Minimal Universe

Minimal Universe collect posts from our favorite minimal-related blogs listed on the right.
  • 52 Tiger » Mail rules

    52 Tiger » Mail rules:

    I get several hundred email messages per day across several accounts, gigs and points of reference.

    I don’t use a single rule. I have one inbox. I treat them all the same way.

    Required reading.

  • Android, Skype and Verizon...

    Android, Skype and Verizon…:

    Android Central is reporting:

    We had a bad feeling that when the Skype Mobile app for Android was updated late last night and seemingly allowed calls over Wifi, things were a little too good to be true. And sure enough, they were. At left here is the original description for Version 1.5.0.4, which tells of “Simultaneous Wifi & 3G.” That would have been a big deal because the app so far had only worked over Verizon 3G, forcing you to use its data connection, which of course you’re paying for. And that, of course, is ridiculous, though you can see Verizon’s intent — it keeps you from buying an unactivated phone and using it as a Wifi VOIP phone when instead you could be burning through your monthly data allotment.

    Oh, the beauty of Android. It’s so open that the cellphone carriers dictate what you can and cannot do. Very open indeed…

    I’ll use an iPhone, thank you very much. AT&T is a piece of crap, but you know what? Skype (and other VoIP apps) work over WI-FI. And you know what else? The phone, the OS, the apps, the memory management, the UX, the UI and every little detail works. Plus I don’t have an ugly Verizon logo in it and the battery life is actually hours and not mere minutes as in the Android Phones.

  • "So, the big realization with 2.0 is that I tried to do too much. Which is, you know, like being in a..."

    ““So, the big realization with 2.0 is that I tried to do too much. Which is, you know, like being in a job interview and saying your biggest fault is you work too hard. But it turned out to be a big disservice to my customers,””

    -

    Wil Shipley: “we tried to do too much” for Delicious Library 2

    I saw this very same thing ultimately put a software developer I used to work for out of business. To balance features, compatibility, boundary cases, and need is a hard line to walk but it is one that a developer must to survive.

    (via Subtraction)



  • "There’s an old story about the person who wished his computer were as easy to use as his..."

    “There’s an old story about the person who wished his computer were as easy to use as his telephone. That wish has come true, since I no longer know how to use my telephone.”

    - Bjarne Stroustrup

  • Minimal Mac: Small is Big

    Minimal Mac: Small is Big:

    Patrick makes an excellent point in his description of the product changes announced by Apple yesterday:

    There are many reasons why small matters… the technology disappears. You forget it is there. Suddenly, there is no player, your music exists in your ears and you no longer feel it clipped to your shirt or in your pocket. Suddenly, there is no set top box, the movies just appear on your screen. Makes me wonder how long it will be before they really are gone and all that is left is the experience.

  • My Priority Inbox in Apple Mail.app | The Brooks Review

    My Priority Inbox in Apple Mail.app | The Brooks Review:

    First this is not nearly as impressive as what Google has built, but when you have several email addresses and a filing system you like, using Gmail is just not that practical (at least not for me).

    That’s kind of where I am at after the initial excitement over the potential of the idea. He also covers some of the rules he uses to achieve similar results. I love this one:

    Basically it is looking for my work email address to show up in the CC field, and then checking to see if my name appears in the message body. If my name is not in the message body and I have been CCd on the email, the email is then marked read and archived.

    Brilliant.

    (via Shawn Blanc)

  • Small is Big

    Now I have had some time to digest all of the announcements at Apple’s Music/Media Event held yesterday. I took the time to watch the keynote and have read several news and pundit posts about it. One thing that stood out to me is how much “small” was promoted as a feature. Seriously, if one were to build a drinking game around that word and all of it’s synonyms, one would have been under the table passed out half way through the event. Every single product that was rolled out got a reduction in dimensions and that fact was highlighted heavily. Let’s go down the list:

    iPod shuffle — Smaller and thinner than not only the last generation but also the generation before that it most closely resembles.

    IPod nano — Cut virtually in half and put on a diet. Now small enough to wear as a large watch.

    iPod touch — Even more thin than the past generation which already seemed impossibly so.

    Apple TV — Small enough to fit in a jeans pocket. I would be watching my house guests quite a bit more closely if I owned one of these.

    There are many reasons why small matters. The one that immediately pops to mind is that, with the exception of the Apple TV, these are portable devices and a reduction in size makes them even more so. That said, here is the other thing that comes to my mind, the technology disappears. You forget it is there. Suddenly, there is no player, your music exists in your ears and you no longer feel it clipped to your shirt or in your pocket. Suddenly, there is no set top box, the movies just appear on your screen. Makes me wonder how long it will be before they really are gone and all that is left is the experience.

  • A Step Toward Happiness: The Power of Tiny Tasks

    A Step Toward Happiness: The Power of Tiny Tasks:

    (via zenhabits)

  • Guidelines

    Guidelines, designed by Dutchman Frederik Roijé, is an innovative wall fixture that functions as a magazine rack. The magazines are held in place by two bent metal frames, one on top of the other. The manner in which the magazines are displayed is as if they were works of art. The playfulness of the structure conceals its surreptitious functionality. If I didn’t know better, I would have enjoyed this piece purely for its design.

    I also find it interesting that, when looked up from the front, nothing but thin lines could be seen – it seems as though the magazines and rack amalgamate inconspicuously. Furthermore, the white colored rack placed against a white wall gives the illusion that the magazines are floating.

    roije_guidelines_1
    roije_guidelines_2
    roije_guidelines_3
    roije_guidelines_4
    roije_guidelines_5

  • "Remember these are commercial free too, which is nice."

    “Remember these are commercial free too, which is nice.”

    - Steve Jobs

    (I think this is the most important part of the whole Apple TV presentation. I hate commercials, they are a waste of time and they keep me from enjoying the content. I rather pay than see commercials. The same, by the way, applies to web sites)



  • The new Apple TV. Your TV, simplified. (Don’t worry, I...



    The new Apple TV. Your TV, simplified.

    (Don’t worry, I have something to say about everything released today but real life has me waiting to sit down and write it.)



  • the new Apple TV. Small and beautiful.



    the new Apple TV. Small and beautiful.



  • oh.. Flash on Android. How cool it is… When it...



    oh.. Flash on Android. How cool it is… When it doesn’t crash…

    I felt I needed to post this.

    The post will self destroy in 2 hours…



  • Left to spend

    Left to spend:

    Left to spend makes managing a budget simpler than ever before. Instead of overloading you with features like the ability to categorise your expenses, setting up multiple accounts and configuring recurring payments and incomes, ‘Left to spend’ just answers the simple question: “Do I have money to spend, right now?”.

    (via Minimal Mac)

  • "Begin with the end in mind."

    “Begin with the end in mind.”

    - Lana Rigsby

Sponsor

via Ad Packs

Sources