:Archive Of July 2001:
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 12:42 PM -
Stop the presses! Retaining their leadership in a cutting edge field, Netscape releases 4.78. I'm not kidding. Fortunately it displays the WaSP browser upgrade notice as before.
"Move along people, nothing to see here."
I guess it's nice to know that at least one outfit still has money to throw at completely stupid projects.
No, I'm not going to link to it.
Friday, July 27, 2001 - 5:07 PM -
Colophon. A site of fine books. Especially don't miss Italian Futurism and Tunnel Books. Fun fun fun.
- 12:35 AM -
Water and Glass. A villa by Kengo Kuma. Also in colour (bottom image), and translated.
Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 2:11 PM -
Okay, I don't know, Jeremy doesn't know. What's a good generic term for the Box As We Know It? Now that we have wireless devices and are sliding into the smart home and other aspects of convergence, I'm finding a real lack of a single word that precisely describes and distinguishes our as yet dominant net access device.
I run into this daily when discussing web standards. If I casually say 'desktop', that can be misinterpreted to mean 'not laptop', if 'pc', then 'not mac'. But darned if I'll type 'desktop/laptop pc/mac' each time I want to refer to what has meant the personal computer until now.
Jeremy did pass on the phrase "beigeless computing". That's wonderful. I dream of that.
Monday, July 23, 2001 - 12:16 PM -
Phil Agre, How to help someone use a computer. A nice set of reminders, especially since you tend to get asked when you're busy, which is also the likely state of the person who asked.
Friday, July 20, 2001 - 12:01 AM -
Toyo Ito. The Tower of Winds.
Thursday, July 19, 2001 - 10:58 PM -
Words fail me. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
- 2:39 PM -
Fudge. Opera for Windows goes from ver 5.11 to 5.12 ... and doesn't fix a single flash or css bug that's been around since at least 5.02.
Tuesday, July 17, 2001 - 9:28 AM -
Handy summary of which style sheet hiding technique protects which browser. Via Cam.
Monday, July 16, 2001 - 10:21 PM -
Victor makes some interesting observations on the Frank Gehry exhibition in the Guggenheim New York. Wish I could go. I did catch the Charlie Rose interview with Gehry at the display last Friday. I'd like to hear more.
From the notes I jotted down,
He sees what he does as the process, not the finished building.
When Rose mentioned any specific building Gehry always spoke first about the person who commissioned it. He is remembering the relationship, not the building.
He commented on how he needed to get the client involved in his sketch-models to expose them to, and engage them in, the uncertainty of the project.
(I call them sketch-models because most I've seen were 'crude' compared to the usual architectural model. Hands-on construction paper like items. Items for figuring things out with, not slick promotional models for convincing a committee.)
He needs the client to be involved to the point that it becomes the client's building, that the client feels they had designed it.
----
About the clashing metal-mesh sculpture in the middle of the display and thus Wright's circular walkway -- Gehry actually had nothing to do with it. He didn't want anything to do with the show (He's 72 and busy; couldn't afford the distraction of looking at his lifetime of work while he has current projects on the go), so he asked an associate to handle it. "Act like I'm already dead." He commented that the intention of the mesh sculpture is to form a ghost within Wright's shapes, and that it was as yet unsuccessful. Work would continue on it throughout the show.
I have a hard time understanding most of his exteriors, but his interiors and now his thoughtful tone make me want to invest a lot more attention in his work. And I can't say why his Guggenheim Museum for New York makes me excited, while Bilbao makes me shrug. This just gets me more curious.
Friday, July 13, 2001 - 10:59 AM -
Just eyecandy. grrr.nl. (And there's nothing wrong with a little eyecandy.)
Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 8:43 PM -
Oo, that was a good idea. Merriam-Webster has realized the web is not print and upgraded its dictionary site with audio clips for pronunciation. Great for me, since I never got the hang of pronunciation symbols.
One detail. I'd find it more useful to hear the word in a sentence. Hearing the word only once and in one tone by an unfamiliar voice made it necessary to hit the Repeat button a few times. That probably has to do with my hearing being slightly off (music, headphones, and a stint in a steel mill), but I'm sure I'm not alone there.
This is corollary to using clear contrast in colours to make distinctions. Sure, the designer can see it, but can the bulk of the audience see it? Especially on uncorrected PC monitors? My eyesight is very good, but not near good enough to pick out the difference between a link and a visited link in an ALA forum, for example, where it matters because I'll often lose my place in a long row of replies or topics. (Since that group is usually on top of combining good access with good aesthetics I'm finding it amusing this is still in place since the redesign. Kind of like watching a friend slap a banana sticker on his forehead and then forget about it. You wonder when he'll notice. (Said friend didn't notice till evening; he drove cab all day and not one client mentioned it.))
- 1:33 PM -
For those who wonder: I'm here. I'm paying attention. I haven't lost interest. Quite the opposite. My hands have been full.
Owen Briggs ©2000, 2006
