Just read an intriguing article (Android’s hollow revolution and hope for 2012) by a writer who is actually pro-Android but is realizing what a mess the Android platform is—and its not just about device fragmentation, it’s also about carrier intrusion and the creation of a system more closed than what Apple’s iOS is frequently accused of being. Personally, I have found it baffling when Android users bash iPhones for not being “open” because I haven’t found one person able to explain why that’s any sort of an advantage other than confusion for the average user and an opportunity for Android geeks to spend a lot of time hacking a phone to be able to do what you want it to do when an iPhone does that out of the box.

Also, MacObserver had a good article (iPhone Crushes Android at AT&T Corporate Stores in December) where they shared how AT&T moved 981,000 iPhones compared to only 126,000 Android devices. Ouch. (clarification: that is AT&T corporate stores only—but still impressive).

I don’t even try to really debate these things too much, with user experience being so subjective and in these matters, so incredibly biased (including yours truly), but I really think you are going to begin seeing the Android reality distortion field begin to wear off as the numbers will begin reflecting what the public has begun to realize after a few years of real-life comparisons between the two platforms and for the first full-year, the ability to purchase the iPhone from your preferred carrier (apologies to T-Mobile customers).

And if all that weren’t enough, just wait until Apple announces the (real) iPhone 5 and and the iPad 3 (sooner rather than later) in 2012.

Just thought I’d post a quick little help for any of those out there that want to take advantage of a good keyboard deal but wondering if it will work on your Mac system. One little caveat before I go further, this tip is for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and earlier and I haven’t seen how this works on OS X 10.7 Lion yet. Personally, I’m waiting a little longer to upgrade my main workstation, but that’s another story.

While OS X does a pretty decent job of supporting the basic typing ability of almost any keyboard or mouse out there, there is the one nagging reality that if you have gotten into the habit of keyboard combo shortcuts, that the Command and Option key functions are basically switched and can drive you batty when you get an unexpected result from key command. To solve that, the utility that I use is a kernel extension that you can set from your System Preferences called DoubleCommand which allows you to easily and quickly remap your basic system keys that make up the main difference between Macs and Windows operating systems–notably the Command and Option keys. Basically, I only use it to swap those two keys, as you can see in the screen grab below, but you can use it set many other possible key remapping combinations as needed.

While OS X won’t support all the extra bells and whistles that may have been designed into your Windows keyboard like opening up Office apps or Mail or pretty much anything else that is extra whizbang–but surprisingly, the only extra-curricular activity that I really care for my keyboard to perform besides basic typing and F key operations, are iTunes controls. Starting a song; volume control; skipping; pausing–all those functions are supported. So, if you don’t mind missing all the additional functionality, than this is the tool for you. For those that want more control and need better Lion support, there is also a link to another utility, which I have NOT tried myself, called KeyRemap4MacBook that you may find more useful.

What I find ironic in all this, is actually how well Microsoft supports OS X with ALL of their keyboards and mice but Logitech seems to be dragging their feet as slowly and half-heartedly as possible in supporting Macs. This is a great tool to be able to use some of the cooler Logitech keyboards that don’t support Macs with your Mac and not drive you crazy with the Command and Option keys in the wrong place.

On last thing to remember is if you are using this for a laptop environment, when you disconnect your keyboard and go to use your built-in keyboard, your keys remain remapped and now they are swapped again. You will need to launch your System Preferences and turn off the the changes you made. The good news is that the DoubleCommand allows you to save it as a preferred setting in User Preferences so that when you reboot, it will default to whichever setting you prefer. Enjoy.

The recent scandals that are racking Penn State right now have brought up an interesting dilemma of which Buna High High School no longer has to worry about being associated with (other than this blog post and all the past hoopla over copyright infringement and cease and desists that will remain searchable on the innerwebs). Right now, I would imagine any school or athletic association involving young boys that may have been “inspired” to use the Penn State Nittany Lion logo are now (or should be) scrambling to divest themselves of any connection to this brand. Because the Penn State Nittany Lion as a brand, now represents a tarnished, dare I say, trashed brand that will invoke emotions of outrage and scandal for many years to come.

If ever there was a case study involving the value of a brand through the loss of its value through an overnight scandal (albeit one that took over 12 years to come to full light) this is one of the best, or worst as the case may be. For Buna High School’s sake, I’m very glad that they were able to divest themselves of at least the visual attachment to a now tainted (to put it mildly) image and have been able to establish their own, unique identity in their region of high school athletics.

Not that anyone could have had the foresight to have even guessed that something like this might happen to any brand, but it definitely heightens the reality and liability that comes from associating one organizational entity with any other brand that is not within your control. It is exactly the inverse of why most schools that are tempted to “borrow” or be “inspired” by the current good brand image of any other sports-related mascot or brand, in order to benefit from the good design and good image that has been established. The flip-side of that coin, which is now in full-display in regards to Penn State, is that if anything ever does happen to tarnish a brand to that degree, it will also have its residual impact on whatever organization had thought to infringe upon the previous good will that had been created with that brand.

All that is to say, that if any organization chooses to infringe upon another organization’s brand image in order to take advantage of whatever perceived positives there may be, that it has to take the good with the bad. And in this case, the bad is really, really bad. Thankfully, Buna High School does not have to share that bad image with Penn State any longer. Go Cougars!

So, I’ve been enjoying the transition from the old-school RAZR (don’t laugh–you know they still look cool) that I’ve had since forever, to the new paradigm of actually having a truly smart phone.

But just to catch up on what I’ve missed out on over the past two or three years, I also ordered a 4 and a 3GS for the rest of the family and can now have a pretty full spectrum of experience with the iPhones that have really mattered.

One thing I can say is that I probably won’t make a regular practice of posting from my iPhone, but I’m glad that I can and have enjoyed the opportunity to try it out. However, it’s main drawback with the small screen real estate and lack of a real keyboard for speedier typing, make it harder to put a well-written post. Of course I have other impediments to being able to write a well-written post, but I’ll be glad to use this as my main excuse for this post. Until next time..

Sent from my iPhone

As a designer who finds much satisfaction in seeing a design I created implemented in a broad-reaching way, we (at least I do) tend to think of a successful identity design as a grasp at immortality–if even on a small scale. But the truth is, that even vaunted design systems by the masters of the craft are remapped and redrawn as time marches on and our grip on the immortal (which was an illusion to begin with) begins to slip. As eternal verities go, there is only one logo that will stand forever, and that is the Logos Himself. It is good to have a right perspective of our place in the eternal scheme of things. The best that we might hope for design-wise, is that like Saul, we might sever the silver cord before our work is re-imagined by a bunch of snot-faced little brats that are still in diapers.

This post is actually based on a comment I was going to post on a good article (if incomplete on the eulogies) called Love Thy Logo by Bill Gardner at RockPaperInk. In the article Bill offers his thoughts about the post-mortem redesigns of the iconic works of the immortal Saul Bass. Since I don’t much like using Facebook-powered comment fields very much, I opted to just post in my own blog instead (which doesn’t use FB comments) thank you very much.

Since I don’t expect everyone who visits my blog to know who Saul Bass was, if the collection of logos above doesn’t give you an idea, or if you’d like to learn more, then some good jumping-point pages to learn more about Saul and his design influence are here, here and here.

Just as I had been bragging to several people both online and off about how my system has been up and running now for “over” six months (5 days over to be exact), my system decided to not wake up this morning. Bummer. The good news is tear down and bake and rebuild went pretty quick. This time I timed it and it took me almost exactly an hour for the whole process (your time may vary), but I think that’s fairly good. And no screws missing after all these tear-downs and rebuilds too!

This time however, I won’t be pushing my luck anymore. After taking the “hepto-baked” MBP back to the Spokane Apple Store yet again and, yet again, failing to produce the now-coveted Nvidia error code (after I lost count how many attempts the Genius™ tried to produce it [thanks Jason!]), the best they could offer me, yet again, is the $310 repair offer that will hopefully cover anything that might happen to need replacing on my MBP. Other than the fact that it will be like it has been preserved for 3+ years and with 3-year old chip designs and technology, it will be just like having a new MBP and should (hopefully) be good for another 3-5 years.

So, I will be taking it back tomorrow to the Apple Store to submit it to the “depot”. I decided to bring it back home because I’m going to remove the upgraded 500GB drive and put the original 250GB back in it for the service. Even though I have a back-up of the drive, I would have to purchase another drive to restore to–so its easier just putting the 500GB in an enclosure and working from it until I get the system back.

My main concern now, is what replacement system will I be getting. This one will most likely be handed down to my daughter and hopefully its baking days will finally be over.

Stay tuned.

Reposted from my Google+ post here: http://bit.ly/pwg9zr but with the addition of one extra tip:

I’ve been on Google+ for over 4 days now. I officially proclaim myself a Google+ Guru!

Here’s my 68 tips for Google+ N00bies:

1. Post on Facebook that you don’t yet have a Google+ invite

2. Post on Twitter that you don’t yet have a Google+ invite

3. Beg for Google+ invite from a guru (like me) on either Facebook or Twitter

4. Recieve Google+ invite

5. Join Google+

6. Post on Facebook

7. Stay on for at least 4 days.

8. Proclaim yourself a Google+ Guru

9. Post in Facebook profile

10. Post in Twitter profile

11. Post on Facebook that you’re a Google+ Guru

12. Post on Twitter that you’re now a Google+ Guru

13. Post on Facebook that Google+ is the demise of Facebook

14. Post on Twitter that Google+ is the demise of Facebook

15.-67. Keep alternately and repeatedly posting on Tweetdeck to Twitter and Facebook accounts simultaneously.

68. Occasionally post to your Google+ account when you remember

*extra tip 69. Re-post Google+ post on your blog.

Oh, and don’t forget to +1 this article!

We’ve been applying the finishing touches on a branding overhaul that Whitestone Design Werks created for JEB Commerce which we announced last September. In that post, our intent (both JEB Commerce and WDW) was to highlight the whole process step by step for the benefit of other businesses considering what it would take to re-invent their identity and infuse their brand with a new fresh, life. Well, the best-laid plans of mice and men…

As a consolation, we are now providing highlights of the new identity system and how it has been applied across the board to all of the collateral pieces needed for conducting a successful business. After showing what was originally being used by JEB Commerce after the jump, we’ll show the new identity living and breathing in all of it’s new environments.

Here is the original JEB Commerce logo as it appeared on their old website…

…and the new JEB Commerce logo.

And here is the new identity applied to the new website along with new supporting graphics. WDW also provided design and production for the new JEB Commerce Website and Blog.

JEB Commerce stationary system.

Here’s an example of the identity applied to the Twitter background for JEB Commerce on Twitter.

And Whitestone Design Werks also supplied portrait photography for the JEB website and applied the identity to their profile picture for their main Facebook page.

There were many other items that we haven’t included here and a few things that are still in the pipeline, but this should give you an idea of a basic minimum of elements for logo application for any business’ identity system. As you can see, an identity system is more than just a logo.

The bottom-line is that JEB Commerce and Jamie Birch in particular, went from exploring a low-priced, crowd-sourced solution that seemed very affordable, but would have only resulted in an EPS file that they would have then had to have supplied to vendors, web developers and whatever other service providers would have been necessary to produce all the necessary elements.

Like many small businesses just starting out armed with a cheap or free logo file, with the many different vendors responsible for different applications of the logo, along with the varied interpretations of design, would have guaranteed a mish-mash of inconsistent logo application across the board—not to mention the overall poor quality of logo designs that were to be chosen from in the first place. It may have been cheap, but they would have paid dearly in the lost opportunity to shine and gain the respect and trust of both their current and potential clients with a well-crafted identity system—wasting their hard work in building the JEB brand over the past few years.

As a business just starting out, you may not have realized what all was involved and how important your identity was, but now that you are on the cusp of expanding into new territories or getting ready to take your business into the next level of competitiveness and effectiveness, now is the time to seriously consider taking advantage of this time to invest in and re-invent your identity to reflect the new maturity and savvy of your brand. You’re playing with the big-boys now and its time to start looking like it.

For next week, we’ll post some of the other designs explored for the new JEB Commerce identity and hopefully shed a little light on the creation process itself.

This was too awesome to pass up. A link to this video was posted in the comments section of my blog post Cooking The Books (or Baking my MacBook Pro Logic Board) by Roland who’s IP showed him from Montreal. He did an awesome job putting together this accelerated video (on his revived MBP) that compresses the whole experience into a little over four minutes that’s made even more entertaining by a nice soundtrack: Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim.

Roland is now one of at least 15 people that have commented on my blog posts alone (up to at least the writing of this post) that have successfully baked their logic boards. Only one person has experienced anything like a fail, but there were other indications that it wasn’t the same exact issue that I had originally posted about.

I hope to post again excerpts of some of the success stories for more encouragement and also possibly something to show Apple that they need to rethink their policy in expanding these symptoms to the Nvidia 8600M issue or creating a whole new category. Normal users shouldn’t be expected to have to go through this trouble to repair something that wasn’t their fault to begin with.

I’m very excited to see the launch of The Napa Valley Marriott’s redesigned lobby and restaurant that they have name VINeleven next week. Whitestone Design Werks is proud to have been chosen to design the new identity that will be used throughout the hotel and restaurant. Their official “Release Party” is an invite affair to be held on Friday, May 6.

Looking forward to getting down there and will posts pics of the logo in the live environment along with a little bit of the story behind the design.

If you get a chance to visit Napa Valley soon, be sure to drop in and enjoy a taste of the fruits of Napa Valley.