No longer should the secret be kept from whoever is reading this: I want to marry Ruby and have its sweet, lovable babies. By the way, I’m also rather confident Ruby will think of a quick and easy way for a man to bear children, so that I can keep my promise. I mean, if it’s able to create a working blog in just 15 minutes and using just 58(!) lines of code, then this should prove to be a piece of cake.

Those of you who cared enough to visit the links above have by now probably noticed I’m talking not just about Ruby, but also (and mainly) about Ruby on Rails. First off, a bit of history to get us in the mood: Ruby was developed in 1993 by Yukihiro Matsumoto, and released to the general public in 1995. It was designed to be an elegant and easy language, which does exactly what we expect it to do; methods are named after English terms that appropriately define the action it performs.

However, it was only in 2003, when David Heinemeir Hansson, together with 37Signals looked into coding a web-based project management tool, that Ruby began to be known around the world. The reason for this boost in popularity was that Hansson, unsatisfied with the monotonous and redundant process required to build the application in PHP, chose to use Ruby instead. After the project was complete, Hansson realized much of the code he wrote could be made into a framework that could be used to simplify future projects. Thus, Rails was born.

I’ll admit I’m still way too green when it comes to programming in Ruby or getting the best (or anything at all) out of the great Rails framework, but I must say I’m impressed with the results I got after investing just a few hours in learning it.

I’m not a genius, it’s just that easy. With a few commands you can type into a console (or by using more intuitive drop-down style menus provided with the Eclipse based IDE Aptana), you can create the entire skeleton of a project, with all the files you will ever need, create platform independent database schemas, and even create an actual bare-bones web interface that allows you to perform simple actions on your tables (creating, retrieving, updating and deleting records)! Also amazingly is the voodoo magic (called ActiveRecord) Rails uses to know which database fields are primary keys, foreign keys, the kind of relationship, etc. Simply amazing! This bare-bones structure (called scaffold) won’t win any Web Design awards, that’s for sure, but keep in mind that getting all of this functionality requires only 5 minutes of your time and you’ll be converted.

Ruby, in itself, is an extremely flexible, object-oriented programming language. The syntax is pretty lax (and I mean really lax); you can end statements with a semicolon —- or not; You can write a method’s code inside brackets -— or if you don’t want to, that’s fine too. The list just goes on and on. If you’re like me, and try to get into Ruby coming from PHP, you’ll notice the differences almost immediately. Gone is PHP’s cryptic code and syntax rules. Ruby seems almost like it was built with right-brained designer types who get lost in complicated scripting languages in mind. Coupled with Rails, you can build an almost entire application from scratch and have it working in minutes, allowing you to concentrate on your design and advanced features rather than on making it “just work”.

Did I mention Rails already has AJAX functionality built-in? That’s it, I’m off to buy a wedding ring.

Although, in the past, I have had the pleasure of knowing the full effects of lip gloss, this isn’t going to be a boring text about that particular greasy kind of lipstick. To say the truth, maybe that would be less boring than what I had planned. Hmm… Well, no one reads this anyway, so there you go.

By the way, I’m sorry for the extreme lack of updates these last few months. I got back from Barcelona on the 1st of July (you are all missed deeply), and, since I worked like mad right until the last day, I needed a deserved time off from work and the Web in general. Let’s just hope my strength is already back by now. Or maybe I’ll just go sleep right now.

So, let’s get started with this already. This post’s title pun is all about Apple’s last week announcement of a new line of shiny iMacs. About time, too. The iMac was a product line in dire need of more than just the ordinary speed bump, in my opinion. Apple lived up to the expectations and introduced a major overhaul in both the machine’s looks and guts.

The iMac design shows the biggest change, with the 17’’ model being dropped, and both the 20’’ and 24’’ models now made from Aluminum and Glass cases, much like Apple’s most recent media hype, the iPhone. Identically to their predecessors, the iMacs sport Intel Core 2 Duo chips, but the clock speeds were bolstered, to 2GHz and 2.4GHz, respectively. The hard drive space was also bumped up, to 250 GB and 320 GB, and the graphics are now handled by ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT and 2600 XT graphics processors, respectively. All configurations ship with 1GB of RAM and are expandable to up to 4GB. 

The new glossier, thinner design of Apple’s All-In-One machines definitely seems like a move away from the “Fisher Price” white plastic look of last year’s iMacs, making it look a lot more like the Pro Lines, the Mac Pro and the Macbook Pro, as well as the now ubiquitous HD TV sets. As much of a fan as I was of last year’s design, I can’t say I disagree with this design decision. People are usually comfortable with products which look like other products they use, so with the increasing presence of HD TVs in homes, the warm welcome the iPhone got and the good success the Pro Lines have been enjoying, Apple’s move starts to make a lot of sense. Even though prices dropped, the machine now feels more professional and expensive looking, which might attract customers who before shied away from the iMac, being afraid it looked a little childish.

Actually, it’s some of the other design decisions I’m not so comfortable with. Beginning with the fact that it’s (still) an All-In-One. Sure, it’s very economical in terms of space, doesn’t leave a ton of cables scattered about, and, coupled with the very attractive new keyboard offerings, is sure to make any desktop a lot sexier. Yet all that comes at the cost of ease of repairing the machine, should things go sour. Besides adding more RAM (which is done ever so easily), every other kind of update is denied to the user. If you’re unlucky enough that something does break, you’ll most likely have to send your machine back to Apple and wait a few weeks. Even more scandalous, there is no apparent way of replacing the hard-drive, a common task performed by users, should the need to expand or replace a broken drive arise. While the option of shipping it back to Apple and having them do all the work might seem fine to the casual consumer Apple seems to be targeting with this product line, it’s a major deal-breaker for any IT manager at a corporation who is looking to convince the Boss that a Mac move is worth the while. Let’s face it, a corporate environment can’t wait a week or two for a machine to be repaired, and it’s not like they’re going to buy Mac Pros for all the employees. If Apple does want to get a foot in the door of the corporate world, they need to either change the iMac line or introduce a midlevel product between the consumer and the Pro lines. And no, the Mac-mini won’t do.

What’s even more concerning to me, as a designer, is the atrocity Apple seems to be committing with their displays. Seriously, it’s like a freaking genocide to me. All the new iMac’s LCDs are now glossy, and while Jobs assures with tremendous confidence “this is what the consumers want”, I (and many others, for that fact) beg to differ. Sure, glossy screens are alright for viewing your digital photos of that last weekend trip or that DVD movie you rented, but is that really all you should be doing with a machine of this calibre? Apple knows just as well as the next guy that a large share of it’s faithful customers are people in the graphic arts industries, and a great number of them choose to buy iMacs instead of a Mac Pro not only because they’re a lot cheaper but also for the fact that they get the job done without breaking into a sweat. Well, for those people, these new machines are now a big no-no. The glare caused from the reflecting light on the glossy screen makes it unbearable to look at it for long periods of time, and, if you’re looking for perfect colour adjustment or performing some good old pixel surgery, you might as well just turn off all the lights in the room and get a fresh serving of B+ blood. I mean, what’s the deal with glossy anyway? We work our asses off for years trying to develop antiglare technologies for our displays and now they come out with this shit like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. If I wanted to look at myself, I’d get off my lazy ass and just look at a mirror. Would save me some money, I figure. I just wish buyers of the new iMac systems got what I got when I ordered my Macbook Pro: a choice between a beautiful, evenly coloured matte screen or this shiny stuff.

In closing, at the press conference where the iMacs were introduced, Apple introduced new versions of the iWork and iLife suites (iWork finally gets a spreadsheet app, called Numbers, and iLife gets a brand new iMovie and a much improved iPhoto. All the other products underwent minor changes.), but I’ll talk about it later, after I get some hours of usage under my belt. And of course, if the vampire doesn’t get the better of me.

An Olympic ring, for that matter. The new London 2012 Olympics logo has certainly sparked some interest. Well, "interest" to say the least, because it’s more and more looking like murderous rage. People are claiming things such as "My kid could have done that!" and "This looks like it was done by a bunch of drunken four-year-olds", and today some newspapers are even saying that the animated version of the logo can cause epileptic seizures. There is also an online petition demanding that the logo be taken down and it’s authors purged by holy flames in the witch’s pyre. Ok, so that last part about the holy flames wasn’t so truthful. Anyway. As I read all of this I mentally prepared myself to see something so incredibly bad that suicidal instincts would kick in. And, for the first time I saw it, they did.

But then I looked again. And another time. And another. It’s still an awful logo, but I’m not so shocked anymore. The little bugger grows on you, I guess. I’m not saying I like it, in fact, quite the contrary. Sure, most of the logos from past games suck, but then again, most were design by commitee products, so one can only hope for so much. Not this one though. A company, Wolff Ollins, is fully behind it, and they reportedly charged a whopping £400k (something like €590.000,000). I genuinely can see where they were coming from, I do. I think it was a remarkable effort (and a difficult one as well, from my perspective as a designer) that they managed to stay away from designing around cliche topics like the country’s most famous landmarks or it’s rich cultural and artistic (and, ironically, cutting edge design) history. They tried to create a "hip", grafitti-like and ultimately timeless logo, but unfortunately it ended up looking like a bunch of middle aged men trying to be "down" with all those "youngsters" they’re trying to sell stuff to. I imagine that, if current trends continue, by 2012 the logo won’t look so dated, and it does communicate that the Games are about internationality and multiple cultural backgrounds by denying to mark the logo as inherently British. However, it will also still look like crap (of course, I could be wrong, everyone will worship the logo by then, and I’ll be out of a job). By the way, according to the official explanation for the logo, the squarish thingies in the logo spell out "2012", and, with a bit of imagination (you can notice best in the blue coloured one, I think), they do.

So much attention being drawn to the logo has astonished graphic designers all over. Fact is, we aren’t used to so much media focus being given to our profession. Sad thing is, when mainstream media do go out of their way to speak about design, more often they do so in order to bash and demonize the profession, instead of drawing the plaudits to the numerous daily miracles it produces. Still, all this whipping and tossing in both online and offline media has been met with a lukewarm response. Wolf Ollins has kept silence on the matter (and, like Adrian Shaughnessy says in his article for Design Observer, why shouldn’t they? They probably haven’t been so busy with calls from prospective clients trying to get a seat in the media wagon in years!), and the Olympic Commitee led by Sebastian Coe stated that they weren’t expecting such a dismal reaction and that the logo "will evolve" with the passing of time. Maybe, by evolve, they actually meant blasted into oblivion. If the logo stays that way, here’s one less shirt they’ll sell. Or maybe 500.000 less.

You guessed it. I haven’t had an Internet connection for like three days now. Well, it seems more like three years. It sucks having nothing else to do than "offline" work… or, because I don’t feel like it, just watch Anime. Well, at least, while doing so, I was finally able to start watching Bleach (yeah, I know, I’m like, a century late.) and I have to say, the show has already made a deep impression on me. I would say it carved itself on my flesh, if that wasn’t so disgustingly graphic that my own gag reflex kicked in. Problem is, I shouldn’t have really gotten so caught up in another show, since I have so much work to do during the following weeks I barely have time to watch any (there’s always room for Death Note, though). Anyway, a warning to all out there who are still tainted (as in, non-Bleached, get it? I really should stop this), the show is freaking addictive. I won’t tell you any details, mostly because I’m a lazy bastard, but partly because I don’t wish to rob you of the joy of discovering it.

Moving on, a little announcement. Not that anyone cares, but the site will be remodelled. I know it just started, but I’m just like that, and when I set my head on it, I really have to do it, or else it gets on my nerves so much i start to itch. Anyone who considers him/herself to know me at least a little just knows I have to scratch it. So, the hell with you. There is nothing you can do to stop me, mwahahhaha! Can you hear that? Yes, it’s the sound of Illustrator being open! By the way, on a sidenote (which may really be the only read-worthy content of this post, incidentally), the new Adobe Creative Suite kicks like, major (in italic and bold, whoaa) behind. I got the Design Premium Edition, and man, I shed metaphorical tears (of course, what did you think, that I was some lame-ass dude who cries himself over the new version of Photoshop? - wait, nevermind, actually) over the freaking piece of software. I mean, it’s about time a serious application makes use of the Mac’s Intel Power.

More things I wanna talk about… let’s see… ah, here’s something really worth the mention. If you still haven’t heard about it, then you seriously need to. The boys over here are seriously kicking ass with their Second UA project, which will make the University of Aveiro the first University in Portugal to have a presence inside the most current fad’s virtual world: yeah, I’m talking about Second Life, of course.

Ok, I guess that’s all, and may the weekend gods smile upon us all (except bakers, I f*cking want my bread fresh, goddamit).

Well, what can I say. It’s 5:30, I spent a looooot of time making the blog
look the way I want to (even though, irony of ironies, even as I write
this I know I’m not done just yet). Well, I hope you enjoy
reading this (if anyone does actually get round to reading it), yada
yada etc. all those things. Oh, by the way: in case you didn’t notice
(in which case I would strongly recommend a visit to the eye doctor)
this blog is not cute. If you have an idea of what this means
then by all means e-mail me, ‘cause I’m like, in the dark here. Hehe,
in the dark, and the blog is predominantly black. Last joke, I swear.