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Apple, the modern Knights Templar

Markus — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:48:58 +0000

I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed II a lot lately, and simply put – it’s a great game. It has the Knights Templar in it as the main enemy and architects of conspiracies and coincidentally I had to spend some time in an actual Templar related organisation (at least they call themselves Templars, although the order was officially disbanded in the 14th century and their possessions given to the Knights Hospitaller. A group, which used to own the island of Rhodes. But I’m on a tangent here.)

Most people don’t know much about the Templars, but they were the first true multinational corporation and pretty much succeeded in everything they did – They even owned the whole island of Cyprus at one point. They invented a form of cheques (letter of credit) that allowed crusaders to deposit their money in their country of origin and get a piece of paper that stated the value of their deposit – and when the “pilgrims” arrived in the holy land, they could walk to a Templar Express to pick up their check. Pretty cool. This pretty much helped invent the banking system when someone figure out to take interest on the money.

The biggest benefit the Templars had was a serious boon. The only guy they answered to? The root of all evil. The Pope. Literally, the Knights Templar did not have to respect local and/or national laws. Or pay taxes. They could travel freely throughout Europe (and pretty much everywhere else), own land and do pretty much the hell they wanted (they were pretty badass as well, one of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped to defeat Saladin’s army of more than 26,000 soldiers). So they did.

Relatively a few of the Templars were actually soldiers and knights, but they had supporting staff and businessmen running the show in the background – and THOSE guys are the guys I’m writing about today. They had nearly infinite (at that time) resources and they were smart. They didn’t play by the book, they innovated and progressed at an amazing rate, naturally pissing off most of the local empires, city states and kingdoms. When the latter realized they couldn’t out-compete the Templars, they started playing dirty. If they would have had a proper legal system back then, and instead of assassins they would have had lawyers, the Templars would have been sued silly.

Now, to me, it’s been real funny reading all these stories of Adobe, Nokia and now even Nintendo being worried about Apple taking over their business. (Also, to continue with the knight theme, Google is obviously similar to the Knights Hospitaller or the Teutonic Knights (who owned Prussia) – who, instead of opposing the “ruling powers” started working together with them, although all of them still got seriously bitch slapped by their rulers.) But I don’t expect to see Teutonic Google suing Apple, because I think they seriously try to out-innovate Apple and play as fairly as possible.

The others are playing the roles of cardinals and kings, poisoning and assassinating their will through and I think that’s just lame.

Netcycler: First impressions

Markus — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:58:54 +0000

I got my invitation to Netcycler yesterday and had time to browse around last night.

They describe themselves as:

Netcycler is a swap and give away service for acquiring secondhand goods. We will soon add buy and sell options as well. When you no longer need something, the service will find someone who does. It’s an alternative for consumption centered lifestyle, an easy way to minimize shopping while still getting all you need. We are still developing the service and there are plenty of new features to come.

They also warned the invitees that there aren’t many items shared yet, which is understandable as the site just opened to alpha and bugs are expected. So, the first 4 things that came up while using Netcycler:

1. It. is. slow.

I have a 100 meg connection at home and loading the front page takes 15.74 seconds. Fifteen seconds! And it’s not about great strain to the servers, as there are only 300 users currently in the alpha and I’m sure there are only tens of simultaneous users. For me, the sites sluggishness is an issue that stops me from using the site and it seriously needs fixing.

UPDATE: Did I say slow? 38.34 SECONDS to load the browsing area. That’s the average attention span of a 20-year old. Multiplied by 40.

UPDATE 2: I just got an error 500 after 37.4 seconds of waiting. It’s down.

2. The concept

Freecycling and 2nd hand stores are really trendy at the moment. Similar chains are buzzing in Facebook as well, the problem there is the people. People want too much and want to give too little. Even in Netcycler it’s “I’ll give away this old, used USB cable and I want a full 7mm wetsuit in change.” I believe this can be evaded by adding some sort of category of “value” to the items, an average retail price or something similar – you know, “how much would you expect to get for this item on a flea market.”

In order for the service to work, it has to have movement, a sense of urgency. Otherwise is stagnates and it becomes cluttered.

3. Adding items

Adding items has been done very well considering the amount of stuff out there. Sure, it would be even nicer to have a product number search tool that would decipher the information of my DVR, but the questions we logical and simple in their hierarchical method. Doing this right is one of the most important tasks in designing a service like this – especially when their goal is obviously to go multilingual in the future.

4. Usability

Sure, the basic site and its navigation is very standard 2.0 usability, can’t go wrong there. But there are still a lot of places where more information would be appreciated, while setting up an item to be given I get a prompt asking for me to “select meetingpoints” with two options of public and private meetingpoints.

First of all, meetings and points are two different words – and what do they have to do with recycling? Did this become a dating service? Can I get that camera by meeting someone in a forest doing “services”? There’s no explanation on what I should do and I can’t even skip this as I could skip the previous steps (such as a photo and description).

So, fixy fixy, more descriptions and explanations to forms, please.

UPDATE: After clicking OK to the meeting point question, there popped up another popup below the latest popup saying that it’s a place where I meet my contacts. Would have appreciated that info earlier. Maybe people could insert these meeting points already while setting up their profile?

All in all, the concept has promise and as soon as they can fix the lagging, I’ll start using it more efficiently. All the other things are minor user experience improvements – and I would appreciate seeing Netcycler to use the expertise available in Finland, I mean, just using Twitter in Finland gives one great resources to get feedback.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from head like a hole

What should your website contain?

Markus — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:17:47 +0000

Hi and welcome back to our jovial playground of “how you can purchase a website for yourself or your company in the near future and not get depressed enough to try and swallow a shotgun after your project has crashed and burned because someone made basic mistakes.”

So, if you read the first and previous part of Web 101, you know that I will be talking about houses as an analogy for building websites – because they’re not very different. We came to a shocking end by leaving the protagonist thinking what kind of house they want.

Just like companies, the homo sapiens has been around a lot longer than houses. We had the bare minimum by living in caves and like websites, houses are a new invention and they have been getting better and bigger all the time. Everybody would like to have the biggest and bestest and most expensive house, even if they wouldn’t actually need one. If we look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see, I’m getting all scientific here) people need the simplest things to survive.

And the same applies for websites. This is why more and more websites are even more specified and they usually serve a single purpose – and they’re effective. Of course, you might have different needs. So let’s spend a moment, thinking what kind of house do you need. Sure, you might need a bowling alley and a full size yoga studio, but I am pretty sure that most people can survive and function without them.

We could go even further and start to categorize people on what they need. Not demographics, target group analysis or segmentational studies, but something even better – Common Sense. I know, it’s unheard of, but bear with me.

Let’s start up with a few basic rules:

Most houses need to have the basics in order to function – toilets, kitchen, bathroom – just like every website needs the basics such as a working navigation, some channel to contact and relevant content. The way and quality these are done can make or break a house. These rooms are very important because they have a function by default. The other rooms are just rooms that might be anything depending on what goes in there and who will live there.

Which takes us to the main point – the inhabitants.

In real life, most houses and buildings are built by people who will not live in the house and websites are not any different. Just like companies don’t build their retail stores for themselves, but for their customers – why would the website be any different?

So who will live in your house? Is it a family with two kids and a dog? Is it a single bohemian night owl or perhaps a middle-age DINK unit. They all need a house, but they all have very different needs. They need a different amount of rooms, they have different requirements for location. These people and their needs define the function of the room and the site.

There is one big difference between houses and websites however. A very important one.

Websites can be expanded without limit.

I understand that people build extra rooms and floors because expansion is not easy or cheap, but with web it’s actually cheaper to expand later than building big from the start. Actually, if houses could be expanded (reasonably) like websites – if would make a lot of people happy. Imagine moving into a house, thinking that some wall should be elsewhere and the roof should be higher – and you could do it.

My point, start small – learn from your mistakes and your inhabitants and then expand. If it will be necessary.

So, we’re at the end again – before you go and see the agency who won’t spend the moment asking you the important questions, think who will be living in your house before you build or even plan it. Think of it as a business case.

Have a good midsummer, it’s a good day.

Why do you need a website?

Markus — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:38:31 +0000

Since working in helping people create websites for the last decade or so, I’ve noticed that there are many simple things people skip when they’re doing their planning. I work as a planner, and a planner is a person who looks at the client straight to the eyes and should tell them what they need instead of what they want.

So, you heard from your nephew’s sister’s cousin, who graduated from community college that he read a business paper that said that Dell is selling $3 million dollars worth of computers through Twitter. Or you might even have a website for your company that does whatever and you’ve been to a website. Even better, you’ve had your company for years and are experienced in working with ad agencies and they’ve told you that you really, seriously, swear to god, need a website.

So be it.

The initial question you should ask yourself is why? Why do you need a website?

Let’s go back a bit. How many of you have ever built a house? Sure, you’ve probably lived in a house all your life since you obviously can afford a broadband connection. But how many of you could actually build one? Of course pretty much everyone with opposable thumbs could set up a shack somewhere from twigs and moss, but a real house you go out and buy when you win in the lottery?

Now, every self-respecting person goes through a lot of things before buying a house. Can I afford it? Is it big enough? Does it have all the things I (think I) need? Does it need renovation? Are there any hidden costs? Is it in a good location?

The list goes on forever. It’s something we go through for months. Of course, the people with the assets can get more and what they want – even if it would be astoundingly retarded, but the normal mortals need to ask themselves why they need this particular house.

I’ve used this house analogy for years after getting tired of banging my head against the wall with people who thought building a website would be any different that building a house. It’s not.

So, back to the question of building houses. As we’ve established your acquaintance with houses, you probably know that there are many kinds of houses. There are big houses, small houses, tall houses, expensive houses, poor houses, warehouses, office buildings, supermarkets, community centers, opera houses, movie theaters, restaurants, airports and apartment buildings. Not to mention igloos, tee pees, tents, shacks or the Pentagon.

Like those examples, web sites are just as different. But since it’s a physical thing, it’s easier to understand that your company might not have the capital or necessity to build an opera house or an airport. Even fewer need the Pentagon. Most people and companies are just fine with a big house – and we all know that those come in more sorts than there are people.

So let’s say you want a big house and you’ve went through your accounts to know that you have money for it. You wouldn’t go house shopping, if you wouldn’t have the money for it, wouldn’t you?

All right, you have the money and you need a new house. Good for you.

Then you have to start thinking about how the house should function and what kind it should be. This is a good time to look at examples and get someone to help you. Even house-building professionals use other professionals to do stuff, you need people like plumbers, electricians, architects, lumberjacks, foundation layers, project managers, painters, bulldozers, trucks, cement mixers and nails. Lots of nails.

If you still think your nephew knows how to do all those things, he should be elected the president of the world for life.

I’ll leave you to think these things for a while and figure out what you think your dream house should be like.

Happiness

Markus — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:10:50 +0000

Happiness comes in many forms, sometimes from things that are totally irrelevant to other people and extremely important for others. For example, I haven’t seen many people as happy lately as my wife and that comes from mainly three things: the sun, she quitting her job and her new hat (it’s very green). I can’t tell which one of them is the main component of her happiness. I think it’s the hat.

I was so grateful for living in a christian country with christian bank holidays last week, as I managed to get myself a four-day weekend and boy did I enjoy it. The weather supported the holiday and even gave some rain so I could get some gaming action going.

But now, I’m off to meet a Belgian. Oh the drama.

The Cult of the Acid-spitting Llamas

The effects of sleep deprivation

Markus — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:01:22 +0000

I’m sure this topic is pretty close at heart for many people in this day and age, so I thought I would post this short article here as well. Ironically, I have been postponing this post for over a month because of – you guessed it, lack of sleep and choosing whether to write something for 15 minutes or going to bed early.

The article has a few fascinating bits in addition to the traditional stuff such as memory loss, tiredness (duh), grogginess and mental illness.

Our brains defrag our hard drives during the night
the U.S. Department of Transportation reports that as many as 100,000 sleep-related auto accidents occur every year.
Sleep has shown to be important in regulating blood sugar levels and people who don’t sleep can become increasingly resistant to insulin. Long-term insulin resistance puts extra burdens on the pancreas to produce more, and eventually can result in type 2 diabetes.
Studies have demonstrated that not sleeping can reduce glucose metabolism by as much as 40 percent. We use stored glucose for energy and sleep deprivation can interfere with how the body stores and processes it.

And many other interesting, fun facts – check it out before you doze off!

Swine flu is not what you should fear

Markus — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:46:04 +0000

It goes by many names: Pig AIDS, Enchiladapocalypse (my personal favourite), Swinefluenza and many others. Of course, we’re talking about SARS Bird flu H1N5 Swine Flu. The media says it’s a pandemic, just like the black death – the plague that wiped a big bunch of knights and fair maidens to the blue yonder.

Yeeaaah. Not quite so.

John Goekler wrote a brilliant article for Counterpunch – about terrorism, but the media’s behavior on the matter of swine flu is not far from terrorism, so here it goes. Remember, Swine flu has killed even less people than terrorism.

The single greatest killer of Americans is the so-called “lifestyle disease”. Somewhere between half a million and a million of us get a short ride in a long hearse every year because of smoking, lousy diets, parking our bodies in front of the TV instead of operating them, and downing yet another six pack and / or tequila popper.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, between 310,000 and 580,000 of us will commit suicide by cigarette this year. Another 260,000 to 470,000 will go in the ground due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. And some 85,000 of us will drink to our own departure.

After the person in the mirror, the next most dangerous individual we’re ever likely to encounter is one in a white coat. Something like 200,000 of us will experience “cessation of life” due to medical errors – botched procedures, mis-prescribed drugs and “nosocomial infections”. (The really nasty ones you get from treatment in a hospital or healthcare service unit.)

The next most dangerous encounter the average American is likely to have is with a co-worker with an infection. Or a doorknob, stair railing or restaurant utensil touched by someone with the crud. “Microbial Agents” (read bugs like flu and pneumonia) will send 75,000 of us to meet the Reaper this year.

Read the rest from the original article.

eBooking it up

Markus — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:27:01 +0000

Nearly a month ago I wrote a post titled eBooks, Kindle and the iPhone about turning my last fortress of old technology books into the electronic. I did have to finish a thousand page book first, taking quite a while since I pretty much only have time to read on my twenty minute commute. After that was finished, it was time to go electronic.

I wanted to start with something quite easy and quick to read, so I went with the “classic” X-Wing series by Michael A. Stackpole. So far, I’m nearly done with the first installation of the series, a book starting the tale of the legendary Rogue Squadron. Currently I’ve read some 300 pages using my iPhone and an application called Stanza – which is not only quite good, it’s free.

The reading itself has been surprisingly easy and I’ve had no problems even with an hour long reading session. Turning the pages is similar to Kindle and the Kindle iPhone application – which I cannot download since it’s only available to the United States. Which is just plain retarded. The other retarded thing is the fact that people keep staring me and trying to figure out why I’m trying to out-stare my phone looking thing.

The best part so far has been the independence of having a book with me at all times. I’m a somewhat of a hyperactive person and I need things to do. Before, I had to carry a backpack or a similar carrying device in order to make sure that I’ll have my book with me, but now I have my books with me all the time. The strain on the phone’s battery doesn’t seem to be too demanding, so it’s all hunky dory.

I still miss the touch and the smell of books, but the ebook technology seems to be reliable enough. On an interesting side note, Kindle demographics just came in and it showed that most users are not young technomages, but old geezers. 50% of Kindles users are 50 years or older. I’m sure my dad would invest in a Kindle – if they would sell it in Europe. Still, it’s awesome to see the old timers to be the first to embrace new technology.

Palindromic video

Markus — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:52:35 +0000

Palindromes are just awesome and brilliant, and here is a fricking palindromic video that’s not the easiest thing to do. Check it out!

Gorilla viewing glasses

Markus — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:30:14 +0000

Just like dogs and good people, Gorillas have been taught not to stare. Since a lot of humans are a bit retarded and spend time in animal-staring sanctuaries, we have spent our knowledge and unbelievable brain power to make pieces of cardboard that have pictures of eyes in them – and a hole we can actually look through, to see our primate cousins.

Naturally, these glasses are invented by the Dutch and are being used in Rotterdam zoo. If you are interested.

Isn’t that lovely. I’m sure there are plenty of other places to use similar devices.

What I’m wondering, are the gorillas wondering what the hell people are looking at in that crazy way and why can’t the turn their heads to where they’re looking at?