Apple. Think Different Campaign. (Apple/TBWA Chiat Day)

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

I know I need to stop and remember these words more often, and keep pursuing my life as a person “uncomfortable with the status quo”*. To all those people in my life who fit into everything described above, thank you.

*This statement is one of those things like, 3 people will get. Sorry, but they will probably laugh pretty hard, and I can’t rob them of that just so that this would make more sense to you.

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So I’ve been busy, again. I got my tax extension turned in on time, so I’m doing better than some people, but it’s just an extension, so I’m doing worse than most. If you don’t appreciate the greatness of Twitter, and/or realise I don’t really say anything about what’s going on there anyway, and want to know what’s going on, this is your Huckleberry (I’mmm yuh Huhklebehhy).

I wrapped up a few MySpace re-designs for some great bands: My Favorite Highway (record was released yesterday, and you should own it), Green River Ordinance (FFO: The Fray, etc), The Urgency, and Young Love. I got up the website for a ska band from Boston called Westbound Train up, I’m not really into ska, and if you aren’t either realise these guys have much more of an old R&B sound to them. I also finally finished up the layout for a band I used to do a lot of work with called Parker Theory. I’ll get the cover up somewhere, sometime soon. I was also working a lot of sleepless nights on a secret logo project that I can’t really discuss yet, and don’t really know the outcome of, so you may never hear about it, but hey at least me writing this makes me appear “mysterious” right?

Other non-design things I have been up to include: Building an HD antenna with Kyle so we are one step closer to canceling cable, Finally fixing my Mail so that my Junk Mail will stay on the server (tip: don’t put periods in your account name), Got out to see the Ducks knock off the Sharks and fully reinvigorate my love for NHL playoff hockey, Bought more vinyl (still no turntable), and successfully got an external HD once deemed dead, back in the world of the living.

I’m off to get back into the work, nice seeing you again.

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For those of you not in the know:

Google Gears

Gears is an open source project that enables more powerful web applications, by adding new features to your web browser:

Go get you some, right here.

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After my moment of jubilation, and my pestering Tell about his Obama 08 BlackBerry application (or lack there of), came the most perfect reply ever.

Tell

“I hear John McCain is coming out with one for a NEXTEL.”

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Computerworld

Several digital images that Microsoft Corp. has posted on its Web site to trumpet its new “I’m a PC” advertising campaign were actually created on Macs, according to the files’ originating-software stamp.

Four of the images that Microsoft made available on its PressPass site today display the designation “Adobe Photoshop C3 Macintosh” when their file properties are examined. The images appear to be frames from the television ads that Microsoft will launch later today.

This one just makes me giggle over and over and over.

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Anyway, the text said…

AT&T & Apple

“An important software update for iPhone 3G has been available on iTunes since this past Monday,” the message reads. “To get it, simply sync your iPhone 3G with iTunes and click the ‘Check for Update’ button.”

I updated on Monday afternoon, and of course I found no change to the performance of my phone. Kind of interesting that they would be so persistent about an update if it wasn’t supposed to be the fix.

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The Register

That dream? To produce a desktop more beautiful to ordinary users than legions of Apple programmers supping on the milk of chief exec Steve Jobs’ alleged brilliance are capable of producing.

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All the prints of my photographs will be 30×20, and I will post the day of the event the pieces that are there, maybe. I’m really excited for everything Chad is doing with Panda, I’m absolutely in love with the musicians he is working with, I’m thrilled to be a part of an art show where my work will be completely showed up by some of the most amazing artists out there today who I am also honoured to call my friends (therefore, such as.

If you are in the Atlanta area, you should make it out to this. I was trying to work out an appearance myself, but I think I will wait until the fall to fully experience the ATL.

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I have been playing around a bit the last few weeks to see my thoughts on it, and I really have to say it’s absolutely great. If I didn’t already love .Mac (soon to be Me.com/MobileMe), I would definitely be using this service daily. It’s only downfall is the 2GB space, which I am sure once this thing grows (or someone acquires them) will be opened up to 10gb or so. I’m honestly shocked Google hasn’t created something like this years ago, here’s hoping they acquire them, it would be a lovely addition to the Google Apps suite.

Anyway, if you want in on the beta, I have some invites, let me know.

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EDIT: Answer, because Mozilla decided to direct me to the Firefox 2 download. Because their servers were probably on fire or something? That was awesome. Step your game up!

So since I am ranting about Firefox 3, you probably either already knew, or just realised, that it officially launched today. So go download it, if you are into helping set stupid download records, or just won’t admit how great Safari is.

I will admit, Mozilla has made some great strides, and I can actually stand to look at Firefox now and not think I was suddenly moved to a PC. It’s now my official, backup, testing browser. I lessthanthree Safari.

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JM Takeover Of Gizmodo Liveblog

Hey guys, John Mayer here. Are you guys excited? I’ve just commandeered the computer of my good friend, Jason Chen, who is also very very handsome. That means a lot coming from a guy like me. My other friend, Moby, is also here. Have you guys seen him? He’s really into technology. I love that guy. OK back to Jason.

For those of you not in the know; Jason Chen was liveblogging the Apple WWDC08 Keynote speech Steve Jobs made this morning. Anyone else find it funny that John Mayer (whose tour is presented by Blackberry, and got the “Bold” early) was once again at a Keynote that was entirely about the iPhone? I never had an issue like all the people giving JM flack for entering into a business arrangement with RIM/Blackberry, I am sure Apple was given a chance to and passed, as JM was never a paid endorser of Apple (he just knows what is good for him). However the RIM folk have to be a bit upset that he is still showing up around iPhone announcements.

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I also have an iPhone gallery set up where I will upload pictures straight from the iPhone. I guess that means I will no longer be utilising the Flickr account, but we shall see how that goes and if adding the iPhone gallery RSS to the live section actually works. I’m just not committed to Flickr, Apple and I have far too strong of a relationship for some floozy to come in and pull us apart.

I also, also have a selected gallery of Live Noise. It is, what you thought it was.

Special thanks to; Lindsay Strannigan and Kyle Davidson who each helped me whittle down the Portfolio, and a certain lady friend who used the word “floozy” so much that it is forever attached to her in my mind, for better or worse.

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27 year-old Mike Phillips lives with his Mother, and deals with all the same issues a child living under the parents roof go through. Rebellion, Dependency, Disagreements, Control all play a part in Mike’s story. The one factor we never had to go through is Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which has slowed the normal move into Independency to a crawl. SMA keeps Mike confined to a wheelchair, keeps him from communicating normally, keeps him from truly being his own person.

This whole thing sounds incredibly depressing, but it isn’t, at all, it is one hundred percent inspirational, is is hilarious, it is motivating. A few years ago Mike wouldn’t have had much of a future, but technology has advanced faster than the disease can take him, and even though he has numerous near death experiences a year he lives a (sort of) normal life. Just the way Mike speaks of these near death experiences is what truly makes you realise how different his life is. He is so accepting of them, he has thrown in the towel to the fact they are always there. Literally this man could die at any instant and yet he finds the time to enjoy his life, to rebel, to love, to do so many things we don’t.

I said something there about Mike speaking, I should have been more clear, Mike cannot speak. Mike has to click words into a computer (Apple, of course) to communicate with people, the words are then spoken by a computerized voice. The host, Ira Glass, realises how impersonal this whole computer voice is and and asks whom he would like to sound like, if he could pick any person in the world. Mike suggests either Edward Norton or Johnny Depp, “Because they’re both badasses”. A few minutes later, Glass narrates, “Ladies and gentlemen, Johnny Depp”.

This was the point it hit me like a load of bricks, where I realised the breadth of this story. Hearing Johnny “freaking” Depp voice the words of Mike Phillips completely broke me, in the most amazing way. Everything clicked, the whole story was twisted in a way that you needed to see it, that this was the kind of story that needed a character the likes of Depp for you to understand. It’s what This American Life does best, it tells a story you might normally block out or brush off after a few moments, and it tells that it in such a way that it will never leave your mind.

I strongly recommend everyone watch this episode, I know it is replaying on Showtime most of this week, and probably on Showtime OnDemand shortly.

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A list of AT&T’s 71,000 hotspots can be found on AT&T’s site, including Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Airports, and McDonald’s locations.

P.S. T-Mobile is for suckers.

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A lot of people find iPhone versions of websites to be odd, dividing and others think it’s just the trendy version of a mobile site. I agree that it’s strange the fact that a device with the best (and most compatible) mobile browser available is responsible for a boom in optimising for specific devices, it’s ironic of course. However what a lot of people miss in this whole iPhone optimized craze, is that these versions enable the end user to do more (and spend more time on the site) through increased functionality and cross-tasking with the iPhone OS.

Thus, I bring my list of my favourite iPhone optimised websites (I left out the so-called “webapps” because they aren’t an iPhone version of an existing site):
1. Facebook – This borders between “webapp” and optimised site, but it blows away everything else and was one of the first. I am sure come June this will transform into a Facebook App on the iPhone, but for now, this takes the cake.
2. Google Grand Prix – This started out as a Google employee’s own personal project, and once the people at “The G” saw how brilliantly it ties together all the Google App Suite (Search, GMail, Reader, Calendar, et al) it was quickly green-lit for release.
3. Media Temple – Add email addresses on the go, Reboot the server upon a random crash at 11PM on a Friday night, et al. Probably not things very many of you need in your life, but for me this is a must.
4. Digg – Every few weeks I run into someone who JUST heard about Digg. It’s never ceases to amaze me. For all those who don’t know Digg, you should, and you should also know I’m addicted to it.
5. CBS News – CBS News recently became my favourite source for news, because of this really well done iPhone version. All the news that’s fit to touch.

Honorable Mention:
Trustkill Records – I recently got an email about this from a friend of mine at a label, along with asking my thoughts on it. I summed it up by saying it’s brilliantly well done, but I just don’t feel a record label website has the kind of readership to necessitate an iPhone version. They do a great job tying it into all the iPhone can do (iTMS, YouTube, etc.). Personally, I wouldn’t find myself on this site multiple times on my iPhone, but for those that would, you get quite the experience.

If I were to include websites who have a mobile version, and said mobile version includes an iPhone icon (for saving to your home screen), this list would also include The New York Times, and The LA Times. However these sites are just general mobile versions that look stellar on the iPhone and take advantage of only some of the iPhone technology. My criteria for a full iPhone optimization was basically that links were not just text, but utilize the entire graphical area (yes I’m aware of how little sense this makes to anyone that doesn’t use an iPhone, deal).

Have any to add, think I made bad choices? “Talk to me Goose”.

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MSNBC

The nearly 2,000 professionals and students who voted named Apple overwhelming winner. The creator of the iPod and Mac computer triumphed in six categories including most inspiring brand and the one readers cannot live without.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, was also a winner, but it received the dubious honor of the brand most readers wanted to argue with, and the one they most wanted to revamp. Voted into second place in the category was brand USA.

“brand” USA? Yep, the country you live in. Maybe we can put The Steve in charge of that brand too? Did I just say Steve Jobs for President? Yes, and Apple board of director Al Gore can be his VP I suppose… though I’d rather Jonny Ive (however, he is not eligible seeing as he is a Commander of the British Empire).

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What really did it for me was one day after many conversations with many Windows users comprising of this automatic intense defense of their OS. It suddenly clicked with me, I was just that same way (only on the offensive), and it’s annoying. Anyone discussing anything who has to sell something that hard and make ravenous remarks has some serious insecurities. So I gave up, I would still always subtly slide in any pro Apple remark where I could, but it had to be applicable and rational, it would be only to educate and inform. I think this same “maturing” of the “Apple fan boy” has taken place on a wider scale with most others as well, and now you see a more confident Apple supporter, who doesn’t sink to kicking Windows users while they are down.

So can the same be said for Windows users? Did they give up on their hyper defensive stance? Have we all matured together to realise some people are okay with driving a minivan (is it at least a turbo charged minivan, with a cool number 18 decal on the side? No?), and the rest of us want something more sporty with a better design aesthetic and a functionality that is so simple, yet so forward? The answer lies on the internets friends, and it’s looking like the answer is “No”.

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Don’t you love the paper iPhone they used to display it? I think that is my favourite part.

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Engadget

There’s no doubt, Vista and Leopard are both extremely advanced, feature rich consumer operating systems. But way back in January when Vista launched knew we had little choice but pit the two in a head to head chartngraph Thunderdome competition. We know we’re not even going to be able to stop the epic fanboy arguments about break out over this one, so we just ask that you try to keep it fair. Leopard vs. Vista: it’s on.

Check out the comparing and contrasting. By the by, I’m not a fanboy, I’m an Apple Enthusiast.

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I believe Kyle will be picking up an MBA, and if he doesn’t get one of these as well I will be sorely disappointed. I’m sure that will really be a huge part of his decision making process.

AirMail

The AirMail laptop sleeve is handmade out of durable upholstery-grade vinyl, and lined with fuzzy, soft fleece. All AirMail sleeves have the same dimensions as standard interoffice manila envelopes, which will serve to remind you — and everyone around you — that your new MacBook Air really is the thinnest laptop in the world!

You can order your very own handmade AirMail here.

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Phil Lu some time ago worked up some mock ups that show us perhaps where this technology could be used. His concept has Apple teaming with Starbucks once again, and it should be noted Phil did these before the patent information from Apple became public knowledge.

You can see the rest of the concept right here. This is the sort of example of how the iPhone is beyond revolutionary, it has the potential to create new functions we never knew we needed, and makes life that much more fun.

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