March 2000

+ Friday - March 24, 2000

Big things coming up for the 'Flo. BIG things. Be ready as vitaflo sets a new standard in web design for the masses. More soon...

+ Thursday - March 16, 2000

Well kids, it's official. I'm going to E3! For those of you that don't know, it's the biggest expo in interactive entertainment in the world. What does this mean? I'll get to see and play Playstation2, X-Box and Dolphin, as well as rock down and drink up with a bunch of video game freaks at night. You'll all get a full report, LIVE from E3, May 10-12. Woohoo!!!

+ Tuesday - March 14, 2000

I've been seriously busy lately. Work, freelance, my new domain, Kiiroi, and the redesign of vitaflo have all kept me up late, and kept me from really doing much here on the current site. Trust me, new things, better things, are coming soon. Those of you who are subscribed know the lowdown. Thus, I appoligize for the lack of updates.

Time for a rant...For as long as I've been in this business of web design (6 years), there's always been people with egos. This is true for any medium, any skillset, anywhere. This is the nature of a business that is so subjective. I think the problem comes when people forget where they came from, how they got to where they are, and where they really want to go.

I think to many designers today forget about those that are up and comers on the scene, that are starting web design because they see what we, the current designers, are doing, and are excited by it, and want to start what possibly could be a lifelong career path of web design.

These are the same people that in 5-10 years will be kicking our ass, and doing the next big thing in web design. Do we really want to make these people's first impression of this business as one of a cold shoulder, a turned back, and an "exclusive" clique? I certainly do not.
Some people make this into a competition, to see who's "coolest". It's not about that, and never should have taken that course. It's about expressing yourself on the web, it's about learning, it's about meeting new people with similar interests. That goes for people who have been doing this for 6 weeks, or 6 years. We all have something to learn from each other.

I'd like to personally thank those who have helped, and inspired me throughout my 6 years on the web. Colin Lundquist, Michael French, Amy Franceschini, Dr. Ozone, Dr. David C. Pankratz, Dr. Donald P. Taylor, Jason Kottke, Jesse O'Neil-Oine, and Mike Young. These people have helped me more than any other.

I challenge you all to remember your roots, where you came from on our short lived web life, and to always remember that. Props to those that do, and props to those that are trying to push web design for all. Mostly though, props to those who are just starting out trying to make a name for yourself. The journey itself really is the reward.

Rant mode off.... :)

+ Wednesday - March 8, 2000

Kiiroi 2.0 is now live. I stayed up until 3AM last night helping to test and debug the thing. There are a few things that need fixing, but most everything is there. This month's issue has some really great commentary from all over the web. Including news and a column from yours truly. Expect to see some more cross posting of news between Kiiroi and Vitaflo in the future. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

+ Monday - March 6, 2000

Ahhh, yes, now you too can do flash animations in something other than Flash with Adobe LiveMotion. There's a free beta version available on their site. I've tested it out and I'm pretty impressed. I'm not a seasoned Flash user by any means, so it was quick for me to pick up (faster than my trials with Flash anyway) since I use Adobe products almost exclusively . Some veteran Flash users say they are having a tough time "switching" over, however I figure this is more attributed to their knowledge of Flash already. I will say the program is a bit on the slow side. I'd assume this is because of the Beta nature of the product, but in the end, I think this is a very good start to something that could become a big competitor to Macromedia's offering.

+ Thursday - March 2, 2000

Today I was invited to become the newest crew member of Kiiroi, which should be relaunching their new site on Monday, March 6. As a crew member I'll be able to post news and updates to the Kiiroi site along with Kiiroi creators Ry and Christian, Pete Hoang of pete.hoang.com, and Justin Fox of Australian Infront. Look for some really good news and links as well as some of the best columns and design the web has to offer. Should turn out to be a really great site. More after the Monday launch...

+ Wednesday - March 1, 2000

Here's one for all the bandwidth hogs out there. The 5k Contest challenges anyone to come up with the best page (or site!) in under 5k. Talk about a challenge. Most designers today can't optimise their JPEG's under 100k. Anyway, if anyone is up for it, try your luck, see if you have what it takes. There are prizes to be awarded for the winner. One hint: Don't even try to do a page for this contest with a WYSIWYG editor (you know who you are).