http://trisignia.com Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:44:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As an independent web developer, I'm sensitive to the issue of being responsible for heavy taxes, expensive insurance, and paying for medical expenses out of pocket. That's why I was struck by today's New York Times [article][nyt] on the rising costs of dentistry in the US. Here's a quote [Jason ... http://trisignia.com/2007/10/11/dentists-only-for-the-wealthy/ In a footnote to his [smashing write-up][1] on the business decisions behind Amazon's recently launched [music download store][2], the inimitable John Gruber gripes about DRM-free music vendor eMusic's decision to build a "home page that shows you nothing other than a sign-up form." While eMusic's [homepage][3] _is_ quite off-putting, ... http://trisignia.com/2007/09/26/on-browsing-emusic/ Today's [BBC writeup][1] of the $100 laptop revealed that not only will the laptop be inexpensive, it will be built to withstand the riggors of dusty, damaging environments and outdoors use, and it will also have a key dedicated to **view-source:** > [T]he keyboard does away with low-use keys such as ... http://trisignia.com/2007/07/23/the-importance-of-view-source-100-laptop/  Stowe Boyd just wrote a [quick post][1] to request that Google begin caching attachments (especially photos) uploaded with messages you compose through Gmail and that they should provide a nice interface to browse the photos you upload. As Stowe notes, Gmail already lets you add attachments you _receive_ ... http://trisignia.com/2007/07/18/picasa-mi-casa/  In Apple's [video overview][1] of the new iPhone's softscreen keyboard, the company revealed an interesting feature: by using predictive text algorithms, the phone not only offers suggestions for the words you type, but it also subtly changes each key's clickable area based on the letters it anticipates you'll ... http://trisignia.com/2007/06/27/fitts-law-and-the-iphone-keyboard/ > She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now. --_press copy from Calvin Klein's_ in2u _fragrance_ Need to get in good with bloggers and social-network-ites? Doing the opposite of [what Calvin Klein's doing][ck] couldn't hurt. [ck]: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/fashion/08CALVIN.html?ex=1331182800&en=b64fffc68152e253&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "NYT piece on Calvin Klein's new ... http://trisignia.com/2007/04/20/how-not-to-bottle-a-generation/  School shootings are always shocking in their suddenness and their brutality, and the one yesterday morning at Virginia Tech is no different. According to news reports, 32 people and the gunmen were killed in the attack, making it one of the worst in the nation's history. ... http://trisignia.com/2007/04/17/twitter-and-the-virginia-tech-emergency/ Just minutes after launching [Conferenceer][1], someone wrote in to remind me of O'Reilly's [ExpoCal][2] calendar for their [Web 2.0 Expo][3] conference. The two services provide some common services--displaying the conference calendar and speaker lists--but they have different roles. ExpoCal is an organizational tool that answers the question _What ... http://trisignia.com/2007/04/15/expocal-and-conferenceer/ I've just relaunched [Conferenceer][1] for the [Web 2.0 Expo][2] conference taking place in San Francisco over the next several days. Conferenceer is a social networking site for conferences, and on the site you can upload your profile, mark the sessions you plan to attend, and create relationships with other ... http://trisignia.com/2007/04/15/conferenceer-for-web-20-expo/ From Wikipedia's entry on [Muammar Gaddafi][1]: > Gaddafi's personal bodyguard, the Amazonian guard, is composed of 40 African women who are martial arts experts and highly-trained in the use of weapons.... > The Amazonian Guard sparked an international incident in 2006 when Gaddafi landed in Nigeria with over 200 heavily armed female ... http://trisignia.com/2007/04/13/the-speechless-department/