Running The Ladder is the company blog of Bainbridge Studios, a tiny runt of a design practice based in lovely Tacoma, WA.
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Magic? Meh… But It Is A Nice Desktop Trackpad, and It Is The Future
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 | Tom Carmony
Apple’s latest round of product announcements included a range of updates to existing lines such as the iMac, the MacPro and LED Cinema Displays. But mixed in amongst those heavy hitters was the introduction of a new desktop-based input peripheral, the Magic Trackpad.
Yes. We’ve got yet another “magical” Apple gadget.
Following the Magic Mouse and the magical experience of the iPhone 4 (am I missing anything else?), the Magic Trackpad brings the multi-touch capabilities of Apple’s current notebook computers to the desktop. This new trackpad is reportedly 80% larger (seems about right) than the trackpad on the MacBook Pro, and offers all of the same multi-touch functionality as Apple’s portable devices. From the comfort of your desk.
So is the experience truly magical? That’s probably a bit much. Will Mac users be abandoning their mice in droves? Some most certainly will. Is this a sign of things to come? Absolutely.
Look, from performance and functionality standpoint, anyone who has used a recent MacBook or MacBook Pro (all of which incorporate at least some degree of multi-touch via their trackpads) knows what you’re getting here. The Magic Trackpad works as advertised. Paired with the recent Safari 5.0.1 update and the multi-touch software update that Apple pushed out yesterday, it brings some fun new touches (pun intended) to the desktop computing experience. The inclusion of inertia scrolling (vertical scrolling that slows down at the tail-end of a scroll, mimicking natural momentum), is a particularly nice feature.
I picked one up at our local Apple Store Wednesday evening (the last one on the shelves) and have been playing with it throughout the evening. I can definitely see using the device for the majority of my non-keyboard input, but not exclusively. Despite it’s strengths, a multi-touch trackpad simply can’t replicate the degree of precision capable with a high-end laser mouse. As a designer, there are tasks that require this level of precision, and for those, out comes the Magic Mouse. But for day-to-day use (email, web browsing, most app functionality), the Magic Trackpad will work like a charm.
The key takeaway here is all about forward thinking. The Magic Trackpad is another step in Apple’s slow and steady transition of our computing experience to touch. The touch experience began with the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, followed since by the iPod Touch, multi-touch trackpads on the MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the (multi-touch) Magic Mouse, the introduction of the iPad, and now the Magic Trackpad. Steve Job, Apple and its design team are slowly but surely evolving the everyday computing experience of the typical consumer away from the 25-year-old keyboard/mouse combination and toward a multi-touch based input environment.
Does that mean the mouse’s days are numbered? No. There will always be markets for the precision control provided by a mouse. Designers, visual artists and gamers need that level of precision. For them, there will probably always be some iteration of a mouse input device marketed by someone (however niche that product may become).
But for the general consumer? Five years from now, the typical consumer’s computing experience will be almost entirely touch-based. And Apple is leading the way.
Adam Lisagor on The Pipeline
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 | Tom Carmony
Photo courtesy of Lucius Kwok
Our pal Dan Benjamin, who continues to cement himself as a “Dick Cavett for the Internet Age” with his engaging Pipeline interviews, has a gem in his latest episode, talking shop with Adam Lisagor. Many people may know Adam from the hilarious You Look Nice Today podcast, but he’s now making a name for himself crafting memorable, one-of-a-time promotional videos for products such as Square and Flipboard.
Adam discusses his dissatisfaction with his previous work (doing graphics and visual effects for television and film) and what it was like for him to take the leap of quitting his job and venturing out on his own commercially. It’s absolutely worth a listen for anyone having done (or planning to do) the same.
Hear Adam Lisagor on The Pipeline »
Cheap plug masked as full disclosure: We designed the 5by5 Studios website.
UPDATE: Merlin Mann hits the nail on the head in his post about Adam’s interview:
“I don’t know how you could listen to Dan’s swell interview with Adam without feeling at least a teeny bit inspired. Inspired to pick your new projects more carefully, to dump the less gratifying old ones more buoyantly, to give your latest draft just one more line edit, to start noticing the well-disguised opportunities that are lurking in the shadows of inconvenience and loss—to at least briefly double-check that the trendline for whatever stuff you’re making that theoretically matters to you is moving in a sustainable direction you can be proud of.”
Seriously. Check it out. Now.
So What’s The Deal With The Fish?
Monday, July 26th, 2010 | Tom Carmony
Why is there a fish in the header of this blog? And, come to think of it, why is it called “Running The Ladder”? I mean, seriously, it’s not smart to try to run up (or God forbid) run down a ladder. It just doesn’t make any sense, right?
It’s all about the metaphor.
This most recent redesign of the Bainbridge Studios website has been in the works for more than a year now, as we’ve circled back to work on various bits and pieces as time allowed. With our move from Seattle to Tacoma back in January of this year, we also wanted to make a concerted effort to play up a bit more of a local connection in the style of the site, giving a nod where we can to characteristics of the Pacific Northwest.
In revisiting our on-again, off-again, back-on-again company blog, we wanted to bring some of that regional flavor here as well. While past versions of the blog tended to focus a bit more of tech-related topics, this time around, we want the overall theme to focus on small business – specifically, sharing some of our trials and tribulations (as well as successes!) in navigating the waters as a tiny, two-person design practice.
Navigating the waters… there I go. With the metaphor.
Surviving as a small business is an uphill battle… a struggle. Much like (cue the horns!) a salmon struggling to return home to mate. As soon as the notion of writing about small business experiences (along with the obvious nods to design and our day-to-day minutiae), the vision of the spawning salmon came to mind.
For those unfamiliar with the path that the salmon takes, salmon are born in freshwater streams and rivers (including many throughout the coastal Pacific Northwest – Washington, Oregon and Alaska). As they develop, they migrate from their freshwater birthplaces to the ocean, where they continue to grow and reach maturity. Once ready to breed/spawn, they return to their freshwater birthplaces (sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to do so). They literally swim upstream, battling the current the entire way to reach their home, spawn and then die.
This return for spawning is known as the “salmon run”, and in certain areas, there are structures and other apparatus in place to facilitate their migration. These are known as “fish ladders“. The salmon literally move from “step to step” up these ladders to aid in their return.
Thus, the concept of “running the ladder”, battling against the current to reach a goal (in our case, the ability to sustain our business and become/remain profitable), seemed like the perfect fit for the types of experiences we hope to share as one aspect of this blog.
Hat Tip: The lovely salmon illustration above is courtesy of Canadian illustrator J. Derry and can licensed via iStockPhoto.
Links of the Week: July 23rd
Friday, July 23rd, 2010 | Tom Carmony
Campaign Monitor Downloads, Plugins & Extensions
A wide-range of useful apps and plugins that allow you to tie your current CMS, online store and more into an existing Campaign Monitor mailing list account.
Using Dropbox to Sync Things to Multiple Macs
Sharing the same database for the Things task management applications between multiple Macs.
Eventbrite – Online Event Registration
Sell tickets online and manage RSVPs and user registrations. Integrates with The Event Calendar WordPress plugin.
PatternWall
Free seamless pattern graphics.
10 Tips for Designing Mobile Websites | These Days Labs
Not a lot to add here; a great primer on important factors to keep in mind when designing for mobile devices.
You can find all of our recommended links (past and present) on Delicious.