Hey, I'm Wayne. This is my blog.

waynesang

Archive RSS Feed

HiDPI in OS X

Air Display just released it’s server and iOS app update that allows for HiDPI displays on the new iPad. Been waiting to try it out!

Only Apple apps right now

Yes, it seems only Apple apps have HiDPI assets, but that’s no surprise. What did surprise me was text rendering and system level elements (window control buttons) aren’t being rendered properly outside of Apple apps.

Chrome vs Safari text rendering
Chrome vs Safari in HiDPI: text rendering

Even system level assets aren’t being used the same:

Chrome vs Safari window controls
Chrome vs Safari in HiDPI - window controls

Still, it’s pretty cool having a HiDPI display, but functionally I’m just as likely to use it at a normal DPI and 2048x1536 for that extra real estate.

How I used Find My iPhone to make an ass of myself

Screenshot of Find My iPhone on iCloud

Earlier today I arrived home after running some errands, touched my pocket, and realized that the familiar iPhone frame wasn’t there. “Hm, that’s odd. It’s probably just in my jacket.”

Nope, wasn’t there. I’m scared more of losing my phone than I am my wallet, so I started to panic a bit. I grabbed my iPad and opened Find My iPhone and thought “Great, I’m that guy that uses the power of the internet to find his phone in his other pants.”

You can use Find My iPhone to lock your phone, wipe it, or just send it messages and play sounds even if it’s silenced. I used Find My iPhone to play an alert, and I heard nothing.

“Shit. It isn’t even in my home.”

Looking at the map, my phone was located in the middle of a parking lot in a plaza a block away that I hadn’t actually been to today. So I thought, how the hell did it end up there?

Read More

The new Path is staggering

I downloaded Path almost a year ago to try it out but just couldn’t feel the differentiation between other services. I appreciated the core idea of sharing between a small, more personal set of your life, but it just wasn’t clicking.

Wow, what a difference they just made.

Path 2.0 is staggeringly good. It’s been re-positioned as a smart journal, and I’ve found that to be accurate from my use.

I alternate between gawking at the Path UI and facepalming myself for not being a better designer.

The timeline as they’ve reinvented it feels like a unique place itself, set apart from the carbon copy timelines of so many other social apps. I want to be here, on this timeline. It’s like they created a unique ambience to a virtual space that entices me into hanging out there.

In the end that’s the best part of the new Path. I just want to use it. For any location sharing, for sharing to other sources, I want Path to be my first stop because it’s wonderful to use. It doesn’t carry the noise of other services because of it’s limited nature. I can optionally share to Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare, and I can even make private notes to myself like a diary (which I’ve done several times today already).

I’m sure part of my feelings toward it are just part of a honeymoon period, but I’m going to stick with it for awhile because it’s so easy to do so.

For more, read some great analysis of the new UI by Geoff Teehan on the T+L Blog.

Startup Weekend Toronto

I flip-flopped on going to Startup Weekend. I always flip-flop on events, but I’m trying to say “yes” to more as a point of personal development. I had been sitting on an idea for awhile, and I like cultivating these things slowly while paying attention to every detail along the way. But I’m also aware that I’m terrible at being my own client (like many designers are). I cringe when I show a design to someone that isn’t finished, and that’s difficult to grapple with when trying to do a startup as you need that early feedback. It’s never really finished.

Startup Weekend would give me kick in seeing whether the idea would sink or swim, plus it would just be a great experience overall. I finally decided to buy a ticket on Tuesday of that week, but when I logged onto the site all I saw was Designers: Sold Out. I was equal parts frustrated and relieved. Fine, I had alternative plans to develop the idea. No big deal. I immediately tabled the idea again and got on with other work.

Then on Friday, hours before Startup Weekend would start, a friend of mine emailed me to let me know she had a spare ticket.

Nuts.

Read More