3 Apr, 2010
in Apple, Gadgets, iPad
by Scott
Around 1:00pm today I received my iPad from UPS after a long night of anxiously waiting. First impressions:
- It’s a whole lot heavier than I thought it would be.
- It’s extremely fast and responsive. Everything runs very fast on it and apps/music/movies took very little time to install from my MacBook.
- The keyboard is surprisingly easy to type on when you lay it down on a flat surface.
- Audio quality is outstanding. Video quality is outstanding.
Enough for now. Back to playtime! Oh, and how cool is it that I’m making this post from the iPad via the WordPress app?
Virgin Galactic celebrated the first flight of the VSS Enterprise – it’s flagship “consumer spacecraft” – today. This is one of the things about the future that makes me giddy – the idea that normal people like me will be able to afford to touch the heavens. I honestly think that consumer space flight/travel/commerce is the future and that government-run programs like NASA are hindering our ability to make spaceflight and exploration a priority.
Gizmodo posted about the iPad Kindle app this morning and it sounds like it’s going to be great. I have absolutely no regrets about selling my Kindle 2 now. Can’t wait for my iPad to arrive next week!
CSS Sprites came up in conversation with David Kindred at the office this morning after Amazon.com rendered oddly in our browsers (thanks, Websense…) and it reminded me that Smashing Magazine has an awesome article about ‘em. Check it out.
It’s become fairly obvious over the last year that I lack the motivation and/or time and/or topics to continue posting on my blog like I used to, so in an effort to try and make it more active again I’ve decided I’m going to start posting like Gruber @ Daring Fireball does – posting links and snippets with a little bit of commentary – on a daily basis as much as possible.
So, keep your eyes here for the change starting on Monday, March 22, 2010.
Here in Germantown, MD we’re really getting pounded by snow and high winds. A few days ago we got about 38 inches of snow. We had a few days to clean up and get out, and now we’re dealing with another blizzard again that could, when all is said and done, drop another 15+ inches of snow on us.
To help pass the time I’ve made two videos with my little Flip Camcorder and posted them to my Youtube account. That said, enjoy these videos!
Continue Reading »
I am an Apple Fanboy and I fully admit to it. Over the last few months the rumors have been growing about Apple coming out with some kind of tablet to compete with the Netbook market, and in many ways to pick up where the Newton left off over a decade ago. I think this graphic really sums up the level of excitement (taken from the Apple event this morning):
"Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it." - Wall Street Journal
You don’t even have to ask. I’m getting one. The 32 gig non-3G model. Why get 3G when I can just tether with my jailbroken iPhone? 
7 Jan, 2010
in Usability, Website
by Scott
Tips and insights into good design and usability
via Mouse Cursor Affordance.
I’ve been in something of a pickle for the last few months. I’ve been evaluating several project management software packages to find one that’s “just right” for my current job. While I’ve evaluated several good packages like Jira and RightNow Web, nothing has really caught the attention of my coworkers or my boss.
Basically, I’m looking for a software package that offers the following features:
- The ability to create “tickets” which can be used to assign individual work tasks to individual developers or groups of developers. The tickets must also be able to handle multiple iterations of changes and hold onto conversations between the developer and the requester.
- Should have the ability to support 10+ “projects”, as well as have hierarchical categorization for projects and tasks.
- Must be able to handle over 250 users.
- Must have a built-in, modifiable workflow.
- The ability to generate metrics based on input/output, open/close rate, iterations, length of ticket life, etc.
- Web-based interface.
- Must be enterprise level and hosted on-site (NOT off-site like Basecamp).
I know it seems like a lot of stuff but it’s really not. I’ve evaluated large and small packages like Jira, RightNow Web, MS Project, PVCS Tracker. We’re currently using an old version of PVCS Tracker and it’s just not cutting it. My developers didn’t like Jira, nor did my clients. RightNow Web was the closest I’ve found to what we’re looking for but our clients balked at the $40k+ price tag.
Anyone out there have some ideas? Please post a comment if you’ve got some ideas. Thanks!
