ShortFormBlogbeta Archives

Tech: Sparrow = Dead simple e-mail, and surprisingly, a lot of hype

Here’s something that’s never been tried before: Minimalism. In an e-mail client. In an attempt to simplify what may perhaps be one of the most overly-cluttered parts of our daily life, new mail client Sparrow wants you to use e-mail the way that you use Twitter. Crazy idea, but the beta version of this app got 20,000 downloads in a day – really high for a new OSX program. Talk about attention. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

Tech: Internet Explorer 9’s beta doing some boffo downloads

2 million downloads in only two days – not bad considering no XP source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

About: In beta: ShortFormBlog’s new mobile site. (Exciting!!!!! (!!!))

Our backburner projectWe’ve wanted to do a proper mobile site for ShortFormBlog since we started this thang. A lot of things happened between then and now. First, we got a job. Second, we committed ourselves to posting on the site every day until the end of time. Then we redesigned. Then we freelanced for AOL News. Then we did a massive congressional spending project for AOL News. Now, 21 months later, here we are. We finally have a mobile site. Took us long enough.
The highlights• A simple, basic interface that lets the content shine on its own, complete with all the awesome content styles you love us for.
• An effort to shove in as much of the big blog onto the little blog, complete with graceful degradation. YouTube clips will load as images.
• Comments from Disqus! Like buttons! Ways to Tweet! A desire to want to throw your phone!

What we want from youTry it on your phones (it should work by loading http://shortformblog.com on your iPhone, iPod Touch or Android). Tell us what you jerks think! Hope you dig it.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Tech: Windows 7 RC stragglers: Microsoft goes from awesome to mean

1st Microsoft offers pre-release copies (ooh) of Windows 7 to users for free.
2nd They then release Windows 7. It’s a huge hit for the company, their biggest in years.
3rd Some people are still using the release candidate. This won’t do! We must stop them!
4th Microsoft will start rebooting their computers automatically soon. That’s evil!
5th MS will then change their backgrounds and call them bad names. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Tech: Snap judgment: Threadsy isn’t ready for prime time. Hold off.

How it could be a contender, but so isn't yet. In a lot of ways, Threadsy wants to be the central point for Facebook, Twitter AND your e-mail. If someone pulls it off, they rule the market. Well, we just got a beta invite. And well, here's our initial thoughts: Threadsy is a smart idea undone by myriad technical problems and interface flaws which we feel undermine its usefulness. And if Threadsy wants people to use it, they need to fix these problems:

Too much broken The private beta signup process was broken when we tried it. So was the front page. When it started working again, and we got to a menu to input our various accounts. Our GMail account didn’t take at first and gave an error. The Twitter login doesn’t use the password-protecting API. And Facebook Connect, which was buried within the interface, would keep dropping. Not to be harsh, but: Even for a beta, these flaws are too obvious and too disruptive. source

Too much broken The private beta signup process was broken when we tried it. So was the front page. When it started working again, and we got to a menu to input our various accounts. Our GMail account didn’t take at first and gave an error. The Twitter login doesn’t use the password-protecting API. And Facebook Connect, which was buried within the interface, would keep dropping. Not to be harsh, but: Even for a beta, these flaws are too obvious and too disruptive.
Too much control Threadsy asks for too much access. You feel OK with giving Threadsy your passwords at first, but then you realize you’ve given away the keys to a drunken teenager playing chicken. It decides which Twitter account you’re logged into on the Twitter Web site. Even if you log into a different Twitter account, it changes it back. Other similar services – HootSuite, Seesmic Web – don’t need to do this. Why should we hand Threadsy the keys? We’re not sure. source

Too much broken The private beta signup process was broken when we tried it. So was the front page. When it started working again, and we got to a menu to input our various accounts. Our GMail account didn’t take at first and gave an error. The Twitter login doesn’t use the password-protecting API. And Facebook Connect, which was buried within the interface, would keep dropping. Not to be harsh, but: Even for a beta, these flaws are too obvious and too disruptive.
Too much control Threadsy asks for too much access. You feel OK with giving Threadsy your passwords at first, but then you realize you’ve given away the keys to a drunken teenager playing chicken. It decides which Twitter account you’re logged into on the Twitter Web site. Even if you log into a different Twitter account, it changes it back. Other similar services – HootSuite, Seesmic Web – don’t need to do this. Why should we hand Threadsy the keys? We’re not sure.
Too much blend The biggest problem with the service? Everything looks the same. The visual cues, including faint quote boxes and service-signifying icons away from where your eye is drawn, aren’t loud enough and get lost within hundreds of rows. We like how it pulls icons, but don’t like the fact that e-mail doesn’t have a threading option. That seems essential. If Threadsy wants to be a mixed-media inbox, the design needs to be more adaptive. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

Tech: We have an invite to Typekit. Here’s a sneak peek.

Here it is in action. It's not cheap. But it sure looks neat, doesn't it, guys?

Here's a lineup of costs:

Trial: Free (but you only get to use two fonts out of a mediocre collection, lame icon in the bottom corner – see below)
Personal: $7/month, $24.99 launch special (bigger collection, up to five fonts)
Professional: $17/month, $49.99/year launch special (bigger collection, unlimited fonts)
Corporate: $49.99/month (pretty much the whole kit and kaboodle)

Did they pull it off?:

They did their homework. The prices are fairly reasonable for web developers. The interface doesn't suck. The rendering, while good, isn't perfect (but that's more a Web browser problem than anything). And the DRM doesn't seem so overwhelming that you can't enjoy the technology for what it is. Good for them. Source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Want the beta? Now’s the time. Microsoft formally apologized for the delays in getting the software released to customers in a smooth fashion. They will let an unlimited number of people download the Vista-killer in the next couple of weeks. The MS Web site has been incredibly slow since the Beta’s launch and the company was initially afraid it couldn’t handle the load. source

Want the beta? Now’s the time. Microsoft formally apologized for the delays in getting the software released to customers in a smooth fashion. They will let an unlimited number of people download the Vista-killer in the next couple of weeks. The MS Web site has been incredibly slow since the Beta’s launch and the company was initially afraid it couldn’t handle the load.
This poor man has to do PR magic Brandon LeBlanc, a Windows communications manager, tried calming down the masses: “I know many of you had issues with the Windows 7 beta site of the last 24 hours,” he said. “As you may have noticed the download site has been up and running smoothly since this morning. That said, we apologize for the inconvenience that it caused some of you.” source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Tech: Microsoft needs to give in to BitTorrent already

We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the Beta.
A Microsoft spokeswoman • on the delay in putting up the Windows 7 beta; apparently, they need more bandwidth to pull it off. • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

10 Oct 2010 23:18

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Tech: Sparrow = Dead simple e-mail, and surprisingly, a lot of hype

22 Sep 2010 10:51

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Tech: Internet Explorer 9’s beta doing some boffo downloads

18 Sep 2010 22:50

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About: In beta: ShortFormBlog’s new mobile site. (Exciting!!!!! (!!!))

16 Feb 2010 10:32

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Tech: Windows 7 RC stragglers: Microsoft goes from awesome to mean

02 Nov 2009 19:10

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Tech: Snap judgment: Threadsy isn’t ready for prime time. Hold off.

19 Aug 2009 20:49

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Tech: We have an invite to Typekit. Here’s a sneak peek.

27 Jul 2009 22:27

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Tech: Could the upcoming version of Firefox look like this?

07 Mar 2009 13:51

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Tech: New Windows feature: Turn off Internet Explorer. Whoo!

12 Jan 2009 12:20

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Tech: Microsoft’s Windows 7 Beta saga goes on

10 Jan 2009 12:49

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Tech: Microsoft needs to give in to BitTorrent already