Recently in Ain't it Cool Category

What has always drawn me to Movable Type is its flexibility. Most of the time we, that is Six Apart: my employer and creator of Movable Type, talk and think about MT's flexibility in terms of the web sites it is capable of producing and the vast array of plugins one can build on top of the platform.

But there is another axis of customization that is rarely exploited that is perhaps one of the most remarkable ways in which one can bend and twist Movable Type to one's will: the ability to completely re-skin the core user/administrative interface of the application. The first time this feature was fully utilized was when we released the iPhone interface for Movable Type. The fact that it took Brad Choate less then 8 hours¹ to actually port the entire interface to a completely different look and feel is amazing to me.

Of course, one might chalk his efficiency up to fact that he also happens to be Movable Type's lead engineer, and arguably the single most experienced and knowledgeable Movable Type hacker on the planet --- thereby making this feat less compelling.

Enter Mark Carey.

Today Mark released the second plugin capable of re-skinning Movable Type. This plugin however provides a user interface to Movable Type that is virtually identical to that of WordPress.

To quote Mark, "Yes, the above image is Movable Type, not Wordpress. ;)"

From what he tells me, it only took him about 10-12 hours to achieve.

Remarkable.

For the engineers out there: think for a moment back when you last embarked on a redesign of a product you worked on. How long did it take you? I am willing to bet that no matter how long it took, it took longer then you thought it would.

It is just amazing to me to think that someone can turn around a total redesign of the Movable Type application in such a short period of time.

But what does this mean for Movable Type users? I guess it depends on who you ask, as there are some MT users that cannot imagine using anything but MT4's new look and feel. On the other hand, I have spoken with some users, WordPress converts in particular, for which MT4's user interface was a very drastic change for them.

For those users, and other users thinking about making the switch from WordPress to Movable Type, this plugin allows them to experience MT via a more familiar user interface. Users can then transition to MT's default design when they feel more comfortable doing so.

I just like the fact that Movable Type really is whatever you want it to be. It doesn't seek to constrain you to a single way of doing things. It is not encumbered by NIH mentality and seek to embrace the best the web has to offer, from OpenID to Pingback. Movable Type, in its form, function and design seeks to free you from constraints and make anything possible.

God, I really do love this product.

¹ This does not account for the time to actually design the user interface, and come up with the HTML and CSS coding standard to use.

Stumbled upon from a post on Read/Write Web (powered by Movable Type) I thought this would make an excellent, excellent track for the next version of Guitar Hero. Amazing.

I, like so many other people I know, only watch the Super Bowl for the ads. And then last year it finally dawned on me that I actually don't have to watch the Super Bowl at all! Did you know that you can watch videos on the Internet? Wow.

But thanks to NotCot and their nice round up of the best Super Bowl television commercials, it looks like I can delete the Super Bowl from my TiVo.

Original image from NotCot.

You will be amazed by this amazing new technology that can actually help clean your computer monitor over the Internet. It is shocking that it has not yet been covered by TechCrunch.

Instructions:

1. Expand your browser window to fill the entire screen. Windows users can hit F11 to make Internet Explorer go to full screen mode.
2. Start the remote application.

Be patient. The process may take some time.

Over the holidays Arin, Harper and I visited my family in New Orleans. While we were there we visited one of my favorite Zoos: the Audubon Zoo. The Swamp exhibit is especially impressive as it allows visitors to get exceptionally close to some of the most amazing creatures found in and around New Orleans. We took hundreds of photos that day, several of which have been rotating through my collection of desktop wallpapers. You are welcome to them.

Alligator Immersed in the Swamp

The Rare White Alligator

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Last year I was on the hunt for a good Battlestar Galactica podcast. The selection was not the best in the world - not in grand scheme of podcasts, but there was one that stood out from the rest. Galactica Watercooler featured a trio of friends that actually managed to have chemistry. But after listening to them for a while I eventually grew tired. I mean how can anyone host a two hour podcast in the off season of a television show? I am a reasonable man, and I could talk about BSG as much as the next fan, but I could never carry on a two hour conversation about it, especially when there is nothing new to talk about! And therein lies the crux of why their podcast has grown tired. They have simply talked themselves out.

Then a couple of weeks ago a reader pointed me in the direction of Galactica Quorum. I picked it up looking to appease my Galactica addiction and I was actually surprised. I was expecting very little, but the podcast was refreshing. Not only was it short, but they were actually critical of the show as opposed to being these sycophantic geeks that think Ronald Moore can do no wrong. Who woulda thunk?

Naturally, I called in with my own ideas to share. And lo and behold, they aired my message! I admit, I am a simple man, with a simple ego (I am about 8:25 seconds in).

If you are a fan, of virtually any sci-fi show on television, you will probably like this group of cynical friends - they trash (and admire when the case calls for it) virtually every show on televion, from the awful Bionic Woman to the do-no-wrong Heroes. Trust me, it ain't bad. It's even a little good.