Over at feedicons.com, you can download the well-established icon for RSS feeds in different sizes, colours and formats. Unfortunately, their PSD files are just rendered images, so I created a custom shape set for you to play with. You can download it here.

Also, I recreated the orange version of the icon just by using these shapes and a few layer styles. Download the PSD file here.

I finally traded my beloved Nokia E90 for an iPhone 3G. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate the restrictions Apple imposes on us. QuickPWN is no solution for me, because I’d hate having to deal with it after every update even more. I really hope Apple will come to their senses soon and enable video recording, disk mode, etc…

So why have I switched after all?

Social networks. It has never been this easy to stay in touch with your friends/family/followers/colleagues while on the go. While the E90 is a phone with additional features, the iPhone is more of a rich internet client with an additional phone (and iPod).

Ease of use. For instance, to connect to a VPN with the E90 you need a Windows PC to install the VPN client and you have to be an expert to set it up. With the iPhone, you just enter the account information – done.

Fun. Of course, the iPhone is much more fun to use. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. ;-)

So here are my favourite apps for the iPhone 3G:

Social Networks

• Facebook
  This is a perfect example of how to transform a web service to a mobile device.
• Fring
  Great instance messaging and voice chat application. Supports Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, SIP(!), Twitter, Yahoo! and AIM.
• NatsuLion
  My favourite Twitter client for the iPhone.
• Newsstand
  After playing with a few newsreaders, I stuck to Newsstand, although the user interface in landscape mode gets extremely slow if you have subscribed to a lot of feeds.
• WordPress
  Write posts and manage your WordPress blogs (hosted and self-installed) with this app. It’s still missing crucial features but it looks very promising.
• XING
  Another social network, another app.

Productivity

• Things
  The iPhone version of the great task manager for Mac. Sync your to-do items with your desktop application via Wi-Fi.

Utilities

• AirSharing
  Share your files between your iPhone and any computer over Wi-Fi. The best alternative to a real disk mode so far.
• MobileFiles
  Easily access the files on your iDisk with this handy tool (MobileMe membership required).
• Network Utility
  The usual suspects: Ping, port scan, WhoIs, GeoIP.
• TouchTerm
  Nice terminal app. Great to administer your servers. SSL/SSH support included.

Games

• Asphalt 4
  Great racing game!
• DigiDrummer
  Since I was the drummer in our school band ages ago, this is the right app to reminisce about past glory. ;-)
• FourFree
  Classic Connect Four game.
• Frenzic
  Highly addictive, fast-paced game.
• Galcon Lite
  Also a highly addictive, fast-paced game. I’m thinking about buying the full version.
• Lightsaber
  Finally, you don’t have to make the sounds of your lightsaber by yourself anymore when fighting a duel with your co-workers! ;-)
• RjDj
  Experience your surroundings in a whole new way. Fascinating!
• TicTacFree
  Classic Tic Tac Toe.

That’s all for now. Do you have any suggestions? Feel free to drop me a note.

The agency Bates 141 Jakarta recreated a real life version of the Photoshop desktop. It looks like as if the CS2 version served as the model. However, their Flickr set of the making of is well worth seeing!

I decided to write some of my future articles in English and therefore I’m currently translating the pages of this website (but not the old articles – after all, I’ve got work to do :-) ). I’m doing this for two reasons:

First of all, I’ve grossly neglected this blog lately and I wanted to change that. So, if I am going to devote more time to it anyway, why not write in English to reach a broader, more international audience while I’m at it?

Secondly, my English got a bit rusty over time. And when I say “a bit”, I really mean that I’ve been sitting on this post forever using five different online dictionaries and Google to find the right phrases. Yes, it is that bad. ;-) But reading the original English version of “The Gun Seller”, a great, fun novel written by Hugh Laurie, whetted my appetite for this language and I thought my website would be a great playground to train and improve my active vocabulary.

Color or colour?

Since I am European, British English seems to be the natural choice for my blog but coming from a programming background, the word “colour” just looks misspelt to me. So I guess, I’ll stick to the seemingly established tradition among bloggers, whose first language isn’t English, to randomly mix British English and American English with a pinch of the mother-tongue’s Grammar. Feel free to correct my spelling and/or grammar wherever you feel necessary. ;-)

In der letzten Zeit beherrschte kaum ein anderes Thema die Blogs und Foren der Web-Entwickler als Microsofts Einführung der Browser-Kompatibilitäts-Anweisung in den Internet Explorer 8. Ein Artikel in „A List Apart“ hat in der Branche für Aufruhr gesorgt. Die ersten Reaktionen waren sehr emotional und hauptsächlich negativ, danach kamen einige rationale Revidierungen.

Ich habe gewartet bis sich die Wogen wieder geglättet haben, um meinen Senf dazu abzugeben. (more…)