What the Critics Don't Get About Apple's Aperture
Many reviewers have given Apple a pretty good thrashing over its new professional photography software, Aperture. After delving into Aperture, Scott Bourne has come to some conclusions about where the critics went wrong, and he puts forth his ideas in this article.
Tweaking iTunes
Our favorite music app, iTunes is much more than a player. It's Apple's representative to the non-Mac world, a focal point for Apple's growing media empire, and a pioneering combination of desktop application and online service. With all that in mind, let's ask ourselves: how can we mess around with iTunes? Giles Turnbull shows you how.
Newsletter from O'Reilly UG Program - 01/27/2006
Online version of O'Reilly User Group Newsletter from 01/27/2006.
Slowing Down - Learning how to think
The connection between six-year-old chess players and Head First.
User Groups Benefit from Safari
When O’Reilly developers needed someone to user-test the new Safari Affiliate Program, Stephen Henry from the North Coast Mac Users Group was the ideal choice. Situated 40 miles north of San Francisco, NCMUG has been active since the Mac first arrived in 1984. Henry created an excellent working example of how user groups can implement the Affiliate Program to benefit their members. Ed Stephenson brings you the details.
Ambient Findability
Thomas "Duffbert" Duff
Have you ever stopped to think about how "information" and the ability to find it has changed our lives? Ambient Findability by Peter Morville takes you down a thought-provoking path as to what it all means...
Contents: Lost and Found; A Brief History of Wayfinding; Information Interaction; Intertwingled; Push and Pull; The Sociosemantic Web; Inspired Decisions; Index
First off, this isn't a book along the lines of "follow these steps to increase your search engine ranking". In fact, if you're just looking for some quick hit suggestions on how to make your site easier to find, don't buy the book. It'd be a waste of your time. But if you're ready to really think about what "searching" means, read on. Morville examines how a number of trends have converged to make it possible to find out just about anything regardless of where you are and when you're looking for it. Wi-fi has made it possible to have search engine access outside the home or office. Google's massive indexing ability has allowed us to find things that would never be found otherwise. GPS, cell phones, and other technical marvels have made us locate-able regardless of where we (or the searcher) are. All this "ambient findability" changes who we are both as individuals and as a part of society. And with the continuing advance of smaller chips, more bandwidth, and integration of RFID into everyday products, this convergence of information exchange and interaction only promises to get deeper and more pervasive. As stated in the book... The future is already here, but it's just not evenly distributed yet...
I'm a little surprised I liked this book as much as I did. As I've stated in the past, I tend to avoid philosophical musings and gravitate towards practical "how do I" titles. But this one snared me. It's well written to begin with, and I think the subject matter was one that I was already interested in. It's the type of book that you should read slowly and think about as you go. When you understand how we've arrived at our current destination, it tends to make you have a greater appreciation for things we (or at least I) have taken for granted.
If you're ready for something that will make you think and ponder, Ambient Findability should make an appearance on your "need to read" list...
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