Sebastian Cocoia writes about Mac and iOS interface design, typography, notifications, and app design, and interviewed Mike Matas.
HN links it for its Mike Matas interview and its article on the problem of notifications, in discussions of Mac and iPhone interface choices.
My least-favorite trend in Mac app design: using Helvetica instead of Lucida Grande, the system font, often because Helvetica is the default on iOS (cf. Reeder, a Mac port of an iOS app).
Why is this wrong?
1) Lucida Grande was optimized for legibility on low- and medium-resolution screens [1], and Helvetica is a 50-year-old print font.
2) Lucida Grande is the system font, and other fonts stick out like a sore-thumb, contrary to the consistency designer’s strive for [2].
The problem, of course, is that Apple keeps using Helvetica in their own Mac apps, most recently across vast swaths of iPhoto, seemingly for the sole benefit of making it more like an iOS app (especially when full screen), disregarding much of what makes a Mac app unique.
[1] http://www.tug.org/store/lucida/designnotes.html
[2] http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/swiss-interface-syndrome/
I see Helvetica on the iPhone platform as more of an aberration (and possibly merely the result of license bickering, not through serious consideration). It doesn't seem to make any sense to switch to it on the portable devices. This has been partially mocked here: http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/swiss-interface-syndrome/
Anyway, the screenshot of the Apple booking interface shows Lucida Grande in use. When viewed on the iPad/iPhone, it'll have to drop back to Helvetica instead of the intended font. Hopefully Apple will see sense, though, and add Lucida Grande to OS 4.0 or beyond since its absence makes little sense.
SimCity 2000 had a random newspaper article generator that would tell you stories based on stuff happening in your city.
https://www.abandonwaredos.com/abandonware-screenshot.php?gid=630&idi=YWJhbl9pbWdfc2NyZWVucy9zaW1jaXR5MjAwMC0zLmpwZw==&tit=simcity-2000
https://procedural-generation.tumblr.com/post/134086657418/simcity-2000-newspapers-simcity-2000-doesnt
https://lparchive.org/SimCity-2000/Update%205/
http://blog.cocoia.com/2007/creative-interaction/
I really like Sebastiaan de With's stuff. If you read his blog he sometimes explains the development process he uses. Here's a post he had on an icon he made for Hyperspaces.
http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/06/13/faster-than-light-making-the-hyperspaces-icon/
Icon Resource is also a good place to get information.
http://www.iconresource.net/
On a sidenote: Sebastian (@cocoia) posted a great article on the problem of notifications the other day: http://blog.cocoia.com/2011/notify/
Mike Matas talked about it here:
http://blog.cocoia.com/2010/interview-mike-matas/