“If you wanna meet with me… come to the garden… with your shovel… so we can plant some shit.” — Ron Finley
“the funny thing about sustainability is you need to sustain.”
The ubiquity of frustrating, unhelpful software interfaces has motivated decades of research into “Human-Computer Interaction.” In this paper, Bret Victor suggests that the long-standing focus on “interaction” may be misguided. For a majority subset of software, called “information software,” He argues that interactivity is actually a curse for users and a crutch for designers, and users’ goals can be better satisfied through other means.
#Information software design can be seen as the design of context-sensitive information graphics. Victor demonstrate the crucial role of information graphic design, and present three approaches to context-sensitivity, of which interactivity is the last resort. After discussing the cultural changes necessary for these design ideas to take root, He addresses their implementation. The essay also outline a tool which may allow designers to create data-dependent graphics with no engineering assistance, and also outline a platform which may allow an unprecedented level of implicit context-sharing between independent programs. The essay concludes by asserting that the principles of information software design will become critical as technology improves.
#Although this paper presents a number of concrete design and engineering ideas, the larger intent is to introduce a “unified theory” of information software design, and provide inspiration and direction for progressive designers who suspect that the world of software isn’t as flat as they’ve been told.
Contents
What is software?
Graphic design
Context-sensitivity
Interactivity
Intermission
Changing the world
10th anniversary of the first major ‘loss’ in my life. – View on Path.
NEW: The Tech Blues - $99 | http://seat14a.com/
Hey S14a! When are you ‘soft launching’ in India?
Products can introduce more complexity over time, but as far as launching and introducing a new product in to the market, it’s a marketing problem,..
You have to explain everything you do, and people have to understand it, within seconds.
…In the mobile context, you need to explain what you do in 30 seconds or less because people move on to the next shiny object. There are so many apps and people are vying for your attention on the go. It’s the one context in which you’ve got lots and lots of other stuff going on. You’re not sitting in front of a computer; you’re at a bus stop or in a meeting.
This graph says ‘US healthcare is an embarrassment’. Help me find a word to explain ‘healthcare in India’ — – View on Path.
1. Globalization is not (all there is to) progress.
2. It is better to be right than to be contrarian.
3. Secrets exist.
4. Capitalism and competition are antonyms, not synonyms.
6. Much of life is a power law.
7. A bad plan is better than no plan. A good plan is even better.
8. Foundations matter. Beginnings are special.
9. Founders are different.

10. Find a frontier and go for it.
There is something importantly singular about each new thing. There is a mini singularity whenever you start a company or make a key life decision. In a very real sense, the life of every person is a singularity.
The obvious question is what you should do with your singularity. The obvious answer, unfortunately, has been to follow the well-trodden path. You are constantly encouraged to play it safe and be conventional. The future, we are told, is just probabilities and statistics.You are a statistic.
But the obvious answer is wrong. That is selling yourself short. There are still many large white spaces on the map of human knowledge. You can go discover them. So do it. Get out there and fill in the blank spaces. Every single moment is a possibility to go to these new places and explore them.
There is perhaps no specific time that is necessarily right to start your company or start your life. But some times and some moments seem more auspicious than others. Now is such a moment. If we don’t take charge and usher in the future—if you don’t take charge of your life—there is the sense that no one else will.
The Biggest Problem in Design [by Julie Zhuo, Product design director @ Facebook]
Good Design is Honest [Omar El Amri, Computer Scientist]
Wasted Talent - Arranging deck chairs on the Mars rover. [Matt]
Do Tomorrow What You Decide Today [ Anders Thoresson]
What kind of a designer are you? [ Tuhin Kumar, Product Designer @Facebook ]
How, When and Where Will The First Truly Great Digital Design Studio Emerge? [Murat Mutlu, Designer]
Here is a collection of uplifting and heartwarming words of encouragement from the most sage voices in the tech startup world as you begin your own entrepreneurial journey.