Ok, as web professionals we know this mantra, print ≠ web. It's probably been permanently branded to our collective consciousness. Yet, it can be hard to convince the client who is limited by the constraints of their frame of reference (plus we're the ones being paid to "think outside the box"). At any rate, hands-up those of you who have been required to replicate a paper-based process online using the same logic and flow as the paper process. "Make it look and work exactly like this paper form" (for example). Ouch. It's painful on many levels. For the user, and for the designer - trying to accommodate online for paper based logic can be a nightmare. Time to stop this insanity. It's way past time to strongly encourage convince the client to harness the power of interactive design and develop an online process that works in a non-linear format. The tools are readily available to create a real web experience that is intuitive on the front end and smart on the back end, delivering a positive user experience up front and the all important clean, accurate data on the back. This is a battle that needs to be won.

Resources:
Creating Usable Forms
Efficient creation of sensible and usable forms

Related:
Beyond the Browser: The Next Generation of Rich Internet Applications
Designing Powerful Web Applications: An Interview with David (Heller) Malouf

So I've been toying with the idea of writing up an entry that lets those of you who are interested get to know me a bit more. Kind of humanize the person behind the blog sort of thing. Anyway, I've decided to do a list of 5 favourites - not necessarily in any particular order. Don't know how much it tells you about me but here you go:

5 Favourite Movies (not necessarily all time faves, but ones I'd watch more than a few times again)
* Gladiator
* Sin City
* Lord of the Rings (extended version)
* V for Vendetta
* Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
(notice how I snuck in an extra 2 movies?)

5 Favourite (current) TV Shows (stuff I must watch, tape or TIVO)
* 24
* Heroes
* Lost (on again tonight YAY!)
* Friday Night Lights
* Ugly Betty

5 Favourite Bands (ok this will be a real toughie because I like a LOT of music so it's probably just going to be stuff that's in heavy rotation right now)
* Evanescence
* Hoobastank
* Incubus
* Nickel Creek
* AFI

5 Favourite Colours
* Lemon Yellow
* Tangerine Orange
* Twilight Sky on a Clear Winter Night (a deep velvety blue)
* New Leaf Green
* Candy Pink

5 Favorite Foods (to be washed down with some yummy wine - pref. red)
* Thin Crust Pizza (yes, with anchovies)
* Chicken Curry (esp. Tikki Masala)
* Veggie Stir Fry
* Grilled Fish
* Fajitas

I might do up another set later if I can come up with 5 more things to have favourites of.

Ok now, this is an interesting piece of software. I've often wondered about the possibility of using my iPod as more than just a backup tool/music device - making it an external boot drive would be the pinnacle of usefulness. I remember when the 'pods first came out there was talk of putting OS X on them and using them as an external startup drive, however, the caveat was that they have no cooling system so, running the operating system from them for an extended length of time tended to cook the innards (as it were). Also Apple wasn't endorsing the practice. So, it was in interesting idea at the time and one I promptly forgot about for a while (since I had no interest in cooking my beloved iPod). So now, I see that here's a piece of software (DasBoot) that can enable your iPod to function as a boot drive. Nice. Oh, did I mention that it's free? Adding some diagnostic/repair utilities to the iPod as well would make it a handy start-up and possibly repair tool. The more usefulness I can pile onto something the more satisfaction I get from it. I mean c'mon - multifunction - what's not to like about that?

What's the big deal about making connections & collaborating? It's all the buzz and becoming more and more mainstream as media picks up on it. Web 2.0 as a term and a concept has been around for a while now but it seems like it's just starting to gain traction in the popular mindset. Even though the web is evolving at practically the speed of light, there are many decision-makers who are still see it as an extension of traditional print media and advertising. It isn't. It hasn't been since it's inception. The very idea of the "web" tears apart the notion of linear text and traditional media. The Web 2.0 concept of linkages tears apart the notion that we are all islands. For a brief overview see this excellent video on Web 2.0, social computing, and issues that are now in the forefront and need defining.

For more in-depth exploration of social computing and leveraging the power of social computing, I'd recommend the book Wikinomics. It's a very good discussion and thought-provoking read.