experience

JetBlue: Customer Service

Posted by _tango! on February 23, 2007
Posted in: brand, experience, information, me, tech, thoughts. 2 comments

Last week, Jetblue had a hell of a time with all the news spreading around about the horrific operational meltdown during the frigid weather that gave some unlucky passengers a hell of a crappy waiting experience (waiting in an airplane on the runway for 8 hours)(NYTimes story after the jump). I was stunned to hear this horrible news as I myself think and rate JetBlue as a revolutionary company redefining the airline experience both before, online, during, and after.

Well, right before I dived into the story any further, JetBlues CEO David Neeleman announced a YouTube video with an apology with some major policy changes. The changes include:

• All non-airport crew members of JetBlue will be badged and ready to go if needed to be called upon
• Increasing number phone lines open for changing reservations
• Tripling the size of the group that schedules pilots and stewardesses

The airline announced a new reimbursement program for delayed passengers, retroactive to last Thursday, February 15.

• Delays 1-2 hours: $25 off a future flight
• Delays 2-4 hours: $50 off a future flight
• Delays 6+ hours: Free round-trip ticket

More details on the jetblue site here.

Now, thats a hell of a incentive to book from Jetblue and be rewarded for the airlines delays compared to other airlines. I also read that any passenger booked passenger declined a seat because of overbooking would be rewarded $1000!!!Anyhoots, kudos to Jetblue for setting some new standards again in an age old business that everyone uses!

via consumerists

(full nytimes articel after the jump)
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DontClick.it

Posted by _tango! on February 16, 2007
Posted in: design, experience, ideas, tech, thoughts. Leave a Comment

dont click it
I’m not sure what to think, say, or discuss about this website, DontClick.it, but it brings up an interesting point, suggestion, interaction, or just question about the “click” on a webpage. Can we live without the click? Is the click needed, desired, useful, functional? Of course it is, but this webpage does the “what if” factor…I do recall those silent mouses failing or leaving a huge void in ones computer experience…check it out, ask questions later…

All Look the Same: Exam Room

Posted by _tango! on February 10, 2007
Posted in: art, brand, entertainment, experience, food, fun, ideas, thoughts. Leave a Comment

urban exam all look the same
The incredibly fun and rather tough “We All Look the Same” test to differentiate between images of Chinese, Korean, or Chinese people that I posted about before has expanded their face test to several other cultural tests in their “Exam Room“. Besides faces, the test now includes Modern Art, Architecture, Photos, Urban Scenes, Food, and Architectural Details. I took the food test and scored 14/18, but I failed miserably at the Art test with 9/18. Go take the tests and feel proud or miserable about your eye for asian culture.

FYI: If you prefer not to create a login account, use one I created:
login: designverb
password: designverb

PixelLetter

Posted by _tango! on February 7, 2007
Posted in: brand, experience, ideas, tech, thoughts. 4 comments
pixelletter

Do you have relatives that haven’t quite transitioned to the email world yet? If so, you might want to try out PixelLetter which turns any PDF or online created letter into the good old paper snail mail and delivers it to anyones rustic mailbox for a small fee. At first you might say “why”, but then again, we live in a world where the crappy quality of a fax machine still rules for odd reasons even though I send and receive using my laptop. Hand written letters are always great to receive, but perhaps you’ll be getting handwritten letters in you inbox soon 😉 . Anyhoots, a friend and I had this idea with a bit of a twist last year, so there goes that idea! One day all communication devices will talk to each other. Fax machines, emails, snail mail, text messages, IM’s, voicemail,  post it notes, voice IM’s, etc.

USB Posture Reminder

Posted by _tango! on February 1, 2007
Posted in: design, experience, information, me, tech, thoughts. 3 comments
usb posture reminder

Here’s a nifty little USB gadget that reminds us how bad our posture gets as we naturally lean into computer monitors, especially laptop users. Basically it sounds an alarm when your head’s too close to the monitor. I actually had a geeky solution back in grad school for this. I put an adjustable metal shelf on my desk where my laptop was then used the lower shelf with padding as a head rest.

The above image reminded me a of a note a manager once told me 5 years ago while discussing the digital age in the internet and TV: “If you lean 15 degrees forward your using the internet(interacting), but once you lean 15 degrees backwards you watching TV(absorbing)”. This can be applied to many other activities as well.

Anyhoots, if you buy this, I’m sure you’ll find more than one use for it.

via UberReview
Buy here USB Brando($26)

“World Wide Mind”

Posted by _tango! on January 27, 2007
Posted in: entertainment, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, tech, thoughts. 2 comments
22nd century: world wide mind

Woa! Telepathic Thoughts, A Computer Inside his Skull, A Computer for your Eyes, and Wiring your Brain. PBS recently premiered pilot series “22nd Century” which dives first hand into the intriguing theory of the wired brain with some fascinating examples in our current society! If you have an hour, this is a must watch video for some serious questioning, inspiration, and mystifying wonder. (thanks Alycia!)

How to Be Silicon Valley

Posted by _tango! on January 25, 2007
Posted in: experience, information, inspiration, thoughts. 3 comments
silicon valley san francisco

If you’re an entrepreneur seeking the next vibrant Silicon Valley, give Paul Grahms essay “How to Be Silicon Valley” a read which breaks down the elements needed for another Silicon success. He has some great points which have swayed me towards certain cities more, but that’s just me. If ya feel stuck between a few key cities to choose from, this essay just might be the trick to make ya feel unstuck.(thanks keith)
Full article after the jump(incase the url vanishes)

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YouMail

Posted by _tango! on January 23, 2007
Posted in: brand, experience, fun, ideas, information, tech. 3 comments
youmail

It’s about time someone took advantage of Caller ID! YouMail creates a neat little service that makes voicemail a bit more customizable.

“YouMail is the new voice mail for cell phones. Among many features, it allows you to record unique voice greetings for anyone who calls you, based on their caller ID. Individualize your voice greetings for friends, family or important callers while maintaining a standard greeting for work and unknown callers.

Check your voice messages from any phone or via the web and forward favorite messages to anyone via email. Have fun with the already infamous DITCHMAIL feature that hangs up on unwanted callers after your custom greeting for them is played.”

The only problem on my end is that they do not support Sprint currently, and guess who I use. Give YouMail a go, if you can, and let me know how it is.

update: Visual Voicemail by Callwave.

Nokias Future Vision

Posted by _tango! on January 22, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, entertainment, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, style, tech. Leave a Comment

nokia future communications vision youtube videos

“Nokia has released a number of short videos on YouTube that explore how mobile phone design may change in the next three or four years.

There is a video for each of the four categories, or put more simply different lifestyles, that Nokia focuses on.

The videos are not showing prototypes of actual phones or devices that Nokia is currently working on or plans to launch. They are exploring futuristic concepts and potential new ideas that may or may not be produced in years to come. They are designed to inspire and stimulate discussion around how the mobile device of the future might look and function in our lives.”

via experientia

videos and summaries after the jump!
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Fizzy Fruit: Fruits with a pop!

Posted by _tango! on January 18, 2007
Posted in: brand, experience, food, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, me, thoughts. 3 comments

fizzy fruitIn the past few years, there have been tons of companies trying to find the next big snack for kids that are actually healthy. Well, for my taste, “Fizzy Fruit” just might be this next big thing!!!

“Fizzy Fruit — whole grapes or slices of apples or pineapples carbonated in a secret process with the same carbon dioxide that’s in soft drinks but without added sugar.”

Yup, it’s giving healthy fruits that pop much like in PopRocks, a fresh sparkling apple cider, or a nice bubbly Bellini. Personally I get that snap in a nice crisp cold grape, but this only guarantees that pop in a fizz format now.

I have not actually tried FizzyFruit yet, but I first heard about carbonated fruit at PopTech! when Chef Homaru Cantus of Moto Restaurant in Chicago showed us how he used carbonated oranges to squeeze fresh orange soda for customers right in front of them.

Another great find by the BookofJoe along with a “how to” for making this carbonated fruit yourself ;). Pretty simple.

steps:
1. Place dry ice in cooler.
2. Place fruit of your choice in cool, but NOT touching the dry ice.
3. Close the cooler and let it sit overnight.
4. Enjoy your carbonated fruit!

USAtoday article.(article after the jump)

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Perceptive Pixel

Posted by _tango! on January 18, 2007
Posted in: art, entertainment, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, tech. 12 comments

jef han fastcompnay video

A nice FastCompany article on Jef Hans Multi-Touch progression that I posted about last year. If you get the chance, check out the printed article which includes a fun Matrix-like cover image of Jef with multiple hands(image after the jump). Jef has launched a new company to further develop this project called Perceptive Pixel. Press on the image above to watch the video or go to the embedded video after the jump.(I embedded after the jump cause the video plays automatically with music that can be distracting)
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Why Wii Wins

Posted by _tango! on January 17, 2007
Posted in: brand, entertainment, experience, inspiration, me, tech, thoughts. 2 comments

wii gaming funTo follow up on my post about the Wii’s prediction, many people have asked me why I think it’ll dominate? Well, besides the great name, amazing content, lower price, and loyal brand, the Wii is incredible because it keeps an element in real life sports that no other gaming device has kept. That element is “mystery”.

In real life sports, no one quite understands how they did something, hit something, or rolled that bowling ball in that exact way. Everyone has an individual technique that is hard to explain yet they know it. Most sports games in this digital age are metered based on ones ability to hit a button at a precise calculated time for the best score. In life, you learn by trial and error for what works. In most digital games, you know what works best based on a meter. I’m not saying the Wii is not driven by calculation, but it keeps it a mystery since the controller has direct movements that are hard to replicate. When I played the Wii, every action by my friends were followed up with, “what did you do, how did you do it, show me what you did, etc”. I’d only follow up with, “I think I did this, I twisted after pressing, I was a little lower, or I snapped my wrist”.

Life is a mystery, sports are a mystery in technique, and the Wii has brought that magic back into our sports gaming life with a bit more exercise. Sometimes knowing all takes away all.