All Posts Tagged 'workinprogress'
Staying Simple While Adding Features
Over Memorial Day weekend, I finally got a chance to work a little bit on the next version of do.Oh, our super simple todo list application. do.Oh quietly launched in 2006, and has been running virtually without update since then.
The tagline of do.Oh is "Now with fewer features." Our initial idea was to create a todo list that did not have the clutter of modern "task management systems" that cause you to spend more time managing tasks than actually doing things. No tags, no due dates, no calendaring, no categories, no sub-lists. You put something on your list, then you do it. That's it.
But there are a few key features we want to add! So the task has become designing an interface that allows these new (and awesome) features to live alongside the extremely simple list interface without distracting you from the tasks at hand.
Right now, we're experimenting with simple keyboard shortcuts that open up implicit information spaces that otherwise hide behind an ellipses or small button. The key is to leave the list interface mostly undisturbed until you absolutely need one of the more advanced features, at which point they appear magically before you.
Here's a screenshot of the prototype I built last night to test some ideas. The "advanced options" bubble appears around the selected task when you hit the Tab key on your keyboard. While the bubble is open, several other keyboard shortcuts become available.
Shifting Pixels
Tonight, I played with adding some features to PixlPinchr. The image above is the result. Too much fun, not enough hacking.
Pixel Power
We here at XOXCO believe that, like the atom is to the analog world, the pixel is the fundamental building block of all things digital. Pixels are a pure representation of their own simple value, yet when combined, they create all the wonders of the modern world. And if you can create pixels, you can create reality.
One of our main areas of interest in the low-rez world of pixels is pixel art. The incredible constraints put on these artists force them to evaluate and reevaluate their representation of every day objects so that they can be fit into the grid world of pixels. For example, how does one draw a recognizable human hand in a 3x3 space with only 9 colored squares? It requires elements of impressionism, pointillism, and cross-eyed brain trickery. These kind of tiny, intimate details are everywhere, but they go mostly unnoticed by the audience because today's screen resolution causes them to appear on the screen at a fraction of an inch.
One of the projects we're working on is a browser-based pixel drawing tool, code named PixlPinchr. Though we still have a lot of work to do before releasing it as a product, we've been leaking out development versions to our network of secret XOXCO agents. One of these lucky few is a dude named Arlo Robbins. I gave Arlo an early copy of the iPhone version, and he has been busy ever since cranking out awesome pixel drawings.
Among the many drawings Arlo has pecked out in PixlPinchr is this skull and crossbones. Arlo's awesome mom, Jen Robbins recognized Arlo's lo-rez genius and put his pixel art on teeshirts. These shirts offer definitive proof of the age old internet meme that pixels make you look cool. (See also: Jason in Arlowear, Ben in Arlowear)
Arlo's art and these teeshirts are extra cool for us because they were built with pre-release, experimental code. I had an idea, I executed it, and almost immediately, cool people are doing cool things with it. This is pixel power! This is why we love to make stuff. I can't wait to see what happens when we actually finish and release PixlPinchr for public consumption!
Until then, I look forward to more super low-rez creations from Arlo. He is so busy creating pixel drawings that when I accidently moved the site to a new location and his bookmark broke for a few days, he and his dad, Jeff Robbins sent me a SINGING VIDEO BUG REPORT! Note to all current and future clients: if you want the quickest possible response, file your complaint in this format!
Buy some Arlowear of your own, or browse some pixel art on Flickr.