Jahr: 2009

violet – The Internet of Things starts here, fun objects using RFID and WLAN: „Violet’s dream is therefore to make the physical space in which we live – our homes, offices, public spaces – a better place: rich, intelligent, connected, personalized, awe-inspiring, fun. Not a space that simulates 3D, but that naturally is 3D. A…

I keep forgetting how to get started with the wonderful rrdtool, so here’s a note to myself for the next time (and here’s the tutorial)… I’m creating a database with these characteristics: a single, once every 10 minute measured gauge named „num“ which is OK with up to 20 minute gaps between values 10 minute…

Eric Ries – Validated learning about customers: „The problem stems from selling each customer a custom one-time product. This is the magic of sales: by learning about each customer in-depth, they can convince each of them that this product would solve serious problems. That leads to cashing many checks. […] They are closing orders. They…

„EtherPad lets multiple people work on the same text simultaneously. […] Insanely useful for Meeting notes, Conference calls. […] No account required. The only really real-time collaborative editor on the web.“

Scott Adams – How I Saved Newspapers: „The key is to get kids interested in the online version of the super-local news. Kids care about themselves more than they care about anything else in the world. […] With this concept the local newspaper extends their business model to include working with schools and youth sports…

Martin Kelley at O’Reilly Broadcast – Will Facebook (all but) replace corporate websites?: „With the rise of the real-time update streams being popularized by Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed, users are becoming accustomed to a constantly-changing flow of pictures, videos and new snippets. Even actively-maintained websites seem locked in languid stupor in comparison. […] This will…

Tim Bray – Al3x, Meet Ted: „At this point I appeal to Sturgeon’s Law, usually stated as “95% of everything is crap”. The key thing is, you have to do some mental filtering and look at the other 5%. The Internet helps via PageRank and friends, but independent thinking is required too: make your own…

InfoQ interview – Tim Bray on the Future of the Web: „When the web came along people shriked with glee and universally abandoned all those rich immersive responsive pre-internet applications and ran into the arms of the web. […] Over the years since then I have regularly and steadily heard them saying: „We need something…

Jakob Nielsen – Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well: „Mega drop-downs make it easy to use icons and pictures when appropriate. And, even if you stick to text alone, you have richer typography at your disposal (letting you differentiate link sizes according to their importance, for example).“

Bill Taylor – Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit–And You Should Too: „The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: „If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.“ Zappos actually bribes…