A brief(ish) history of mouse cursors

Screenshot from Michiel De Boer's history of mouse cursors video.

This video tour of the history of mouse cursors by Michiel de Boer is oddly delightful. Apple or Microsoft should give Michiel a bucket of money to make their cursors better.

 

How not to parent

First few pages of parenting advice book: “Don’t invalidate your child’s feelings.”

My child: “I don’t like this casserole.”

Me: “Yes you do!”

 

Great little improvements

There are relatively few great little improvements to desktop computing interfaces in recent years. One that I’ve particularly enjoyed is the searchable menus in macOS.

On any macOS app, open the Help menu and start typing. For example if you want the Connect to Server… feature in the Finder app, hit Help, start typing “conn…” and use the arrow keys and Enter key to choose the menu item.

This is particularly useful in complex applications, like Photoshop, that can have hundreds of nested menu items.

Searchable menus in macOS

Update: As Antonio points out in the comments, there’s a keyboard shortcut for this (Shift–Command–?). I never knew! Thanks, Antonio.

 

Hot tubs, time machine

As always, the latest episode of Heavyweight made me laugh out loud and feel feelings. My favorite detail is host Jonathan Goldsteins’ pretentious pluralisation of the “Hot Tub Time Machine” movies as Hot Tubs Time Machine.

Yes Jonathan, we noticed.

Recommended particularly for those who remember and miss the great CBC Radio show, Wiretap.

 

Armband Exxess [sic] Max

Here’s a stupid product idea for you.

It’s a case for the iPhone XS Max that is compatible with two Apple Watch wristbands, so you can wear your phone strapped to your forearm.

I figure it could be at least $299, since you’ve already had to spent at least $1,197 and as much as $2,577 (with options maxed) on your phone and two wristbands.

I’d call it the Armband Exxess [sic] Max for iPhone XS Max. If it existed.

Here’s an artist’s rendering:

 

Reluctant heroism

What makes the testimony of a survivor of sexual assault so heroic is that they shouldn’t have had to be a hero. As a society, we owe a great debt.

 

A human being finishing Super Mario Bros. in 4m 55s is the four-minute mile of our generation. What a time to be alive.

 

Design with Difficult Data: Published on A List Apart

I’m excited to have my second article in 17 years published on the website “For People Who Make Websites”, A List Apart: Design with Difficult Data.

Screenshot from A List Apart

Thanks to Ste Grainer for the great editing.

 

Best joke of the year

This joke from Michelle Wolf’s routine at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has stuck with me. I can’t explain why I love it so much, but it is great:

“Mike Pence is the kind of guy that brushes his teeth and then drinks orange juice and thinks, ‘Mmm.'”

~ Michelle Wolf, April 2018
 

What’s Worse?

  1. Getting your glasses smushed against your face.
  2. Having your earbuds ripped out of your ear when the cord catches on a doorknob.