Design

Blade Runner: The Final Cut

I just saw the newest release of the classic noir sci-fi film Blade Runner, subtitled "The Final Cut". Undoubtedly it is the best version so far, surpassing the various other cuts that have come out over the 25 years since it was first released. I found that it raised new questions about identity in this MySpace world.

Like every designer nerd, I've seen Blade Runner at least a dozen times, a couple of times on the big screen. This Final Cut has been digitally retouched from a 70mm print and both the visuals and sound are stunning. … Read more

In search of: The perfect laptop bag

Women of the world, we share a common goal--if we're toting laptops anywhere, that is. Our goal? Find a decent freakin' laptop bag that doesn't look like an awful faux-leather dudecase but still has some semblance of professionalism attached. I myself am still on the hunt, but wanted to dish out a few sites I've stumbled across lately that might offer some good choices.

Uptown Bella

Recently described (by me) in an instant message to a friend as "omg, the cutest laptop bag site ever." The only reason I haven't ordered the Ashley bag … Read more

Study predicts rise of 'circular entertainment'

A new study from Nokia predicts that by 2012, a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited, and shared within peer groups rather than being generated by traditional media.

Jointly conducted with the trend research firm The Future Laboratory, Nokia's study asked trend-setting consumers from 17 countries about their digital behaviors and lifestyles. The company also used information gathered from its 900 million customers as well as views of leading industry analysts.

"From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call 'circular.' The … Read more

Bye bye World Wide Web, welcome Giant Global Graph

It's the graph, stupid! Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web, has published a much discussed post about the future "Internet of things." Yet he doesn't mean "things" in the real world, tagged and connected by the World Wide Web. He is talking about online objects (things and people) that are reminiscent of Bruce Sterling's "spimes." In line with the goals of the Social Network Portability community, Berners-Lee argues that individuals and objects as well as the connections between them are the key items on the web, rather than … Read more

How the Razr (almost) saved Motorola

Ed Zander is stepping down as CEO at Motorola, having overseen a boom time and a gradual decline. While there are probably many inter-twined reasons for Motorola's lack of performance after it hit the big time with the Razr, many will point to the lack of innovation following on the back of that spectacularly successful phone.

To his credit he was able to spot the potential of the Razr while it was still in development, and encouraged getting it to market rapidly. He recognized that it was just what Motorola needed to re-energize its image outside the company (which … Read more

The most ridiculous baby products

From the "Zaky Pillow" to the "WhyCry Baby Crying Analyzer" to "Pee Pee Teepee," Baby Gizmo has published the results of its annual "Most Ridiculous Baby Products" survey.

Enjoy!

Slow innovation -- long wow?

The Putting People First blog by Experientia has pointed me toward the excellent essay "The Long Wow" by Adaptive Path's Brandon Schauer. Schauer outlines a vision of creating lasting customer loyalty and brand value that runs counter to the fixation on quick wins and instant gratification, which many companies, under the pressure of shorter product life cycles and CMO tenures, seem to pursue these days. He defines "The Long Wow" as "a means to achieving long-term customer loyalty through systematically impressing your customers again and again."

This goes far beyond adding new features … Read more

Small steps for big favorites

Right on the heels of the big tryptophan doping event of the year, three of my favorite programs have gone through some minor tweaks and changes. Firefox, Pidgin, and The Gimp have all received a bit of tweaking. Let's take a look at the changes.

… Read more

Porsche unveils homage to 1960s racer

Porsche announced plans for an unveiling at the 2007 Bologna auto show next week that evokes nostalgia for 1960s racing.

The Boxter RS 60 Spyder (left) will be offered in limited edition. It's meant to be an homage to the Porsche Type 718 RS 60 Spyder (right) that won 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida in 1960. The car will offer the same type of GT Silver metallic paintjob , Carerra red interior and stainless steel door trims as the original. Other features that distinguish this car from the 2007 Boxter S will be 19-inch wheels positioned higher within the … Read more