design-disorder's posterous http://designdisorder.posterous.com Anything, anywhere, anytime, for no reason at all ... posterous.com Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:16:00 -0800 CSS Reset: Ways and Advantages http://designdisorder.posterous.com/css-reset-ways-and-advantages-inspiring-pixel http://designdisorder.posterous.com/css-reset-ways-and-advantages-inspiring-pixel

CSS Reset or Reset CSS  are one of the best ways to ensure you have a consistent web layout and design across all browsers. In this post we discuss the different ways and the advantages or disadvantages of using them.

What is CSS Reset and Why use it?

CSS Reset has been around for quite some time now (thanks to Eric Meyer)and the means to achieve the same are numerous.

Smashing Magazine says

Global Reset is needed to ensure the more or less identical cross-browser presentation of your web-sites. By default different browsers use different values for margin, padding or line-height. Global Reset makes sure all (or probably most) browsers render sites identically.

Let me try to explain why the hell it is important. Let us assume that a browser decides to change the way the visited links are displayed in violet to black. Now imagine you had been using a non resetting CSS.  Once the page is viewed in the new browser, what used to violet links will now be black. The problem is not with the fact whether the link should be violet or black, but with the fact that it will not be what you would have wanted them to be. To add to it, the same element would be different in different browser leading to confused users.

Good article on this neglected topic that drives billion of developers and creatives crazy. I guess I have to rethink some of my choices ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:25:32 -0800 How the Kindle is changing my reading behaviour http://designdisorder.posterous.com/how-the-kindle-is-changing-my-reading-behavio http://designdisorder.posterous.com/how-the-kindle-is-changing-my-reading-behavio

Not only that I finally started to read more since I recently bought my Kindle, it's funny to see that read more like listening to my iPod. It's not like in the past that you start with one book, finish it after a couple of days and then start with a new one. It's rather like listening to music. You read more or less a couple of books in parallel, constantly switching back and forth.

Regarding the screen size I am really considering to get DX as well in order to better read my native .PDFs which do not really work on the K2. As the screen is too small (which is good when you are mobile) it is really an issue to view native .PDFs. Due to the eInk technology it is not easy to zoom into the document and pan left to right, down and left again to read a larger text.

The second alternative, converting .PDFs into native .MOBI files is still a challenge either as there is no easy way to convert a page oriented .PDF into a rather flowbased layout that's used by the Kindle.

Meanwhile, I have to live with the fact that there are real eBooks and .PDFs which just work on a laptop or the DX ... 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:06:00 -0800 Nexus One - Likes and Dislikes http://designdisorder.posterous.com/nexus-one-phone-likes-and-dislikes http://designdisorder.posterous.com/nexus-one-phone-likes-and-dislikes

via google.com

Likes:

  • Not SIM locked like the iPhone 
  • hugh screen (800x480) 
  • next generation Google Maps 
  • sleek hardware (camera, speed) 
  • removeable battery 
  • expandable memory

Dislikes:

  • inconsistent UI 
  • ugly notification bar 
  • just-another-iPhone-clone

It doesn't sound like big issues, but the Google phone needs to be different in order to gain some marketshare.

The inconsistent UI is my main concern here. What really separates the iPhone from the rest of the competition is the UI consistence and the ease of use. The Google phone or any of the other Android-based phone is a misch masch of different design philosophies which lookls almost like some parts of the phone have been developed by different parties - which can actually be the case.

One of the things that make the Nexus One look like one of those old school smartphone is the crowded notification bar. In 2010 I expect a phone to solve this problem a little more innovative and good looking.

Yes, the Nexus One has its pros especially when it comes to the hardware, but don't be surprised if Apple is countering that latest in Spring this year when they release the 3rd or 4th generation (depending on how you count them) of their iPhone.

Don't get me wrong, the Nexus One is great phone and most probably the best choice if you want a phone other than the iPhone, but it is not the game changer some people expected it to be. It's rather the other iPhone from the otehr big player. Decide yourself whom you like more - Apple or Google ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:36:00 -0800 Even the best OS these days has its usability issues http://designdisorder.posterous.com/even-the-best-os-these-days-has-its-usability http://designdisorder.posterous.com/even-the-best-os-these-days-has-its-usability

Yes, I am talking about OSX. But what bugs me almost every day is one tiny, little issue which I can get around using my common sense.

Ok, here is the challenge: you are using the Finder in tree-view mode and you want to create a new folder in one of the displayed tree branches. Nothing easier than that, you might think. Just select the respective folder which should host the new folder and select the "New folder" menu. And boom, the new folder shows up on top-level and not where you want it.

C'mon Apple, even Windows can do that. What's the deal of not supporting this obvious mimic? And even if there is a secret super duper command to achieve that, why not supporting the obvious?

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:19:00 -0800 GT5 Cover Announcement – PlayStation.Blog.Europe http://designdisorder.posterous.com/gt5-cover-announcement-playstationblogeurope http://designdisorder.posterous.com/gt5-cover-announcement-playstationblogeurope

via blog.eu.playstation.com

The official EU GT5 cover - not a bad choice if you ask me :)
Looking forward to play the reference which by the way seems to get bigger and bigger with every new announcement. It's kind of amazing to see that a developer can put so much dedication into a product these days without an immediate return on invest ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:10:00 -0800 Go get it ... http://designdisorder.posterous.com/go-get-it-2 http://designdisorder.posterous.com/go-get-it-2

... the anniversary Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape Collection.

And don't wait too long, as it will not stay there forever ...

As direct download or via Mercedes-Benz TV

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:18:00 -0800 New design-disorder.com is online http://designdisorder.posterous.com/new-design-disordercom-is-online http://designdisorder.posterous.com/new-design-disordercom-is-online

Even though I am still working on the content for most of the parts, the website is finally online (I actually found my FTP account ;-) and working.

It will be interresting to see how I can move my former playstation-disorder.com vistors over to the new site which will of course cover Playstation related stuff as well, but not only ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:33:41 -0800 PS4 or what's in the crystal ball ... http://designdisorder.posterous.com/ps4-or-whats-in-the-crystal-ball-0 http://designdisorder.posterous.com/ps4-or-whats-in-the-crystal-ball-0

Oh my gosh, it looks like people have again more than enough time to speculate about things to come - in this case the next generation Playstation a.k.a. PS4.

Yes, someone at Sony is for sure working on that matter and I am sure it will be another fine product when it finally shows up on the market, but believe me, we are not seeing a PS4 before 2013, rather 2014. Sony actually wants to make good money with its PS3, which is still a big challenge for them ...

So, play those fine games to come and enjoy the power of the PS3 which is still hasn't been fully unleashed so far ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:24:00 -0800 My First Post ... erous http://designdisorder.posterous.com/my-first-blog-post-22065 http://designdisorder.posterous.com/my-first-blog-post-22065

It really is ...

No sign-up, registration, confirmation, login, etc. required ??? Sounds kind of weird ...

Let's see if this turns out to be useful ...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/351318/Mutsch.png http://posterous.com/users/3sTrKh3AWfeN Mutsch Mutsch