Just witnessed my first instance of someone making a webpage with a user interface drawn only on the canvas. Completely inaccessible. Please, whatever you do, don't do it. I know Flutter does it, but don't. Please, please, don't. I was super happy not to have to deal with inaccessible Flash UI's anymore... even a bad website is better than this. :(
To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language: Neuroscientists find that interpreting code activates a general-purpose brain network, but not language-processing centers https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201215131236.htm
🇺🇸 🇨🇦 /e/-smartphones now ship to the US and Canada!
With the US presidency shit show behind us and their return to appropriate climate policies, I’ve been reflecting how little action (none?) there is from the Canadian government. It’s very much clear that there is no plan. And let’s be clear, the bare minimum of a carbon tax is not a plan. We’re not working to reinvent our economy, we’re just riding the oil train as far as it will take us without proactive emergency action.
Using Chrome is like being in an abusive relationship and seeking help from the same person who is abusing you.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-chrome-cookies-third-party-ads
When I bought our last TV a couple years ago, I was amazed how dumb TVs have for all practical purposes vanished from the market. One way was to pay well over $1,000. The other was to get a commercial monitor. But then those things are not necessarily designed for quality home viewing so the screen specs and viewing angles are not as good. It's sad that Grandma Sally and Uncle John have no idea what's going on when they buy a "smart" TV.
I don't connect my LG TV to the Internet either. And apparently Roku is the same disaster. How is regulation not happening on this? How can governments be so asleep at the wheel? It's not like this started recently. We've known for years that "smart" in "smart TV" really means it's watching you.
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2021/02/18/fowler-tv-privacy
I saw that Dash 6 is out and for about 12 seconds I hoped that they ditched the browser-like search bar, but no such luck. The Dash 4 and prior UI allowed for 1-click navigation between search results and that tended to accommodate my documentation searches better. Too bad, I used to be a big fan of this tool. I'm starting to wonder if I should write my own. What do you use?
@steveroy Yeah, that’s part of it. And the wish to optimize for things that, in the long run, aren’t optimizations, but technical debt that keeps on demanding.
You know, I have to confess that even though I’m a mobile developer, I still don’t know how to use iOS split screen. I used to understand it and use it, but Apple changed how it worked at some point and now every time I trigger it by accident I don’t know how to get out of it. I did file a usability bug when they changed it but maybe it’s just me? 🤷♂️
We are teaming up with @Sujitech_official and @lickability to develop an official #iOS app for Mastodon 📱
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2021/02/developing-an-official-ios-app-for-mastodon/
Just made a special (indulgent) trip to find Kosher marshmallows (they don't have gelatine, and my veggie daughter can eat them) so we can make rice krispie treats, and the shop undercharged me... got home, looked at the receipt and rang them up to pay the difference.
They asked 'are you sure!??!' and I told them the last thing we want in a pandemic is to have the few shops that are open being out of pocket.
Happy to support our local lovely shop. #smallstories
This bit from Mark Carney’s piece has been on my mind:
“[T]o put the market into service of humanity and once again have society’s values drive value.”
Has society ever had a say in what has value? I’m not a historian but it seems to me that value is historically defined by those in power. Today that includes businesses. I think we are at a unique time where more of us want the people to decide what has value. Far from a done deal though. Those in power won’t give that up easily.
Software developer and UI designer. I post about climate, UI design, software development, and anything that catches my eye.