July, 2007

So my new iMac finally arrived. It took one day short of 3 weeks due to a shortage of 24inch models in Australia, but once a new shipment came in from Singapore all was well.

The screen really is huge, and very crisp. I’m glad I went all out and got the upgraded model. So far everything is working great. Having a few problems with .mac syncing between the imac and powerbook though, which is kind of annoying.

I’ve even managed to get iChat working with my modem, something which I’ve been unable to do for some time. I guess having an iSight built in is more incentive to get it working then having to setup my old iSight.

There seems to be a new batch of ‘new imac’ rumors floating around the web. I thought this would worry be but I’m actually really happy with the current model. The new ones may have some newish features and what not but will also most likely have the usual ‘new model’ bugs that Apple products seem to have.

So yeah, iMac has arrived and is working great.

I’m so jealous of people who excel at graphic design and user interface design. I like to think of myself as a fairly competent programmer. I think I have the skills to be able to pick up a new language quickly and get reasonable results. As far as graphic design and user interface design goes, I suck.

It is a genuine struggle for me to design a user interface. Sure, I can whack together something that does the job, but if you look at it with any kind of ‘user interface design’ in mind you see that it is severely lacking. I stare in wonder and amazement at good user interfaces, wondering why I can’t come up with something similar or as efficient.

I don’t believe my lack of skill comes from not trying. I spend a lot of time drawing user interface designs on paper or reading user interface guidelines, but I just don’t seem to get any better.

I guess it’s just one of those things that I will always struggle with, which is a bit of a shame because I actually enjoy it.

Why do normal windows float totally behind the dock while iCal reminder alert windows float in the space between the dock icons and the dock background?

I like Apple stuff, I’m a bit of a fan… but is anyone else sick of all the iPhone related news recently?

I know I am.