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Fun news for a Friday. From Jacob Seidelin–the dude behind JavaScript Super Mario Brothers–comes Digg Attack, an original JavaScript game using <g;canvas> for visuals (and Flash for music). As an added twist, the game uses Digg to provide a sort of unique twist; enemies in the game are based on stories in the Digg API feed and their ratings.

John has done a really good job at wrapping up information on the various options for JavaScript developers on the iPhone platform. He discusses the various approaches:

• JiggyApp: JiggyApp provides a full API for developing an application - apparently separate from most of the typical APIs. Arguably, though, the code ends up being relatively usable (jailbroken only :(
• JSCocoa: JSCocoa is a full bridge that maps Cocoa development into JavaScript (instead of the typical Objective-C/Cocoa mapping). The result ends up working in both OS X and on the iPhone.
• PhoneGap: PhoneGap is an application that exposes a few JavaScript APIs to pages running MobileSafari. Right now this includes Geolocation and access to the Accelerometer.
• WebTouch: The other day “Dr Nic” wrote up an article on how he had used a WebKit instance (along with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) to render a portion of his iPhone application.

I was chatting with someone on the PhoneGap team about their Android support. There is a play to be had to enable rich mobile applications all based on the Open Web stack that we know and love :)

Methodology visualized screen resolution stats. Smart. (via twitter:royalbacon)

In the last two chapters, I talked about Installing WordPress Locally and Building Custom WordPress Theme. This chapter will cover exporting your local WordPress to a web host. Assume you are done with the local WordPress development, it is time to learn how to export and import WordPress. Then you can keep the local version for backup purpose and future development (ie. testing new themes, plugins, and upgrades). (more…)

As seen onnytimes.com: For those daunted by the complexity and clutter of high-end audio systems, the GenevaSound Home Theater offers a tidy alternative. The 66-inch credenza, which is large enough to accommodate a good-size TV, has an integrated iPod dock, CD player and FM radio. Stereo speakers and a 12-inch subwoofer (specifically designed not to rattle a TV above) are hidden behind the perforated metal grill in front.

We have featured Niceforms v1.0 long time ago. It is a script that will replace the most commonly used form elements with custom designed ones. And it looks very pretty as well. However, there were some limitations and minor bugs. I am always hoping for a new version. Finally! After what seemed like an eternity, the fully revamped version of Niceforms is ready to make its debut. Pretty much everything is new, from the basic coding approach, to the number of elements it handles, to the customization options. Niceforms v2.0 fully supports all modern browsers, with the exception of IE6, in which case it degrades gracefully to the original form. You can customize the look of your forms in any way you want by creating your own themes. Since Niceforms replaces the form elements with images, it’s just a matter of slicing these images up correctly and creating the CSS that holds them all together. More themes are on the way as well. Requirements: IE7+, Firefox2+, Safari3+, Opera9+, Chrome0.3+, Mozilla1.5+, Camino1.6+ Demo: http://www.emblematiq.com/niceforms/v20/niceforms.html License: License Free Related Posts

• Niceforms 1.0 Released
• Plug and Play Uni-Form to Standardize Form Markup
• Alternate Select Multiple Form Elements
• Spice Up Your Gmail with Themes from Google
• Free CD / DVD Case Templates in PSD Format

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Rainman Carafe. (via justcooldesign)

A little Friday fun here from Jacob Seidelin. He has added FlickrBrot to his other fun fractal examples of the past. FlickrBrot commemorates the birthday of Mandelbrot himself: Today is the birthday of Benoit Mandelbrot. About 30 years ago he pulled a bit of mathematical beauty out of his head that would make him father of what is called fractal geometry. Today, at 84, he’s a retired Sterling Professor from Yale but is still getting awards thrown his way and even planets named after him. I thought I’d make something to mark his birthday since I’ve been playing a bit with fractals and JavaScript lately and because he’s just damn cool. What I’ve spent my morning doing is hacking together my fractal renderer with some of the Flickr stuff I’ve also been doing. Instead of drawing colored pixels, it now pulls in a (limited) number of Flickr images and uses those to paint a visualization of the Mandelbrot set.

A video of Malcolm Gladwell's talk at the recent AIGA Gain Conference. (Dear AIGA, please add the 'embedd video' functionality to your videos. Yes?) Only Malcolm Gladwell could bring Fleetwood Mac into the design discussion and make wonderful sense. In his enlightening talk about innovation and misconceptions about what it takes to become a success, Gladwell uses this unlikely metaphor for creative synthesis in an entertaining entrée into the concepts of his forthcoming book, Outliers. Genius and creativity don’t necessarily spring forth unbidden, he says; they require time and support to experiment, to try and even fail. During this time of economic crisis and eventual renewal, he hopes that the design community will be able to “rediscover the true roots of creativity and innovation.” (via whatmademelook)

This illustration by Tilman Faelker had me look. Spooky!

Next time someone asks if you know something (for example, “what was the URL for that swissmiss blog you told me about?”) simply go to Letmegooglethatforyou.com, put in whatever it is they should’ve googled in the first place, then send them the link it spits out to show them how it’s done. Made me laugh. See the swissmiss demo here. I love you Internet! (via zoomdoggle)

I rarely put on my 'swissmiss criticism hat' but but the redesign of the DIE WELTWOCHE website has me stunned. (Die Weltwoche is a weekly swiss newspaper) How in the world did the Weltwoche management give a sign-off on this design? I don't even know where to start in pointing out the flaws... It feels to me as if the developers happened to have worked off an unfinished mockup. A company called Kircher Burkhardt created it. Looking at their portfolio, I can clearly say they are pros when it comes to editorial print design, but obviously don't have much experience with the web. What a missed opportunity. (enter sigh here) Dear Weltwoche, In case you are considering another redesign, I would love to help.

Every now and again we showcase beautiful favicons — tiny pieces of art you’ll usually find in your browser’s address bar or when searching through your bookmarks. Favicons are important as they provide visual indicators to visitors and help them to easily associate the content with a bookmark in their browser. Besides, favicons are just nice to look at and there are way too many sites which don’t make use of them. We like to change things. Which is why here is the 8th episode of the favicons series. For a change a small article with very small images and a quick loading time. We’ve written enough about favicons in our previous posts. If you’d like to find out more about them, feel free to take a look at our previous posts:

• Part 1: Inspire Yourself: 50 Remarkable Favicons
• Part 2: Inspire Yourself: More Creative Favicons
• Part 3: Creative Favicons: When Small Is Beautiful
• Part 4: Creative Favicons: Tiny Artwork
• Episode 5: The Delicate Beauties
• Favicon Episode 6: Black, Abstract and Hand-Drawing
• Favicon Episode 7

Please notice that the favicons weren’t chosen simply because of their beauty; it’s been important to us that the favicon perfectly fits to the overall site design. Pay close attention to the small details of the design. All favicons are linked to the sites where they are used — you can click on them to get more insights into how favicon design can be related to the layout design. All favicons are listed without a particular order. All images are linked - of course, if the page that contained the favicon still exists. Nofifu Celsius Compile Derek Allard Typo3 Switch Tajloro Nicole Bauer Computersight Leisure and Cultural Services Departement Hongkong Sodevious Inspired Buddy Digital Camera Ressource Page Accessites Creative News Bed and Breakfast Brescia Web Urbanist loup de lou Vida Comunicação Clay Ant Patrick Monkel’s Karma Designspotter Train1on1 Turism Point Romania Heartprints The Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans Burrow Physiotherapy Pontefract Dean J. Robinson Salt Solutions Lyte Byte Foxycart Notified Evoluted Lifesize Iconified Kidsmodern Knoxville Tourism Etnies Maxvoltar we:pressecenter Scrummy Stefano Verna. Yes, a simple idea, but very effective in a bookmarklist. Web Magazine My Bank Tracker Ge a Freelancer. Reminds at Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Scinexx Diplod Strands Custom Canvas I like to Design. Last but not least the very animated one.

In case of emergency BREAK DANCE, Type Tee by Miciah Anderson.

Around a hundred A6 sized cards sent to Margaret Huber from 2004 to 2006 from Japan, Finland, Spain, Russia and England. Hair, fish, a sachet of white powder, a piece of broken record etc. were sent to test the postal system. Only three cards never reached their destination. This project made it into the book POSTCARD , which features over 100 artists, illustrators, photographers, designers and studios/collectives from all around the world. Designed by the lovely people at FL@33, it will be released worldwide this September by Laurence King Publishing. Mail Art, by Riitta Ikonen (thank you dane)

Muji Cardboard Dollhouse. (via minordetails)

Just watched the Weekly Address from the President-Elect and can't help but feel as there is a big visual disconnect to his highly designed campaign. Check out the setting of his change.gov office. The overall proportions of the set/him feel off and the space itself feels old-school and change inhibiting. If he wants to continue represent that breath of fresh air he's been during his entire campaign, he'll have to change the setting. Thoughts?

Poster by Sissi Edholm and Lisa Ullenius (thank you hazel)

Google has a new feature that allows you to search through millions of images from the archives of LIFE magazine. And the best of it all, they’re high-res! Nope, I will not get any work done today! (via iamrobyin)

How incredibly cool is this dad that paints/draws on lunch bags during his lunch break for his kids every single day? (via chrisglass)