sundance

IMDB’s Captcha is less annoying and actually kind of cool

Little Big Details is a slightly esoteric website but one I think would be very interesting and useful for my designer friends and really anyone who lives and breathes in the digital space. It posts user submitted examples of how the tiniest detail in a website, software or user flow can have a disproportionately huge impact on the user experience. A lot of the submissions are from the Apple ecosystem and can be traced back to Steve Jobs, whose obsession over the smallest details resulted in a superior overall user experience…

Remembering Steve Jobs: 6 reasons why he rocked

Steve Jobs’ death has inspired an outpouring of grief and impromptu tributes from all over the world (among our favorites: MintDigital’s portrait rendered in motherboards and the Sad Mac homepage on The Oatmeal). Here, a six-item salute to what made him amazing.

Best of the web: Graphic design hoarders, beard thieves and how to “make an art”

Beardfolio: In 2009, Texan photographer Matthew Rainwaters shot the strange and wonderful contestants of the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. Described as “a magnificent showcase of chops, bristles and whiskers,” the images were finally compiled into book form. The resulting photobook, “Beard,” is now out from Chronicle. For those of us whose boyfriends are embarking on annual facial hair experiments (under the pretense that it’s “warmer”), looks like we have at least one Christmas gift taken care of.

313 patents of Steve Jobs

I was stunned when news of Steve Jobs resignation as head of Apple reverberated across the news and social wires last Wednesday. The deterioration of his health was one of the worst kept secrets over the past few years, in contrast to the notoriously tight-lipped Apple culture, and I hope that relinquishing the controls will allow him to focus on his health. As someone who grew up in a Mac-only household, the genius of Steve Jobs had a daily impact on my life. This New York Times infographic of the 313 patents that Steve Jobs was involved with gives an insight into just the influence he’s had “…ranging from from the company’s iconic computer cases to the glass staircases that are featured in many Apple stores.”

Steve Jobs reveals Apple’s new campus

Cheekily dubbed the iBuilding, the plans for Apple’s latest and greatest undertaking – its new campus in Cupertino, California – have finally been revealed. At a city council meeting last week, Steve Jobs unveiled some pixelated but nonetheless exciting renderings that take “office building” to a whole new level. The eye-catching structure (just see the satellite image below) is a ring-shaped building reportedly spearheaded by architect Norman Foster, whose super slick design ethos can be seen in projects the world over, including the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site in NY.

Green tech finds (6/9/11)

The original electric cars, a solar-powered train tunnel, and geothermal energy harvesting that also sequesters carbon… your green tech finds for the week.

• Big battery breakthrough?: Researchers at MIT are redesigning batteries as “semi-solid flow cells,” which could eliminate charging time issues for electric cars, as well as provide viable storage of energy generated from renewable sources. (via Grist)
  
  
• Solar-powered train tunnel opens in Belgium: A two-mile stretch of train tunnel near Antwerp is now covered with solar panels, and will provide electricity for both high-speed and inter-city rail links, as well as a train station. (via AOL Travel)
  
  

Nervous 23-year-old Steve Jobs prepping for first National TV appearance

The Internet time capsule unearthed this old video of a young hirsute 23-year-old Steve Jobs nervously prepping and getting miked up for his first national TV appearance. Clearly the Apple grasshopper grew up to be master of media appearances and control.

Steve Jobs’ business card

From the Internet time capsule, here is an early business card of our Dear Leader.

The $160,000 Apple Computer

Christie’s is auctioning on November 23 one of the first Apple computers ever made (number 82 of the 200 that were built), which the auction house is hoping goes for somewhere between $159,800 and $239,700. The Apple-1 computer was built and sold by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founders, in 1976 for $666.66 — [...]