Technology

Apple announces much more than music at music event

I’m not sure if it’s genetic or if I’ve been socialized to do this, but there’s something about a Steve Jobs’ presentation that turns me into a barely-verbal toddler. With every product he announces I shout “me want that” just like my nephews used to when they were toddlers and watching any commercial that featured brightly-colored plastic junk. So yes, new iPods, new iOS, new iTunes (with a new logo that ditches the CD), Ping a music social network, and a new appleTV. So much stuff. . . here’s what all the pundits are saying already.

• MacRumors
• Gizmodo
• Lifehacker
• Engadget
• ars technica
• NY Times

The tabs on Facebook they are a-changin’

Facebook is reducing the width of custom profile tabs to 520 pixels (down from 760). If you’ve created a custom tab (think landing page of a Facebook app) it’s gonna get 32% slimmer next week.

Imagine if someone came along and lopped off “are a-changin’” from the headline of this post. Bob Dylan and I would be pissed about losing context and leaving you hanging like that. Now, picture that Facebook tab you so lovingly designed, and imagine watching helplessly as that awful Leatherface severed it by one-third with his chainsaw. How does it feel?

Words and images, if not cut off, may be scrambled instead. Clickable links might lose their interactivity. Scary stuff.

Obviously, from here forward we’re building within the 520 frame, and we’re ready to help you adjust existing Facebook tabs – whether we developed the original or not. So fear not, agency partners and clients. The Nerdery will protect you from Leatherface.

Wired: The Web is dead.

Here’s your homework for tonight, reading Wired’s exhaustive package on how apps are killing the web and who’s to blame (us or them, though I haven’t quite figured out who us and them are. I blame that hard to read white on red text).

“Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen).”

And for extra credit you can read Boing Boing’s refutation of Wired’s infographic.

That will be all.

The Verizon-Google legislative framework proposal

In case you missed it yesterday, Google and Verizon released a Legislative Framework Proposal. This proposal is “to preserve the open Internet and the vibrant and innovative markets it supports, to protect consumers, and to promote continued investment in broadband access. With these goals in mind, together we offer a proposed open Internet framework for the consideration of policymakers and the public.”

So they weren’t brokering a deal as reported last week. Interesting. Pundits all over the Internet are buzzing about this latest move. Here’s a roundup of some of the best responses.

• First, an Op-ed piece in The Washington Post from Google & Verizon’s CEOs.
• Dan Gillmor in Salon on why we should be worried.
• There’s only one Internet.
• Tech companies, Google sold you out.

Is net neutrality going the way of the dodo?

UPDATE: Jon Rexeisen points out in the comments that Google responded via Twitter about the Times story.

Did the The New York Times‘ report yesterday on the deal Google and Verizon are trying to make regarding web pay tiers have you feeling a little icky? If you missed it, here’s the lead:

Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

Feels kind of not right, doesn’t it? This editorial by MN Senator Al Franken explains simply how net neutrality is a free speech issue guaranteed by the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“Net neutrality” sounds arcane, but it’s fundamental to free speech. The internet today is an open marketplace. If you have a product, you can sell it. If you have an opinion, you can blog about it. If you have an idea, you can share it with the world.

And no matter who you are — a corporation selling a new widget, a senator making a political argument or just a Minnesotan sharing a funny cat video — you have equal access to that marketplace.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this deal shakes out and who will take up the fight for the people/organizations/businesses who cannot afford the privilege of having speedy delivery of their ideas and products.

Agency Primer Notes: HTML5, CSS3 & You

If you missed out on our Agency Primer about the future, there’s no need to fear, Agency Primer Notes are here!

Nerdery Agency Primers: HTML5 and CSS3 from The Nerdery on Vimeo.

Test your trivia knowledge against IBM’s super-computer, Watson

So what’s the deal with Watson? You can read all about IBM’s trivia-answering supercomputer in the The New York Times. Or, you can skip right to the Watson Trivia Challenge that pits you against the computer in a Jeopardyesque showdown, and this way when you win (and if I can win, I’m sure you can too) you can brag about beating a supercomputer without being bogged down by any actual knowledge about why you might have beaten this supercomputer.

WWDC iPhone 4 announcement

There’s nothing like the WWDC keynote to make your less-than-a-year-old iPhone 3Gs look like an archaic piece of junk worthy of Zack Morris. Also, I have to say this keynote didn’t seem to have the same sense of anticipation. I blame the Gizmodo leak from a few months back.

So here’s what all the pundits have to say about the iPhone 4 and iOS4.

• Engadget
• MacRumors
• ars technica
• NY Times
• Gizmodo
• Lifehacker
• BoingBoing

Agency Primer Notes: Designing for web workflow webinar recap

Whether you missed our last webinar or just want to relive it, here’s the video and presentation deck from our “Designing for Web Workflow” agency primer – as well as a few extra recommended links from designers/presenters Karsten and Matt.

Designing for web workflow from The Nerdery on Vimeo.

Additional resources:

960 Grid System
http://960.gs/

cufón
http://cufon.shoqolate.com/generate/

Typekit
http://typekit.com/

Google Font Directory
http://code.google.com/webfonts

sIFR
http://novemberborn.net/sifr3

Pixel: A pixel art documentary

A short 11-minute documentary about pixel art and early video games. There’s talk about Mario and how he got his bushy mustache (as you know Mario’s a particular Nerdery favorite), and how pixel art is more relatable (where Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics is name-checked).