Big business, big attitude

I felt this dubious exchange (hat tip) was worth highlighting, not just because it’s a prime example of how NOT to interact with your customers, but because the rest of Andrews blog is so interesting. One for the feed reader, methinks.

And speaking of interacting with customers the wrong way, I’ve got a cautionary tale to tell you soon about a company I deal with. However I’ll wait for them to pay me the money they owe me (no, I’m not holding my breath) before I spill the beans. Trust me, this is a masterclass in bad P.R.

Safari for Windows

The web world is grinning at the news that Apple’s Safari browser is now available for Windows. It’s long been regarded as one of the better browsers and is considered to have pretty much the best CSS support.

It’s great that there’s now even more choice for people who want to get away from the awfulness that is Internet Explorer 6, or the clunky interface of Internet Explorer 7. Well done Apple, you’ve done a Good Thing.

Finding great colour schemes in nature

Despite occasional successes when it comes to design work, I’d say my graphic ability is rather average. I’m definitely more a developer than a designer. But even I know that even if amazing graphics aren’t your cup of tea, you can get a long with simple designs based on great colour schemes.

But where do you get great colour schemes? They are all around us, and there is loads of help finding them on the web. But one source of inspiration particularly appeals to me, partly because I like natural, organic things, and partly because it’s very rarely wrong. That source, of course, is nature.

But just in case you are starting to worry that you’ll have to dig out those walking boots and go trekking, stop right there. There’s a fantastic collection of colour schemes based on butterflies over at ColourLovers.com. And if that’s not enough, just find a photo of some nature to get the creative juices flowing.

As you may know, I like providing multiple “skins” for the systems I write, and with great resources like that there’ll never be a shortage of inspiration.

Eric Sink on Requirements

I often read Eric Sink’s blog for down-to-earth discussion of technology. You won’t find many fuzzy marketing phrases there, let me tell you. One of his recent articles about requirements struck a chord with me because of the ridiculous escapade I’ve just started.

Planning is great, as long as the plans are going to be useful as the project progresses. Paperwork for paperwork’s sake is useless. Specifications should be detailed enough so everyone knows what’s expected, but not so detailed that everyone loses any creativity. And, of course, you should only require the things that really are required.

It’s a tough ethos to stick to, but one that every modern web entreprenuer needs to get sorted. I am, as you may have guessed, just beginning.