September 22, 2009
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.While I won’t agree with all that’s written here, it sure sounds like the author got most of this right. Taken in context, it all makes sense.
A while ago I wrote about the problem of naming an operating system after an animal. While it takes the technical jargon off it, and it becomes more manageable from a marketing standpoint, it makes it incredibly difficult to put in context. This is a redux of the same rant I had on a day when I got tired of people calling that operating system ‘Leopard’.
If I hear Mac OS X 10.5 called ‘Leopard’ one more time, I think I’m going to start that killing spree I’m always going on about. Oh, and now it’s even better, with the ‘Snow Leopard’. And just to keep upping my urge to kill, people trying to be cute are calling it Snowy Leopard. Prison is sounding more and more like a workable option.
You see, Apple came up with this nifty convention of code–naming the operating system by some large cat name. With each 10.x iteration, it’s given the next version a new, feline–inspired code–name. While cute and fun in 2004 (and somewhat kitsch), it’s grown beyond its usefulness.
Here’s a fun game: let’s put these in order:
Puma
Leopard
Tiger
Cheetah
Panther
Jaguar
Snow Leopard
Got it? Here’s the answer:
Cheetah
Puma
Jaguar
Panther
Tiger
Leopard
Snow Leopard
Simple, really, because, in every bit of writing you ever find, you’ll see something like this: Mac OS X 10.4 Panther
. Honestly, there’s not any need for either the numbers or the name. Pick one, and it makes it easier to define. Cheetah is 10.0, Puma is 10.1, and so on.
The problem with this, however, is that without stating what ‘Cheetah’ is, you’ve no perspective. Even in writing this, I continue to mess up the order. It’s just too confusing going by the accepted convention of animal names. That’s what my next quiz demonstrates.
Put these in order:
10.4
10.0
10.6
10.3
10.5
10.2
10.1
I’ll guide you to Wikipedia or Google to figure out the answers to this one. The point being, after seven public releases of Mac OS X, it’s time to retire the big cats, and go with the more logical, numbering convention. I don’t even think I’m out of line with Apple’s marketing strategy.
I think. I could be wrong.
For some reason, Apple decided to not even use any actual Leopards when they got their promotional material for 10.5’s launch. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, nor does it now. I think somebody got a clue, because 10.6 is just silly with pictures of snow–covered leopards.
Photoshoped, bloodless snow–covered leopards, but I digress…
Take a look at that box. See any fur? No, you see the spiral of some fictional galaxy, far, far away. It’s the way they’re showcasing Time Machine, the spiffy new backup technology that’s one of the planks in the upgrade campaign. Really, the only place you’ll see any fur is on the disk itself, and not on any of the promotional material, and not on Apple’s website.
No, it’s all about things that are not mammals. Except the name. Stop it, already.
September 21, 2009
Users should be able to control the data they store in any of Google’s products. Our team’s goal is to make it easier for them to move data in and out.More places should do this (*cough* *cough* Facebook Twitter MySpace etc etc etc *cough* *cough*).
Web developers MUST NOT (in the sense of RFC 2119) use HTML5 drag and drop. They should use old-school scripts instead.
….
In fact, it’s so outrageously bad that I’ve gone on strike. I refuse to do any more research on drag and drop. Go do it yourself. Or don’t bother. Whatever. I don’t care.
No matter how much it may bother us, IE6 is still quite a hot topic around our little community. Two camps have recruited their groups and each seems quite comfortable with the accepted stance on their side of the fence. To one segment, IE6 is literally a bane of existence, and taking active aggressive measures against IE is daily practice. The other side, however, sucks it up and deals.
September 18, 2009
September 17, 2009
__
.-----..-----.| |_
| _ || -__|| _|
|___ ||_____||____|
|_____|
__
| |--..--.--..-----..-----.
| || | || _ || -__|
|__|__||___ || __||_____|
|_____||__|
__ __ __
.--.--..---.-.| | | |
| | || _ | |_| | |
|___ ||___._| |__|__|
|_____|
Not a bad idea, changing what we commonly refer to as the next next weekend to “oxt weekend”.
People often use the phrase “next weekend” to describe the future weekend, but this can lead to confusion. While some interpret “next weekend” to mean this coming weekend, others interpret it as the weekend after, hence the use of the awkward, overly wordy, “not this weekend but the weekend after.” Oxt weekend is a new phrase you can use instead of saying “not this weekend but the weekend after.”
Some examples:
A: You going somewhere this weekend? Or was it oxt weekend?
B: I’m working next weekend. And oxt weekend. I swear, I’m going to burn this whole place down some day.
A: How about oxt weekend? How about oxt weekend? You say that every week! Just admit you’d rather play WoW than go out with me. Admit it. Admit it!
And my social scene takes the examples down with them. Regardless, this is a nifty neologism that I can get behind. Plus, there’s a blog flair image, if you’re so inclined.
You have to be careful who you deal with in this life, because not everybody has your best interests at heart. There will always be people who will hurt you, always people who love you, and most people will be completely indifferent to you.
The best advice I could ever lend anyone would be to avoid mean people. Some people are just mean. On the Internet, those bad qualities are only amplified. In real life, people that are hateful drain others of their joy. There’s a compelling argument to just leave mean people alone.
There’s an old adage that says, “if somebody yells at the waitress, they’ll yell at you.” Over the years, I’ve found this to be one of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve ever received.1 What makes this proverb so clear is the first time you meet somebody that regards other people so lowly.
As I’ve been working with other people in a group setting lately (after years at a computer desk), the experience reminds me just how some people are just better to avoid. But there is a flip side to this. Seek, gravitate toward, and follow nice people.
It sounds simple to leave the bad and go to the good — and it is. But people don’t seem to do what’s in their best interests. Part of human psyche is follow our learned behaviors. Sometimes those learned behaviors need tweaking. Sometimes they need more tweaking than others.
Avoid mean people. Don’t be their friend. Tell them you are not their friend because they are mean. But don’t forget that you are a person too, and you have to be nice to other people as well.
If people keep avoiding you, now you may know why.
September 16, 2009
September 15, 2009
Then: The Gospel of MatthewJason Kottke has a whole lot more.
Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss