I’ve seen a number of folks link to this piece [http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/] recently, which means many of us identify with the problem outlined within. I agree with the author that using ‘busy’ as a badge of honour is a sign of misaligned priorities in our culture. But his conclusion is disturbingly myopic. The idea that everyone should work 4–5 hours per day and then relax and socialize the rest of their day shows a severely limited worldview. I hope Tim Kre…
Ben Brooks [http://brooksreview.net/] recently linked to a few folks who've built their own desk, including my own. He mentioned to me that he had looked for a post about the experience and I realized I never wrote one. Here it is (sadly, with poor quality images). I've been using a standing desk for a couple of years now. But each iteration has been a hack of a regular, cheap fiber board desk. This time I wanted real wood and something of a good size. I picked up a solid wood door from a local…
Interesting read [http://www.subtraction.com/2012/06/19/built-to-not-last] — and follow up [http://www.subtraction.com/2012/06/20/follow-up-to-built-to-not-last] — from Khoi Vinh. I agree completely. The two concepts at play here are planned and perceived obsolescence. The former is defined as creating items that are designed to malfunction after a certain period of time, forcing the consumer to make another purchase. The second is the idea that the producer will create new models or options…
Josh Bryant posted a couple [http://d.pr/n/I7Wt/91DPmWQz] of pieces [http://d.pr/n/SKqf/3TEVhP2o] outlining his concerns about the problems presented by the new Retina Macbook Pro. His concerns are well founded, especially for interface designers. The main question that has to be answered, in Josh's words: > So, how do you go about designing 1x resources on a 2x screen? He gives a few options, none of which he's happy with. The web community is still trying to find the best methods to deliver r…
After my post on Pocket [https://chrisbowler.com/journal/content-everywhere] as a save-anything-for-later bucket, a distinction is needed. I received a few questions about whether Pocket would replace Gimme Bar for me. The answer: an emphatic no. Pocket is to save for later, Gimme Bar is to save forever. Forever being a relative term aside, I see Gimme Bar as my permanent archive location for things on the web. It has been designed and developed with this purpose in mind (as described in Orbita…
This week's news of the launch of Pocket [http://getpocket.com/] — a compelling rebrand and slight change-of-focus of Read It Later — caught my attention. Like all the recent chatter on Instapaper and Readability, Pocket touches on a subject dear to my heart. It's not surprising that these tools generate a lot of opinion and discussion — services like Pocket give us more control and access to the content we consume and share via the Internet. And we care about that content. Regarding Pocket, th…
All the recent hubbub around Readability is fascinating. And exciting. So [http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/03/30/readability] many [http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/04/02/davidsonability] insanely [http://dashes.com/anil/2012/04/readability-instapaper-the-network-and-the-price-we-pay.html] talented [http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2012/04/what-the-betamax-case-teaches-us-about-readability] folks [http://brooksreview.net/2012/03/explanations/] are chiming in on this dis…
Although this is not new news for anyone, I've been reminded of the importance of touch when working on iOS. I'm not of the mind that one should go out of the way to create or work on an iPad. It's possible, but much less frictionless [https://chrisbowler.com/journal/marco-arment-on-ipad-productivity] than working on my Macbook. Still there are certain activities I prefer the iPad for. A weekly review is one, partially due to the complete embracing of the platform that the folks at OmniGroup […