Transitions

So... on this day of rememberance, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my life, and the lives of those around me. One aspect which I've greatly valued is the ability of keeping up-to-date with others via the web, especially via weblogs such as this.

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything to my blog, however, and I have several excuses as to "why". In all honesty, though, it boils down to: "The desire to maintain this website hasn't been enough of a priority of mine". Perhaps not a good reason, per se, but there it is.

However, I'm currently going through several transitions, which have made me re-evaluate many areas of my home life, as well as my work life. The upside is that I've made a commitment to myself (as well as several of my friends) to do a much better job in posting about my life going forward.

Watch this space for more ... very soon.

Google map of Apple Retail Stores in the US

Quite cool, IMHO:

http://www.freemacblog.com/applestores/

A great way of viewing where the Apple retail locations are around the country. We need an equivalent for the International locations, but this is a great start, IMHO.

You can focus on only a given state; zoom in/out to view other levels of detail; or click on an Apple logo to view the name of the store, its address, and a link to the actual store's page on Apple's retail site. Again, very cool...

And, be sure to check out http://www.ifoapplestore.com/ for details on upcoming stores, as well.

Excellent collection of Visual Phenomena

...otherwise known as "Optical Illusions". Check it out:

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html

I've seen many of these before, but really enjoyed finding so many in one place. The Lilac Chaser and Stepping Feet illusions are particularly interesting, IMHO.

Historical gallery of Graphical User Interfaces

I can't believe I've never run across this site before...

Be sure to check out GUIdebook: Graphical User Interface gallery. As its name indicates, it contains TONS of information on GUIs throughout history - screenshots, videos, usage details, etc. The subjects run from the Amiga OS, to GNOME, to Magic Cap and the Newton OS. Heck, I'm just happy they feature the GUIs of my beloved Apple II - long live GS/OS!!!

(Oh, and the "Interface Element Obituary Poster" area is rather interesting... ;-)

They also just posted a great interview with John Gruber posted. John is the author of a rather interesting site, Daring Fireball. I may not always agree with his opinion on everything, but do believe he takes a unique position in critiquing user interface elements and design considerations which you and I probably never consider (has anyone ever read Tog's take on Fitt's Law?)

Here I come to save the day…

FINALLY, I can talk about the coolest input device I've seen in quite a while - Apple's Mighty Mouse.

This is a multi-button mouse done right, folks - from the no-button buttons (it senses pressure on the smooth shell, eliminating the need for separate buttons), to the scroll ball (how obvious an enhancement is that?), to the programmable functions which are possible for each button press (including a simple mode, where each button simple provides a single click).

Oh, and just to show the attention to detail: It does NOT make physical sounds when you click or scroll - it actually has a speaker embedded in the mouse, to provide audible feedback for these actions. Wow.

Check it out. IMHO, this is the mouse by which all others will soon be judged. It doesn't matter that Apple held off on embracing more than one mouse button - because when they finally did, they did it right.

New input/UI device: TactaPad

The TactaPad is billed as "a tactile, immersive, two-handed input device". But that doesn't come close to indicating just how creative - and yet incredible obvious and logical – this thing is. It contains a camera for tracking the motion of both of your hands over essentially a force-feedback touchpad.

I can't really describe just how intriguing this approach is - you need to watch the movie for yourself.

An uncensored history of the Justice League

Since we've encountered several movies lately featuring The Incredibles, Spider-Man, Batman, the Fantastic Four, and even an upcoming new take on Superman, I thought this tongue-in-cheek "Where are they now?" interview was rather funny.

Note especially all those who were interviewed - including the leader of The World's Most Dangerous Band The CBS Orchestra ;-)