德国求职网站发布的创意广告。

Life’s Too Short for the Wrong Job.

Mozilla 基金会今天正式公布了 Firefox 3.0 的第 4 个 Beta 测试版，根据官方的信息了解到 Firefox 3 Beta 4 包含 900 多项增强更新，在性能以及内存使用上都有很大改进。确实 HUNG 从 Beta 3 到 Beta 4 的体验中明显感觉到了。当然了，稳定性和部分版本（Vista）的界面也有所改进。不过，这还不是最后一个 3.0 的测试版，Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Beta 5 将于本月底发布，官方的消息表明，Beta 5 将会是 3.0 的最后一个测试版。

而正在测试的 Beta 5 雷区又要比 Beta 4 更流畅和快速，3 月 9 日版本的 UI 上也又有了细节上的改进：

下载 1：releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0b4/
下载 2：mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

由于是测试版本，请谨慎使用。同时，此次的 Portable 版本更新将不再集成插件和扩展，最新版的插件包可以到这里下载（3 月 10 日更新，需要配合 JRE 1.6.u10 使用），而适用于目前版本的扩展可以到这里看看，这个列表中已经包含了几乎日常使用所需扩展。

Portable 版本下载 1：mediafire.com/?wjmzhbreja0
Portable 版本下载 2：box.net/shared/zc30hez4so

Google地图增加了地形视图。Google maps很早以前就有了地形，这次google地图悄悄的也把地形加了进来。只是地形图上的地图只有一些大城市。没有详细街道地图，不知道什么时候能把地图和maps合二为一呀。

ArtRage 的界面很酷！完全不是常见的Windows界面，操作的按钮、对话框、输入输出的交互界面都是自绘的图形界面。

绘图工具

这是绘图工具的界面，点击可以选择不同的工具，圆心显示大小或者粗细，鼠标按下移动就可以调节，不需要严格的点在某个按钮上。 画笔的种类不是很多，当然这款软件是模拟油画的，有这些工具就够了。

工具参数调节面板用来调节各种工具的参数，透明度、粗细等等，调节过程也是鼠标按下拖动的方式，很方便。

辅助工具

辅助工具包括对对象的移动、缩放、旋转的工具按钮以及其他附加工具的选择。主要有模板和尺子等工具，可以非常仿真的使用直尺和各种曲线板、字母模板等工具。

调色板

调色板可以以各种颜色模式进行调色，还算方便吧。

图层面板

ArtRage对图层的控制和其他绘图软件差不多，同样也提供了多种混合模式，功能足够用。

对话框

弹出的对话框绝对够酷！一个液体状的动画。

总结

这款小巧的软件绝对能够吸引每一个人的眼球，喜欢就下载一个玩玩吧，当然得配上绘图板。用鼠标可体会不到画画的感觉的。

官方网站：http://www.ambientdesign.com。

基本版下载：ArtRage 官方下载

要想完整版本，也可以google或baidu 一下。

非常好的油画制作软件，可以充分发挥你的想象力，绘制出属于你的油画作品！ ArtRage模仿自然画笔的功能非常强大，它对各种画笔特性的模仿能力令人叫绝！

官方展示的作品：

以后会陆续介绍该软件界面的特色。

It is much easier to criticize somebody else’s work than to create something cool yourself. But if you apply a systematic approach to criticizing, make a numbered list and prepare illustrations, it will be regarded as a fully-fledged analysis! In my opinion, icon design is undergoing a transitional period. On the one hand, screen resolutions are increasing, hence enhancing icons. On the other hand, we still have good old pixels. Icons sized 16×16 and even smaller are still widely used. And so, here are the most commonly observed mistakes in icon design…

1. Insufficient differentiation between icons
图标之间没有明显的差异化（太相似，难以辨识）；

Sometimes within one set of icons, we have icons that look alike and it is very hard to understand what is what. If you miss the legends, you can very easily get the icons mixed up.

Icons from the Utilities section in Mac OS X. I am always getting them confused and launching the wrong application.

The problem is aggravated by having small size icons displayed on screen.

2. Too many elements in one icon
在一个图标中设计了太多的元素（windows vista的图标是反面教材）

The simpler and more laconic the icon, the better. It is preferable to keep the number of objects in a single icon to a minimum.

Nevertheless, Microsoft’s designers, inspired by the new format of icons featured in Windows Vista, decided to go big and drew bloated icons to justify their bloated budget:

Each icon presents us with a mini-story with an intertwined plot. The problem is that in small size you are unable to work out what is depicted. Even in larger sizes, it is not always that easy to decipher the icons.

3. Unnecessary elements
加入不必要的元素

An icon should be easy to read. The fewer elements it has, the better. It is better if the whole image is relevant and not only part of it. Therefore, you have to pay attention to the context of using icons.

Let us take for instance some database icons:

At first glance everything looks alright.

But if this application (or a separate toolbar) deals only with databases, we can (and should) remove the unnecessary part:

The sense is not lost here but the icons become much more discernible.

Here is a real-life example of unnecessary elements occurring in BeOS 5 icons:

Ticks here are absolutely superfluous. By the way, why are they done in red?

4. Lack of unity of style within a set of icons
一套图标中的图标统一性不足（颜色主题，透视角度，尺寸，绘图技法等）

It is a unity of style that unites several icons into a set. The uniting property can be any of the following: color scheme, perspective, size, drawing technique or a combination of several such properties. If there are only a few icons in the set, the designer can keep some rules in his head. If there are many icons in the set and there are several designers working on them (for instance, icons for an operating system), then special instructions are created. Such instructions describe in detail how to draw an icon so that it fits straight into the set.

A multitude of styles in the shell32.dll file in Windows XP. This is the default set of icons suggested to a user wishing to change an icon.

5. Unnecessary perspective and shadows in small icons
在小图标中（24X24以下）使用不必要的透视和阴影

Progress does not stand still: interfaces have gained the potential to display semi-transparent objects, lost the limitation on the number of colors and there is now a trend towards 3D icons. But is it really all that useful? Not always! Especially if we are talking about icons sized 16×16 or smaller.

For example, let us take the application manager from GNOME 2.2.0 (RedHat 9):

Perspective in icons of such minute size is unnecessary and even counter-productive.

And here is the application manager from Windows XP:

As standard, icons in Windows XP are given a two-pixel black shadow; but in 16×16 size the shadow appears too large and makes the icons look dirty. The Address Book icon looks especially bad in this set.

6. Overly original metaphors
过于原始隐喻（比如将回收站设计成碎纸机的样式）

Selecting what is to be displayed in an icon is always a compromise between recognizability and originality. Before a metaphor (image) is developed for an icon it is wise to see how it is done in other products. Maybe the best solution lies not in coming up with something original but rather in adopting the existing solution.

An example of excessive originality is the bin icon in OS/2 Warp 4, which is not actually a bin at all but a shredder.

Another problem with choosing a shredder is that there is no one well-known type of shredder out there. The icon appears very much like a printer with an octopus hidden inside. What is more, it is absolutely unclear how a full bin would be displayed according to this metaphor.

7. National or social characteristics not being taken into account
国家区域和文化特征没有被考虑进设计中

It is always necessary to take into account the conditions in which your icon is going to be used. An important aspect here is national characteristics. Cultural traditions, surroundings and gestures can differ radically from country to country.

Let us suggest that we need to draw an icon for working with e-mail. It makes perfect sense to use a metaphor of real paper mail. A mailbox for example.

These images are courtesy of the Wikipedia article entitled Post box.

The answer can be found in the manual on creating icons for Mac OS X: “Use universal imagery that people will easily recognize. Avoid focusing on a secondary aspect of an element. For example, for a mail icon, a rural mailbox would be less recognizable than a postage stamp.”

The idea of using a stamp is great but the use of the eagle red-tailed hawk image is definitely questionable.

However, you need to account not only for national features… That reminds me of something funny. Once, we needed an icon for a data filter, which is often portrayed using the metaphor of a funnel. It was drawn like this:

The client’s response was as follows: “I do not really understand why for a filter, you drew an icon shaped like a Martini glass!”

8. Images of real interface elements in icons
在图标中使用纯界面化的元素（比如泛滥的mac aqua效果，用户会认为你的产品是苹果的产品）

The manual on creating icons for Mac OS X warns us: “Avoid using Aqua interface elements in your icons; they could be confused with the actual interface.” But all in vain! For instance, take a look at the following icon:

You reach out to click on the radio button but end up clicking the whole icon!

Here is an interesting example from the OmniWeb browser interface:

Pay attention to the Previous and Next buttons, a rare type of button with legends underneath. Oops! They are not buttons at all, they are icons!

9. Text inside icons
在图标内部使用文字（特别是不容易辨识的）

This mistake is commonly seen in application icons. Clearly the first thing that comes to mind when working on an application icon is to adapt the application’s logo. What is so bad about the text inside the icon? Firstly, it is directly language-related and so impedes localization. Secondly, if the icon is small, it is impossible to read the text. Thirdly, in the case of application icons, this text is repeated in the name of the application.

10. Outside the pixel framework
图标外部边缘没有做像素化处理

As a rule, this problem occurs if you use a vector editor for drawing icons. In large size everything looks pretty and clear; but in reality the icons are small, and under rasterization anti-aliasing frets the objects’ borders.

• 本文引自：http://turbomilk.com/truestories/cookbook/criticism/10-mistakes-in-icon-design/

Apple 于今天正式公布了 iPhone SDK。所有开发商将获得一套 iPhone SDK 测试版与 iPhone 模拟器，可用于 Mac OS X 操作系统之上。而更为重要的是，Apple 还宣布了一些令人惊喜的 iPhone 的改进。其中有针对企业级应用的新特性，比如支持 Microsoft 的 Exchange ActiveSync，支持 Email、联系人、日历的同步等。同时对于第三方 IM 的支持也将在不久之后正式支持了，其中包括与 iChat 关系非常密切的 AIM，以及其他主流 IM 协议。

精密电子宠物，跟一头真实的宠物无异

不要看PLEO体型像猫一样小，一只PLEO里可足足要有七百个零件，全身上下装置8个计算机芯片，运算速度高达6千万次／秒，且内含38个传感器，用来侦测光线、动作、触摸与声音，这只电子宠物有灵敏的触觉、视觉与听觉；透过复杂的计算机程序，可根据感测信息的运算结果，瞬间下出指令决定接下来的动作。像走到桌边，会自己谨慎退回来，趴下去，彷佛叫出「哇」，好高；偷偷摸牠，PLEO还会转过头来，看看谁在搔牠的背。其复杂运算的程度，可以跟笔记型计算机平常的工作没有两样，而PLEO流畅的动作就依赖装配了14个马达的技术。

Pleo精力充沛又爱玩耍

如果您的Pleo喜欢玩拔河比赛或在朋友面前卖弄，应该先向您说声恭喜，因为这正是Pleo为您带来的娱乐，也是他的好玩之处，此外，Pleo在高兴时还会随兴地发出吼叫声与低鸣声喔。杂运算的程度，可以跟笔记型计算机平常的工作没有两样，而PLEO流畅的动作就依赖装配了14个马达的技术。

Pleo的感官

从头到尾轻抚Pleo，会让Pleo幸福地拱起后背。试试看大声喊他或用光照他，看Pleo有什么反应？你会发现Pleo和我们一样，都是利用自己的感官体验世界。

Pleo的本能需求

Pleo会饿，会睡觉，还会什么呢？Pleo和每种生物一样，都有肚子饿和疲倦的时候，也会有想要探险与吃饭的需求，而且Pleo会在自己想要的时候吃草、打盹或溜跶一下，Pleo也和你我一样会随时随地改变想法和心情。

另一方面，UGOBE的设计师与工程师是由身高及体重与一周大的圆顶龙新生儿完全一样的原始化石中，模拟出Pleo的生理构造。PLEO的皮肤触感做的跟真的动物一样，可以伸展，但不会太薄，不至于会摸到里面的机械。PLEO会饿，充电方式就像是电动牙刷，插上座槽就可以自动充电，好玩的是──PLEO在充电会还会打呼！因为太像活生生的宠物，又不用为它把屎把尿，也不用担心是不是会造成噪音吵到邻居，小恐龙PLEO是在完美不过的宠物了！

Pleo的价格绝对不便宜，淘宝上有卖的，￥4180！

官方网站：http://www.pleoworld.com

Google Reader今天完成了一次细节升级，但如果你不留意，并不容易发现新的变化。

这次升级包括增加了更多国家的语言支持、订阅详情及增大阅读区域、修正及优化。这一切都使得Google Reader更人性化。

首先是Google Reader已新增加了以下分站：奥地利、捷克、丹麦、芬兰、挪威、波兰、巴西、俄罗斯、瑞典、瑞士、土耳其

然后是增加了feed的订阅详情，包括更新频率。

点击feed内容界面右上角的show details即可看到：如果你想看看你所订阅的feed当中，哪些是最冷门（即最少人订阅的）的，你可以点击Trends，再点击Subscription trends底下新增的Most obscure菜单，即可看到：

再次是feed阅读区域增大了17像素。这个更新如果不是Google说出来，估计很少人会发现，尤其是使用大屏幕的用户。不管怎样，Google说这17像素是通过对页面头部位置进行优化而挤出来的，因此你可以认为现在Google Reader更利于阅读了。

最后，Google Reader还完成了一系列的bug修正及速度优化。如果你的Google Reader feed订阅数量超过1000个，现在可以发现Google Reader的加载速度提高了。同样地，设置页面现在也加载得比以前快了。此外，还修正了用户档案加载过慢的bug，以及改进了键盘导航功能及解决了搜索结果刷新的问题。

1. http://www.dnsstuff.com 可以在线检测域名及主机的响应速度，在线ping，IP信息、邮件测试等，内容非常丰富，有功能很强大的一整套网站在线测试工具。
2. http://www.just-ping.com 只需要填入域名或IP，就可以测试出从世界各地的ping值，有从中国上海ping的值。
3. http://www.ping.eu 有一套的网站测试工具，如常用的 Ping、及DNS测试，比较全面。更有Bandwidth meter一项，可以检测出当前所使用的带宽。
4. http://www.myipneighbors.com 仅需要输入域名或IP,便可以查看到同一服务中的有哪些网站存在，对于虚拟主机的用户特别有用。
5. http://www.prcheckingtool.com 可以检测出网站的排名等信息
6. http://freeprcheck.com 检测网站的排名等信息
7. http://www.whoishostingthis.com 可以查出网站所在的服务器商是谁