Download the FIXED Stikkit Widget 0.8.1 Zip archive.

But then it struck me - they really are little yellow notes. I don’t need to structure the information that I’m putting in there. Stikkit is really clever about extracting information about events and todos, but if you really want to maintain a calendar then you are probably better of with a dedicated service.

Stikkit - My Smart, Short-Term Online Memory

Instead of using Stikkit as my online information repository, I’ve found that I used Stikkit as a kind of online-short-term memory.

If I think of something that I want to remember, but don’t really have the time to file properly, I throw it in Stikkit. A phone number, a snippet of code, a quick todo list that I want to have around for the next few days… basically anything that I stumble across and I want to get out of my head; I don’t really care how as long as I can get it later, when I’m better positioned to file the information properly.

So, how to get the information into Stikkit quickly? Well, there are a number of options. Stikkit is, of course, web based, and they have even provided a bookmarklet (you need to be signed in to see it), and both these interfaces are certainly convenient, but they don’t quite fit for me. I wanted something a bit closer to the actual small yellow notes that Stikkit models. And lo, after a couple of days hacking, we have what you see above.

Just Give Me The Frickin’ Widget

OK, here you go: Download the Stikkit Widget 0.8 Zip archive. You can send any feedback to me here, but bear in mind there’s no support, and I’m certainly no Javascript expert so it’s likely to be a bit buggy.

You’ll need to sign up at Stikkit.com, and then find your Stikkit API Key, and then enter that key on the flip-side of the widget:

After that, your most recent Stikkits should appear in the select list, and you can filter by name using the search box. Go ahead and make changes to your Stikkits; any time you want to sync your changes back to the server, hit the “sync” button and your changes will be sent back to Stikkit HQ.

If you want to create a new Stikkit, click the small icon between the select list and the search box, and type away.

A few notes:

• You can make changes to any number of your Stikkits and sync only once - all the changed Stikkits should be updated online.
• You can create any number of new Stikkits, and then sync them all at the same time - you don’t need to save each one as you create them. Bear in mind, however, that each Stikkit takes its ‘name’ from the first line of its contents, so you may need to track the Stikkit down again once it has been saved and re-loaded.
• The widget tries to sync with Stikkit’s servers every time you show the Dashboard, so that you always have the most up-to-date information. I’ve found that I prefer this behaviour, but if you really don’t like it, it’s simple to comment out the line in the show() function (think of it as another excuse to get to know Dashcode!). At some point I’ll probably add a preference to toggle this.

A Little Bit About How It Was Built

The widget was built exclusively using Apple’s Dashcode, and if you haven’t used it yet, let me be the first to tell you that it is great fun. Once I realised that it really is just HTML, CSS and Javascript, the world is your oyster.

If I get the chance, I’m going to play with Dashboard a bit more, and hopefully post a bit more here about my experiences. Please do check it out.

Download the FIXED Stikkit Widget 0.8.1 Zip archive.

But then it struck me - they really are little yellow notes. I don’t need to structure the information that I’m putting in there. Stikkit is really clever about extracting information about events and todos, but if you really want to maintain a calendar then you are probably better of with a dedicated service.

Stikkit - My Smart, Short-Term Online Memory

Instead of using Stikkit as my online information repository, I’ve found that I used Stikkit as a kind of online-short-term memory.

If I think of something that I want to remember, but don’t really have the time to file properly, I throw it in Stikkit. A phone number, a snippet of code, a quick todo list that I want to have around for the next few days… basically anything that I stumble across and I want to get out of my head; I don’t really care how as long as I can get it later, when I’m better positioned to file the information properly.

So, how to get the information into Stikkit quickly? Well, there are a number of options. Stikkit is, of course, web based, and they have even provided a bookmarklet (you need to be signed in to see it), and both these interfaces are certainly convenient, but they don’t quite fit for me. I wanted something a bit closer to the actual small yellow notes that Stikkit models. And lo, after a couple of days hacking, we have what you see above.

Just Give Me The Frickin’ Widget

OK, here you go: Download the Stikkit Widget 0.8 Zip archive. You can send any feedback to me here, but bear in mind there’s no support, and I’m certainly no Javascript expert so it’s likely to be a bit buggy.

You’ll need to sign up at Stikkit.com, and then find your Stikkit API Key, and then enter that key on the flip-side of the widget:

After that, your most recent Stikkits should appear in the select list, and you can filter by name using the search box. Go ahead and make changes to your Stikkits; any time you want to sync your changes back to the server, hit the “sync” button and your changes will be sent back to Stikkit HQ.

If you want to create a new Stikkit, click the small icon between the select list and the search box, and type away.

A few notes:

• You can make changes to any number of your Stikkits and sync only once - all the changed Stikkits should be updated online.
• You can create any number of new Stikkits, and then sync them all at the same time - you don’t need to save each one as you create them. Bear in mind, however, that each Stikkit takes its ‘name’ from the first line of its contents, so you may need to track the Stikkit down again once it has been saved and re-loaded.
• The widget tries to sync with Stikkit’s servers every time you show the Dashboard, so that you always have the most up-to-date information. I’ve found that I prefer this behaviour, but if you really don’t like it, it’s simple to comment out the line in the show() function (think of it as another excuse to get to know Dashcode!). At some point I’ll probably add a preference to toggle this.

A Little Bit About How It Was Built

The widget was built exclusively using Apple’s Dashcode, and if you haven’t used it yet, let me be the first to tell you that it is great fun. Once I realised that it really is just HTML, CSS and Javascript, the world is your oyster.

If I get the chance, I’m going to play with Dashboard a bit more, and hopefully post a bit more here about my experiences. Please do check it out.

Download the FIXED Stikkit Widget 0.8.1 Zip archive.

But then it struck me - they really are little yellow notes. I don’t need to structure the information that I’m putting in there. Stikkit is really clever about extracting information about events and todos, but if you really want to maintain a calendar then you are probably better of with a dedicated service.

Stikkit - My Smart, Short-Term Online Memory

Instead of using Stikkit as my online information repository, I’ve found that I used Stikkit as a kind of online-short-term memory.

If I think of something that I want to remember, but don’t really have the time to file properly, I throw it in Stikkit. A phone number, a snippet of code, a quick todo list that I want to have around for the next few days… basically anything that I stumble across and I want to get out of my head; I don’t really care how as long as I can get it later, when I’m better positioned to file the information properly.

So, how to get the information into Stikkit quickly? Well, there are a number of options. Stikkit is, of course, web based, and they have even provided a bookmarklet (you need to be signed in to see it), and both these interfaces are certainly convenient, but they don’t quite fit for me. I wanted something a bit closer to the actual small yellow notes that Stikkit models. And lo, after a couple of days hacking, we have what you see above.

Just Give Me The Frickin’ Widget

OK, here you go: Download the Stikkit Widget 0.8 Zip archive. You can send any feedback to me here, but bear in mind there’s no support, and I’m certainly no Javascript expert so it’s likely to be a bit buggy.

You’ll need to sign up at Stikkit.com, and then find your Stikkit API Key, and then enter that key on the flip-side of the widget:

After that, your most recent Stikkits should appear in the select list, and you can filter by name using the search box. Go ahead and make changes to your Stikkits; any time you want to sync your changes back to the server, hit the “sync” button and your changes will be sent back to Stikkit HQ.

If you want to create a new Stikkit, click the small icon between the select list and the search box, and type away.

A few notes:

• You can make changes to any number of your Stikkits and sync only once - all the changed Stikkits should be updated online.
• You can create any number of new Stikkits, and then sync them all at the same time - you don’t need to save each one as you create them. Bear in mind, however, that each Stikkit takes its ‘name’ from the first line of its contents, so you may need to track the Stikkit down again once it has been saved and re-loaded.
• The widget tries to sync with Stikkit’s servers every time you show the Dashboard, so that you always have the most up-to-date information. I’ve found that I prefer this behaviour, but if you really don’t like it, it’s simple to comment out the line in the show() function (think of it as another excuse to get to know Dashcode!). At some point I’ll probably add a preference to toggle this.

A Little Bit About How It Was Built

The widget was built exclusively using Apple’s Dashcode, and if you haven’t used it yet, let me be the first to tell you that it is great fun. Once I realised that it really is just HTML, CSS and Javascript, the world is your oyster.

If I get the chance, I’m going to play with Dashboard a bit more, and hopefully post a bit more here about my experiences. Please do check it out.

(Part of a short series of commentary on the future visions that technology companies produce.)

So future will be communicated entirely via infographics.

… But even with that out of the way, what I really don’t get about this is the random gesturing. This isn’t innovation. There’s no structure to what they’re proposing, except, essentially, “you will be able to point and swoosh at things and they will just magically do what you intended”. We are just starting to explore what the grammar of direct interface interaction really might be, and this throws all that away in favour of (quite literal) handwaving.

It’s most obviously evident in this sequence:

That grasp and swish… I mean… what the fuck? How does the computer know that the grasp is for that chart data, and not one of the other ten infograph widgets on his computer? Does he have a different graspy-move for each one?

To liken this video to Minority Report is to actually do Minority Report a disservice, since those filmmakers actually did put a tiny bit of thought into what each gesture might mean, and how they might consistently map onto an interface. And at least that was clearly entertainment, and not something to be taken at all seriously.

Swipe upwards on your slate-pad-thing and it naturally goes to the next thing that you’re interested in. How does it know whether that’s going to be your hotel booking or your kid’s drawing? It just does. Flip over your transparent bellhop screen and of course it shows you the guest preferences. What else would you possibly want? Nothing, of course. Exactly what you want to appear is always right there, only the simplest of gestures away.

These interactions are so simple and low fidelity – pinch, push, point, flip, swoosh, often in the air in front of your display, not even contacting with a specific part of the interface – and yet so lacking in any grammar, target or context, that it’s plainly impossible that they could be automatically interpreted in such a sophisticated way.

There’s only one rational conclusion: the gadgets in Microsoft’s future are psychic.

And to me, that isn’t exciting. It’s lazy fantasy. It doesn’t show forward thinking; it’s a regurgitation of the latest contemporary interface paradigm (touch and gestures) made “futuristic” by abandoning any obligation to reflect reality. Even this video from Microsoft is more grounded.

Back to the series.