What I Learnt Today

‘Oi’ would call it a cracker. PE would say it was a hoot.

English poet Simon Armitage has a new collection of poems called Paper Aeroplane Poems, 1989-2014

Unfortunately, the poem after which the book was named was completed too late to be included!

Books and Arts Daily recently featured Simon reading ‘Paper Aeroplane’.

Here is the audio clip, introduced by the host Michael Cathcart. It’s a hoot of a cracker.

What I Learnt On 11th September in other years

11th September 2011 Board Game Remix: Colonel Mustard in Old Kent Road with a Triple Letter Score

Mailbox is an innovative mail client for iOS that had an enormous impact when it was released last year.

I remember being 500,000th in line for an invitation to be a beta tester.

Mailbox makes it easier to achieve Inbox Zero – that sweet spot where your inbox is empty of all messages. This doesn’t happen often, but if you use your Inbox as a To Do list it is wonderful to achieve.

Mailbox allows you to snooze your incoming messages, and have them pop back into your Inbox when they are needed. This is a feature I use all the time. For example, you can have flight and meeting details arrive back in your Inbox on the day that you will need them. 

I have had a flirtation with Mail Pilot. It also has the snooze function, and takes the ‘Inbox as To Do List’ to another level. It has a gorgeous interface, and is now available for Mac, iPhone and iPad. However, I have become frustrated by its frequent crashes and slow upgrade program. 

I switched to Airplane, which has excellent integration with three of my other must-have apps Evernote, Fantastic and Things. However, it is Mac only, and lacked the ability to send messages into the future

Mailbox has been purchased by DropBox, and has very recently been released in a Mac version. This is good timing for me.

Mailbox for Mac incorporates the Snooze features found in the  iOS version. I think it is terrific and I am now a Mailbox on all devices advocate. I’ll be happier when it integrates with my other apps a bit better.

You can download a beta version of Mailbox for Mac here. You will need a special token to use them – and I have three that I am happy to send to the first readers to contact me in the  comments below.

What I Learnt On 8th September in other years

8th September 2011 Before you criticize someone….

We know that Google employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their time on private projects.

Here are five Google features that have been developed under this program.

1. Do a Google Image search on “Atari Breakout”

2. Do a You Tube Search on “Beam Me Up Scotty” and “Do the Harlem Shake”

3. Google “2 minute timer”

4. Google nGrams searches millions of books to see how often a word or phrase has been used over time.

5. How do you read the number 12,367,893,125? To find out Google “112,367,893,125=english”

Just because a product has a social mission doesn’t mean the product is great. Everyone Deserves Great Design says it is time to put an end to useless products designed for people in crummy situations.
Useless products are widespread in the developing world because of the wrong mindset. Non-profits generate income by designing products that appeal to their donors. The problem arises when user desires are completely ignored.

Good Intentions + Wrong Mindset = Bad Design

Examples of crummy design that have raised millions by appealing to donors rather than users include

• the Socket Ball that generates electricity, but always breaks within a few weeks
• the PlayPump water system, intended to use children’s play to pump water
• the Free Wheechair Mission, which produces wheelchairs out of old chairs

The shining example of good design that meets the needs of users is the WATERisLIFE Straw, the straw that saves lives.

The WATERisLIFE Straw is a small, portable filtration device that provides pure, clean drinking water whenever it is immersed into a water source (just like a normal straw). This Straw, however, saves lives on a daily basis by filtering out waterborne diseases – which accounts for over 6,500 deaths every day – 5,000 of those being children.

This revolutionary Straw has proven to be effective against waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, guinea worm, and diarrhea, and removes particles as small as fifteen microns.

WATERisLIFE continues to work with organizations and partners to provide straw filters to those in need. Each Straw costs only $10 and provides a year’s worth of clean water for one person.

At ‘Water is Life’, the commitment to good design extends to their advertising.

First World Problems are not Problems
“I hate it when my house is so big I need two wireless routers.”

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