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Technology, Web 07 Mar 2011

IE6 Countdown

I was thrilled to hear about Microsoft’s brand new website. For years designers have been waiting for Internet Explorer 6 to die, enabling better websites to be build. While most of us have already gone on and stopped caring about IE6 recently, it is very nice to see that Microsoft out of all companies also wants to see their old browser dead.

Microsoft has launched a new website, which is actually pretty cool. The site is simply called “IE6 Countdown” and features a global map, showing how many per cent of different counties are using IE6. In addition to the map, the countries are color coded on how well they are doing. Microsoft is apparently considering 1% in a country to be really good, which is when the country gets marked green, currently an achievement only done by Norway and Finland, both at 0.7%. Now to get on with the mission of trying to get IE6 to die here in Sweden too. We are at 1.3% as of this writing.

Their goal is to get IE6 down to less than 1% worldwide, which is a fair goal and I am going to be the first to wish them good luck because frankly, I am tired of IE6. So join Microsoft’s attempts to kill this old browser, and let me know what you think of the site in the comments.

Twitter 3.3 for iOS and its Trending Topic BarA few days ago, Twitter released a new update to the Twitter app for iOS. While the update (to version 3.3) brings many nice additions such as a re-designed post screen and improved feature in general, it brings a major annoyance: A trending topic bar.

Before asking me what is wrong with it, take a look at the image on the side. The problem with this addition is not that Twitter wants to push its trending topic feature, it is the way they are doing it. Personally, the trending topics is not a feature that I use all that much, nor am very interested in. To start with, it has not been available for the Twitter applications of my choice (iOS and Mac versions of the official Twitter app). Secondly, I am also not very interested in the feature, it doesn’t go well with how I use Twitter.

Why do I have so much problem with the bar?

It is not as much that I do not find the feature itself useful as the fact that it takes up valuable screen real-estate. On the iPhone, the screen as small as it is and with this bar added on, there is even less room left to see the true content, the tweets.

Listening to the majority of comments left at this update, I am not alone. Most people seem to be annoyed at the quick trending bar. What strikes me as odd and perhaps foolish, is that Twitter has decided to make the bar mandatory. You simply cannot remove it through a preference at this time. Whether you like it or not, it is going to be there!

Please Twitter, give us an option to turn this off if we do not want it. I think it is a clear sign of a flawed feature if people are not happy about the addition. Enabling the option to remove this bar would make the majority of users happy: The best of both worlds.

What do you think? Is the bar a good update or not?

Technology 01 Mar 2011

CeBITCeBIT, one of the largest technology conferences in the world, officially started today in Hannover, Germany. I am very much looking forward to going down there on Friday to see what everyone is showing off.

This is the time where I want to ask you all, what do you want to see me cover from the fair. Are you interested in seeing some special vendor information or just general news and cool things? I’m all ears so that I can bring you back some coverage on Friday and Saturday!

Let me know in the comments!

Apple just announced that they are holding an event on March 2nd where, if the rumors have it correct (and they should), they will announce the new iPad 2. I know what you are thinking, you would like to see it early. My good friend Albin Thorén just send me a link to an iPad 2 Walkthrough video on YouTube which is hilarious! Honestly it is one of the best spoofs I have seen in a long while.

Business 22 Feb 2011

Ever since I started my part-time job at the University of Gothenburg (at the Gothenburg Organ Art Center) I have been thinking about the subject of working at work. Before, I have always been working solely from home and not had a desk and office to sit at, until now that I do. This TED talk from Jason Fried, founder of 37 signals and co-author of Rework, touches on the topic and a thesis that Jason has: Why work doesn’t happen at work.

What are your thoughts? Do you work well at work?