Where Has the Time Gone
Yes, it's the same old song and dance -- too busy with work and non-work projects to update the site, followed by the obligatory apology and a handful of reasons as to why. This is that post.
SlideShow — First, I've been receiving emails asking about how SlideShow (the Flash component I've been working on) is coming along. The good news is that development on the "Pro" version is nearing completion. I spent a considerable amount of time over the holiday break experimenting with new ideas, and I'm in the process now of putting the finishing touches on it.
What will it have? A full user navigation (navigate slide by slide or by groups of slides), a gallery interface (so you can load as many "albums" as you want), thumbnail previews, hyperlink support, photo captions, ability to turn auto-mode on and off, and a built-in audio player to stream music or narration with your presentation. And because it's a v2 Flash MX 2004 component, you can change all the colors with a color picker, use whatever typeface you want, and even adjust the padding & spacing of elements -- live, in real-time WYSIWYG fashion.
I'm working on SlideShow as a side project to everything else I have going on, so unless something unforeseen falls in the way, I should have it wrapped up soon.
Communication Arts — I've been checking the mailbox every day, and even dropped by Borders to grab a copy, but thus far haven't seen my interview ("The Blog that Ate the Internet") in the latest edition of Communication Arts. I have zero clue how much content was used from my interview, but I'm terrified to see it. Comm Arts is "the bible" of the design world (at least to me), and a constant reminder of how many people more talented than myself there are in the world. I never even considered being in it, let alone the subject for an article. So it's an exciting, freaky thing for me to comprehend. Hopefully I don't sound too ridiculous.
Update: Robert kindly picked up a copy for me, and I think it turned out well. A little surprised to see they mentioned my post about the dead dog in my backyard, but that's alright. For the record, the article also profiles Design by Fire, Design Observer, and Speak Up.
Soon to be an author — The time isn't right to say anything more, but I have written a chapter for an upcoming book on web development that should be hitting the streets a few months from now. Hopefully sometime soon I'll be able to write more about it.
Mac mini / iPod Shuffle — Lord knows I've been wrong before (I thought the iPod mini would bomb), but the latest hardware offerings from Apple are two of the smartest products Apple has ever released. The Mac mini is everything the Cube was -- small, quiet, simple -- but (unlike the Cube) is affordable, and anything but a luxury, niche product. The purposeful lack of a keyboard/mouse is a brilliant gesture towards PC owners, for they can keep their existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and simply replace their HP/Dell/Gateway tower with the mini. Plug it in, and go. For people who hate their desktop but love their iPod, it's nothing short of an metal-clad Trojan horse.
As for the iPod Shuffle, I'll definitely be buying one. I tend to switch my music in and out very frequently, and almost always listen to my music in random mode. The small disk size is actually preferable to me over the larger iPod, for I'm constantly acquiring new music, and can use the iPod shuffle to only listen to the very latest. Or if I'm feeling adventurous, I could Autofill using content from my full library for a completely random experience. It's just the right size, and I could care less about the lack of a display. Starting at 99 bucks, Apple is going to sell millions of these little buggers.
