Josh Evnin

Alright, let’s do this

I’m too busy for this. I don’t have the effing time to go around spreading my opinion on issues of computing, software, design, etc. There are so many pressing matters I should be tending to…but I need to vent.

DON’T WATCH THIS MICROSOFT PROPAGANDA VIDEO

Or watch it, at your own discretion. So Microsoft has been doing this thing lately where they send out this guy to interview developers on Microsoft’s various projects. The videos are generally somewhat boring…most of the time it’s just a bunch of guys sitting around in a room acting really geeky and talking about software (which resembles my life a little too clearly, but at least we have a few women around).

What I learned today, however, is that these “uncut” movies are actually a clever ploy by Microsoft to try to earn back its much needed core of amateur software developers (or professional ones who don’t like to develop for Microsoft). How did I learn this? Well, if you pay close attention, you’ll notice that the videos are actually cut together to say exactly the types of things the people at Microsoft want you to hear.

For example, the video linked above is a visit to the Hotmail team, who has been busy creating the new version of Hotmail, codenamed “Kahuna.” The guy behind the camera asks the question, “So, does this work on browsers other than IE?” Answer: “Yeah, we’re developing for IE 5.5.96###, because that’s our biggest user group”–CUT!!!– Next we see a guy explaining a new feature. It’s nice to know there’s some honest reporting going on out there.

The other thing that really upsets me is that at the beginning of the video one of the developers describes how they went in to a room and tried to rethink email on the web. They weren’t trying to build a system like the old Hotmail, or any other mail software. Creativity is a great thing. They had an outstanding opportunity here…but they failed. When they actually showed the demo of the new Hotmail, it looked exactly like MS Outlook. WTF Microsoft!!!??? That’s what you get when you tried to be creative? Something’s wrong with that picture. I wonder if they even tried talking to users…

September 21, 2005
Happy 200th or What if?

This is my 200th blog entry…go me! Woohoo! What if I lived in an alternate universe?

September 16, 2005
Photo Recovery!

I forgot to tell you all, something really exciting happened last night! So, nearly a year ago I was playing with my computer, doing some fancy shmancy stuff that resulted in me losing access to all my data. Now, most of my important data is backed up somewhere (which I recommend to everyone), but my photos were not backed up…so I lost nearly all of them. That was pretty much my entire college career worth of pictures…gone! Caput! Last night I was able to recover them, using my trusty Mac. I’m really excited about this, and will be posting pictures from the recovered archive shortly.

September 15, 2005
some sappy clichÃ© crap

Seems a number of people around me (colleagues, friends, colleague-friends, etc.) are feeling a little more than frustrated about a number of things these days. Why is that, I wonder. As for myself, I’ve been doing peachy keen up until this afternoon. Yesterday I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, up until I was late for my evening class because of some computer issues while I was working on a problem for another class. But even then I seemed relatively happy. Tonight that is not the case. I’m tired. I’m weary. I’m sick of this damn frog in my throat caused by allergies.

There’s so much to do, so much to miss, so much to take on, so much to be happy about, and so little time to do it all in. This afternoon as I walked outside Erik told me to stop and smell the flowers, literally, as they seemed to be all big and blooming right now. I looked at him in astonishment…who has time to stop and smell flowers these days? I did stop for a quick sniff, but it wasn’t long enough for my liking. I’ll be working on that.

But it isn’t all on me. I need to remember that. Others can take responsibility too, but I won’t get into all that here. The days are getting longer and longer, but oh so short at the same time. Stresses will come and go, and we must remember to enjoy every last drop of this trip, because we don’t get a second chance…as clichÃ© as it sounds.

If you’re hurting right now, hurt no more. Continue the search, but slap on a smile, damn it, for all of us. Make every day worth it, and in the end it will be. As for me, I’ll continue to look for inspiration, and act the part as well. Goodnight moon.

September 14, 2005
Sites for HCI Peeps to check out
Shout out to all my HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) homies out there, wooty woot. Just wanted to recommend a couple sites for you to check out, you know, just to stay on top of your game and such. I was thinking of hiding these in links in my blog over the next few days, but on second thought I’ve decided to be more forthright. So here’s my list…feel free to add more in the comments.

I check out the research areas of a bunch of companies fairly regularly…the basics are:

Google Labs

Yahoo Next

MSN Sandbox

Of course, I also read a ton of blogs quite regularly. Bloglines is my aggregator of choice. Check it out, it’s not as technical as it may sound. If you’re interested in reading blogs by students in the School of Informatics, check out Planet Informatics.

All you humans out there should also check out the Wikipedia…a great first place to stop for information on anything and everything. Other cool wikis for Informatics folk are the Design Wiki, Design Club Wiki, and Echoes Wiki. BTW, for those of you who are lost right now, here are some definitions for the word Wiki and a better explanation.

Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t get caught in a bubble.
September 14, 2005
UbiComp Ethics

Here’s a great article on the ethical standards of Interaction Designers in the era of Ubiquitous Computing.

The actual ethics start about halfway down the page, but it’s a good read even before that.

Check it out

To the ethics stated here, I would add:

Principle 6. Be Imaginative.* Do not create a system or piece of a system simply to for the sake of itself. If the “user” could make a cup of coffee (for example) just as easily without your system, then there’s no need for the system to be there. This may seem obvious, but why do I get the feeling that it won’t be in about 12 years?

WARNING: It’s gets a little technical for the untrained eye, so beware. All you HCIers, have at it.

* This is a shout out to Marty’s Computer Imagination, aka “The thing that HCI/d’ers should strive for.”

September 12, 2005
Heck of a workout

I went to the gym this morning for the first time in a long time. Since the marathon I’ve been trying to exercise outdoors more. I’ve cycled, ran, walked, and climbed (though I guess climbing doesn’t really count because it was an indoor climbing gym). For some reason, though, I feel like this workout routine isn’t giving the results I’d like to see. That is, I don’t feel like I’m doing any of them regularly enough to feel a difference. When I was training for the marathon, I felt light on my toes, and I had a lot of energy during the day…but that was because I had a routine. There’s something about going into the gym that helps the routine continue to function…

I was soooo tight today. My muscles felt like blocks of wood as I ran. Stretching was rather painful. This pain should subside in the next few weeks, though. I think the reason that I’m so tight is that when I ride my bike I don’t do any stretches. Basically what I’m doing when I ride without stretching is loosening up my muscles to their maximum potential, then sitting in an air-conditioned building and allowing them to shrink down to an ultra-tight level. Then I do it again at the end of the day. Bad bad bad. Note to Josh: stretch during & after exercise, always.

So yeah, got my jog on this morning, then stretched, then did some other exercises for the joints in my legs and arms. I want a strong core oh so badly. By core, I mean I would like for my joints to be really strong and lubricated. When most people talk about their core they mean their abdomen…but not for me. Maybe there’s some new jargon I need to learn…naw, I’d rather keep making up my own.

I feel that this entry has been poorly written from start to end, so that’s that. I’m gonna end it riiiiight now.

September 9, 2005
This is Design

This is Design

Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.

Just playin’ around in illustrator…I gotta get back to paying attention in class…

September 7, 2005
Updated Portfolio

So I spent the evening last night updating my portfolio.

Lesson 1: Update your portfolio directly after finishing a project, then the material will still be fresh to you AND you won’t have a million things to update.
Lesson 2: I’m doing a lot of work that I’m pretty proud of…I only noticed it when it was all staring me in the face.
Lesson 3: I want to be able to put a lot more good work on the portfolio…so I gotta get to work this year.
Lesson 4: I should start thinking more seriously about what I’m going to do when grad school’s over. Any offers? 😉

Check out my updated portfolio: http://josh.ev9.org/portfolio.php

September 6, 2005
‘Nother Quote

“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” – Asian Proverb

Wise words, Proverb, wise words.

September 4, 2005