Minimal Universe

Minimal Universe collect posts from our favorite minimal-related blogs listed on the right.
  • furbo.org · iPad liberation

    furbo.org · iPad liberation:

    There’s an inherent benefit to only doing one thing at a time: the load of worrying about other tasks is lifted. Knowing that there isn’t anything else competing for your attention is quite liberating.
    Of course, the iPad is an extension of this.

  • OS X Hidden Gems

    OS X Hidden Gems :

    Some of these may be well known to some of you but I am betting a couple are not.

  • Waterside

    I’m a big fan of Claudio Silvestrin’s work: austere but not extreme, contemporary yet timeless, calming but not ascetic, strong but not intimidating, elegant but not ostentatious.

    Silvestrin made this macassar ebony Waterside bench-with-armrest in 2001 for Cappellini. The bench is one simple play of proportion. The retail price however is of a different proportion ;-)


  • Ettinger Flask

    In maintaining a superior standard, Ettinger put a considerable amount of work into their products. This attention to detail isn’t a detriment to the simple purpose of its produce, however, and only adds to their allure. Take this 8oz leather clad stainless steel flask, for example.

    This Great British brand has refined its craftsmanship in over 70 years of trading. Refined to the point that today they are the preferred leather goods manufacturer of the nation’s Royal Family, enabling the company to carry the crest of the Prince of Wales.




  • My very minimal desktop, using tips and tricks from Minimal...



    My very minimal desktop, using tips and tricks from Minimal Mac.

    (Submitted by littlecomets)



  • Milan Prada Men’s Fall 2010

    Straightforward. Milan-based fashion house Prada is not known to follow trends. At Milan menswear fashion week, Muccia Prada, promoted comfort and practical chic. Everything was about easy dressing and staying true to yourself.

    No-fuss lines. Prada’s clothes are conceptual with structural strength. This time, Muccia showcased preppy stuff, mostly casual; a very polite style. The retro vinyl look and the shrunken sweaters reinforced fun and brightness. Men’s fashion is rarely dramatic.

    Is the best design invisible? Don’t call me a traditionalist, but isn’t that what design is all about? Re-working and altering what already works? Small touches. Minimal complexity—is that what minimalism means to you?







  • minimalist eating

    How does a minimalist eat? Just a few grains of rice each day, perhaps?

    There’s no one way, of course, but one thing to consider is whether eating huge amounts of food, super-sized fast food meals and mountains of fried cheesy food that you find at chain restaurants … whether this American style of eating is consistent with the minimalist philosophy.

    I say no. A minimalist would more likely eat less, prepare food simply with few ingredients, eat mindfully, and eat sustainably.

    Here’s how.

    • Eat less. If you’re overweight, eating less is absolutely the best thing you can do. If you’re underweight, eating less isn’t a good idea. But the Okinawans, reknowned for their incredible health and longetivity, do so well in part because they eat fewer calories than most people. They stop when they’re 80% full. I’ve been doing this with great results. Trick is to cut back on your portions a little at a time, and your stomach slowly grows smaller. It’s not hard if you do it slowly, gradually. Don’t starve yourself, but learn to eat until you’re almost full — after 5 minutes, you’ll realize you really are full.
    • Fewer ingredients. Try three-ingredient recipes (other than spices, oil & water) — there are lots of them on the web. I like oatmeal, nuts & fruit (with cinnamon); black bean chili with tomatoes (and cilantro, cayenne, chiles, salt); black beans & quinoa; soy yogurt, berries & nuts; coconut flakes, fruit & soymilk; apples & almonds. You get the idea.
    • Simple preparation. The above dishes require very little preparation. If you really love cooking, this tip won’t be for you, but for those who normally eat out or eat packaged foods, it’s important to find foods that don’t require a lot of prep time. You want to do little work with few ingredients — just fresh, real food that is flavorful and healthy.
    • Eating mindfully. Instead of eating while you watch TV, try paying attention to each bite, savoring your food and getting the most out of it while eating less.
    • Eating sustainably. A plug for veganism, which is more sustainable than meat and dairy because plants require fewer resources (yes, even fewer than free-range animals). If everyone became vegan, we’d have more than enough food to feed the world, and we’d use fewer resources with less carbon emissions.
  • You know what is not being accessed in this now dated Hollywood...



    You know what is not being accessed in this now dated Hollywood imagined future?

    Files.

    Folders.

    Desktop.

    You know what is being used?

    Images.

    Video.

    Data.

    Welcome to the future.



  • Getting Intimate With the iPad [Geek & Mild]

    Getting Intimate With the iPad [Geek & Mild]:

    What I’m getting at is that I don’t think the iPad is just another portable device that fills a gap. Even contrary to the way it was introduced, I don’t think the iPad fits the in-between-smartphone-and-PC moniker. I think it’s much more. I think it is the new PC — in its infancy.

    See also: http://twitter.com/sperte/status/8334760409 I think he is spot on about that one.

  • patdryburgh: Inspired by Patrick Rhone’s home screen...



    patdryburgh:

    Inspired by Patrick Rhone’s home screen experiment, I’ve decided to move all of my iPhone app icons to the second page and beyond in order to determine which apps truly deserve to be on there.

    I have a suspicion that most of the apps on my previous home screen will return, but I’m not one to simply let things remain for the sake of staying the same. I want my home screen to be the most efficient means of accessing my most-used apps, and I want to know exactly what those apps actually are.

    (And yes, I have Jailbroken my phone.)

    So awesome it hurts.



  • The Future

    The Future :

    “You may not like it, but it’s the future”.

    I debated on whether or not to post this. It is a video of me getting more than a little ranty about the iPad and the future of computing as we know it. I finally compromised with myself and am posting a link and not the actual video. If you are ready to hear me scream and yell and wave my arms at the iPad nay sayers, check it out.

  • Cruft: A message to the Internets regarding the iPad

    Cruft: A message to the Internets regarding the iPad:

    I am a technology professional. For almost 20 years I’ve tested, used, broke, fixed, and played with all kinds of technology from broadcasting to air conditioning to software. I am not easily swayed in these things. But even with all my skepticism, I think the iPad is something different. A new way of computing that will become commonplace.

    Indeed. (thx DF)

  • iPad

    HAL-9000: What is going to happen?
    Dave: Something wonderful.
    HAL-9000: I’m afraid.
    Dave: Don’t be. We’ll be together

    (thx Laurian Gridinoc)

  • The more things change…

    malumelegans:

    The Macintosh, or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface.

    Macintosh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    As it began, so it ends. The iPad heralds the beginning of a new era of computing based not on the mouse and the desktop metaphor, but on touch and the ‘apps’ metaphor.

    People complained about the original Mac: it used a mouse, it used a GUI, there wasn’t enough software. Then they actually tried it.

    Now, famous for design and user interface, Apple is doing what Apple does best: introducing a new product, a new concept in computing, that will redefine the way everyone uses a computer.

    You heard it here first.

    Another reblog. Imagine that…

    Look, I’m just going to spell it out here because hinting around it for a few weeks now here and other places (places like Twitter) have obviously not really gotten the point across about how big this is. So, I’ll just come out and say it again…

    Everything you know about the “office” metaphor of computing, with files, folders, desktops, etc. is changing. Apple created it. Now they are replacing it. I think the confusing thing for many people is that, this time, they are not setting the paradigm from the top down (desktop to mobile) but from the bottom up (mobile to desktop).

  • Free

    mrgan:

    A detail from the iPad keynote: Steve demoes the Mail application and he puts it in horizontal mode. Oh, look, an Inbox list pops in. Neat.

    And I think, hmmm I wonder if you can resize that splitter, making the source list wider. Its a tiny target, so it would be hard to grab…

    And then I realize: you can’t resize it.

    And a bright light did shine upon my liberated face and a voice did whisper a thunder: You’re free. Free of pointless preferences and finger-baiting adjustments.

    As Andy puts it, the iPad is an administrivia-removal device.

    You may have noticed I have been reblogging less and less lately but this deserved to be seen in it’s entirety before I expanded on the point.

    I have been seeing so many people have been focussing on what the iPad can’t do. To me, many of those “missing features” are a good thing. The lack of options we have come to expect in a world where options are plentiful (On the Mac, there are at least three ways to quit any application), are a bonus on a device like this. They are even more of a bonus for those who are not savvy computer users. It may come as a shock to us geeks, but many people can’t handle multiple choices on a computing device (How many ways are there to quit an app on the iPhone, and now, iPad? One. The Home button.). They learn the one way to do something and they always do it that way.

    Furthermore, it is increasingly apparent that Apple feels that he moment you are presented with an option you are taken away from the experience and interaction with the device and that, my friends, is the secret sauce that Apple sells you. They have never been in the business of selling you a box. They sell you an experience and the more immersed you are in that experience, and the less choices you have to make, the more you can simply focus on what you need to get done.

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