Country Shops
Welcome to Country Shops !

Shopping Home page

  • Why We Built Readability

     

    Over at the Arc90 blog, I share some thoughts

    on why we built Readability and where we plan on taking it. It?s an interesting time. The big players ? the players that can afford to build their own mini-Internets - are already battling it out.

    For us, it?s about doing it on the Web. It?s about elevating the Web providing amazing experiences around content. It will require great tools and a fair amount of discipline, but the Web can become the premium place to explore and consume quality content.

    Look out for where we?re taking Readability this summer. It?s going to be fun.

  • Pulse App Pulled For I-Don’t-Know-What

     

    So wait.

    The Pulse iPad app

    gets pulled

    because the New York Times put the squeeze on Apple to remove the app from the iTunes store. The key text from the New York Times legal:

    The Pulse News Reader app, makes commercial use of the NYTimes.com and Boston.com RSS feeds, in violation of their Terms of Use*. Thus, the use of our content is unlicensed. The app also frames the NYTimes.com and Boston.com websites in violation of their respective Terms of Use.

    So be warned, Netneswire

    , Reeder

    or any other feed reader out there. Hell, anybody that is pulling in content via RSS into an iPhone or iPad app be warned. This is big news. Consuming content freely available on the Web crosses a line, a brand new frickin? line that didn?t exist yesterday.

    Now, this can?t be real right? There has to be some nuanced fine line that Pulse crossed. The New York Times cease and desist letter goes on to say:

    I note that the app is delivered with the NYTimes.com RSS feed preloaded, which is prominently featured in the screen shots used to sell the app on iTunes.

    Emphasis mine. Ah, now I see. It?s because the Pulse reader preloads the New York Times feed as a default. If a user pulled it in, then that?s OK (I guess) but if Pulse preloads it, they?ve crossed a line?

    Guess what else crosses a line? Apple Safari on the iPad or iPhone. By default it comes preloaded with the New York Times among a host of other news sources.

    This is an incredibly dangerous precedent. I predict the New York Times will come to its senses and reverse their position. I can?t imagine this sticking.

    Update: Position reversed

    . I?d love to hear an explanation behind what happened.

    Update #2: Wait, The Times Company still wants it out

    . Stay tuned!

  • Growing Old Friends

     

    Every day, many times a day, millions of people snub millions of other people on the Internet. It happens amongst those of us that are fortunate enough (or unfortunate ? depending on your viewpoint) to have crossed a relatively modest threshold of social connections facilitated by the Internet and more specifically email.

    The typical snubbing goes something like this:

    • You?re introduced to someone in person or you reach out to someone that you think is worth connecting with. You send an email.
    • They respond and thank you for the note and convey that they?d love to meet up some time for a drink or lunch or coffee or whatever.
    • You follow up with them and they never respond. Ever.

    I can attest that this has happened to me. I can also shamefully attest that I?ve done this to others. I promise a follow-up and I never actually follow up.

    55217_2

    Here?s the ugly reality of email overload: the outcome isn?t just a cluttered inbox. It?s countless people waiting to be acknowledged and ? dare I say ? respected. But we simply can?t do it. We can only handle so much at a time. The incredible efficiency of email and other communication tools have far outpaced and blown out our own expectations of how we should respectfully and properly communicate with one another.

    As I stare at my countless emails, I know for certain that there are senders in there that deserve a response and probably won?t get it. Many times a day, every day we send the following signal to those waiting on the other end:

    ?I haven?t gotten to you because there are others that are more important to me right now and, I?m sorry to say, you just haven?t made it up the list.?

    Doesn?t it sound awful? This is exactly what we do when the flow of emails come in. We prioritize in real-time. The chosen few will get a response. Some will get one almost immediately. The rest? They get nothing. They don?t even get a ?sorry, I?m very busy right now? response. They get silence.

    When we do run into someone we?ve failed to respond to, we usually pile on the ??I?ve just been so slammed with work and the whole conference thing that I just haven?t been able to catch up!? The other person usually just smiles and looks away. They understand where they?ve landed on the priority list.

    Everyone applauds the hyper-connectedness we?re experiencing today. The truth is we can?t really leverage it in a very meaningful way. There are a chosen few that get proper attention, the rest just end up in a sort of long tail of human connections. They?re relegated to an almost trivial status ? only acknowledged as a scored point on your ?friends? or ?followers? tally.

    There?s been a lot of interesting discussion of late about what the Internet is doing to our brains. Nick Carr is leading the charge with a recent Wired feature

    and a new book called The Shallows

    . In short, the barrage of information that comes at us via the Internet is rewiring our brains. We?re optimizing ourselves for short, fleeting bursts of information. The capacity to focus and think deeply is under threat. I agree with much of Carr?s thinking because I?m experiencing it first hand.

    Carr makes a compelling argument on the psychological impact of the Internet. What?s most unnerving to me is that some of the ?content? I?m consuming (or expected to consume) isn?t a book or an article. It?s people. My diminishing ability to focus and give due attention is actually having a social impact on the people I know and the people that attempt to connect with me.

    frame2

    A new social protocol is emerging. We?re starting to sense that we can?t really give one another due attention. The outcome is a dilution of the basic building blocks of social mores. Words like ?friend? or ?connection? have been watered down and our expectations around them have diminished as well.

    Take each of us in this shallow state that Carr describes and put us in a Petri dish. How will we connect? Do we just buzz around occasionally bumping into another? Can we connect deeply? Will we give one another the chance to form the subtle but deep roots that connect people in a meaningful way?

    I don?t think anyone can predict how we?ll adjust and tweak our behavior to deal with these changes. We?re flooded with information today, but it doesn?t linger. It doesn?t stick around and age. The best social connections we can make are the ones that we keep around and cultivate. I hope we don?t lose that capacity to give worthwhile connections their due attention. As the writer and critic John Leonard said: ?It takes a long time to grow an old friend.?

  • Readability Updated: Hyperlinks Be Gone! (If You LIke)

     

    What I love about working at Arc90 is that, rather than just putting in my .02 on some heated debate on design and technology, we actually get to ship stuff to state our case. Shipping is the strongest statement you can make.

    Nick Carr recently wrote an interesting post entitled Experiments in Delinkification

    . The premise was simple: the lure of hyperlinks are a distraction from the reading experience. A heated (and I mean heated) debate ensued and many others chimed in

    .

    Well, we decided to do something about it. Today, we?re releasing an update to Readability that adds the option to turn all hyperlinks in long-form text into a set of footnotes. You can learn all about this update by visiting the Arc90 blog

    .

    This clever little update would not have been possible had Tim Meaney

    not clamored for it and had Chris Dary

    and Dan Lacy

    not built it. We hope you find it useful.

  • The Museum of Magazine History

     

    Interfacelab

    and iA

    do an admirable job of ripping the new Wired iPad app to shreds. I don?t need to add more to what they?ve already said. I will add what they didn?t say:

    Fundamentally, what makes Wired so good is the content. It?s a good brand because its content is good. This app is the equivalent of Wired taking its content, throwing it in a pit and pouring cement over it. It?s an instant fossilization. The content is mummified. Never to be touched or dissected or shared. I can?t even circle a paragraph on the fucking thing. 

    With technology, shit is supposed to move forward. You?re supposed to be able to do stuff and experience stuff that you couldn?t before. This app is more like a tribute to magazines than a reimagining of where publishing can become.

    It?s anti-Web, anti-sharing, anti-copy/paste - anti-everything. It?s a disservice to what was created. On the Web, content lives and breathes. This isn?t a digital magazine. It?s a tomb.

    One final thought: there?s an odd irony about the whole experience. The iPad brings us closer to content ? physically ? than any technology to come before it. The whole experience is almost a tease. You?re swiping and touching all these ?pages? and you can?t do a single thing with them. Welcome to the Museum of Magazine History.

  • IPad Impressions (Because The World Really Needs One More F#*%ing Blog Post About the iPad)

     

    Yes, everything that can be said about the iPad has been said, except what I?m going to say (which is hopefully different than what others have said - maybe):

    • I input less on this thing. There is no keyboard. I explore less. I find myself bookmarking pages that I like perusing because I don?t see myself doing anything highly interactive on it. By taking the keyboard away, I?m pressed towards a passive posture (I?m not insinuating this is bad, it just is).
    • You can?t multitask. This is a good thing. Without being poked and prodded by juggling five things at a time (which usually includes some sort of chat client), we?re giving our brains a chance to dive deeper into the experience in front of us.
    • I have one question for content creators, publishers and even some of the application designers out there: why did you wait for the iPad to clean up your shitty designs? USA Today. Time magazine. New York Times. Even some of the apps that have Web interfaces got an upgrade. Why not make them great on the Web?
    • You can?t resize the Web browser. By imposing this constraint, it frees up designers to think more about composition and art direction. There are two modes ? horizontal and vertical. It?s a hat tip to paper. You can?t resize paper.
    • Historically, devices became more magical by getting smaller. From a big cassette player to the Sony Walkman to the iPod shuffle. Imagine if the iPad came first. Imagine if rumors started flying around of a ?miniature iPad that could fit into your pocket.? It would run all of your existing apps (scaled down) and it would let you make phone calls.
    • I don?t think anyone will do long form reading on it. The Kindle is small, light and feels more like paper. I don?t think people want light emanating from a book they?re trying to read. I could be wrong here.
    • I think the introduction of $5 magazines-as-apps that look like Web pages without all the garbage is preposterous.
    • There?s something irksome about the way this thing shuns the Web ? not just in terms of Web browsing, but in terms of how it overwhelming imposes its own patterns and paradigms that only render things more cumbersome. Maybe this is where we?re headed: vertical lock-in from device to cloud. That would suck.

    These are my impressions after a couple of days. What?s fun about a device like this is that I can honestly say I don?t know what my impressions will be in a week or a month or 3 months. For all its strengths and faults, it is different, and it?s forcing us to ask new questions about design, technology and how we want things to work. That?s always a good thing.

  • Come Say Hi To The Basement.org Guy At SXSW

     

    First off, my apologies for the lack of postings on Basement.org. I am still alive and I've got thoughts I badly want to get down, but time is sparse these days unfortunately.

    If you're attending SXSW Interactive, I will be there along with some of my partners in crime from Arc90: Tim Meaney

    , Avi Flax

    , and Rama Poola

    . Tim and I will be giving a talk that should've been called The Revenge of People, but instead it's called The Revenge of Editorials

    . It's about the Web, people, craftsmanship, content and all sorts of other stuff. We're excited to about it and hope you can join us. It's our first time at SXSW. We look forward to the sensory overload.

    In any case, if you'd like to meet up, feel free to email me

    or ping me on Twitter

    .

  • The iPad & The Side Streets

     

    Anyone that follows this blog knows that I'm an unrelenting advocate of building great user experiences. Whether on the Web, mobile or desktop software, great user experiences enlighten, flatter and elevate users.

    As technology continues to accelerate forward, it's become even more critical to mask away the complexities of how things work and to just make them work. Period. Thanks to the likes of Apple, user experience isn't "something we should think about" anymore. It's a key differentiator. A better-designed anything will win.

    Continue reading The iPad & The Side Streets...

  • The Essential First Step To Blowing Minds

     

    "Less is more."

    It's a powerful phrase. It's one of those rare quotes that itself is illustrative of what it's trying to say. If we decompress it, we're really saying something like "If you show less, then each thing you show carries more weight."

    Taking the thought a bit further, I'd assert that less isn't only more, "less" is often essential to success. Conversely, "more" often leads to failure. When we release a product, we often want to talk about its power and versatility. Truth is, nobody else wants to hear about that. They want to know ? in as simple a manner as possible ? why something should matter to them.

    Continue reading The Essential First Step To Blowing Minds...

Basement.org Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:06:34 -0500

Calcium Fluoride Windows - Calcium Fluoride Windows
...tical parts use Calcium Fluoride as one of their key ingredients. Parts like optical windows often use this substance and it can be found in both infared and ultraviolet wavelengths. When optical mat...
Visit Calcium Fluoride Windows...

Wedding Chair Cover Hire - Wedding Chair Cover Hire
...to on a daily basis and not only will you find wedding chair cover hire , you will find most, if not all of your wedding gear there for sale or for hire. You will want your wedding chairs to look fant...
Visit Wedding Chair Cover Hire...

Year 6 Leavers Assembly - Year 6 Leavers Assembly
...ers assembly is a performance which will remain in a child`s memory for the rest of their lives. If you are looking for inspiration for your year 6 leavers assembly this year then why not take a look ...
Visit Year 6 Leavers Assembly...

Detailing Cambridge - Detailing Cambridge
...amaged from stone chips on the road, or little knocks off other car doors on the car park. Who can help you keep it looking as good as new? There is one company who specialize in detailing Cambridge. ...
Visit Detailing Cambridge...

Gothic Boots - Gothic Boots
...ion of gothic boots available at the moment and Goths can choose from many wonderful designs. Both male and female Goths can choose various types of gothic boots that are just waiting to find new hom...
Visit Gothic Boots...

Germanium Lens - Germanium Lens
...ermanium Lens I wondered where to begin. Not being an expert on lenses of any variety it was fairly daunting to say the least. Apparently, Germanium by nature has a high refractive index and this m...
Visit Germanium Lens...

Office Partitions - Office Partitions
...e some excellent specialist companies that can supply and fit all your office partitions and are capable of matching most ranges of partition and dry lining systems to suit your practical and aestheti...
Visit Office Partitions...

Ceramic Tiles - Ceramic Tiles
...hoosing the right type of covering for floors might be difficult for some people as they can`t decide between carpet, laminate, or hard wood flooring, not to mention the various tiled options that are...
Visit Ceramic Tiles...

Hen Party Birmingham - Hen Party Birmingham
...u want to do some thing a little different than just running round town in a sash and a comedy veil? For your hen party Birmingham why not go to the company who specialize in tailored parties that wil...
Visit Hen Party Birmingham...

Branded Usb Flash Drives - Branded Usb Flash Drives
...sh memory cards formatted and originally launched by Sony. They really make perfect corporate gifts as they are useful as well as being a great way to advertise. At the moment these branded usb flash ...
Visit Branded Usb Flash Drives...

Detailing - Detailing
...I like to give them a wax at least twice a year. I love it when the car has just had a recent wax and you can see the water running off the bodywork when it rains. My waxing skills are ok but there a...
Visit Detailing...

Hen Party - Hen Party
...o the best hen party I have ever attended and I must say it surprised me that I enjoyed it so much. I am not and never have been one of those people who look forward to the idea of a hen party. You ...
Visit Hen Party...

Corporate Branded Gifts - Corporate Branded Gifts
...key rings and lanyards but why not give out corporate gifts that can actually come in useful so that you reduce the chances dramatically of them being thrown away.USB flash drives for instance make gr...
Visit Corporate Branded Gifts...

Racking - Racking
... essential extra space without the need to get bigger premises, which can be very costly to your company. Modular Racking systems may be used to provide a quick and economic solution to space problems...
Visit Racking...

Plastic Envelopes - Plastic Envelopes
...s fair bit when it comes to recycling. We have separate bins for glass, paper and tins and try to ensure that we are as green as we possibly can be. Therefore it`s heartening for me when I see compa...
Visit Plastic Envelopes...

Environmental Chamber Hire - Environmental Chamber Hire
...t is exposed to it on a regular basis. If you design equipment how can you be sure that it can stand up to such climatic traumas and still perform well under when placed under pressure? One solution...
Visit Environmental Chamber Hire...

Gothic Clothing - Gothic Clothing
...ting designs. Jackets and corsets, boots and bags are found quite easily through online suppliers like Angel Clothing. A goth who likes only the finest items of gothic clothing will be able to repl...
Visit Gothic Clothing...

Motor Scooters - Motor Scooters
...days when you take everything into consideration. There`s the cost of insurance, road tax and servicing, not to mention the annual MOT if the car is over three years old. Buy new and the vehicle wil...
Visit Motor Scooters...

Interior Shutters - Interior Shutters
...ers in front of the bay window. For some time now I`ve been toying with the idea of having shutters fitted as I think they`d suit the style of our property perfectly. White wooden shutters would lo...
Visit Interior Shutters...

Postal Bags - Postal Bags
...e noticed that more companies are using postal bags instead of padded envelopes these days when they send certain items through the post. I myself have received a number of these bags in the past and...
Visit Postal Bags...

Tool Repair - Tool Repair
...a Tool Repair shop can breathe new life into them. That is so much better than the landfill and replacement option! Tool Repair engineers will look over your item and give you an accurate diagnosis a...
Visit Tool Repair...

Oakley Sunglasses - Oakley Sunglasses
...A, Oakley has been the market leader in sunglasses design for the last 35 years. As well as making sunglasses they also produce sports visors, ski goggles, watches, clothes, backpacks, bags, shoes and...
Visit Oakley Sunglasses...

Used Scooters - Used Scooters
...r is a dream for many people. There are hundreds of scooter clubs up and down the United Kingdom and the most coveted scooters are not the newer models. It is the Used scooters that are more popular, ...
Visit Used Scooters...

Dc Shoes - Dc Shoes
...ly be a click away. There`s a supplier online that stocks this amazing collection of skate shoes and trainers and one pair could have your name on them. Look at the numerous pairs of dc shoes that ...
Visit Dc Shoes...

Floor Preparation Tools - Floor Preparation Tools
... preparation is in some cases as important as the floor installation. If the necessary preparations are not made there can be long-term consequences. If a floor is not levelled it can mean a number of...
Visit Floor Preparation Tools...

Repair Service And Calibration Of Environmental Chambers - Repair Service And Calibration Of Environmental Chambers
...under a number of environmental conditions is commonplace for many companies in the UK. Placed inside environmental chambers all sorts of equipment can be placed under test conditions. Making sure ...
Visit Repair Service And Calibration Of Environmental Chambers...

Venetian Blinds - Venetian Blinds
...a new house and we are currently waiting to move into it. The house itself is structurally sound, thank goodness, but the decoration throughout is not to our taste at all and we are determined to cha...
Visit Venetian Blinds...

Wall Tiles - Wall Tiles
...ects to transform bathrooms onto beautiful bathing areas can be given a boost by opting for tasteful types of tiles on the walls. The latest ranges of floor and wall tiles are certainly comprehensive...
Visit Wall Tiles...

Eileen Douglas - Eileen Douglas
... tack shop is one of the largest equestrian retailers in UK. They have three shops, and are a family-run business. They deal in various products for horses and riders. All kinds of equipment, such as ...
Visit Eileen Douglas...

Rambo - Rambo
...The name Rambo conjures up images of strength and determination and that`s why it`s used for horse related products. In the horse world products need to be durable and long lasting and that`s what yo...
Visit Rambo...

Chair Covers London - Chair Covers London
...ne time I never thought I`d hear myself say. My fiancée and I will be getting married next year and we`ve been busy making arrangements for our special day. There`s certainly plenty to keep the both...
Visit Chair Covers London...

Primary School Assembly Resources - Primary School Assembly Resources
...or fresh inspiration and ideas for collective primary school assembly resources in primary schools. Following the success of the first compilation of primary school assembly resources, this new book o...
Visit Primary School Assembly Resources...


Click For More Detailed Information on:

Home  |  About Us  |  Contact Us  |  Articles  |  Special Reports  |  Links  |  Site Map

Copyright © 2003-2010. All Rights Reserved.


Valid CSS!