The History of WebKit

I just read and really enjoyed this piece about WebKit.

It's long, I know, but this is stuff that matters.

http://web.appstorm.net/general/opinion/the-history-of-webkit/

.js

Sent from my iPad

Grange Park, Toronto

This photo is taken with the new iPad. Using the screen to frame the shot was a fun experience.

Squarespace

For many years, this blog was a self-hosted WordPress affair. In large part due to my long history with the platform and my continued commercial work on top of this unique open source offering. However, I stopped developing websites on this platform for a living, and during the last year or more I have found myself second guessing the choice for many reasons. The biggest of all being the fact that innovation on it slowed, quite a bit.

As time has passed, my knowledge has expanded. I've found myself working with cutting-edge javascript libraries and frameworks for a living, admiring fully-hosted platforms innovating in many ways.

I have recommended Squarespace to many, mainly due to the fact that there is little reason for anyone to have to worry about managing hosting, keeping a CMS up to date, and hiring anyone to implement stupid simple designs. This is the future, this stuff should be dead simple.

And the thing is that it is.

Companies offering fully-hosted solutions are solving most of the upfront problems any single person would have when starting a site. How many times would a focused, managed solution be the better option for someone looking to hire a developer to build stuff from scratch?.

It's certainly hard to argue for a commercial solution versus an open source project, but that argument becomes easier when you focus on the ultimate goal.

Typepad has been around for a long time and they have been in the commercial model from the start.

My move over to Squarespace should come as no surprise by now. These guys have thought things through. 

For the first time ever, I have not touched a single line of code to bring this to life, and it feels great.

You know what else feels great? The fact I'm paying for the service. 

I have plenty of respect for WordPress –and all other open source platforms out there I could have moved to– but my respect for Squarespace and the team behind it, coupled with the huge advantages it is offering me, far outpaced whatever WordPress could have done for this dead simple blog in the future.

SAYL

I ignored smart seating solutions for my home office for years because what I've had has worked alright, but for the past year I've been using an Aeron chair for work during the day at the office, and my home situation got to the point where I would avoid using my home computer.

No longer. The SAYL is a fascinating (newish) chair by Herman Miller with a reasonable price. The frameless back is not only "a new leap" in chair design, but it drives costs down by using fewer parts and it actually is pretty comfortable.

I don't want to get into it too much, since it is just a chair, but suffice to say it's pretty and I can barely tell the difference between this and the Aeron (and honestly, I kind of like this one better).

Recommended.

MBP

Writing this to you from the comfort of my simple desk at home, on my home made Dvorak keyboard, hooked up to the cinema display, but going through my ageing, 15-inch early 2008 Macbook Pro.

A classic Mac as far as I know, but one that has served its time. Over the years, it has seen OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion. It's gone from 2GB of RAM to 4GB (its technical limit). It has relied on an SSD from 2010 and forward. It can drive the 27" Cinema Display through its ridiculously old DVI port thanks to Atlona's fancy adapter, etc.

For the most part it performs great, specially if you take out the external display.

I am obviously biased when I compare this to the other Macs I interact with day to day, mostly my 27" i3 iMac monster I use at work. A machine built this year.

Regardless, currently, 'La Nave', costa rican spanish slang for a badass anything, sits on a desk next to my record player. A device I get much joy out of, regardless of the ageing nature of its medium.

In some ways it is fitting that they perform head to head.
The beach ball is a good indicator that it is probably just the right time to flip the record on its b-side.




A much loved computer, that will likely be kept in the family, just as soon as I decide if the new MBA's will do, or if I should look for a similar workhorse to take me into 2016 (in the 17" i7 thunderbolt MBP).

A Screenshot

Desktop Screenshot, originally uploaded by josue salazar.

I remember -years ago- when this was actually done by a bunch of people and shared in groups.



Haven't put up stuff in a while, but I did use to share what my desktop looked like at times.



So yeah, here...

Home Office, 2011

The art works make me happy.

So does the Cinema Display.

(hello internet!)

"The World is a Mountain and Everything Gets Buried"

A video of jonas bonnetta playing Mtn. Song @ Show and tell gallery in toronto for joshua barndt's exhibition:

THE WORLD IS A MOUNTAIN AND EVERYTHING GETS BURIED

“I’ve always thought that all this city needs is a mountain.
So for this reason and many more too, i’m building one. A mountain of what? You may ask. Well, all my personal belongings, from encyclopedias and underwear to coffee tables and paintings. Everything down to the dirty little scraps. I’ve always dreamed of building a mountain. The world is a mountain and in the end everything gets buried. ”

joshuabarndt.com/​

joshuabarndt.com/​current-project/​

hifructose.com/​the-blog/​1133-joshua-barndts-atropic-existence.html

iTunes 10 and the new AirTunes volume control

I've been waiting years for this.

Not a big fan of the other changes and features that came with version 10 though.

UnJustify - a Greasemonkey Script for Safari 5

Apple launched Safari 5, baked with Reader —among other things, which is their take on 'bookmarklet like' functionality to take the article you are reading and make it easier to read, except it doesn't, since it justifies the text (thanks derek).

So I've whipped up a simple user script that overrides the rule. To load this in Safari 5 you'll need GreaseKit. Grab it here.

Keep calm and carry on [reading].

Super iPad

Got my pack of stickers from the Support Web Standards group the other day. Very pleased with where Zeldman's now-classic image ended up.

MailChimp on May the 4th

These guys are good. I've been using them every week for over a year (which is when I abandoned CampaignMonitor) and they keep iterating on features and making their service a real joy to use.

Sitting, Staring, and Crying with Marina Abramović at MoMA

Fascinating.

An email to Steve Jobs

I am not sure how long it has been since the iPhone introduction, but this has bothered me ever since, so I figured, with the iPad and all, that it was time to say something:

Road Vader

Here it is, the weather was gorgeous yesterday and I had to take her out for a spin / photoshoot, my first complete build ever —and what will be my daily commuter from here on out:



IRO BFSSFG frame,

Chris King threadless headset,

Mavic CXP30's w/ DT Spokes & Schwalbe Lugano (front) & Vittoria (rear) wheels, Formula Hub in the back with 16/17 DuraAce cogs & Shimano 105 front hub,

IRO crank w/ 46 tooth ring,

MKS Sylvan Track Pedal kit,

Brooks B17 Narrow saddle,

Tressostar cloth handlebar tape,

IRO bottom bracket, handlebar, brake set, seatpost & stem,

Kryptonite Evolution Mini U-lock,

LBS road fenders, bell, seatpost collar & light set.