Jorge Arango

Shameless self promo: I’m featured in a full-page article in the August 2007 issue of PC World Panama. The story originated in an interview I did with the PC World team about my career, the state of the web industry in Panama, what makes a good website good (communicating clearly, creating trust), and my thoughts on the future of the web in our country.

Oddly enough, the article’s title (which I didn’t see prior to publication) is “Learning from the Young”. Context: most folks doing web design and development in Panama seem to be 10 – 15 years younger than me. I’m flattered over the choice of title, but kinda puzzled. (Makes me wonder about the demographics of this magazine… I’d think most of their readers are pretty close to my age.)

Anyways, no complaints?the story is cool… many thanks to the PC World Panama team!

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File under the “Change the User, not the User Interface” dept:

Tiny displays, limited functionality, itty-bitty keyboard buttons and now the iPhone’s entirely virtual keyboard whose keys can be hard to hit for some people have given folks something to talk about. Taking matters to a level that I believe is unheard of in the technology world, however, 28-year-old Thomas Martel in Bonnie Brae (a Denver, CO neighborhood) decided to solve his large handed problem by surgically altering his thumbs to make it easier to use his iPhone.

Juicy details at tuaw.com.

Update: This is probably a hoax. Love the internets!

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Xeni Jardin liked the Virgin America inaugural flight: “Cabin interior feels like a big happy iPod.” Seems like an apt comparison: the airline travel experience has been in need of a UX reevaluation for a while, and it seems like VA is pulling an “Apple” on this industry.

This is an exciting time to be a UX designer. How many more stagnant industries are in line to be turned into “a big happy iPod”?

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Another great, spot-on essay by Paul Graham:

I first realized the worthlessness of stuff when I lived in Italy for a year. All I took with me was one large backpack of stuff. The rest of my stuff I left in my landlady’s attic back in the US. And you know what? All I missed were some of the books. By the end of the year I couldn’t even remember what else I had stored in that attic.

I’d like my home to be almost totally empty, with only a few top-quality items. In order to do this, over the past couple of years I’ve been trying to abide by this principle: everything new that enters my life must replace something else. For example, if I get a new shirt as a gift, I must look for a shirt in my closet to donate to charity. It’s not something I mangage to do in every instance, but still a good habit to cultivate.

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