering - it looks great!
On the whole, not going to replace my default browser with this but it is worth giving it a spin.
The folks at Ether Press did a clever thing. They combined the Twitter API, some PDF generation and Lulu to create a Personal Twitter Book. Just enter your username and let it create a book for you. If the Library of Congress is going to have a record of your tweets, shouldn't you?
Unfortunately, my Twitter book has a title that is too long.. a preview would have been nice. Despite that, it's a clever idea and, at the very least, worth dropping your username into even if you have no intention of purchasing the book.
You likely already know about the Nest thermostat but this article certainly shed some additional light on the product that I was unaware of. The bullet list of features built in - including the color sensing reflector and activity monitor - kind of blew my mind.
Fadell and team did something you wouldn’t be surprised to see from Apple with regard to how the device blends into its environment — something they call “chameleon design.” There’s a mirror inside with “a special edge that picks up incident light”, and through internal reflection it picks up the color of whatever’s around it. “So we didn’t have to make a specific color, we could just reflect back the color around it to make it blend in,” he said. It also uses sensors to passively learn about the owners of the home where Nest lives. It can learn about the heating and cooling patterns in your house, knows your activity, like how often you walk in front of it — and therefore how much time you spend at home — and can learn your patterns of how you like your temperatures. All of that means the thermostat can self-adjust its energy use to save money and resources.
jQuery Reel Plugin - a jQuery carousel plugin that takes a series of images and lets you "rotate" through them. Think of it as a Flash alternative for a 360 view.
Luma Labs Open Letter - a rather sad tale from Luma Labs regarding their immediate halting of production on their camera sling because of a foreboding patent lawsuit... over a patent granted to a larger competitor despite evidence that said concept was already established as a fair play iterative design. Don't get me wrong, I do not understand patent law but the way this is framed certainly makes it sound like a David vs. Goliath situation in which Goliath will certainly win.
It's Friday! It's 11/11/11 (for whatever that's worth.. go ahead and start getting ready for 12/12/12 next year). It's Veterans Day. So, honor them.. or, at least, reflect on what they've done. Here is your playlist.
Wampug - I will fully admit to loving this Pug in a Wampa costume way more than I should.
Angry Cobra Cat - you may have seen the GIF before but the video of this feline confrontation is absolutely unbelievable.
PIX Id C - channel ID for the PIX channel - superb animation.
Astronauts Falling on the Moon - I bet even falling on the moon is an experience worth remembering. Especially the getting back up part.
M83 Vocal Audition - this gets fairly tiresome after the first minute but then comes back around near the end with some more ridiculousness.
Seventeen Evergreen - Polarity Song - bonkers music video featuring some knitted creature people in a thrift store. Videos like this remind you to appreciate the music video format.
Mister Heavenly - Bronx Sniper - if you haven't heard Mister Heavenly yet, this will be a good introduction. The video features the Man Wolfs going absolutely ballistic. If you've not seen this this short, do yourself a favor and watch it first to fully appreciate the whole vibe going on here. And if anyone runs across a copy of this movie, please let me know.
I am sure that everyone has seen the movie poster cliches gallery that is making the rounds this week but I found myself way more smitten with the stunning repository of images at Wrong Side of the Art. They've compiled an almost incomprehensible amount of movie posters from sci-fi, exploitation, cult, trash, horror and B-movies from all over; tagged them quite effectively and made them into easy to browse galleries. Wanna see Tom Selleck in a ridiculous sci-fi film? Got it. Want to browse vintage posters of Space Alien movies? Go for it. Want to see a repository of SFW and hysterical Adult Film Parodies? Knock yourself out.
From one angle it's an entertaining browse to see the ridiculous movies & concepts but it's also got more than its fair share of inspiring design. Maybe not Killer Klowns from Outer Space but surely you'll find something worthwhile in the Film Noir category.
I'm really loving the work of Ryan Heshka and his forthcoming show "Instinction." Self-described as paying homage to Golden Era sci fi pulp and exploring the idea of man vs nature (even if it's other worldly nature), and the potential technological terrors that can be released through science. Maybe that sounds heady but once you browse the work it totally makes sense.
Awhile back I recall hearing A Life Well Wasted piece about Jason Rohrer, his unique lifestyle and his insightful videogame design. It's a great episode but I never dug any deeper into reading about Rohrer - particularly into the Esquire article that they mention. Long story short, I've finally got my head on straight - checked out, and loved, the article and suggest you do the same. I'm actually quite curious to see how Brandon Boyer tackles the topic of emotional game design once Venus Patrol is up and running.
I watched this trailer for Abobo's Big Adventure - a mash-up of epic proportions paying homage to an insane amount of 8-bit NES games from my childhood and thought, That'd be a pretty great game if it were real. Then I visited the official site and discovered it is real. Roger Barr and a team of great developers have been hard at work on it nearly a decade (on and off).
The site is every bit as good as the trailer and, according to the news, the game itself isn't far off from being released.
While it will be awhile before I see a screening of the new Gary Hustwit film Urbanized I am pleased that they've released the original score online. The original pieces from Kristian Dunn are great on their own and certainly don't need to be set as backing music to a documentary.
Imogene+Willie consistently posts great interviews with crafty folk, artists, musicians, etc on their site. This week they're featuring local artist Harry Underwood. I've long been a fan of his work and often regret not buying some of his pieces when they were affordable to my pocket. I am happy he's successful (deservedly so) but, selfishly, I'd love to look at his work every day. It's hard to tell in online versions but many of the pieces have thoughts associated with the characters scrawled near them - if you can squint in close enough it's worth reading their silly insight.
The mobile app is going the way of the CD-Rom: To the dustbin of history - phenomenal article regarding the future of Apps and how the mobile web will overtake them in popularity. I can't say that I agree with this entirely because the ability to make money distributing a highly-tuned mobile website is pretty low but I do think that applications that serve primarily as wrappers for a web experience (i.e. that short lived Gmail app) won't be around for long.
Yahoo Announces Cocktails - hot on the heels of that prior article is the announcement of new YUI! tools - Cocktails and Manhattan; two development environments working in tandem to help build mobile applications. It's a mish mash of HTML5, JS, node.js and cloud based solutions that I've not entirely comprehended but I'll just watch this demo video a few more times and it'll click. Now to just learn node.js.
My friend Wes Edwards is a helluva director and he's got a new movie pitch burning a hole in his pocket that he'd like to get the word out about. The film, Skeleton Coast, takes place in the infamous deserted region of the same name. The teaser site gives a great deal of information regarding the plot, the characters and the potential actors to play those parts. It's an ambitious undertaking but the teaser trailer is absolutely gorgeous; a great sign of things to come.
So, if you're a head honcho at a movie studio that happens to be reading this blog - consider Skeleton Coast for your next project. If you're a regular ole movie watcher, check the site, like it on Facebook and spread the word!
Kevin hooked me up with an invite to a new music sharing service called This Is My Jam. Thus far it seems to be a great way to discover new tunes. You follow people with taste you trust and post your own favorite current jams in return. The design is simple and the interface is slick; no fuss, no muss. I've got 5 invites for it if anyone is interested in joining along - just drop me a line or a comment to pick it up.Update: It's an invite only system for now but keep an eye out for it to open up more publicly soon (I assume)!
I encountered the work of Ryan Duggan over the weekend and was immediately smitten. His poster work is phenomenal - a great illustration style blended with a ridiculous sense of humor and perfect type (even if it's intentionally imperfect). The poster archive is deep but I suggest digging deep - otherwise you might miss gems like this or this.
I would love to tell you that the portfolio site of Jim Hall over at Happylander is full of rich, robust, engaging sites worth checking out but, honestly, I can't get past being enamored by the front page. I won't ruin the engaging element of it but you'll likely sit and stare, befuddled, confused, maybe even a little disgusted at the treat beyond the trees. Oh, and then maybe check out the quality work tucked in beyond that.
You may already be familiar with Lookwork - the RSS reader for artists and designers but it looks like they've recently embarked on a full fledged launch. I can't speak to the actual effectiveness of the service because they've decided to lock out user accounts until you sign up for a pay account. I don't fault them for this - good services are worth paying for and the demo is super slick. Check it out!
The folks over at BankSimple got themselves a rebrand and will be, henceforth, known as Simple. They also have opened up their system to their first non-employee registrations.. so, if you're lucky, you can get in there and see exactly how it is that they've simplified banking. I'm curious myself!
I love the works of David OReilly. The External World is perfect and this has always been a source of pure entertainment. His latest work - The Story of Genki - is a portion of Tim and Eric Presents Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, a fake gameshow that I can't really recommend watching but Tim and Eric is rarely my thing, so maybe that's just me. Regardless, OReilly's work is equally as offbeat, irreverent and bizarre but far more engaging for my taste.
