Here’s a cool idea for reading multi-column text on a screen: scrolling that knows about the path of the text.

There’s also a paper. On a related note, I’ve been trying Tofu for some reading, an OS X app that simply reformats text (plain, HTML, PDF) into justified columns that scroll horizontally for easier reading on a screen. It’s pretty nice, but doesn’t support any form of annotation or highlighting, which is what I really need in a reading app. Maybe there’s a similar Firefox solution I could use in combination with ScrapBook?

Via UIScape.

I was talking to n8 and Julie about our experiences with the Creative Commons today, and I’d love to hear what experiences others have had with CC media. How have you used it? How have your own works been used? Do you find people abusing your CC licensed material? How does proper and improper use of your own work make you feel? Share your stories!

Here’s mine: I encounter the CC almost exclusively through Flickr, where I’ve used CC photos in presentations and UX work (mostly personas). My CC photos have been solicited for use in a pest management magazine, used in violation of the CC license on a commercial site without permission (but with attribution; I granted permission after I checked out the site and decided the intentions were good), and I just discovered some of my photos have made it into the Tree of Life site, appropriately (with attribution, not for commercial use), but totally unbeknownst to me! A pleasant surprise.

this guy glitched9700 has made some transformers out of k’nex, which are basically the newfangled legos for a new generation.

can anyone suggest some more awesome instructables?
does anyone remember construx?

Here’s a demo of some very cool software presented at SIGGRAPH 2007 that automagically removes or adds relatively unnoticeable portions of images, allowing you to resize them without scaling distortion.

I want it. Site, paper, better video.

Via the Hacks Blog and mangosquasher’s del.icio.us

It’s almost cliché to rag on MySpace for its terrible interface and aesthetic.
The other day, I was poking around the web, reading about the new TV comedy “Flight of the Conchords“.

I was shocked to find a MySpace page that didn’t hurt my eyes or blast my ears.

Has anyone else found (relatively) BEAUTIFUL MySpace pages?

i love it when authors actually register the URLs they mention on the air:
http://xkcd.com/305/

i love it more when there’s something there that continues the joke:
http://wetriffs.com/

anyone else have an example of clever URLs that are media-references-turned-real-website?
conan o’brien made: http://www.hornymanatee.com/

When I was creating this failed iSchool t-shirt design, I was astonished and titillated by the extent of the documentation on American highway signage and its fonts. Though to my knowledge the current standard font (Highway Gothic E-modified) is not available for free, Mike the Actuary has created a reasonable facsimile, which I used for the design.

But apparently he’s out of date. The New York Times reports that Highway 2.0 is upon us, as the Federal Highway Administration granted preliminary approval to Clearview, a softer yet more legible new font, in 2004. The geektastically interesting article is available here.

Pick an Audience. Know your Audience. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
Woot.com advertisers think they know a bit about people who query for “GOOG” (the stock ticker symbol for Google). Click image to enlarge it in to a confusingly screen-like-but-unclickable state.

In other news, Localoaf is going to try it’s hand at serving Adwords ads. It’d be cool to understand how this whole damn internet business engine runs, doncha think? If you have ideas for how our community should sell itself (yes, we are totally for sale, dammit), comment here or email us.