The Leviathan Aug 21, 08, 1:31 p.m.

http://tor.com/index.php?option=…

TinEye Aug 19, 08, 6:19 p.m.

Clever/scary image search site, in beta stage

http://tineye.com/

London youth activities Aug 14, 08, 9:29 a.m.

Any recommendations for 11-14 year olds?

'youth', gadzooks I'm old.

Chimp Frog Oral Aug 15, 08, 4:18 p.m.

Complex Shit Aug 12, 08, 6 a.m.

...causes chaos as it attacks Switzerland

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/…

'Ink jet spray'? Aug 7, 08, 12:48 p.m.

er... bear with me - is there any kind of 'spray' or 'stuff' I can apply to materials to make them ink-jet print compatible?

Say I have a sheet of plastic, and want to print on it somewhere, I'd like to add 'something' to it, so that when I stick it through the printer, the ink sticks like paper and doesn't run.

There must be something, either an official product, or a bodge - as you can get that shit to print on, to iron onto T-shirts, which is kind of the same deal..

Mozilla Aurora Aug 6, 08, 7:40 a.m.

New Web Browser concept..

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/2168…

http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/…

Looks like it could be a useful information aggregating tool... but what implications might these kind of data-centric platforms have for web design? Sure, there'll always be a need for purty lookin' marketing pieces, but what about designs for shops or information sources? As a user, I know I'd happily cut out half the guff I have to trawl through on the web.. but as a designer.. well, I might end up less keen.

QBN Status Aug 4, 08, 3:27 p.m.

is giddy with despair

Inspiration of the day Aug 4, 08, 5:17 a.m.

Please share in here examples of the fruits of your daily internet trawling - one, or perhaps a couple of images each day from fields relevant to the original spirit of QBN.

Please, no..
..funny ha ha pictures
..scrapings from Reddit/Digg/[insert alternate link aggregator here]
..beguiling anthropomorphic forms / soft porn / porn / scat

There are other threads for that ( http://www.qbn.com/topics/441052… )

Please, yes..
..design
..art / photography
..architecture
..lifestyle
..that kind of thing.

If you find a treasure trove of images somewhere, then please post one or two of the best examples, then add a link - please, no flooding. This isn't competition to post the most - take it as an opportunity to edit out the superfluous.

Thankyou!
x

Writing's on the wall Jul 31, 08, 6:55 p.m.

Get a message spray-painted onto the separation 'fence' between Palestine and Israel for a mere €30.

http://www.sendamessage.nl/

Googlepaedia Jul 24, 08, 3:41 a.m.

Meet 'Knol', http://knol.google.com/

Google's response to Wikipedia, but with named authors, rather than complete anonymity.

House Abuse Jul 21, 08, 11:31 a.m.

One of my best chums is going to Italy with his bord for a few days and has left me with his house keys so I can pop 'round and water his plants*.

In the vein of office pranks involving silver-foiling everything in a cubicle, what can I do to make his return home more memorable than his crappy holiday?

Actually, the silver foil example was crap - I'll only want to spend a minimum of time abusing his house/trust/sense of privacy - what pranks can I pull with 15 minutes of effort?

1) Shit in the fridge.
2) Don't water the plants... ha ha ha!

* yes, I am that old.

Barcode Guidelines? Jul 8, 08, 7:48 a.m.

EAN 8 specifically here.

Does anyone here have a link or any advice on restrictions and examples of barcode employment? Specifically, how deep/high they can be (/what the minimum scale proportions)?

ta!

Hapless fleshies Jul 7, 08, 6:13 a.m.

WE'RE DOOMED!

Moar pls.

Vector Halftones Jul 7, 08, 10:03 a.m.

So, what's the best, most fluid way of creating halftone patterns within Illustrator specifically on the PC?
[ so no Vectoraster.. http://www.lostminds.com/content… , sadly ]

I'm reduced to using rasterbator to generate clean-looking halftones, but this requires quite a lot of cleaning work after using the already non-native to Illustrator application, which is a pain the arse where 'workflow' is concerned.
[ http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator… ]

However, it is still better than doing it within Illustrator, using the technique of rasterizing a gradient, half-tone filtering, then LiveTracing, which leads to messy and, frankly, crap results.

I'm having problems getting Scriptographer working (I appear to be getting quite stupid in my old age), so that's out
[ http://www.scriptographer.com/Sc… ]

So how do the pros do it? Surely there's an easier way? I mean, this is quite basic stuff - why's Illy so crap here?

(and yes, I've filtered - some of the above is from previous threads - just looking for alternative ideas and methodologies.)

"It's the moon, over" Jul 4, 08, 2:28 p.m.

Bloody Welsh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne…

Boob-powered iPod? Jun 27, 08, 6:35 a.m.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/200…

Well, it's a Friday, and there doesn't appear to be anything cerebrally-stimulating or interesting happening here today.

Print on unfamiliar media Jun 25, 08, 11:15 a.m.

As part of an on-going theme in my questioning here, I am doing another job to be printed on a shiny silver plastic.

I'm now trying to play around with the medium, to see what effects I can achieve. Problem is, I don't think I have any way of printing proofs to preview the different effects.

I don't know how I can print on a reflective surface (perhaps I've just not found a material suitable for my ink jet) nor can I print in white (as the underbase).

The jobs I've done previously were relatively easy - I printed a white underbase where I didn't want the silver showing through, and didn't where I did (so that the overall colouration was 'shiny').

Now I want to mix things up a little, partly by printing halftone gradients on the white underbase layer (think the effects that are printed on drinks cans).

Has anyone here been in a similar boat? If so, how did you go about experimenting/proofing (I can't just send ideas to the printer, as they're in China, and they'd need to create individual colour plates for output = quite expensive, obviously).

I've thus far been reduced to dicking around with white paints and tracing paper, held over reflective foil, neither of which is really satisfactory, tbh.

Any thoughts?

Universcale Jun 23, 08, 6:31 p.m.

http://www.nikon.com/about/feeln…

Smart Drugs? Jun 10, 08, 5:26 a.m.

I'm curious to know whether anyone here has ever tried so-called smart drugs for the occasional (or, perhaps, constant) upping of their game?

I've read a couple of articles that hint that scientists, soldiers, lawyers and students (the common socio groups mentioned when a drug sub-culture tries to justify its existence - all we need now are judges and policemen...) across the West have been selectively dosing up on things like Provigil, Prozac or Adderall during exam tests or periods of work pressure, so was wondering whether people in the more creative fields were doing the same? I mean, we all know that old school lifestyle drugs are rife, and there's more than one CD out there tenuously keeping his edge on coke, but we all know that's not a smart path to take for any amount of time*.

As I'm likely never going to touch amphetamines again, I was wondering whether one of these more legitimate pharma options could usefully be employed during those strenuous deadline times when a few extra hours focus here or there could make all the difference.

Anyone chime in?

(and, sadly, I'm not really interested in tales of people boshing ecstasy, speed, acid, coke or totting pot - there've been enough threads on that sort of thing).

* Actually, I wouldn't want to suggest that pharma drugs are a long-term option, but .. well, mutter.