Feb 17, 2024Rotten AppleThis was originally published on my own site. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act is being enforced and Apple aren’t happy about it. Most of the discussion around this topic has centred on the requirement for Apple to provision alternative app stores. I don’t really care about that because I…Apple4 min readApple4 min read
Nov 15, 2023UX London returns in 2024Put the dates in your dairy: UX London 2024 will be on June 18th, 19th, and 20th. Better yet, grab a ticket right now. There are super early-bird tickets available until this Friday. If you want a flavour of what to expect, check out the speakers that are already confirmed…1 min read1 min read
Nov 9, 2023HTML web componentsWeb components have been around for quite a while, but it feels like they’re having a bit of a moment right now. It turns out that the best selling point for web components was “wait and see.” …4 min read4 min read
Nov 9, 2023CreativityIt’s like a little mini conference season here in Brighton. Tomorrow is ffconf, which I’m really looking forward to. Last week was UX Brighton, which was thoroughly enjoyable. Maybe it’s because the theme this year was all around creativity, but all of the UX Brighton speakers gave entertaining presentations. The…1 min read1 min read
Nov 8, 2023In the marginsJohn Willshire has been pondering web marginilia AKA stuff you put in your sidebar. He has a particular fondness for the good ol’ blogroll. I’ve still got my analogue equivalent on my homepage — the bedroll. It’s a list of links to people who’ve stayed over. …1 min read1 min read
Nov 4, 2023A memex in every web browserWhen Mathew Modine’s character first shows up in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, I figured the rest of the cinema audience wouldn’t have appreciated me shouting out “VANNEVAR BUSH IN THE HOUSE!” so I screamed it on the inside. The Manhattan Project was not his only claim to fame or infamy. When…2 min read2 min read
Oct 31, 2023Indie Web Camp NurembergAfter two days at border:none in Nuremberg, it was time for two days at Indie Web Camp, also in Nuremberg. I hadn’t been to an Indie Web Camp since before The Situation. It felt very good to be back. I had almost forgotten how inspiring and productive they can be. …5 min read5 min read
Oct 30, 2023border:none 2023In 2013, I spoke at the border:none event in Nuremberg. I gave a talk called The Power of Simplicity. It was a great little event. Most of the talks were, like mine, on technical topics; design, development, the usual conference material. This year Joschi and Marc decided to have another…2 min read2 min read
Oct 17, 2023Decision timeI’ve always associated good design with thoughtfulness. Like, I should be able to point to any element in an interface and the designer should be able to tell me the reasons it’s there. Those reasons may be rooted in user needs or asthetics or some other consideration, but the point…3 min read3 min read
Oct 15, 2023Increment by incrementThe bedrock of the World Wide Web is solid. Built atop the protocols of the internet (TCP/IP), its fundamental building blocks remain: URLs of HTML files transmitted over HTTP. Baldur Bjarnason writes: Even today, the web is like living fossil, a preserved relic from a different era. Anybody can put…3 min read3 min read