So. The iPad. Cool, eh?

What, you don’t like it? Think Jobs under-delivered in his keynote? Thinking your tiny Dell netbook can do all that and more, even if you have to crouch to look at the screen and glue your hands together to type?

Yeah, I know. Tablets with full 9.7 inches of ultra-sensitive touch screens are so common nowadays. I mean, these things can even play HD video without crashing their way to reboot, yeah, that’s common too. And the interface? Pssssh, I’ve seen Excel worksheets looking better than that iCal view. And all that starting from $499? Gee, what were these guys thinking.

Seriously, people, get a grip. I don’t know what kind of mystic arcana you believed Jobs would unveil in his keynote, but really, are you that close-minded to think that the iPad is common and overrated? Have you seen many tablet PCs nowadays that look and function as cool and intuitively as the iPad looked in that intro video?

And don’t get me started about the lack of Flash support; seriously, who cares¹. Oh I know – Flash developers care. Look, my fellow developers, I admire your skills but seriously, seriously, don’t you ever think that maybe it’s the time to expand your skills a bit if you want to hop on the bandwagon?

Most developer complaints I’ve heard are based on the loose axis of “yeah I know I could do that and more with Cocoa, but I’m confident with my current set of skills and I don’t want to learn Objective-C”. This is wrong and you know it – this is as if PHP developers absolutely refused to dabble on Ruby & Python because they’re “happy with their current set of skills”. We’re called developers for God’s sake, don’t you think we should develop our skills every now and then?

The iPad is not made for you and me, fellow geek. It’s primarily targeted to people that are still afraid of interacting with PCs, those that don’t have a clue about drivers and web apps and Wi-Fi setup. And this is exactly the kind of people that won’t buy a Linux netbook, dear Open Source zealots – because as much as Ubuntu has made Linux user-friendly, there’s still much filling that shows between the seams.

One could argue that I’m a total iPad fangirl and everything above is the fruit of my utter fangirlism, but I assure you, I’m not that much of a fanatic cookie. I’ll probably don’t even buy the first generation iPad. But I’ve seen people getting it so wrong on the interwebs these days that I’ve collected a massive amount of ranting fume.

¹ Yeah, I know Farmville fanatics, you’ll have to stick to your netbooks to sow your corn, but I don’t really care about you to be frank.

After 3 years of heavy twittering (with a brief pause of some months – seriously, what was I thinking), I have familiarized myself with most of the service aspects, developing some kind of unwritten Twitter laws.

People don’t take well my Twitter presence at times, so I’ve decided to make a post about it and share: am I a bad Twitter-er people? Do you do these things too?

Without further ado, my patented unwritten Twitter laws™:

• If you follow me and I don’t follow back and you’re absolutely pissed (there are some people who still do that), try to reply at some of my tweets in a coherent, non-jackass way. Fat chances are, I’ll eventually follow you.
• An e-mail containing your follow data arrives in my inbox. I always check your twitter page and do a bit of mini-stalking (apart from obvious spambots). If your twitter stream is full of titles + links, you fail. If it’s full of replies to other people, you fail. If you don’t have an online presence, anywhere, you fail. If you have a link to your facebook account or (God forbid) to your twitter account (endless loop anyone?), you fail. If your twitter stream is protected (seriously?), you fail again. If, however, you express coherent thoughts, no matter the language, no matter the subject, you’ll be likely followed back. It helps if you’re kinda hot too, in a steamy geek kinda way.
• You’re absolutely appalled by my Twitter activity and you decide to unfollow me. If your life or work isn’t spectacular enough to keep my interest in you, don’t expect me to stay a follower of you for long. It’s not a matter of revenge: when I follow someone, it’s because a) I admire their work or lifestyle b) I’d like to know them better (that’s more suitable for Greek twitters). If you decide to unfollow me, you don’t want me to know you better, so if I don’t really admire the things you do, poof! I’m gone too.
• Contrary to some predictions, you can make money off Twitter (or social media, as the cool kids call it). Not directly, I’m not DELL. But most of the freelance jobs I’ve been offered were based on Twitter interaction. I consider this a huge success for my Twitter presence and I don’t really care I have yet to reach 1000 followers.
• I’m all for conversations for Twitter, but please. Not lengthy ones. Don’t expect to draw conclusions from Twitter, it’s not for solving complex geopolitical problems – it can give the hints to transfer the conversation to some other medium though (thanks @stazybohorn).
• I’m perfectly fine with you posting links to your latest blog posts on your Twitter stream. Some people are complaining about this, but I’m not. Since I rarely (if ever) fire up my feed reader, it’s a nice way to let me know of your new posts. I’ll definitely check those out.
• What’s highly annoying: littering a perfectly coherent tweet with inline hashtags. #this is not #cool, #people.
• What’s highly annoying #2: auto-tweeting apps. Think gowalla, foursquare and the like. For the record, I’ve used a command-line hack to filter my Tweetie stream of that jargon. You can find it here. (thanks @olrandir)
• Yes, I’m greek, but I tweet in english. I also blog in english. In fact, about 80% of my online presence is in english. Why? Because english is a simpler, more techno-friendly language that reaches to billions of people, and not just some thousands. I’ll always reply in english, except when what I want to say has only meaning to greek followers (that will probably be a reply to someone though). Case study: this joke tweet reply.
• Fact: even if I respect your work, if you’re a cold elitist bastard at Twitter, you’ll always be a cold elitist bastard to me.
• Personal reminder: you can’t DM people that don’t follow you. You can’t DM people that don’t follow you. You can’t DM people that don’t follow you.

Hm, I think that’s all for now. Feel free to add your own pet peeves, usage patterns and unwritten laws.

God I love Twitter.

Flickr credit: directfromcannes

Tabs (earlier) and overlays (later) are two of the most widely used web interface patterns. By using them, one can organize a complex user interface in seconds, guiding the user to see what he’s meant to see and not get confused by other modules of the application.

When combined though, an interesting little beast emerges: the tabbed overlay.

A service that uses this kind of overlays is Google Docs. I use Google Docs often, mainly to collaborate with greek bloggers on interviews that consist a part of my monthly columns at PC Magazine.

The tabbed overlay is used when you try to invite other people to your document. You try it with me: head to Google Docs and click on Share > Invite people. You add an e-mail address or two in the invite textarea, you add a message, you click send and invitations go their merry way. You can also change permissions by clicking on the Advanced permissions tab and making the necessary changes.

But what if you want to invite people and change permissions, all in one step?

Unfortunately, Google Docs does not support that. You can either do one or another, since when you click on the Advanced permissions tab, the submit button changes from Send to Save & close. This led to an interesting error by my part, the other day.

I’ve filled in some e-mail addresses and then clicked on Advanced permissions. I then clicked on Save & close, thinking that the invitations will be sent anyway, since I’ve filled in the relevant details in the previous tab. Alas! Save & close just saved my permission settings and never sent my invitations.

Needless to say, I was kinda confused when I was informed that my invitation hasn’t been received. After tinkering a bit with the interface, I got it: I was wrong. The form does not “remember” my data from another tab and submits it all together. I must first invite people, then change the permissions. However, strictly from a user point of view, it would make sense if I could just enter my data in all tabs, hit one submit button and be done with, no?

This is one of the cases that the use of this UI module is not optimal. It’s not a major faux pas on Google’s part, but the fact that it even got me, a web designer who’s dabbling into UI design daily, is quite interesting. What about users that do not know about the form submission mechanics?

Maybe a different kind of UI magic should be in place there – for example, I’d move the two checkboxes from the Advanced permissions tab under a More options header on the Invite people tab, which would be hidden by default and visible on demand. Something like this: (expanded view)

I think it makes more sense that way – and we could skip the underwater usability reef that’s lurking there.

You may or may not know this, but I’m a terrible wannabe overachiever.

When I start working on a project, I don’t just want it to succeed, I want it to be the best. I have visions of extended A+ reviews from fellow web designers and enthusiastic phone calls from clients, analytics pages that go really over the top and thousands millions of happy users.

Of course, all this fantasy gets me in trouble more often than not. I bet you know why: creative procrastination.

What does it mean, in a nutshell? I’ll visualize it for you: me, staring at the screen, pen & paper in hand, designing in my mind, laying out HTML snippets, styling with CSS, solving complex design problems, conducting usability reports and studying ROI analyses.

All. In. My. Head.

That’s a bit too much, as you know. It usually means that by the time I lay down a single line of CSS I’m so tired and confused it’s not even fun anymore. But I love my work, so it should be fun right? Right. That’s why you just need to keep going.

Every time you stumble upon a web design roadblock and lose two minutes of your precious time thinking of how to overcome it, stop and run in the opposite direction, immediately.

If you’re pondering too much over a design problem, do a bit of brain-dead form coding. If you’re totally bored of coding HTML, stop and sprinkle a bit of CSS magic to your project. If you feel confined in your browser window, fire up Photoshop and start designing out of the box. Most important: never stop working on your project. Less thought, more work.

I guarantee, a moment’s gonna come that your project will just look at you, shiny, finished, and you’ll marvel at how streamlined your process was this time.

“But, Sug, what about the correct way of web designing?”, I hear you thinking. As with most design workflows, there is really no spoon. No panacea, no proper way of doing stuff. Hell, I always say “HTML first, CSS second” yet I always start coding CSS as soon as I get a vague idea of the site. Nasty, nasty Sug.

Learn your way of working and try to live with it. Don’t fret over the little things, they will eventually get ironed out before launch, promise.

Just don’t stop working.

One of the most common questions I get over e-mail & twitter is the infamous “Do you have any good design books to suggest?” one. I wouldn’t blame those people – there is an abundance of books (even good ones) out there and it’s really difficult to read between the lines, Amazon reviews or not Amazon reviews.

Due to this, I’ve decided to mark the first week of my #p52 project with this blog post. Without further ado, here are my favourite web design books of all time, in the order I’ve read them:

1. 

   Designing with Web Standards (3rd Edition)

   By Jeffrey Zeldman

   The second version (the orange one) of this book is one of the first books I’ve been fortunate to read on web design. And believe me, it’s a hell of a starter on proper web design, and by proper I mean standards-based.

   This book is not a technical one – eventhough its second part gets into the nitty-gritty of stuff. Its value lies in the background information on standards, the definition of things like the browser wars, and the arguments pro and against standards.

   It’s a great book to read if you don’t have a clue what the heck is web standards in the first place, and an awesome book to return to when all hope withers and clients are raving on your phone about scrolling marquees and animated .gifs.

2. 

   Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

   By Steve Krug

   What? I hear you say. Is she for real? A book from the *gasp* 2005?

   I know, 2005 feels like an eon away in web years, but believe me, those 4,5 Amazon stars are not there just for show. Krug managed to pack a great deal of insight in a lightweight and funny book you could read on a plane trip.

   Don’t Make Me Think, as Designing with Web Standards, does not focus on the technical aspect. Krug explains in simple terms why we must stop placing hurdles in front of our users (and potential clients) and demystifies some of the most common web faux pas.

   If you could only get one book on web design, this should be it. Witty and to-the-point, Don’t Make Me Think is an essential book for all designers, developers and front-end magicians.

3. 

   Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design

   By Andy Clarke

   If Designing with Web Standards was the book that got me into the whole hullaballoo, it was Transcending CSS by famous web trickster Andy Clarke that guided me to the light.

   Hyperbole? Probably. What I know is that Transcending CSS proved itself more useful than I’ve ever imagined and changed the way I wrote HTML & CSS forever. Gone are the usual code listings and “Reminder!” footnotes; Andy takes us into a wild ride around semantic code in a really, really handsome book you just love to flick through.

   If you already have a solid grasp of CSS but you need that extra something that eludes you, try this book. I guarantee you will write better code, right after you flip that last page.

4. 

   Designing the Moment: Web Interface Design Concepts in Action & Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design

   By Robert Hoekman Jr.

   Those two little books by Robert Hoekman Jr. were two very pleasant suprises. I really didn’t know what to expect when I bought them, but they proved really valuable and informative.

   Reading them, you’ll stumble upon concepts like kaizen and the 5S approach, while you’ll learn (using real-life examples, I always love those) how to chisel those interfaces of yours into UX masterpieces.

   If you love application design and feel you can do better in keeping your interfaces lean and mean, these two books will help a ton, I can vouch for them.

5. 

   Handcrafted CSS: More Bulletproof Web Design

   By Dan Cederholm

   This is one of my latest favs. I happen to love the way mr. Cederholm writes – he seriously makes me feel calmer, more confident and a little bit zen about web design.

   Handcrafted CSS is a pretty recent book, so expect extended coverage of all the latest and greatest CSS techniques and a thousand and one reasons why you should use them, right now. I bought the DVD version, in which mr. Cederholm offers face-to-face advice about advances in CSS design and gives real-life examples of forward thinking in web design.

   If you have any doubts concerning CSS3 techniques, if you still cling to IE6 with a vengeance and firmly believe that every design must look pixel-perfect in all browsers, do us all a favour and get this book. Like a cup of good green tea, this book will make you feel more balanced, instantly.

Disclaimer: All title links above contain my Amazon associate ID, so if you buy something by following one of the links, a little bit of shiny gratitude will come my way. Glee!

…there’s a slight air of change around here.

So if you’re reading this in a feed reader and you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, click the title and hop to the real site and see what comes of it.

It’s quite beta-y at the moment, as many things don’t work (*cough*contactpage*cough*) but I’ll be slowing rolling out fixes and changes in the next few days.

If you have noticed any bug that you think I haven’t, be kind enough to leave me a comment and let me know.

You rule, people.

I won’t miss you.

You were a shitty year all over. Seriously.

And now that you’re leaving, I’m ill, with a throat that feels like a bag of rocks and a cold sore on my lip the size of Mount Doom, with my grandpa at the hospital recovering after surgery and my parents dead tired, bouncing between our home and the hospital, and a car whose poor right side has been scratched all over due to my amazing parking skills.

You won’t hear me complain, 2009. Why bother. There are millions of people with problems far worse than mine. Actually, billions.

But begone, ok? I’ve had enough with you.

2010, bring it on. I’ll kick your ass all the way to Patagonia if I need to.

Happy New Year, everyone. Be healthy, mkay?

Yesterday was one of the most emotional and surreal days of my life.

Surreal enough to get me writing again.

After three years of work and some months of preparation, I quit my job at Phaistos Networks.

It’s been a real pleasure to work with the great people there. I’ve gained friends I could not hope for. I’ve learned more stuff that can fit my tiny brain. And I’ve got the kind of precious experience that comes from working with really talented people that are passionate about what they do, at all times.

Needless to say (and as much of a stuck-up bitch I seem at times), things got pretty emotional. I’ll miss working there, but it was time for me to go on.

A new path, exciting as well as totally terrifying, unfolds now in front of me.

Expect that in the next few months, you’ll see some more of me.

Stay tuned.

I’m gonna confess something to you, dear readers.

I try too hard not to be a pirate these days. Really.

And by pirate, I don’t really mean trying hard not to talk like lovely mr. Johnny Depp. I’m finding myself more and more trying to find legal ways to get access to music that I love.

One of my latest loves conveniences is Spotify. Really, it’s a music lover’s dream come true, such a great app and great potential. I’m more than willing to pay those 10 euros each month to have access to music I love – but I can’t. Why? My country copyright laws don’t permit it.

I’d also probably pay for movie and movie rentals through an interface like iTunes store. Same story. I can’t.

It does sound insane, doesn’t it? Willing to actually pay (even indirectly) companies to listen to music legally, just because it all gets so convenient and direct after all.

But companies and company policies, being the absolute pain in the ass they are, don’t let me.

How delightfully ironic, if I may say.

All my legal self can hope for is a similar to Spotify model for the iTunes Store, also available to Greece. Some kind of monthly fee with unlimited access to music. Now that, hell I’d pay! Especially for bands and people I love so much. Portishead. UNKLE. Archive. Placebo. Muse. Thievery Corporation.

Till then, sorry chéris, I’ll find other ways to get access to great music and buy illegal Spotify passes through e-bay, alright.

A great pic by juhansonin

Traveling to France was one of my childhood dreams.

I think every little girl that grows up with romantic visions of Paris in her head feels like that. Six years of awesome french lessons with Mme Angèlique didn’t help either – I always wanted to go to France and I wanted it bad.

This year, after a series of unfortunate events, my dream came true. Some random thoughts about Paris, in no particular order:

• French people are nothing like the sour, narrow-minded, impolite blurry vision I had formed in my head. At least, most of them. They’re seriously polite (I’ve lost count of mercis and bonjours) and willing to help you, even if you’re a (*gasp*) tourist. Funny fact: one of the guards at Eiffel Tower talked to us (quite fluently) in Greek, explaining prices and options. How cool is that?
• Paris is the most beautiful European capital I’ve been to, and one of the best-looking European capitals. Simple fact.
• I think I spent as much time over earth as under it. Paris métro is HUGE. And smelly. “Our” line, line 14 (St Lazare – Olympiades) was one of the cleanest and most civilized, though.
• Monmartre was kinda disappointing. So touristic and full of people. Exploring it under 35 degrees Celsius didn’t help, either.
• I’m afraid I didn’t really like French cuisine, eventhough I’ve not tasted much of it. Advice: when in doubt, never order andouillette. Trust me. Unless you like raw kokoretsi.
• …on a different note, Paris was a snacker heaven. Croissants, paninis, sandwiches, slices of pies… oh my!
• I *love* walking kilometres around the different neighbourhoods and exploring the city in ways no tourist guide would ever allow. That’s what I did in Rome and that’s what I’ll do in my next trip.
• Another fact: in some restaurants in Paris, Coke (or other sodas) cost way more than a glass of french wine.
• I must be the only tourist that lived in Paris for a week and didn’t visit the Louvre museum after all. I’m unique!

À bientôt, Paris!

I’ll be back to check the rest of you, for sure.

P.S. On a (somewhat) related note, what’s wrong with Italian people and english? Seriously. They’re so foreign-language-agnostic it becomes offensive at times. There was this pesky Italian tourist in Eiffel Tower elevator that kept correcting the French elevator girl when she was making announcements in italian. I felt like clubbing him in the head.