2011-10-28

1983 Apple Gift Catalog

I REALLY want one fo those t-shirts.

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2007-01-24

Mac-haters

Having seen the ads on telly recently for Channel 4 On Demand, i was intrigued to find out how it worked, how much it cost, and so on, so i visited the site and was disheartened, but unsurprised, to find that the system uses desktop software, and that there is no mac version. This happens all the time, even in this day and age where Apple seems to be taking over the world. Having noticed a "find out more" link beside the statement that the software was not mac compatible, i clicked, only to see the most annoyingly stupid statement i have seen in a while about mac compatibility.

Will you offer 4oD for the Macintosh?

Unfortunately not at the launch of 4oD.

This
is an industry-wide issue caused because the accepted Digital Rights
Management (DRM) system used to protect online video content, which is
required by our content owners, is not compatible with Apple Mac
hardware and software. The closed DRM system used by Apple is not
currently available for licence by third parties and there is no other
Mac-compatible DRM solution which meets the protection requirements of
content owners. Unfortunately, we are therefore unable to offer 4oD
content to Mac users at this stage.

Is this even true? I honestly don't think it is. What is this 'accepted' system? WMV? Please god tell me it is not. I honestly thought that Channel 4 was a little more forward thinking than to allow the more tech-savvy, computer-as-media-center-accepting, digital life living computer users to go uncatered for. But no. They want to cripple our media as much as possible, which means using a Windows only system which is clearly a big steaming pile of crap. I am saddened.

2007-01-19

Hel-Fucking-Yeah!

I love Helvetica. I really really love it. So I really enjoyed reading this post from Subtraction.com.

I’d been disenchanted with my Palm Treo 650
for some time even before yesterday’s announcement, but now, looking at
its bulky, awkward frame and interface, I’m more convinced than ever
that I’ll soon leave it behind.

What sealed the deal, though, was a quiet milestone that the iPhone
hits in design sophistication: it’s the first mobile device that I know
of — and certainly the most elegant — to use the typeface Helvetica
throughout its interface.

Everyone knows I’m a huge Helvetica fan,
and you could sell me almost any device that uses the typeface, in part
because there are no devices that do. But there’s a reason that this
particular usage seems to signal something more to me.

Helvetica is not the most expensive of typefaces to license, but its
plain elegance is easily dismissed by product managers who don’t see
the percentage in using a truly elegant typeface, especially when much
cheaper and ostensibly more distinctive typefaces can be had easily.

Someone on the iPhone’s product team had to go to bat for Helvetica,
someone with a truly articulate design sensibility, and they had to
argue for it in the face of the easy availability of much trendier
alternatives. Digital devices have rarely been exemplars of excellent
typography, and the fact that the iPhone team took the time to address
such a subtle but significant aspect of the design is meaningful. We’re
just turned a corner, I think; design for mobile devices isn’t going to
get much easier anytime soon, but it’s going to look a lot better
sooner than we thought it would.

If you like that sort of thing, subtraction.com is well worth a read.

2007-01-19

Spectators at the iPhone Display

It's safe to say that was pretty excited by the iphone, and this photo made me laugh

Andy Lobban

Edinburgh, Scotland