http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog Design, Web-Technologies & Random Thoughts Sat, 31 May 2008 19:15:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In college, my senior thesis was based on Metcalfe's law (a network's value is equal to the number of it's users squared). This theory originally related to Ethernet and telecommunications technologies. The classic example being that a fax machine is useless if only one person (node) has the ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=141 According to this Gizmodo post, Dieter Rams' (a designer for Braun in the 50's and 60's) work can be seen influencing the designs of one of the most currently prominent industrial designers, Apple's Jonathan Ive. Dieter Rams' 10 principles for good design: Good design is innovative. Good design makes a product ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=138 Over the past few months, Not Too Stale has become quite the opposite. The frequency of my posts here have been reduced to a slow crawl. I can legitimately use excuses like being busy with work and the holidays, but the primary reason is that some of my ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=136 Because Verizon decided to be greedy with the GPS in the Blackberry Pearl (which, along with many other reasons, has made me suspicious of their recent "Any App, Any Device" announcement), users must pay for Verizon's own VZ Navigator if they want any map positioning functionality. Yesterday, Google decided ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=135 Without intending to throw so much love towards 37signals tonight, I feel this is worth mentioning. Over the last few hours, I was unable to access the 37signals website in addition to our Highrise and Basecamp accounts (both 37signals web-based products). Here was the explanation just posted on ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=132 Don't be everything to everyone. This is important to remember for people, businesses and in this case, software. Have an opinion. Be loved and hated. Be a strong brand. This interview/discussion between Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal: Technology) and Jason Fried (37signals) covers a lot of good ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=131 According to The United Health Foundation: America’s Health Rankings™ – 2007 Edition shows Vermont at the top of the list of healthiest states. This is the first year Vermont has been ranked number one. The state has had a steady climb in the rankings for the last seven ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=130 If you are interested in honing your debate skills, I think I have found an effective method: Join Verizon Wireless and call customer service, they will debate/argue with you regarding any issue. You are considered wrong until you prove your case. Truly an effective teaching method. "Verizon's new debate ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=129 Having once played football against (and losing to) Millsaps College on this very field, this win holds a special place in my heart. It's great they made ESPN too. Not my alma mater, but these two teams do play in the same conference.Share This http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=128 Looks like IMAP is making it's way into Gmail, which is exciting and long overdue. Great news for those who use desktop apps to manage their Gmail. Now changes you make in your desktop app are reflected in your Gmail account. Although, still no love for it's Google Apps ... http://www.jacksonlatka.com/blog/?p=127