More creative ads…these go onto the sand on the beach. I like the impermanence of it. (thanks Considered Harmful)

I guess this consumer color palette forecast explains why, though The Gap is finally offering a set of color denim jackets, which I’ve been craving recently, they don’t have one in pink. Although pink came back into fashion this past year, I guess it’s on the way out again. Feh. Anyway, I ended up buying a pink suede jacket from last season (Horrors! I’m behind the trendline!). (via brig, via anil)

Some people don’t believe me when I tell them that splash screens were
originally created because programs started taking too long to load, so something was
needed to keep the user occupied and prevent them from trying to use
the program too soon. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I heard and
experienced myself. When applications I was working on got too bulky
to load in a jiffy, we’d add the splash. Some of the more amusing
bugs I’ve fixed had to do with splash screens interfering with the
loading of the program, either through display quirks or window handles
not going away. And many Windows programs had a “no splash”
command flag (e.g. runme -ns) so that you could load up without them.
There’s also the “how to freak out your product manager when you’re
very close to shipping” practical joke: replace your app’s splash screen
with something unexpected — perhaps a wanted poster with their photo.

A little while back I mentioned carvertising.com where you could get paid to have an ad banner on your vehicle. Today autowraps.com popped up on Yahoo – What’s New. You can get paid to have your car wrapped with vinyl adhesive advertising. “All Federal and State studies conclude that the normal personal vehicle is averaging 750,000 impressions per month.” Huh. That’s not too shabby. Of course, they keep careful tabs on you to make sure you’re making that impression. A GPS device is installed on your car and you have to drive more than 800 miles a month. Also you have to agree to wash your car no less than semi-monthly (I’d fail that one!). I think the oddest part of participating in this program would be that people would assume that you work for the company you’re advertising. What if you had the misfortune of having to drive around with a competitor’s ad! That would go over well in the company parking lot! Oh, and if you want your car to bear your own custom design, they can create a custom wrap just for you!

Flixx gives new meaning to the term “flashy jewelry”. Their “lightwear” bracelets are powered by watch batteries. Some styles include motion sensors so they flash only when you’re moving. There must be interesting new concepts designers can bring to the intersection of new technology and jewelry. I’d like some high tech hair accessories. Oh, and a sound-sensor collar for my cat that lights up when she meows in the dark!

FigLeaves.com is the best domain name for an ecommerce site I’ve come across in, uh, weeks. It’s memorable and describes exactly what they sell in a fun, imaginative way. Not a lot of those left. (Oh, in case you were wondering, they sell underwear.)

I found both of today’s links on the excellent education log, LTSeek. First, this fascinating NY Times article about the campus-wide wireless network at Mount St. Mary College. It has had numerous positive effects on the faculty, librarians, and, of course, students who are able to access the Internet from anywhere on campus via laptops. The wireless solution was cheaper than wiring the entire campus, and it’s so much more convenient. Of course, their campus is ideally suited for such a setup, the only interference being a microwave oven in a faculty lounge.

Here’s another look at whether the increasing use of the Internet as a communication mechanism will have a negative impact on the socialization of teens. This Boston Globe article has a more balanced tone, with good quotes from MIT’s Sherry Turkle, who is founding the Center for Technology and Identity to study how people lives are being affected by the influx of computers. She states that ”The Web is the location where much of the work of adolescence is being done these days.” The article notes that some teens are more self-confident online. Does that translate eventually into real life? Perhaps. Those who don’t believe the critics say that the Internet is just another communication medium which won’t harm the development of children anymore than the phone does. Sure, life is different now than it was a few years ago, but so goes progress.

What will the design backlash be to counter all this see-through jelly iMac-inspired stuff? Black? I remember when the NeXT cube was way cool because it was black (in fact, a one-foot die-cast magnesium cube) and just plain different than everything else and impressively ahead of its time.

On the PBS series Mental Engineering, panelists intelligently dissect commercials, discussing their hidden agendas and persuasive techniques. Sadly, many public television stations are wary of picking this gem up since they depend heavily on corporate financing. Which, to me, kind of defeats the purpose of having public television. But I suppose they have to do what it takes to survive. (via Feed)