Certain design bugs are so common that we have become too blind to spot them. An essay titled Ten Most Persistent Design Bugs makes some excellent observations.

• If the computer loses power for more than a few thousandths of a second, it throws everything away.
• Designers offer no way for users to discover why a given menu or option has been dimmed (grayed out), nor how to turn it back on.
• 15 Dec 2008 sorts as being before 2 Jan 1900

Web applications are a trend which perpetuates as Web technologies expand and standards are enforced. One particular problem with such technologies is that they rely on powerful browsers. It is only a matter of time until working natively equates to working on-line. The browser will then become a factor more substantial than the operating system. Make sure you follow the link for this point to be practically illustrated.

Will desktops ever become merely a gateway to applications which run on the browser?

A lot of time can be spent re-iterating the same simple task: take a cup, take instant coffee, take sugar, add sugar to cup, add instant to cup and fill the cup with hot water. Following a programmer’s way of thinking, why not just work once at the start? Get a large bottle or jar, add sugar, add coffee (at the right coffee/sugar ratio), add a small amount of hot water (enough to get it homogeneously mixed) and store away. You now have your ‘customised’ coffee concentrate. Just add hot water and coffee’s ready. This one-time effort serves me about 50 cups of coffee.

More eccentric efficiency tips

Filters and forwarding make management of a large amount of E-mail easier. Based on sender/s or subject line/s, one can create and populate many separate boxes. Each box is then checked at different intervals depending on its importance.

Remember:

• A sophisticated network of filters is like having your own secretary.
• Manage many different E-mail addresses. Messages are best discriminated by the actual account.

Separating boxes is the key

Many on-line mapping systems exist, but Google Maps is by far more impressive than most when judged by its speed and ease of use. One can scroll/drag the map in real-time (the page is Java-reliant), search by location reliably and expect a short response time. There are no advertisements either so the screen is used to its full capacity (see below, click to enlarge)

The down-side: only northern America is included, as in the case with Google Local (also in its Beta phase).

Slashdot report on Skype-ready phones from Motorola. These are devices that are designed to operate over the Internet, thereby making phonecall virtually free.

…one could use Skype for outgoing calls near wi-fi hotspots (essentially free) but default on GSM for outgoing calls in areas that lack coverage…

This takes us a step closer to communication that is purely-Internet based.

A recent item from the BBC reports on the severity of global warming. Although it means that our children can enjoy bathing in the sea, the consequences world-wide are devastating as ice continues to thaw.

…Unless we know what we’re dealing with, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to fix it…
 
    Dr. Tim Barnett, Scripps Institution of Oceanography