Beauty

Jonathan Ive on Apple’s designs:

“There is beauty when something works and it works intuitively.”

Amplified: Feel every note

Jim and Dan talk discuss the the larger iPhone screen rumor, insight on how Apple works, some great Mac apps, Comic Sans, Dell’s decline, Chrome overtaking IE, Ron Johnson’s performance at JC Penny and how to play lead guitar.Sponsored by Warby Parker, Squarespace, and Shopify.

Evolution of an iPhone app

The LogYourRun iPhone app was launched in the summer of 2009. It is coming up on 3 years now and I thought it might be interesting to do a short historic review of the evolution of the app to show some of the design and UI changes that the app has undergone during it’s life time. It has truly been an evolutionary process and I don’t think people with the current app would recognize the original incarnation of the app nor would they probably be too happy with the original version

Amazing changes in a relatively short time.

Capo [Sponsor]

Reverse Engineering Rock and Roll: Capo is a revolutionary tool that helps you learn the music in your iTunes library. Available for your Mac, iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Download the free trial for the Mac, and check out the new mastering-quality slowing engine that retains the detail in your music all the way down to quarter-speed!

Feds probe Facebook IPO insider bank warnings

Sam Gustin for Time:

Facebook’s Wall Street investment banks warned top clients of new doubts about the social network’s financial prospects just days before the company’s IPO, according to a series of reports that emerged Tuesday. After receiving briefings from Facebook executives, analysts at the banks lowered their financial forecasts for big institutional clients, some of whom scaled back plans to buy Facebook stock, even as the banks raised the IPO price and number of shares amid a frenzy of hype.

Tracking with Pro Tools

Creating great sounding tracks all starts before you hit Record for the first downbeat. Does your DAW rise above latency distractions and deliver the best sound quality possible? Avid’s Tom Graham, Brian Carter, and Gil Gowing share their tips and insight into tracking and mixing a full rock trio—during the actual recording session—using a host-based Pro Tools|HD Native system and ICON D-Control.

Dell sucks balls; stock drops 12%

Dell posted first quarter sales, earnings, second quarter revenue guidance — you name it — well short of expectations Tuesday, sending shares of the Round Rock, Texas technology company were down more than 12% in after-hours trading.

Maybe they could bring back the Streak.

The iPhone screen

Chuck Remington for 9to5Mac:

Both of these phones sport a new, larger display that is 3.95 inches diagonally. Apple will not just increase the size of the display and leave the current resolution, but will actually be adding pixels to the display. The new iPhone display resolution will be 640 x 1136. That’s an extra 176 pixels longer of a display. The screen will be the same 1.94 inches wide, but will grow to 3.45 inches tall. This new resolution is very close to a 16:9 screen ratio, so this means that 16:9 videos can play full screen at their native aspect ratio.

More thoughts on a larger screen iPhone

Will Hains:

So, how hard it is for developers does not factor in Apple’s decision here. Rather, decisions are based on the resulting product; and then Apple works on making the transition as smooth as possible within that constraint. “Do I want this to happen?” is a different question to “Will it happen?”

I don’t agree with everything in this post, but the middle section is a good read.

Misquoted

Fred Wilson:

The new media world has its pros and cons. The pros are that I’ve got a blog to set the record straight and that everybody is recording everything. The negatives are that bloggers don’t feel compelled to write accurate headlines and twitter can amplify the inaccuracies when those headlines get tweeted and retweeted.

Tivo streaming to your iPad and iPhone

The IP set-top box works with the TiVo Premiere Q, a home’s primary gateway device, to give consumers access to live and recorded TV, operator VOD, plus broadband-delivered content on every TV in the house. This is delivered through the innovative TiVo experience consumers have come to know and love. It includes integrated MoCA to simplify home networking and multi-room applications.TiVo Stream seamlessly delivers the content available on a consumer’s TiVo Premiere or Premiere Q DVR to alternative screens such as iPads and iPhones. Unlike similar offerings in the market, this is the first product to enable streaming or download of shows simultaneously to multiple portable devices without interrupting what’s playing on the television. The power of TiVo Stream enables users to quickly transfer shows to their mobile device for viewing outside the home.

A conversation with Kickstarter’s founder

Om Malik:

When I see Kickstarter I don’t see a company. Instead, I see a social movement. I see people doing things for people. I think of Kickstarter as a reflection of me, which is why I engage with it.

That’s what so interesting about Kickstarter — the projects succeed or fail based on public support.

Apple’s Ping

Adam Haworth:

We all know Ping is kind of shit. Well, not kind of. It is shit. But I’ve been thinking recently (dangerous, I know) and I reckon there are a few ways that it can be rescued. Apple’s failed attempt at “social” is not dead yet.

I don’t think Apple knows what to do with Ping. That seems clear because users don’t know what to do with it either. I don’t know that a separate app is the way to go because social networking and sharing is such an impulsive decision — it almost has to be done on the spot.

Instrument tuning tips for better recordings

Daniel Keller for Universal Audio:

While you’ve been working hard and paying attention to the songs, the parts, the sounds, and all the other big-picture stuff, maybe something’s just ever so slightly out of tune. I’m not talking about the really obvious slightly sharp high E string on the rhythm guitar; sometimes it’s the subtle stuff that makes all the difference.

Nothing like an out of tune instrument to kill recording.

Student’s $675,000 penalty for sharing 30 songs upheld

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a Boston University student’s constitutional challenge to a $675,000 penalty for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet, but his lawyer says there’s still a chance the amount could be reduced.

Apple files for immediate U.S. ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1

Florian Mueller:

Apple’s motion is fairly likely to succeed. If and when it does, there will be formal U.S. bans in place against all three of the leading Android device makers.

That’s what happens when you steal from your competitors.

What’s the deal with Comic Sans?

“Comic Sans was designed because when I was working at Microsoft, I received a beta version of Microsoft Bob. It was a comic software package that had a dog called Rover at the beginning and he had a balloon with messages using Times New Roman.”

Developers on the potential larger iPhone screen

Erica Ogg:

But what do the developers who will have to deal with the implications of a larger screen think? I talked to a few iOS app makers, and interestingly, many of them are not convinced Apple would actually “pull an Android,” as one developer put it, and make it more complicated to design for a bunch of different screen sizes (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4/4S and something new).

Animated 3D bar charts with CSS3

The initial challenge was to create a classic semi-transparent 3D box with 6 sides. The final challenge was to create a complete 3D bar chart which we will create in this tutorial.

So much better than plain images or using JavaScript.

Pantone unveils 336 new colors

The 336 New Colors enrich the current PLUS SERIES palette, providing a more comprehensive selection. All color families are extended to include a wider variety of values, saturation and undertones – from subtle pastels and reliable mid-tones to the intensity of deep tones, vivid brights and vital, nuanced neutrals.

Big hoary audacious game plan

Om Malik on Facebook back in the day:

when asked how the company will make money, Mark apparently said the company isn’t currently focused on monetization and will be looking to extend their platform’s reach. He doesn’t have to – if Facebook Connect works, the money will follow.