I am watching Food, INC. at the moment. I used to be the fanatic and flaky vegan who just wanted anything that was alternative, healthy different than the norm. In many ways I have changed, but it is mostly from the feeling of powerlessness to change a single given issue. I also realise that I was too young at the time to ever become certain about what I thought I was true.
Although the controversy about food production will continue, the demand for inexpensive items, whether it be a car, computer, clothes or food is also bound to continue out of control. I appreciate how our technologies have made it possible to have diverse and unique items, customized as per stock, consumer demand and feasibility, however far too much waste is generated. We work in factories, offices, and retail outlets to produce a short live satisfaction of ownership. Is there a way that this way of thinking can be changed?
Unfortunately, when the costs of living are so high, people will spend the least they can on anything. We have an industry and government that supports that type of production. It would be nice to have more variety of crops, but if you were working in agricultural production, you would most likely produce what is most profitable as well.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Slip in and out LCD ? Can design take us there?
When watching the video for the lenovo U300 I was mostly thinking about the actors, what they feel about doing this kind of promotion.
Although there is a clear demographic that they are targeting, women in their late twenties and older, I still can see some innovations that have come to improve the durability of a laptop. The book format is very elegant. We can live with two hinges and a lid that works as a screen. Why not have a flexible LCD that could slip in and out? How much does the keyboard need to be protected?
However we must not forget that the keyboard is here to stay for quite some time. It only makes sense that it a keyboard works well. A missing trackpoint would be an issue for me, but I can live with that.
Perhaps what is needed is a "tablet like device whose keyboard slips in and out? Could a flexible keyboard do the job?
Although there is a clear demographic that they are targeting, women in their late twenties and older, I still can see some innovations that have come to improve the durability of a laptop. The book format is very elegant. We can live with two hinges and a lid that works as a screen. Why not have a flexible LCD that could slip in and out? How much does the keyboard need to be protected?
However we must not forget that the keyboard is here to stay for quite some time. It only makes sense that it a keyboard works well. A missing trackpoint would be an issue for me, but I can live with that.
Perhaps what is needed is a "tablet like device whose keyboard slips in and out? Could a flexible keyboard do the job?
Monday, September 5, 2011
gmail Keyboard shortcuts
Unlike like a text based mail reader, or text editor like nano, where the shortcuts are listed on the bottom of the screen, knowing the keyboard shorcuts in gmail remain mysterious. This post is to write them out so that I can remember them.
Here goes :
also enable shortcuts automatically by going to http://mail.google.com/mail/?kbd=1
Shortcut Key Definition Action
c
Compose Allows you to compose a new message. + c allows you to compose a message in a new window.
#
Delete Moves the conversation to Trash.
/
Search Puts your cursor in the search box.
k
Move to newer conversation Opens or moves your cursor to a more recent conversation. You can hit to expand a conversation.
j
Move to older conversation Opens or moves your cursor to the next oldest conversation. You can hit to expand a conversation.
n
Next message Moves your cursor to the next message. You can hit to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
p
Previous message Moves your cursor to the previous message. You can hit to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
o
Opens your conversation. Also expands or collapses a message if you are in 'Conversation View.'
u
Return to conversation list Refreshes your page and returns you to the inbox, or list of conversations.
e
Archive Archive your conversation from any view.
m
Mute Archives the conversation, and all future messages skip the Inbox unless sent or cc'd directly to you. Learn more.
x
Select conversation Automatically checks and selects a conversation so that you can archive, apply a label, or choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to that conversation.
s
Star a message or conversation Adds or removes a star to a message or conversation. Stars allow you to give a message or conversation a special status.
+ Mark as important Helps Gmail learn what's important to you by marking misclassified messages. (Specific to Priority Inbox)
- Mark as unimportant Helps Gmail learn what's not important to you by marking misclassified messages. (Specific to Priority Inbox)
! Report spam Marks a message as spam and removes it from your conversation list.
r Reply Replies to the message sender. + r allows you to reply to a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
a Reply all Replies to all message recipients. +a allows you to reply to all message recipients in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
f Forward Forwards a message. + f allows you to forward a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
Escape from input field Removes the cursor from your current input field.
+ s
Save draft
Saves the current text as a draft when composing a message. Hold the key while pressing s and make sure your cursor is in one of the text fields -- either the composition pane, or any of the To, CC, BCC, or Subject fields -- when using this shortcut.
l
Label
Opens the Labels menu to label a conversation.
v
Move to
Moves the conversation from the inbox to a different label, Spam or Trash.
+ i Mark as read Marks your message as 'read' and skip to the next message.
+ u Mark as unread Marks your message as 'unread' so you can go back to it later.
[ Archive and previous Removes the current view's label from your conversation and moves to the previous one.
] Archive and next Removes the current view's label from your conversation and moves to the next one.
z Undo Undoes your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link).
+ n Update current conversation Updates your current conversation when there are new messages.
q Move cursor to chat search Moves your cursor directly to the chat search box.
y Remove from Current View*
Automatically removes the message or conversation from your current view.
From 'Inbox,' 'y' means Archive
From 'Starred,' 'y' means Unstar
From 'Trash,' 'y' means Move to inbox
From any label, 'y' means Remove the label
* 'y' has no effect if you're in 'Spam,' 'Sent,' or 'All Mail.'
. Show more actions Displays the 'More Actions' drop-down menu.
+ Opens options in Chat
+ moves from edit field in your chat window to select the 'Video and more' menu
Next, press to select the emoticon menu
Press to open the selected menu
? Show keyboard shortcuts help Displays the keyboard shortcuts help menu within any page you're on. (Note: Typing ? will display the help menu even if you don't have keyboard shortcuts enabled)
k
Move up a contact
Moves your cursor up in your contact list
j
Move down a contact
Moves your cursor down in your contact list
o or
Open
Opens the contact with the cursor next to it.
u
Return to contact list view
Refreshes your page and returns you to the contact list.
e
Remove from Current Group
Removes selected contacts from the group currently being displayed.
x
Select contact
Checks and selects a contact so that you can change group membership or choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to the contact.
Escape from input field
Removes the cursor from the current input
#
Delete
Deletes a contact permanently
l
Group membership
Opens the groups button to group contacts
z
Undo
Reverses your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link)
.
Show more actions
Opens the "More actions" drop-down menu.
Combo-keys - Use the following combinations of keys to navigate through Gmail.
Shortcut Key Definition Action
then Send message After composing your message, use this combination to send it automatically. (Supported in Internet Explorer and Firefox, on Windows.)
y then o Archive and next Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
g then a Go to 'All Mail' Takes you to 'All Mail,' the storage site for all mail you've ever sent or received (and have not deleted).
g then s Go to 'Starred' Takes you to all conversations you have starred.
g then c Go to 'Contacts' Takes you to your Contacts list.
g then d Go to 'Drafts' Takes you to all drafts you have saved.
g then l Go to 'Label' Takes you to the search box with the "label:" operator filled in for you.
g then i Go to 'Inbox' Returns you to the inbox.
g then t Go to 'Sent Mail' Takes you to all mail you've sent.
* then a Select all Selects all mail.
* then n Select none Deselects all mail.
* then r Select read Selects all mail you've read.
* then u Select unread Selects all unread mail.
* then s Select starred Selects all starred mail.
* then t Select unstarred Selects all unstarred mail.
Here goes :
also enable shortcuts automatically by going to http://mail.google.com/mail/?kbd=1
Shortcut Key Definition Action
c
Compose Allows you to compose a new message.
#
Delete Moves the conversation to Trash.
k
j
n
p
o
u
e
m
x
s
+ Mark as important Helps Gmail learn what's important to you by marking misclassified messages. (Specific to Priority Inbox)
- Mark as unimportant Helps Gmail learn what's not important to you by marking misclassified messages. (Specific to Priority Inbox)
! Report spam Marks a message as spam and removes it from your conversation list.
r Reply Replies to the message sender.
a Reply all Replies to all message recipients.
f Forward Forwards a message.
Save draft
Saves the current text as a draft when composing a message. Hold the
l
Label
Opens the Labels menu to label a conversation.
v
Move to
Moves the conversation from the inbox to a different label, Spam or Trash.
[ Archive and previous Removes the current view's label from your conversation and moves to the previous one.
] Archive and next Removes the current view's label from your conversation and moves to the next one.
z Undo Undoes your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link).
q Move cursor to chat search Moves your cursor directly to the chat search box.
y Remove from Current View*
Automatically removes the message or conversation from your current view.
From 'Inbox,' 'y' means Archive
From 'Starred,' 'y' means Unstar
From 'Trash,' 'y' means Move to inbox
From any label, 'y' means Remove the label
* 'y' has no effect if you're in 'Spam,' 'Sent,' or 'All Mail.'
. Show more actions Displays the 'More Actions' drop-down menu.
Next, press
Press
? Show keyboard shortcuts help Displays the keyboard shortcuts help menu within any page you're on. (Note: Typing ? will display the help menu even if you don't have keyboard shortcuts enabled)
k
Move up a contact
Moves your cursor up in your contact list
j
Move down a contact
Moves your cursor down in your contact list
o or
Open
Opens the contact with the cursor next to it.
u
Return to contact list view
Refreshes your page and returns you to the contact list.
e
Remove from Current Group
Removes selected contacts from the group currently being displayed.
x
Select contact
Checks and selects a contact so that you can change group membership or choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to the contact.
Escape from input field
Removes the cursor from the current input
#
Delete
Deletes a contact permanently
l
Group membership
Opens the groups button to group contacts
z
Undo
Reverses your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link)
.
Show more actions
Opens the "More actions" drop-down menu.
Combo-keys - Use the following combinations of keys to navigate through Gmail.
Shortcut Key Definition Action
y then o Archive and next Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
g then a Go to 'All Mail' Takes you to 'All Mail,' the storage site for all mail you've ever sent or received (and have not deleted).
g then s Go to 'Starred' Takes you to all conversations you have starred.
g then c Go to 'Contacts' Takes you to your Contacts list.
g then d Go to 'Drafts' Takes you to all drafts you have saved.
g then l Go to 'Label' Takes you to the search box with the "label:" operator filled in for you.
g then i Go to 'Inbox' Returns you to the inbox.
g then t Go to 'Sent Mail' Takes you to all mail you've sent.
* then a Select all Selects all mail.
* then n Select none Deselects all mail.
* then r Select read Selects all mail you've read.
* then u Select unread Selects all unread mail.
* then s Select starred Selects all starred mail.
* then t Select unstarred Selects all unstarred mail.
Keyboards are here to stay
I find the keyboard the best input device for my computer. I will never be able to code, draw or write at a speed that my processor can run. Only when playing video games or editing video, do I ever need the power. However doing the tasks that I want to do, when I want to do them is very important.
Keyboard shortcuts are amazing, they make all the difference when working with software as you can concentrate on what you are doing, make a rapid change and continue doing what you are doing. The mouse, even if it is controlled with a Trackpoint, cannot match the time it takes to do the combinations done with two or three keys.
Keyboard shortcuts are amazing, they make all the difference when working with software as you can concentrate on what you are doing, make a rapid change and continue doing what you are doing. The mouse, even if it is controlled with a Trackpoint, cannot match the time it takes to do the combinations done with two or three keys.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Microsoft - get rid of the ribbon
I needed to use Word for my thesis. It is what my prof uses, and sending things back and forth without 100% format fidelity can be a problem. I still love OpenOffice even though there are something that need some improvements.
As for the ribbon, here is why it does not work for me :
- The interface changes shape from one second to another
- I use the keyboard to highlight text, then I press the "Context menu" to navigate to my option
- If I am working on something that has frames and makes me need to use the mouse, I will go to the location where I know I can always find the option. The compact text based menus in OpenOffice are quite easy to navigate.
If the main goal was to refresh the look of Office, there is no doubt that Microsoft did make that happen. However the functionality is missing. A single click can happen my mistake, especially if you use a laptop that only has a touchpad. Applying a style randomly can happen. The styles menu of OpenOffice is not pretty by any stretch, but the names suffice. When are you going to be working with more than 10 styles ? Do you really need to have an image when you work with styles like "Heading 1, 2, 3..."
My last gripe of the ribbon is the lack of a single e-mail and PDF output buttons. I click once on that and voilà, I can save the document as PDF or send myself a back up via e-mail.
As for the ribbon, here is why it does not work for me :
- The interface changes shape from one second to another
- I use the keyboard to highlight text, then I press the "Context menu" to navigate to my option
- If I am working on something that has frames and makes me need to use the mouse, I will go to the location where I know I can always find the option. The compact text based menus in OpenOffice are quite easy to navigate.
If the main goal was to refresh the look of Office, there is no doubt that Microsoft did make that happen. However the functionality is missing. A single click can happen my mistake, especially if you use a laptop that only has a touchpad. Applying a style randomly can happen. The styles menu of OpenOffice is not pretty by any stretch, but the names suffice. When are you going to be working with more than 10 styles ? Do you really need to have an image when you work with styles like "Heading 1, 2, 3..."
My last gripe of the ribbon is the lack of a single e-mail and PDF output buttons. I click once on that and voilà, I can save the document as PDF or send myself a back up via e-mail.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Welcome to the post-Tablet era
They were cool in 2010 and 2011, but their time has passed. Smartphones were smart until people realized that books and simple mp3 players are easier to use.
A keyboard remains king in my mind. I do not like to touch a screen, nor do I like the idea of bringing a computer around with me that I can play with on the bus.
Although an e-book reader seems like a nice idea, a book is still more robust. You can drop it, lend it to somebody, have it on your bookshelf to show how literate you are. Will anybody have an angry birds box in their bookshelf?
A keyboard remains king in my mind. I do not like to touch a screen, nor do I like the idea of bringing a computer around with me that I can play with on the bus.
Although an e-book reader seems like a nice idea, a book is still more robust. You can drop it, lend it to somebody, have it on your bookshelf to show how literate you are. Will anybody have an angry birds box in their bookshelf?
iAdvertise iPathethic iPhone
You may have heard last year a model of the iPhone was forgotten in a public location. It could have just been a form of publicity. It seems to have happened again, but I am not sure if anyone will care. Why am I writing this?
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