— Your attention span starts now!
Timers
Timers

Observation

noted 25th May, 2010

Brush those fangs

 

A few days ago we noticed a post on swiss-miss for a novel idea, a handy-dany toothbrushing timer. And although awesome, it was made in flash, which ruled out taking an iPad or iPhone into the bathroom to brush dem fangs.

And so... With a wizz bang kapow rotate transition interval fadeIn fadeOut, a near exact replica of the original version was created, now running on HTML5, CSS3 & a sprinkling of jQuery. So with mammoth respect to Rán Flygenring's original toothbrushing timer, we present the toothbrushing timer remixed. Now iPad and iPhone friendly.

toothbrushing timer remixed

Leave A Comment

noted 29th April, 2010

Flash in the Pan

 

Not wishing to make additional fuss I simply must share the following. In the time that it took me to read this very fresh article from Steve Jobs sharing his thoughts on flash the Twitter trending listed 504 re-tweets ( in approximately 5 minutes), & without a word of a lie, the below pop-up blocked my view as I was reading the last paragraph!

Should I Ignore or Report?

Leave A Comment

noted 28th April, 2010

Conversations in type

 

Being mac aficionados flavour of choice for IM is iChat. We have iChat open whenever we're not in close proximity (often), for quick sharing of images, text, ideas etc. Normally messages are short and sharp with pestering kept to a minimum. But on occasion the conservations draw out, and get a little deep. You know like deep house'n'shizz.

And so unfolds a common and funny, albeit time-wasting scenario.

So hey, I was thinking...

A good intentioned, well mannered message is sent. A conversation blossoms. An opinion is thrown into the wind. A comment is taken out of context. It gets ugly-ish.

X: What do you mean by 'fine'

Y: Man, what I meant by 'fine' is that it's great and it's quite good. Know what I mean? Kinda?

X: Well sort of, are you in a cranky mood? Just saying...

Oh snap

There's a little angst in the air, but love is not lost. We can get through this. Lets just be sensible, wise, chaps, and resolve this in a timely manner. I am busy you know. But undetected, the conversation has gone way off track already. So what to do?

Type faster of course!

We've got this far, we can work it out. Eventually a hour has passed and you're kinda sorta in agreeance and roughly back on the same page. However time was wasted, fingers are sore, and deep down it didn't pan out the way you wanted to. We then blame technology... again. But, our adoption that made us too lazy to pick up the phone and do it verbally. Sad.

Is this a common situation? I imagine so. OR possibly we just spend far too much time online, connected, in a state of constant readiness for distraction.

Leave A Comment

noted 30th March, 2010

iPad, another blow to the traditional web?

 

The iPad lands in consumer's living rooms this April. We're excited. Very excited. If the iPhone was the introduction to the touch experience and die hard 'app' addiction, the iPad is the encore. But what are the implications to the current state of the web?

It's a fact. The iPhone and iPad are having interesting ramifications on web already. For example I use the Facebook App on my phone around 3 times a day, whereas I only use the Facebook website once a week. Likewise for Twitter and other social applications.

My 3yr old daughter happily navigates my iPhone, drawing pictures, playing games, perusing the app store and taking photos. On one occasion even posting to Twitter!!!. However when she's sitting in front of a desktop monitor with a mouse and keyboard, she's clumsy and un-natural. It feels like an archaic experience. I even caught her trying to touch my monitor, followed by a confused face when it didn't work.

Whether we like it or not, the primary method of 'surfing the web' as we know it, is in a transitional phase.

What does this mean for the traditional web?

The traditional web, to me, is websites that only work well in a standard browser, viewed on a laptop or desktop monitor. It websites that rely on people sitting at their desk, with time to spare. An increasing rarity.

At the end of the day, people will connect and interact with objects they find the most entertaining, convenient and affordable. This means if mobile devices start to dominate the web market, the traditional web experience will need to adapt.

The next step forward is delivering platform interdependent websites where-ever possible. On a simple scale, this can mean detecting mobile devices and serving alternate content. Or, on a larger scale, developing an API for your website so others can implement their own mobile experiences whilst retaining a core repository of information.

Obstacles such as screen resolution, touch interaction and limited bandwidths create new considerations for designers and developers. User interface decisions are now more vital to ensure the experience is quality. Content becomes king yet again.

Slow down there, sonny

While it all sounds gun-ho in the land of hand-held. The technology is effectively still in it's infancy. The App store is a bloated mess, filled with useless applications obviously created for a quick buck. And while some mobile optimised websites are great, most still feel clunky and rushed.

I feel we're in the refinement phase of the mobile web and app experience. Like the early days of the internet we know the market demand is strong. Now it's time to clean up.

To quote a recent O'Reilly post...

If the iPad is just another consumer platform for consuming and not creating content, then it will just be another way to watch TV or listen to music or download information. Convenient, yes, but just another device.

So true. There's no point porting all the current experiences, information and practices to the new medium. The boundaries must be pushed, and tweaked and refined.

And so

With the pending release of the iPad, we're excited to embark on our mobile adventures as we come to grips with the possibilities. Interesting times ahead.

Leave A Comment

noted 25th March, 2010

Field-trip

 

Capital day all round. We received sign-off on a slick fashion blog we've been tinkering with for a few weeks now. Should be launched in the coming month.

The afternoon saw Zero Hour & Co. heading out for a GOMA field trip to clear the brains and discuss biz. We bought milkshakes and talked company plans, domain names and the novelties of world domination. Nothing suss!

Leave A Comment

noted 23rd March, 2010

2high Teaser Time

 

Today we launched the teaser page for 2highFestival's 2010 campaign. Plenty coming up for the final website. We love Gotham and thus far it suits 2high's 2010 direction. Light on dark is always fun. Strong punchy colors rule the roost.

2010 Splash Page with Coordinator Callup

Efficient Bill graphic after signing up to Newsletter

Coordinator application page

Leave A Comment

noted 1st December, 2009

10 months and 11.1GB into 2 days of feel

10 months and 11.1GB into 2 days of feel
 

Often we hear of an event that promises to close the gap between an audience and the offerings – a truly interactive experience – where the art doesn't exist without 'physical' interaction. This years 2high Festival set out to achieve this, promised to, & delivered, on many levels.

The framework for 2high Festival, has been built primarily on experience, in all its forms – a key to its strength & longevity. From the moment the fresh-faced coordinators are selected each year to represent performance, exhibitions, music, production, engagements, marketing & online departments it is established that this experience will be uniquely their own. With freedom for exploration & more importantly, room for error, the coordinators are given the freedom to create a festival how they imagine it. When ideas, or decisions need informing, the coordinators have the luxury of industry mentors, a Festival Manager & Backbone Youth Arts as guides.

Above: Butoh-inspired interactive performance '6 women in front of a white wall' by Little Dove Theatre – beautifully engaging for artist & participant. Photo: J.P. Robertson

Right: A personal favourite – a romantically autonomous yet sinister performance in the well, Kieran Swann (pictured) meticulously binding & attaching eggs to his torso with string. Photo: Yuki Nakano

Attention to detail throughout programming, design & interaction are oft overlooked, or discarded when an event's vision is clouded by profit numbers or trends. As each "boutique" or "unique" event becomes another haphazard, profiteering, carbon copying machine, the word 'festival' gets uglier. Does an event such as 2high Festival, in its 16th free year, suggest that a high level of detail and clear vision is not dependent on money, and that corner-cutting is perhaps a result of laziness, greed or false pretense? We feel it to be a responsibility to reference and uphold an idea's origin or a personal ethos. Remember? Back when it was only you, a 2nd-hand laptop & free internet at the state library. So, when the pineapples & greenbacks start rolling in does that not mean that those out of reach places & audacious ideas are now possible or were they specifically for "the pitch"?

2high Festival instills in its cultural producers not only the true value of money, (and how to use it wisely), but the worth of an individual – one's desire for an accurate execution in-line with an events ethos & vision. We were overwhelmed to have witnessed the evolution of 12 ultra-hip individuals who took their ideas from concept through to resolution, perhaps even more than they realise themselves. We feel, quite frankly, that these "first time" producers presented a 2-day happening that outshone many other examples of multi-arts, and music festivals alike. Quite simply because there was a definitive through-line – a clear detailed vision & a desire to accomplish – a desire that one could feel throughout the festival – had come from the right place.

2high Festival is a one-of-a-kind multi-arts festival – our involvement & time, (without pineapples), a testament to our belief that such a cultivation is vital to the next wave of arts practitioners & arts experiences. We hope to have assisted new possibilities & spawned new interest so that such a significant and noteworthy event sees continued support.

Thank you to our new friends for such an enriching experience.

Robert Millett & Cynthia Howard (pictured) during a MegaMix happening. Photo: Yuki Nakano

Leave A Comment

noted 11th November, 2009

Has it ever occurred to you, Winston…

 

As I sit down to write this first blog (drafted on paper if you would believe) I’ve tried to think of what the most apt topic would be. I feel it most fitting to use the magical technology of the Internet to reflect on what its creation has caused some of us to lose.

The art of communication has evolved unheeded since mankind muttered his first discernable grunt. It has taken many forms through various languages, written text and has blessed us with poetry and song. However, over perhaps the past fifteen years our ability to express ourselves has begun to diminish, we have become Twitterfied, status updaters who have cre8ted crude lazy LOL text msg language to convey our thoughts quickly and succinctly. For the first time in our history we are cutting words from our dictionaries and thus our vocabularies to make way for new acronyms and lexicon.

Should we accept this ‘progress’ that simplifies our language? Should we instead begin a call to action, nay a movement, to save our expressiveness, to liberate our obscure adjectives and optimise our wonderful ability to really accentuate what we see and feel with verve, finesse and vigour?

ZHC believes so, and feels some things should be done the ‘old fashioned’ way, with pride, dedication and above all a determination to complete tasks with thoroughness, free of cheap easy shortcuts.

To conclude this introductory post I would like to sign off with some words I hope we never lose, words previous generations worked hard to instill in our lives and vocabulary.

Honour, tradition, respect, culture and beauty.

S.R.

Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?... The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.

– George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5

Leave A Comment

Recent entries

noted 25th May, 2010

Brush those fangs

noted 29th April, 2010

Flash in the Pan

noted 28th April, 2010

Conversations in type

noted 30th March, 2010

iPad, another blow to the traditional web?

noted 25th March, 2010

Field-trip

noted 23rd March, 2010

2high Teaser Time

noted 1st December, 2009

10 months and 11.1GB into 2 days of feel

noted 11th November, 2009

Has it ever occurred to you, Winston…

Categories

Archives