Now this is just pure brilliance: Telescopic Text

Via Jesper.

Finally, an adjustable solution.

Kinda makes me want to write telescopic essays.

I’m still at a loss what exactly happened, but it must have been a combination of bad timing on the housing company’s part, negligence on mine, and incompetence on that of the bank.

In any case, a relatively simple, brief conversation on Thursday fixed it, or so I thought: the nice lady told me the server should be back up within fifteen minutes.

You may have noticed it wasn’t, but whatever the reason, it now is.

Must be jetlag.

Matthew Thomas has updated his legendary “Why Free Software usability tends to suck” (and “Why [it] tends to sucks even more”) with another installment, more than six years down the road.

The verdict?

I’ve mellowed a bit since then, and so has the software. Today’s best Free Software applications and operating systems are much better than they were six years ago. But this is largely from slow incremental improvements, and low-level competition between projects and distributors. Major problems with the design process itself remain unfixed.

I’m not sure “a culture in Free Software of design first, code second” is even remotely realistic, but the write-up comes with many constructive ideas, most interesting (and suddenly obvious) of which I found the idea of “annual Free Software design awards”.

After all, the Apple Design Awards are exactly that. Highlighting extraordinary results makes for a great incentive to try harder (when you don’t win), or book a trip to Malibu (when you do).

Via David: the iGiveUp Bluetooth handset.

You try to get through airport security with that one.

Blade Lakem: “There will be drama”

Uru doesn’t have more drama, it just has less of everything else.

I do think that’s part of the problem, but Blade is ignoring the powerful force of frustration: a lot of people would like for Uru to be a smashing success, but have lost faith that this is even possible any more at this point. Rationally, they should leave and move on, but instead, many let out their frustrations on each other.