The MacHook, a place to hang your headphones

It’s only been recently that I’ve decided to opt for a nice pair of headphones, after trying out Kyle’s Sony MDR-V150′s.True audiophiles may balk, but consider this: I’ve used iPod headphones my entire life. The one thing I’ve noticed though is that there’s never really a great place to put my headphones, they’re just large enough to awkward. So when I spotted this MacHook by Workerman, I realized it was a perfect and elegant solution.

The MacHook is made in the USA from Baltic Birch, sealed with an all natural wax finish, and sticks to your computer with “nano-suction technology”, which sounds made up to me, but I’ll give them the benefit of a doubt. Major props to Adam Brackney for creating a really smart solution.

Bobby

The iPod – One product, 10 years of innovation

I came across this photo taken by Flickr user m-s-y earlier and was totally amazed by how far the iPod has come in 10 years. I’ve seen other comparison shots before, but there’s something about the way this is shot that made an impact. A part of it is the difference in the shadow, not to mention all the ports on the top of the first generation iPod. You could probably stack up three of the newest iPods to make one of the first gens.

For those curious, here’s a list of all the models that Apple has released.

Bobby

Why Instagram is so popular – I couldn’t say it better

I’ve been wanting to write a post about Instagram for a while, as it’s probably the one app I use most. For a long time there were a number of people talking about how iPhone photos, and Instagram photos in turn, weren’t “real”, basically that they held no value. I say bullshit. Instagram has opened up a new world of art and community that couldn’t have existed without the iPhone or app culture.

When I read this article by Nate Bolt over on Techcrunch it was basically all of my thoughts wrapped up into one, concise article. Nate does a great job of outlining what makes Instagram special: Quality, Audience, Access, Immediacy and Constraints. The final point, Constraint, is exactly why Instagram works, here’s what Nate has to say:

It might seem trivial, but showing one photo at a time is a design decision that creates more value for each image, and enhances your viewing experience. Plus it doesn’t hurt to have the images trapped inside a beautiful iPhone screen. It almost doesn’t matter who you follow—their photos probably look better one at a time. From a UX perspective, we keep learning that interfaces with constraints are successful, and it seems like such a straight-forward principle (140 characters, ahem), but it’s kind of worthless on it’s own. Obviously you can’t introduce constraints without other elements, which is why this is the last point. There’s something enticing about knowing that most Instagram photos are created on the iPhone, since it introduces a NASCAR-like equality. That makes it fun to see what other people can create with the same technical constraints you have. Photography has always been all about the equipment, and not at all about the equipment. Knowing millions of people are creating with roughly the same camera and app as you makes it exciting creatively. So constraints, combined with quality and an audience are what makes Instagram so addictive.

Above is a photo I took of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Reservoir. If you look in the back you can see a thin white line, which is actually the Pacific Ocean. The camera is on the iPhone 4 is amazing, and the social aspect of Instagram allows me to share this amazing site with my friends. Be sure to read Nate’s article, it’s a winner, and if you’re not on Instagram, what are you waiting for?

Bobby

The Daily Gift & Gadget Guide, illustrations by Matthew Lyons

I feel I should preface this post with, “I hate gift guides.” When a blog or website does a gift guide, most of the time they’re sponsored, and if they’re not, the person writing them is usually trying to get something free for writing it. In my opinion the gift guide has become the infomercial of our time, a way of saying that you don’t know how to buy gifts for the people you know best, so here’s a bucket of items to consume.

That said, I love what The Daily has done with their Gift & Gadget Guide app. To be honest, I didn’t spend a lot of time really looking through the app, though it seemed well put together and pretty fun to flick around on the iPad. What I enjoyed the most though were the awesome illustrations by Matthew Lyons, who helped bring across the theme of the guide, which was retro futurism. He’s a fantastic illustrator and it’s always great to see him doing work, especially on something special like this. The app is free, so for those of you with iPads I suggest giving it a spin, it’s a fun experience all around.

Bobby

A beautiful video shot on the iPhone 4S

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the iPhone 4S, both good and bad. A lot of folks had some silly expectations of what the iPhone 4S should be and do, and how it shouldn’t have even been 4S, how it should have been 5. But what Apple has done has made some small but powerful tweaks to a nearly perfect phone that makes it only better, perfect example, the camera.

The video above was shot completely with an iPhone 4S, and the quality is stunning. I wonder how many people would have guessed it was shot on an iPhone if they didn’t have previous knowledge?
The video was made by Benjamin Dowie, who did a wonderful job of capturing a day at the beach, but couldn’t anyone do the same with an iPhone and a bit of knowledge of filmmaking? That’s kind of the magic with this update is that we all have the potential to make beautiful things. The iPhone is good at cashing in on this, democratizing tools and allowing most people to create amazing things, like what Instragram does with photography.

Bobby