Archive for 2009
Does exactly what it says on the tin; just the posts that relate to the above...
Not worth a nickel
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
New plans to brighten up Mixd HQ with the introduction of a ‘work wall’ that would allow the design team to display creative concepts was scuppered this afternoon.
The plan was simple: “Let’s get a sheet of stainless steel and use magnets to hold the work up”. One quick call to a local steel fabricator and within a couple of days our sheet of shiny metal arrived. It’s lovely, although the magnets don’t stick to it.
Now… having been taught at school that things are either magnetic or they’re not, we were pretty comfortable that stainless steel was. Oh no, how silly.
A quick bit of research on Google has informed us that stainless steel is a ‘ferritic’ structure and therefore magnetic, unless it has a large proportion of nickel (there must be loads in our sheet) making it ‘austenitic’… of course. If only Mr Rees had taught us that.
Right… anyone want a massive sheet of non-magnetic stainless steel?
Or have any suggestions of what we can do with it? Clean answers only please.
Is this Susan Boyle fresh out of rehab at the Priory?
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
The above picture has found its way into our hands. It arrived under plain cover after we paid a small fortune to an anonymous contact… in a mask, out the back, after dark. Although this looks suspiciously like our very own Producer, Bob, dressed as a lady and mingling with Jim Bowen and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (I believe Raphael wore the red mask), the burning question remains:
Is this the first sighting of Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle following her stint of rehab (allegedly) in the Priory?
And if not, why is Bob dressed as one of the ladies from the Bounty kitchen roll advert?
…and now for something completely different
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Academy Award-nominated actor, comedian, writer and film producer John Cleese comes to town next week as the keynote speaker at the Yorkshire International Business Convention to be held at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate on Friday 5 June 2009.
He will be there on business and probably far more serious than you might expect. The man who played hapless guesthouse owner Basil Fawlty (quite apt for the conference town of Harrogate) regularly lectures in America to students on matters such as psychology, business and writing… he has also developed his on screen characters to produce training films for the world of business.
The Yorkshire International Business Convention has a reputation for attracting high profile speakers and Big John follows in the footsteps of global names like Bill Clinton and ‘Sir’ Bob Geldof; albeit, his footsteps will be considerably further apart and no doubt created in a rather ‘silly’ fashion.
Here at Mixd, we are fans of his catalogue of work and will be paying our own tribute to mark the tall one’s visit… look out for us undertaking our own Ministry of Silly Walks up and down King’s Road next week.
Page fold in web design
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Many people are familiar with the newspaper practice of maximising reader interest by placing premium content ‘above the fold’. The design of a newspaper broadsheet requires the paper to be folded leaving the lower half out of site and therefore unreadable at a glance. The notion of the fold has carried over to web design with many developers treating the bottom edge of the screen as a fold, beyond which they assume people will fail to scroll. The status of the fold in web design has been reviewed by several studies and the practice of cramming premium content in to the top of web pages has been called into question.
The fold on the web
Part of the problem with the fold on a web page is that the location of the fold changes from computer to computer and can be different depending on the operating system and browser being used. This means that if developers and advertisers want to use the fold to maximize content, they can only guess at the location of the fold. Some research suggests that the best guess would only accurately locate the fold for 10% of users due to the huge diversity of user systems in operation today.
The modern user
This topic has generated much debate among the web development community and it has been studied fairly thoroughly over the last few years. Studies such as Jakob Nielsen’s “Changes in Web Usability since 1994″, have shown that users routinely scroll down pages and are actually likely to search for content below the fold. Modern computer users, even casual ones, have adapted well to the internet environment and are actually fairly adept at finding information. There is a need to organise web pages in a way that attracts users quickly and the info above can be helpful in this area. If the page is organised well, many users will search the entire page.
Prominent websites such as the BBC and Guardian do not cram all of their information above the fold but instead organise material in such a way as to indicate that there is obviously more content below the fold. Current computer users are accustomed to browsing websites in this manner and the antiquated notion of the fold does not seem to have much of an effect on their internet habits.
As the Crowes fly…
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Gosh… back at work following a week’s annual leave. May I say, it’s truly magnificent to be back. I love being shackled to the desk by the real-time interegation of emails. It certainly beats the relaxing art and cafe culture of Amsterdam; that’s just far too chilled out.
Anyway, last Wednesday me and three pals attended the Heineken Music Hall and saw American band The Black Crowes. My association with this band started back in the summer of 1991 (after I finished my GCSEs) with long-wave radio station Atlantic 252 playing their cover of the Otis Redding classic ‘Hard to Handle’ at least once an hour. I had to hear more of this band, I had to see them live. In the autumn of 1992 they visited the UK and I saw a show (at Newcastle City Hall on 25 November!) that changed my appreciation of music… for ever.
Eighteen years on and wow… what a performance. To see six guys and two backing singers jamming their way through selections from their extensive back catalogue, peppered with some choice covers, for virtually two and a half hours was (to coin an American term) awesome. Some songs would be fairly true to the album and last 5 or 6 minutes; however, some would wander off in to elongated jams of the highest order, returning in the nick of time to the song’s original ending. The highlight of the show for me was a superb version of My Morning Song that let all the musicians flex their muscles and develop the song into a masterpiece of at least 15 minutes.
And what a venue the music hall is. The Dutch know what they are doing when it comes to enjoying themselves. Spritely youths push refrigerated trolleys through the crowds, serving ice cold lager to those who want it… and have had the foresight to buy the necessary tokens (muntens). And the best bit… if the guys with the trolleys can’t reach you, the ones with the lager filled backpacks can! I have to hand it to our Dutch friends for their friendliness, organisation and general willingness to ensure everyone has a great time.
As for The Black Crowes, they put on an amazing show, with a great atmosphere, light show and musicianship; I feel 18 again when I see them… with a tingle going up my spine. As lead singer Chris Robinson says “It’s a feeling you can’t get in cyberspace!”.
Apple iPhone. Yes or no?
Friday, May 8th, 2009
Right. I am looking into getting a new phone… owing to my current contract coming to an abrupt end (through no fault of my own I hasten to add) and me being moved to pay as you go / pay as you talk. Pay as you talk! Seems really awkward… having to ring up and pop credit on your blower. Not to mention when it cuts off half way through a conversa… Argh!
Anyhow, enough of my whinging. I am sorely tempted by one of these new-fangled Apple iPhones and before I enter into a 360 month contract, I thought I would ask the masses “are Apple iPhones any good?”
Answers on a postcard to the usual address; I am sorry, but entries can’t be returned. Alternatively, just comment on this blog post below.
All views would be appreciated; good and bad. Perhaps there are competitive alternatives out there from Nokia, Google or similar… but which is best and which do I go for? Pray tell.
Skype on iPhone
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
The latest update from Skype, the highly anticipated application, Skype™ for iPhone, will be available on the Apple App Store from the beginning of today.
With the Skype iPhone application, users will be able to make free calls using Wi-Fi to other Skype users as well as use their Skype accounts to make reduced price calls to traditional landline phones. Whilst this service has been available for some time for Nokia, Windows Mobile and Google Android phones, this is a huge development for iPhone users that have been requesting this for some time.
The Skype application for the iPhone or iPod touch will be available for free from Apple’s App Store on both devices.
WordPress consultancy
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Mixd specialises in website development utilising the open-source WordPress™ publishing platform. Having worked with the WordPress platform for a number of years, we have extended our digital services to include enterprise-level WordPress custom solutions. We can tailor the WordPress system to your specific needs. Here is our five point guide as to why you should use WordPress:
It’s free!
Yes, that’s right, WordPress is open source, so there’s no cost to using or distributing it; and it runs on PHP and MySQL, both of which are similarly free to use. This greatly reduces the cost of development.
Simple to use
One of the great benefits of the WordPress publishing system is its so easy to use. The number one reason that content management system implementations fail is lack of adoption by owners and authors. We believe the WordPress system the most usable, intuitive and easy to learn publishing system available.
Full standards compliance
Every bit of WordPress generated code is in full compliance with the standards of the W3C. This is important not only for interoperability with today’s browsers but also for forward compatibility with the tools of the next generation.
Modular architecture
The open architecture of the system allows for content types and further functionality or logic to be ‘plugged’ into it in a modular fashion. This allows for scalability and developers to write code for WordPress.
No lock-in
Decide you don’t like Mixd and want to work with a different web agency? Any competent web developer should be able to work with the files we’ve coded, meaning you’re not locked in to working with one agency.
Search Engine Optimisation for WordPress
WordPress comes with several built in search optimisation tools that make it easier to optimise your website.
To find out more about how WordPress can help you please contact Mixd
Tellin’ stories
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
When you think about sitting down and reading a story you imagine leafing through the dusty pages of a nice hardback. Or maybe feeding your obsession for sleazy pulp fiction with something you picked up in the departure lounge on your way to Magaluf on holiday. More recently there has been the advent of digital books – but all they do is present the reader with pages, albeit digital pages staring back at you from an LCD screen.
Now, however, the whole concept of storytelling is being re-invented with this lovely piece of interactivity brought to the world by a small company called Six to Start in conjunction with Penguin Books. Hopefully the door between fact and fiction, reality and virtuality has been nudged open just a little bit more.