The Insider News

Not The User’s Fault[^]:

It looks like Google has finally pulled the plug on the old GMail UI. There’s no more “revert to the old look temporarily” button, so I guess they’re finally forcing us laggards onto the new theme. As far as i can tell, this redesign is just change for the sake of change. I can’t see a single improvement! But I can spot three distinct un-provements.

Ultima Aiera[^]:

Richard Garriott speaking to a class taught by Warren Spector about... well... ”the stuff that typically doesn’t get talked about,” and the real history of the video game industry. It's almost 3 hours long, but well worth your time if you're interested in the history of gaming.

Laurent Bugnion[^]:

With Windows 8, Microsoft is going to potentially install their new design language called Metro on a massive amount of computers of all shapes, from thin low-powered slates to full scale PCs. However Metro was not born overnight and in fact a lot of research was put into it. In this article we will discuss the origins of the Metro design language, the inspiration that was the source of it all.

Smashing Magazine[^]:

What do games have that we miss in UX and Web design? Games have stunning graphics, missions, high scores, etc.. But adding any of those to our designs does not necessarily provide a better user experience — in many cases they’re frippery. What we are really looking for is what those elements bring to the games.

Code rant[^]:

When all you know is SQL Server, it’s tempting to try and solve every problem with a relational database, but often it’s not the best tool for the job. Today I want to introduce you to an excellent example of this, the ‘Database As Queue’ anti-pattern. It’s a common specimen that you’ll find in the wild in many enterprise development shops.

Pixelstech.net[^]:

A hacker can put a lot of code together in a hurry but if a change is needed the code has to be completely rewritten. A programmer may take a little longer but if changes are needed they are more quickly and easily installed without the need for a complete rewrite. But is that the only way to express the difference? Or is there a real difference at all?

Armed and Dangerous[^]:

Hacking on the C code of giflib after an absence of nearly two decades has been an interesting experience, a little like doing an archeological dig. And not one that could readily be had elsewhere; nowhere other than under Unix is code that old still genuinely useful under any but carefully sandboxed conditions.

Windows Store for developers[^]:

When it comes to building a Metro style app for business users, the first thing you should consider—whether you are a developer or an IT admin—is how you'll deploy the app. The information you find here should be helpful to you, whether you're a developer writing an app targeting business users, or an IT admin responsible for deploying the app throughout your company.