"Most smart people ignore most advertising because most advertising ignores smart people."

—Bill Bernbach, the legendary 'B' in DDB.

Why are iPhones made in China?

Posted: January 25th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Culture & Cultural Anthropology, The Mobile Web | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »

Who makes the products we use?

Apple has been trying to address the ongoing Foxconn suicides with increased transparency. Articles are simultaneously appearing that attempt to explain the migration of manufacturing jobs as being rooted less in wages (and the accompanying “cheap” products that go with low cost labour) and more in government regulations that facilitate the industry.

Here’s some of what’s being said.

• 1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame?

• Foxconn Is Still a Hard Place to Work

• This American Life Podcast: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory [performance adapted from "The Agony & the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" and investigative report]

• Apple Sheds (Some) Light On Suppliers & Their Working Conditions

• Steve Jobs Freaked Out A Month Before First iPhone Was Released And Demanded A New Screen

• Apple, America & a Squeezed Middle Class: How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work

• America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing

• In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

• Introducing the iFactory (How Apple can fix Foxconn)

I have an iPhone, among other Apple products. I’d pay more for the next one so that people don’t have to be woken up in the middle of the night, given a cup of tea, and sent to work on an assembly line. Or maybe Apple—who made $400,000 in profit per employee last year—could kick in a little.

@ @ How do we create demand for socially just production if we don't talk about about bad conditions?
@EricaGlasier
Erica Glasier ♥

How not to be a complete jackass with your iPhone alarm settings.

Posted: December 13th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: The Mobile Web | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

It’s glorious that society is post-physical alarm clock, with its unsightly power cords and demanding digital display, glowing up your darkness and inexorably marking the passage of precious sleep time with its anxiety-provoking accuracy.

None of that was very relaxing.

But now that we all have iPhones under our pillows, fumbling and buzzing our way through 6 snoozes is pretty obnoxious to any habitual sleep partners.

How can we be the least irritating with our iPhone alarms?

How much you disbturb others depends on your alarm sound and how much vibrating is going on.

If you’re phone’s set to vibrate with notifications as a rule, you’re going to vibe the heck out of people.

IPhone on the "silencio por favor" setting.I kinda thought going ‘silent’ would fix that—it doesn’t. You still get full-on vibe & tone (it is intended to be an alarm, after all.) If you have headphones in the jack, the tone only goes through the headphones, but your bed is still rocking with the vibe.

Does it really need to be this loud?

The one thing you can do to make this setting contain less shock and awe is to turn down the external volume on your phone. You probably don’t need it full blast to wake yourself up, what with the vibrational earthquake in effect.

Think about if you really need that vibration in the supposed silence.

When is this beneficial? To announce your general importance in meetings?

Turning off 'vibrate' on your iPhone.

Turning off ‘vibrate’ like this (Settings > Sounds) will give you a more peaceful wakeup and you’ll still get an attention-grabbing vibrate in meetings should a vital tweet come through (if the phone is not set to ‘silent’). Good compromise.

The reverse of this setting, btw, will wake you up sans vibe, but is up to you for meetings—you’ll get a tone for messages if volume is on, a buzz if volume is off.

Liking your newfound seismic stability? Go on ahead & shut of the other totally-not confusingly name ‘vibrate’ setting, and notice peace multiply.

iPhone nirvana, or pretty close.

One last kindess you can enact to keep your wakeup minimal for your partner is to either turn snooze off (Clock > Alarm > Individual Alarm settings)—too ambitious for me—or set yourself several alarms & pick the one that’s actually realistic.

Lots of alarms.

I’m going to try this whole ‘no-vibe-at-all’ thing for a few days & see if I miss anything critical. Next stop in my quest for mental health: turning off push notifications! (Just kidding).


Your alarm options

Alarm on, phone on buzz, ‘vibrate’ on – tone and buzz

Alarm on, volume on, ‘vibrate’ on – tone and buzz

 Headphones in – tone only in headphones, buzz

Individual Alarm Sound ‘none’ – seriously nothing, no buzz, whether volume is on or off

Phone on Sounds > Silent > Vibrate – Off – tone only, no buzz

Phone on Sounds > Ringer & Alert > Vibrate off  - tone & buzz

Phone with both ‘vibrate’ settings off – blissful buzzlessness 


Decim8 is giving me strangely challenging artistic advice.

Posted: May 29th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Human/Computer Interaction | Tags: , , , | Comments Off

Decim8, your art philosophy robot buddy.One of the peculiarities of human/computer interaction is that we humans apply the “appeal to authority” argument to robot communications pretty liberally. When they tell us something, we tend to believe it (assuming they’re smarter than us) or surrender to it as inevitable (because we’re powerless to argue, unless we’re programmers).

The Decim8 iPhone app keeps giving me artistic advice. I appreciate the tone this robot is setting with regards to its expectations of the quality of my work. Makes me try harder.


The tweens are all right: QR code at Boathouse.

Posted: May 4th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: The Mobile Web | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off

While I’m kinda past reviewing every QR code campaign that happens, I’m interested in the spread & convergence of mobile, marketing & smartphone adoption. As such, I gotta report the QR code counter topper spotted whilst purchasing the most darling Roxy purse at Boathouse.

Boathouse QR Code

I mean, frankly, yes, I’m curious. Mainly because you didn’t tell me anything and you put it right on the d@mn counter where I have to scan it in front of the staff. #awkward

So, resolve?

Boathouse retail QR code scan resolve.

Oh dear. Nonmobile FLASH-BASED site. iPhone experience = quite sucky. 0/3.

Spread ‘n’ convergence takeaway? Boathouse figures the trendsetting tween/teen/millennial market has smartphones & a grasp of QR.


Digital lifeforms vs. analogue humans: who’s a better dancer?

Posted: April 17th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Human/Computer Interaction | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off

I’m immersed in man vs. machine thinking right now, and couldn’t help but notice the stark philosophical contrast in branding between 2 of the leading smartphones.

Kurzweil's Android vs. Postman's yummy Apple.

In the “go-robots” Kurzweil corner we’ve got Android, glibbly embracing all that is machine about communications technology. One of Android’s original founders, Andy Rubin, spills the semantic-web beans, admitting he planned to develop

…smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner’s location and preferences.

This, as we know, is the core of the robot’s plan to keep humanity busy with quicker Starbucks transactions while they quietly take over our planet.

On the other side of the ring is Postman‘s nutritious Apple, with its humanisty Enlightenment connotations. Apple’s flagship product, iPhone, is most pointedly branded to be about people—not just any people, I—and revels in glorious user-centered design. They didn’t call it RobotPhone, kwim?

Get to the goods. Who can outdance whom?

Android’s contribution to the world-domination dance-off:

And busting a move for humanity: MMA lightweight Genki Sudo, who I suspect is the guy in the Android suit anyway.

What do you think? Does a man in an android suit outdance an android in men’s suiting?


EXCLUSIVE: “It’s #Manitoba Time” LEAKED* creative!

Posted: January 14th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Social Graphics | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

*Just kidding. Show your true Manitoban spirited energy with these glorious “Manitoba Time” desktop & iPhone / iPhone 4 wallpapers.

What time is it?

Download ‘em! 1920×1200 | 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 | iPhone | iPhone 4

That should hold you til the real creative drops.


Geek gifts that really, um, stick.

Posted: December 27th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: The Mobile Web, Visual, Art & Design | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments »

App magnets! Totally unlicensed by Apple! Packaging that looks like a ginormous iPhone! Nerdy fridge!

The fridge decor of geeks.

Btw, WordPress feels “iPhone” is misspelled, but “ginormous” is good to go.