Somehow we all knew it for months before they actually announce it, but anyway, here’s Apple’s newest gadget, the iPad!
Yeah, I’m not too fond of the name either. It’s a nice-looking device, but some cons/negatives have turned me off the prospect of owning one (besides, I already have an iPad nano!)
One prediction I would make is that I don’t see this thing catching on in Australia anytime soon (or at all for that matter), but then, I wouldn’t think that’s a major goal for Apple anyway.
That is to say, I saw Avatar. In 3D!
The experience was pretty crap (had trouble getting to the cinema, bad seats, then trouble getting out of the cinema), but the film was great! Quite a typical, feel-good story, but good nonetheless.
I was fortunate enough to pre-order the Smashing Book days after it was announced (fortunate that I had the funds in PayPal, that is).
And I received it a few weeks ago (sorry for not writing, I guess I consider Twitter to be my Blog as of late).
As of writing I’ve only read a few chapters of the book, but so far it’s been a good-quality read.
Just flipping through the pages randomly I noticed there was a collection of icons that had been included in the Smashing Magazine Blog, and I saw some of mine there!
Sure there’s no credit or anything (I wouldn’t expect there to be for such a thing), but I think it’s really cool to see something of my own in a book, even if so subtly.
On another note: I received my 1,000 free business cards from BizCard that I won through Callum Chapman’s Blog. The business cards are for a little project I’m still working on, that I really hope to launch before the end of the holidays.
Will write again soon.
I remember reading a while back (not sure where) that if you really want to get something done, then you tell as many people as you can, and then you feel more obliged to do it (maybe because you’ll feel as if you’ve let someone down?)
Anyway, that’s sort of why I’m making this post! I need to get some things done in this next year. Here are some things that I want to work on:
- Try different things
- Help people
- Learn lots of new things
- Find (and use) “better” colour schemes
- Develop a unique/personal style (both design-wise, and that other way!)
- Read more (books)
And some web-related to-dos:
- Blog more
- Redesign this here Blog
- Launch some new sites (they’re on their way!)
- Work on my portfolio (I actually have an in-progress temporary portfolio you can check out here if you want)
And there we have it. I may add more to this list if I remember anything else, but that’s actually quite a bit right there anyway. I mostly want to work on my design and coding skills though, as well as doing well in my design course.
I thought I would spread around a little bit of love for an independently-developed game that was just released the other day, Machinarium. It was developed by a company (Amanita Design) that has already released a few interesting games, Samarost 1 and Samarost 2.
My brother first introduced me to the demo of this game the other week, and I quite enjoyed it – although he did have to give me some hints throughout the entirety of it.
Anyway, Machinarium is a very interesting adventure/puzzle game with an amazing (ambient-style) soundtrack.
Because I enjoyed the demo I pre-ordered it a few weeks ago for $17. I didn’t so much order it with great anticipation to playing the entire game, rather supporting an independent developer.
Worth checking out for the incredibly unique visuals and captivating soundtrack alone.
… in the words of Bart Simpson in Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington.
So yeah, onto the controversy… Google vs. Apple, war!
Ah, how I do love a bit of controversy, although there isn’t really much to go on at the moment.
So if war does break out, how can Google not win? 
This video will never get old. How I love and loathe Microsoft at the same time.
On a lighter note, I wanted to publish something, so here it is.
Thinking about redesigning my Blog using my new personal identity as the focal point.
A: Advertising men.
In the 1910s and particularly the 1920s, advertising agents focused their attention on identifying—and often inventing—personal anxieties that could be resolved by the purchase of specific products. “Advertising,†wrote one commentator in a trade publication, “helps to keep the masses dissatisfied with their mode of life, discontented with ugly things around them. Satisfied customers are not as profitable as discontented ones.†Advertisers, as historian Stuart Ewen notes, tried to endow people with a “critical self-consciousness†directed especially at their personal appearances. Read more.
Interesting, right? Well, I’m not saying we should change our way of life now, I just want to compare this to something else. Mac vs. PC.
This conflict was invented, as far as I know. I never knew of the term “Mac vs. PC” before Apple came out with the annoying commercials – and now after a few years of Apple doing it, Microsoft have gone and made an even worse attempt at creating conflict with these commercials: 1, 2, 3, 4.
I’m not saying there’s something wrong with a little competition, and since Apple started it I wouldn’t want to see Microsoft continue laying down and taking it without a little retaliation, and hey, the laptop hunters ads seemed to have worked.
Want to know what I’m most sick of though? “Mac vs. PC”. PC stands for Personal Computer. A Mac is a personal computer. People need to start saying Mac vs. Windows or something of that sort if they want to hold up with this petty squabbling.
I for one have used a “PC” all my life up until recently when I have had to start using a Mac occasionally at TAFE, and I don’t really mind it. The Macs at TAFE are considerably old (about 5 years) so it is understandable that they are a bit slow, as is my Windows machine. Want to know what I find annoying about the Mac? The Spinning Beachball of Doom, which happens more often than a BSOD.
Both have their pros and cons, I’m just one of those people that are indifferent. I won’t say either is better. I’m not an Apple fanboy, and I’m certainly not a Microsoft fanboy, I’m a “PC” with an iPhone, and I enjoy them both.
End rant.
Firstly, a little background.
For the last 5+ years I’ve used Windows XP, never been bothered to try Vista (especially after it mostly received negative feedback). But I have never felt the need to upgrade; even now, I didn’t particularly feel the need to upgrade to Windows 7 RC, but I actually wanted to after reading so much positive feedback. See what word of mouth can do?
Looking a bit deeper, these are my tech specs:
- Intel Core 2 CPU 1.86ghz
- Memory/RAM: 2.0GB
- GeForce 8600 GT
As you can see, my specs are fairly dated. And when I got the original parts 2-3 years ago it was an affordable machine.
The installation was extremely smooth and it took very little time to install (considerably less time than Windows XP would take to install).
Windows 7 automatically installed drivers for and configured most of my hardware, such as onboard network, etc. Nvidia drivers showed up in the Windows updates section, so I installed them.
Problems encountered so far:
- Was completely unable to detect/install my ancient soundcard (Sound Blaster Live, or something of the sort), so I reverted to onboard audio.
- Diablo 2 didn’t work at first, but give it a while and it starts working (phew!)
- Extremely annoying “glitch”: when saving files from Photoshop to the desktop it will often give me a permissions error, I just have to keep trying and it eventually works… (most likely fixable but I am a little dim)
So far I’ve been able to install every essential program that I was using on Windows XP and haven’t had (m)any problems. My list of essential programs:
- Filezilla
- Firefox
- Chrome
- Opera
- Photoshop + Illustrator
- uTorrent
- Digsby + MSN Live
- Winamp
- NOD32
- Spybot S&D (I wouldn’t completely recommend it though)
- VLC Media Player (although the WMP that comes with 7 is very nice and works just fine)
- Steam
- iTunes (I’m not completely sure if iTunes was quite this dodgy with XP)
There is probably more to the list, but that’s enough for now.
Overall, my first impressions were very good. It’s particularly easy to use for me because it’s still very similar to XP (just a lot shinier, aesthetically and functionality-wise).
If it is affordable at release I will most likely be buying the Home Premium version.
Lastly, I’ve never been a fan of this aero style (and you can still use a 2000-esque theme), but it is really growing on me. I’ve just always wondered what does the glass effect, the drop shadows, the blurs, etc. add to the functionality? That’s the main thing I look for I guess, and this new “superbar” thingy is really, really nice.
Another thing I guess I should have mentioned: Windows 7 is extremely fast. So far it seems faster than XP. With XP I would have to reinstall Windows every 6 or so months to keep it running smoothly, so hopefully the same doesn’t happen to 7.
I felt a certain need to publish something, and something that my be remotely useful to someone. So here is a list of Firefox extensions that I find somewhat necessary for living.
Mozilla’s extensive collection of addons is the main reason why I haven’t been able to swap over to Google’s Chrome browser.
Starting with the basics. Every intermediate web user (or everyone that is registered at digg.com) already uses this plugin, and for good reason. The web seems a lot prettier with this plugin enabled. I myself am a web publisher, but rely very little on ads, so if I were relying on revenue from ads I may feel a bit differently about this.
For now, I’m a supporter.
I don’t use this for the accurate traffic rankings. I just use this in hopes that it might influence my ranking even just a little bit 
I’ve only just installed this one, but looking forward to using it. So far it seems to work quite well.
A necessity to my survival. It has never failed me either.
I keep this hidden, so I’m not sure why I actually have it installed.
I haven’t used this one yet, but once I start coding I know it’s going to be helpful.
This one is great because it works for Google Apps accounts as well!
I keep this one hidden, so I’m not sure if it’s doing me any good.
Since I found this addon I haven’t been able to let go of it. I even make some of my own.
I needed a note-taking addon for Firefox, so I found this one. I’m not completely convinced of it’s note-taking abilities, so I’m still looking.
As a wannabe designer-of-sorts I find this addon a necessity. Absolutely brilliant plugin that has never failed me.
I use this to show Google PageRank and Compete Rank discreetly in the bottom corner of Firefox. This plugin hasn’t failed me yet.
A necessity for a Twitter addict that happens to be a Firefox user. Love this plugin, although it could do with some extra features (retweeting for example). To be quite honest, the whole thing could do with a facelift to keep up with other applications, but it does work considerably well.
Vi.sualize.us is a great site for image bookmarking that I’ve been using for a while (not enough as of recent however). Are you into photo bookmarking? Then vi.sualize.us is a good choice.
Again, I don’t use this plugin yet but I have it installed anyway. Hopefully when I get into coding websites I will be able to put this addon to good use.
And that seems to be all for now.