I scheduled some time today to record video, so I opened up a thread for questions. Post your questions over on Google Moderator so that I can see which questions are popular. I?ve only got 45-60 minutes, so I can?t answer every question, but I?ll try to answer several popular questions and a few interesting [...]

Introduction In our company, code reviews play an integral part in the development process for making quality software. We opt for a mentor style approach with Wufoo, where a developer works on a segment for a period of time and then passes it up to a more experienced developer for review. We really like this approach [...]

The new Typographica.org , which uses a width of 1040. Lately I've been questioning if it isn't time to move beyond 960 for websites, and if so, what the ideal width may be. Those of you frequenting this site for a few years may recall a similar quandary, " Optimal width for 1024px resolution? ". In it, I proposed 960 as the ideal width for moving beyond 800x600: I?ve been using 960 for some time now, as it?s slightly smaller than full width, and it?s divisible by 3, 4, 5,...

It's the honeymoon phase of learning a new platform. That part where you really enjoy the features that it offers. It's fun and exciting. You've yet to discover all the weird quirks and limitations. This little screencast is of my little frolic through the fields that is Webkit in Titanium. If, like me, you've been hearing about all the nice features that have been going into Webkit then come along and check out this 5 minute screencast into a couple useful features. Within...

One of the strongest conventions on the Web is that links should be underlined and that underlined text is linked. I don?t think you have to follow that convention slavishly at all times ? there are other ways of making links obvious. But I cannot understand why some sites insist on hiding links from their users by removing their underline and making them the same colour as the surrounding text. I?m not thinking of navigation areas or other parts of the interface where the context tells...

I seem to be getting into many conversations lately on the merits of keeping a sketchbook. Almost everyone agrees they are a good idea, but surprisingly few actually do it. The excuse I hear most often from non-sketchers is ?I can?t draw?. And now I?ll tell you what I told them: Sketchbooks are not about being a good artist, they?re about being a good thinker. Obviously, some people bring the practice of sketching to a higher art form, but to me it?s always been about...

Seemingly reasonable middle-ground suggestions here that would allow web typography to move forward, allow people to use all the free fonts they want, yet continue to allow type designers to earn a living. - archive link -

The folks of Mobify contacted me a few weeks ago with the request if they could create a mobile version of my blog. A mobile version of the blog is one of those things that got moved from my ?to-do? list to the ?one day? list. This request sounded like music to my ears, and of course I was really curious about the outcome, but first, some introduction?

The UIE Roadshow is back! UIE is excited to continue our new UIE Roadshow: Secrets Behind Designing Great User Experiences, a full-day workshop, based on 10 years of UIE’s extensive research, that will deliver new insights and inspire your team to create the best user experiences. Folks who missed out on the February and March Roadshows are asking us [...]

This week, when I’m not battling the zombies of the linkrot apocalypse with a squirrel , I’m preparing my presentation for Bamboo Juice . I wasted far too much time this morning watching the ancillary material from the BBC’s The Speaker in the vain hope that it might help my upcoming public speaking engagement. My talk is going to be a long zoom presentation along the lines of Open Data and The Long Web . I should concentrate on technologies, standards...

It can often be hard to explain what it is you do as a front-end web developer, interface developer, or whatever you like calling yourself if you work with the code that gets delivered to web browsers. Sadly it can also be hard for others to understand and respect how difficult this job can be, and how important it is to the health of the web and the success of any web site. Fortunately Chris Heilmann recently posted a link to a video where Nate Koechley at Yahoo! does a great job of...

Now that I have a little more free time, I've begun the process of bringing Snitter back to life. The crowd of desktop applications has not deterred my resolve to (re)build a Twitter application of my own. I have a vision — a vision that I've had since before SXSW of last year — that I still have an opportunity to bring to fruition. However, along the way, I've decided to accomplish a little extra along the way: I'm building a framework to allow...

Gestural (touch) UI is gaining momentum as a suitable companion, and in some cases worthy replacement, to the traditional UI via peripheral device input. Of course, with this momentum comes revised thinking about how we design for interaction. To this end, San Francisco-based Punchcut , an agency specializing in mobile design, threw together a very brief video demonstrating five considerations to keep in mind when designing for touch. (Beautiful job on motion design btw,...

Research proves attractive things work better. How we think cannot be separated from how we feel. The next time a boss, client, or co-worker scoffs at the notion that beauty is an important aspect of interface design, point their peepers here.

Is there life after Georgia? We ask David Berlow, co-founder of The Font Bureau, Inc, and the ?rst TrueType type designer, how type designers and web designers can work together to resolve licensing and technology issues that stand between us and real fonts on the web.

How do we get people to stick around long enough to see and evaluate the value we’re offering? Or, to put it more crudely: How do we get to first base? (with our users!) This is the topic of my most recent presentation, “The Art and Science of Seductive Interactions,” in which I explore some of the more clever ways sites are leveraging basic human psychology to create what I would describe as “seductive interactions.” The Art & Science...

Amidst all the Oracle/Sun/MySQL news today , the MySQL Conference kicks off this week. So I just spent a few minutes putting together my picks for the sessions I'd like to attend at the MySQL Conference and the Percona Performance Conference ( schedule ). There's quite a lineup and I have some hard choices to make. Both groups have put together excellent events. And, wow, there are a lot of new storage engines and appliances coming out. To make my...

In just two weeks, I’ll be heading west to Seattle for An Event Apart . The event, as with any AEA show, will undoubtedly rock. It’s also on the brink of being sold out, so act now if you’d like to attend. You can also save an extra $100 off the registration by using the discount code AEACEDE . And that reminds me. If one were looking for the best coffee in Seattle, where would one go? Let the debate begin, fine folks of the Pacific Northwest.

Interesting news this morning, just as the 2009 MySQL Conference is starting. As is being reported all over the place , Oracle has agreed to buy Sun at $9.50 per share, giving them to a ton of great technology (Solaris, ZFS, MySQL, DTrace, etc.). One one of the biggest threats to Oracle's core database business (at the low end, at least) for a while now has been MySQL. And now they're poised to own MySQL after Sun bought it not long ago. (It seems like yesterday that Oracle...

A while ago I wrote about Synergy and showed a picture of my desktop as of July 2007: That’s two 24″ Dell monitors (one for a Windows computer, the other for a Linux computer). I’ve had that setup for a couple years and I recently decided it was time to upgrade. So I bought a 30″ [...]