There is no doubt in my mind that the iPad will open up the internet to a whole new segment of the market. It will allow people to use the internet without the complexities of a modern desktop system. It will also, as Stowe Boyd states in his article Why Closed works, it changes the metaphors used when interacting with a device. No longer will we think in terms of our data, but instead our processes – our tasks will dictate the data, rather than data dictating our tasks / apps. Users will be free from the scattered file-system, free from the files that they cant open because they cant find the app to open it.

But, and its a big but, How does this affect our freedom to create information, to distribute it?

The Flash battle

Flash will never be on the iPad. Period. I agree completely with Zeldmans post Flash, iPad, Standards. Flash is bad for a lot of things, but does have its uses: 3D perhaps? Could flash not be implemented in a restricted capacity? HTML5 is fantastic, there’s no getting around that, but what about all the people on all users who don’t have whizzbang iPads, iPhones, and a 17″ macbook pro? Some people still use computers from 5 or 10 years ago. Do they lose out or do we include them. This will create a issue similar to the Internet Explorer 6 headache that we may finally be free from. Do we really want to go back to that?

The web is a wonderful place. It is inclusive, inspiring and free. I fear whilst the iPad indeed creates a new market and opportunities for fresh thinking it also restricts our basic freedoms as Internet users. Whilst many will never want to go past the functionality it offers, shouldn’t I be able to?

A more troubling precedent

There are arguments that access to the internet is a human right such as the recent Google vs. China debacle. The internet was create to facilitate the sharing of information and to connect people. In a 2002 interview Cerf were quote as saying:

“It scares me if a government uses the Internet to get control over its population, It’s just like trying to control the newspapers or TV. Democracy is founded on the free flow of information. Fortunately it’s hard to effectively filter the Internet today.” source

By allowing one company, such as Apple or even Microsoft, dictate how we interact with the Internet are we not succumbing to the same censorship? It is already the case you cannot upload files on websites using an iPhone. To achieve this you must use an app, built on Apples code, subject to apples vetting.

Now I understand that this does provide a certain quality control. Apple rightly so guard the quality of the experience on their systems. I argue that whilst this is understandable it is far from acceptable. I SHOULD be able to opt out, to take more control. I do not think the mentaility of the iPad is too far away from the attitude google previous took in relation to China. If this method of interaction became dominent, could it become acceptable for governments to restrict what we can do? Would the likes of Apple cooperate? and more importantly would we?

If we were given an iPad as kids instead of clunky 486’s, Pencils and a sketchpad would we still be doing what we do today? Or would we be checking emails and talking about our next trip to Starbucks?

My argument is that whilst my view may seem extreme, they are not unrealistic in this world where people are increasingly subjected to a “nanny-like” culture. Dont be distracted by the things you are offered. Consider the implications. I think Bill Hicks summarised my feelings best with a line from his stand-up:

“Go back to sleep, America. Everything is under control. Here’s ‘American Gladiators’. Watch this. Shut up.” — Bill Hicks

Id be interested to hear your thoughts, I think it is going to be a very interesting year. Anyone wanna buy me an iPad?

You can read more about the app at http://vellumapp.com/iphone/

Below is my new list.

damonkys-google-reader-subscriptions

The code below allows only grant access without authentication to a set of IP’s / domains. Any request from a  domain not in this list will be asked to authenticate. Satisfy any allows the .htaccess to grant permission to anyone who meets the two key criteria. In the example you will note that google’s domains have been allowed through so as not to affect SEO too much. Replace 123.123.123.123 with your IP, or that of whoever you wish to access the site. I am yet however to find one that works for dynamic IP’s – wouldn’t that be neat

You will of course need to create a .htpasswd file. a good generator can be found at http://www.htaccesstools.com/htpasswd-generator/ along with a load of other goodies.

#require authentication of requests
AuthName "Restricted Area"
AuthUserFile /var/www/.htpasswd
AuthType basic
Require valid-user
#deny access to all, allow for selected ip's / domains
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all
Allow from 123.123.123.123 googlebot.com google.com google-analytics.com
#if any of these rules are satisfied they may proceed
Satisfy Any


I’ve been rattling away on  paper and in photo shop for a few weeks now trying to come up with a new blog design. My aim was to create a site rather tahn a blog, and as such I’ve decided to create a hmoepage and move the blog to a subsection. Below are a few snaps of my progress so far. Theres still a few more pages to think about. I’m strongly considering some form of papervision for the gallery, but that may be a phase 2 project.

I hope this is close to the final mocks and so I would welcome any feedback, constuctive critism too. Anyway please take a look.

The Homepage

Homepage banner rotation linking to gallery items

A Sample Internal / Blog Page

At about 2000 feet overlooking bourg de ousin, this is one of my favourite moments of the holiday.

Posted via email from damonky’s posterous

Watch This space…

Drawn for an ex girlfrined who loved the sun and VW campers.

Girls can be such sheep sometimes, I always wanted to meet the ones who broke that stereotype.

Drawn whilst on a bmx roadtrip around france, this is my memory of Marsaille skate park, you know, the one from Tony Hawk

A Portrait of an former girlfriend

A little experiment with light and shadows when drawing hair

Not that I think anyone would steal them but all drawing are intellectual property of Dave Ashenden. If you wish to use them, just ask.

In my first job as a designer / developer one of the first pieces of wisdom I was given is that there are three basic types of person in terms of the web:

The Creative’s / Technical

The Creative’s can produce anything, ranging from graphics to enterprise applications. These types of people, due to their skills often find it hard to communicate ideas at a high level.

The Sellers / Organisers / Promoters

These types of people can sell, they can organise, and they can communicate. Where they fall down is the often lack of technical or design knowledge.

The In-between

This is the most treasured type of person in a company. They understand both the technical and the communication. They act as a bridge between the two sides.

Now as a developer I would say it my personal aim to be the third type. If you can convey complex ideas in a simple manner, and develop ideas to an end product, the world really is your oyster. Below are a few areas in which I think all developers, including myself, sometimes struggle.

Language

Development is complex. It has its own set of terms, phrases and notions of how things work. The development lingo, although completely understandable to a developer is completely alien to most. Take the following paragraph:

We’d use flash mixed with papervision and AMF / CakePHP to provide the data source. Of course this might cause speed issues so we would develop some caching techniques. I saw this prototype on a blog, its not great but I think by refactoring it we could do it.

In comparison to:

It would provide a great user experience. We could make it dynamic so that you can update your products from an admin panel. I have some examples of similar ideas if you would like to see them.

The information the first provides is correct but far too complex. The audience do not want to know how it is done in terms of technology; they want to know what the end product will be and why they should do it. The latter paragraph provides the same basic information but in a language that the non-developers can absorb. They know it can be done, that they can update it easily and that you can show them some decent examples to really push home the sell.

If the audience want to know more they can ask, but if they get overloaded with information it becomes difficult to focus on what you are trying to say.

Understanding

What developers often lack is the understanding of the other areas that surround the development department in the studio. Commonly these consist of three areas: sales, account managers and graphic design

Sales and account managers

Sales and account managers work mainly with the customer. Sales develop an lead or enquiry into business for the company. Once the job is in account managers they proceed to liaise with the client to ensure it runs smoothly…

Graphic Design

Ok, so they are the arty, “I use a Mac and drink frappacino’s” type people apparently. Designers come in all forms truth be told. They want it to look right, to be interesting to the eye, to work with the sites goals and get you there, simply to make an impression. Of course copy helps as well.

Both types are very different people with similar end goals that serve, like a developer, to do the best job they can for their company and client.

In my opinion it is vital that any developer has a fundamental understanding of other departments, processes, and goals that surround them. For myself, this entails reading articles on all manner of subjects like marketing, psychology and design trends. By having a better knowledge a developer can become an asset to other departments.

One of the most successful methods of spreading information that I have found is a weekly digest of “links of interest”.

The list is split into different areas and allows them to pick and choose what they want to read about. Each link is provided with a short sentence of too about why to read it, using the type of language mentioned earlier.

Getting your new skills noticed.

Reading blogs and discovering open source projects to play with, I often get excited and ramble on to anyone who will listen how great this technology could be and how I cant wait to use it. To demonstrate the technology I try to make small prototypes of any new technology I can find. They don’t have to be complicated but perhaps tied into a sellable idea.

Summary

In Summary there are many ways to increase your presence within your workplace. Here are a few that I tend to use:

• Learn what your co-workers do
• Consider your language, and what they want to hear
• Promote new technologies with examples and potential uses.
• Distribute useful information, not just technical stuff.

Well I hope this is useful. It covers some of the subjects I talked about during my picnic @ bamboojuice.

Enjoy.

Damonky’s OPML File

JiglibFlash is a great physics engine for the flash platform. Combined with Papervision 3D you can do some amazing stuff. The library has been recently updated and now not only contains a car physics model, but mouse constraints. The mouse contraint can add a new level of interactity to your scene.

I’ve been dying to try it out, and finally after moving house i finally got my lil studio / junk room setup. Below I have created a basic scene in which several block fall from the sky on init. These can then be picked up and thrown, interacting with other objects. Just a finishing touch I Though it would be good to have shadows. The code of which is from the brilliant Andy Zupko (Article on shadow casting). Anyway, I’ve provided the code below with ample commenting.

(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

Download JigLibFlash

Download Papervision

Download source