Tools / Software Posts

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The Inkling from Wacom

The Inkling

I produce a webcomic, and I do it digitally from start to finish. But just because I don’t use paper in my process doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in new tools.

Wacom just released the Inkling. Here’s how Aegir Hallmundur from the Ministry of Type describes it.

What the device offers is convenience, and a bit of magic. It’s less hassle than scanning or photographing your notebooks, and you get scalable vectors nicely separated into whatever layers you want. You can draw an outline sketch and then feel free to scribble and annotate all over it, knowing each addition can be turned on and off and moved about at will, or even deleted entirely. That’s the real appeal of this thing.

Read his review. He covers how it converts the art, the software used to manage the files, and how it does vectors.

Personally, I don’t like it. Too hinky a system for $200.

A comparison between sketches on paper and the result captured by the Inkling.

The Wacom Inkling – a review

The Inkling at Wacom.com

November 15, 2011 | No Comments

A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design

Shots from the Microsoft video

This is a great critique by Bret Victor of the “vision” of the future that Microsoft trotted out in their recent popular video.

Victor:

My problem is the opposite, really — this vision, from an interaction perspective, is not visionary. It’s a timid increment from the status quo, and the status quo, from an interaction perspective, is actually rather terrible.

This matters, because visions matter. Visions give people a direction and inspire people to act, and a group of inspired people is the most powerful force in the world. If you’re a young person setting off to realize a vision, or an old person setting off to fund one, I really want it to be something worthwhile. Something that genuinely improves how we interact.

Victor’s arguments really make Microsoft’s look into the future seem dull and unimaginitive.

Fascinating.

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A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design – via Daring Fireball

November 14, 2011 | No Comments

Internet Explorer at less than 50% usage…and there was much rejoicing

IE 6 About screen

Internet Explorer is now at less than 50% of web usage. Best news I’ve heard in a long, long time.

Internet Explorer is still an important browser, with a userbase large enough that few developers can afford to ignore—though sites that don’t need global appeal may well be able to safely ignore Internet Explorer 6—and at current rates it will remain important for a few years yet. But until and unless Microsoft makes its browser appeal to the influential geek demographic, it looks as if Internet Explorer has nowhere to go but down.

Die, IE6, Die.

The end of an era: Internet Explorer drops below 50% of Web usage – Ars Technica

November 10, 2011 | No Comments

The Mac Pro isn’t long for this Mac world

A Mac Pro

From Marco Arment…

Fewer customers will choose Mac Pros as time goes on. Once that level drops below Apple’s threshold for viability or needing to care, the line will be discontinued.

I bet that time will be about two years from now: enough time for Apple to release one more generation with Thunderbolt and the new Sandy Bridge-based Xeon E5 CPUs in early 2012, giving the Mac Pro a full lifecycle to become even more irrelevant before they’re quietly removed from sale.

A few power users will complain, but most won’t care: by that time, most former Mac Pro customers will have already switched away.

This saddens me. I love my Mac pro. I’ve had it since April 2007 and it still feels fast.

I’ve saved money by being able to swap out dead hard and optical drives and upgrade the video card.

I’ve been planning to buy another Mac Pro to replace my current one. I just hope that they’re still around when I need them.

Scaling down the Mac Pro – Marco.org

November 8, 2011 | No Comments

Using an iDevice to run a small business

photo 5.JPG

Using iDevices to manage tasks and contacts, take credit card payments, and generally getting it done while on the move?

As a former and soon-to-be small biz owner, I’m paying attention to this.

It only looks like I’m playing Peggle Nights on my phone.

Ally: How I use my iPhone to run a small iOS device repair, development and consulting business – via tipb.com

November 4, 2011 | No Comments
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