I was away for a few days, so getting back into the swing of things, here's one of the better zombie wallpapers I've ever seen. It works especially well if you keep your desktop clutter to one side. Download the wallpaper here.
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Along for the Ride in Google's Self-Driving Car
Interesting article about the promise of Google's self-driving cars. You've probably heard the stat of them batting 1.000 in terms of road incidents, but what you probably don't know is how they actually work. From the article...
Cruising down Rengstorff at a precise 35 mph, the light turns yellow ahead. We're far enough away that I probably would have stopped. But unlike the car, I don't have perfect awareness of my speed, the distance ahead, and how long the signal has been yellow since I noticed. The car I am in is drawing on a combined 700,000 miles traveled and 40 years of driving history built into its memory, and precise maps of Mountain View's 2,000-plus traffic signals. We sail through the intersection before it turns red.
Maybe I'm a bit biased because I dislike the idea of not being in control of my car, but if I'm being honest, I never foresee us getting to the point where automated cars are the norm. The first death by a robot car overlord and the subsequent lawsuits will end this being a thing. Read the article here.
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Nowness: Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin, for those who don't know, is a music producer. A music producer who's worked with some of the biggest acts in the history of modern music, a body of work spanning the genres from LL Cool J all the way to Metallica. A music producer who arguably helped create what we define as modern music. Furthermore, he's also extremely passionate about what he does, doing it for the artistry and the legacy of the medium (respect).
That's why it's fascinating to see Rick Rubin wax philosophical. Watch the Nowness profile video here.
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JohnnyExpress: Brightly Colored Dark Humor
Have 5 minutes to spare? JohnnyExpress is a brilliant short film from animator Kyungmin Woo. View and forever feel terrible for killing insects here.
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Hand Lettering: Wedding Season Edition
With wedding season right around the corner, I thought it'd be a great time to share some excellent examples of hand-letting set around wedding invitations. Confession: Part of me regrets not having done mine, though in retrospect, between my perfectionism and my wife's list of wants, it probably would've more trouble than necessary. I digress; click here to see the list!
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The Largest Vocabularies in Hip-Hop
This is a blog where the headline really does explain it all. From the website...
Matt Daniels is a designer, coder, and data scientist living in New York City. His past works include the Etymology of "Shorty" and Outkast, in graphs and charts. He decided to examine the vocabulary of hip hop artists, and this is what he found.
No surprise seeing Aesop Rock at the top of the list. Read more analysis and see where you favorite rappers fall here.
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Prototypo Wants Your Kickstarter Dollar
Creating a font is a daunting task for anyone, regardless of their experience. That's why Yannick Mathey and Louis-Rémi Babé are hard at work creating Prototypo, an open-source web app that allows the design of a complete typeface using just sliders. Beginners and professionals alike can use the 20+ parameters to create an unlimited range of fonts. Meanwhile, designers and everyone who works at places like Hoefler & Co. will weep silently into their pillows tonight. Pledge your Kickstarter dollar here.
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Creating A Sexier Bezier
That photo is a thing of beauty, no? Perfectionism aside, I've been designing with bezier handles and node placement in mind like this for a while. It eliminates unnecessary points, produces smoother, more accurate line curvature, and creates less guesswork. View the tutorial here.
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Living With Lag
To show the effect that lag would have in real life, broadband provider ume.net did a series of experiments with the Oculus Rift (now owned by Facebook...so RIP). Participants were given a VR headsets and asked to do a variety of seemingly simple tasks made frustratingly difficult with the addition of a delay. The results are interesting and pretty funny. It's also a very effective piece, so kudos to the agency involved (couldn't find a link). View the site here.
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Denver, Falling All Over Itself
It's called "Breathless" and it comes from Air Ball Creative for TEDxMileHigh. It contains several minutes of a Macklemore sound-alike talking of the people, the places, and the soul of Denver. There's a certain pride in viewing this being from Denver, but for anyone who isn't a local, it might come off as pretentious. View the video here.
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Be Still, My Beating Heart
Ever heard of OnePlus One? If not, know that a new super phone is in town vying for your love, and what a super phone it is. Are you kidding me with this spec sheet? It reads like nerd fan fiction, but it's real. I... the... what... I can't even.
•SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor w/2.5GHz Quad-core, Adreno 330 GPU
• RAM: 3GB LP-DDR3
• Cyanogenmod 11S; Android 4.4.2
• Storage: 16/64GB
• Screen: 5.5-inch JDI (IPS LCD) 1080p resolution with Gorilla Glass 3
• Camera: 13MP Sony Exmor sensor (f/2.0, flash, and 4K video), front-facing 5MP
• Battery: 3100mAh (non-removable)
• Weight: 162g
• Sound: Bottom-mounted stereo speakers
• Wireless: Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS/GLONASS
• Size: 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm
• Cost: $299 (32BG), $349 (64GB)
The only drawback is the size...and it's a 5.5" screen beast. That's a deal breaker. My Nexus 5 is big enough and I'd never go bigger. Why do manufacturers keep insisting on making giant phones? Can't someone give me something in the 4.2"-4.6" frame with the same specs? Personal preferences aside, check out the announcement video here.
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HBO Cozies Up to Amazon
Is HBO finally warming up to the on-demand market? Hard to say, but on May 21st, some of the networks most critically-acclaimed series' will finally see a wider release. What this really means of course is that I can finally watch The Wire and my wife can finally watch The Sopranos! The caveat (of course) is you're not going to get the networks most recent offerings..sorry Game of Thrones fans. The offerings will also be available later on through Amazon's Fire TV. In the meantime, prep for more weekend binging. Check out the impressive list of show offerings here. Read the press release here.
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The Quiet Netflix Rebrand
I knew I wasn't seeing things. Last week when the trailer for Orange is the New Black hit the web, I noticed a slightly altered Netflix logo as a corner bug, and sure enough, there looks to be a whole new rebrand to go along with it. There's no press materials to speak of (or anything of the sort), so the rollout looks to be one of quiet public acceptance.
I personally like the cleaner, marquee look of it and the tracking makes it feel a bit more fit-to-print. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who, given the iconic nature of the old logo, will feel differently. Click here to read Under Consideration's brief take on it.
LOGO TAKEN FROM THE TAG AT THE END OF THE ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (S2) TRAILER.
Brother Brain
Today I'm going to namedrop Brother Brain, an NYC artist who creates looping animated GIFs from old-school video games. He's been doing them for years, but just recently created a Tumblr, so hopefully he'll now achieve the quasi-internet fame amongst us nerds that he so rightfully deserves. View his Tumblr here.
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Wallpaper(s): 8-Bit Day Pack
This wallpaper pack is something special. 8 separate wallpapers corresponding to different times of the the day. The pack requires a simple set up–change the wallpapers to change at certain intervals–but once it's set, enjoy your bitmapped desktop all day long. Download the pack here.
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