If you fancy yourself an etymologist, then I'm guessing you're already an expert on the origins of many words. But what about the ampersand (&)? The pilcrow (¶)? Or even the octothorpe (#)? Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks by Keith Houston is a book that uncovers the origin stories of several punctuation marks, from common…
I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but I do appreciate headphones that both exude style and sound great. The Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear Headphones ($230) definitely fall into that category, taking a sort of retro look and combining it with a modern aesthetic, right down to the in-line mic/remote. These are essentially a more compact, mobile-friendly version of the larger and fancier Sennheiser…
Mattt Thompson is the voice behind NSHipster, a weekly journal about aspects of Objective-C and Cocoa you've probably never heard of. It's an awesome resource of useful tips, with a great mix of developer-talk and humor. Thompson is taking articles from NSHipster, along with over a dozen new essays, and combining them into a book titled NSHipster: Obscure Topics in Cocoa &…
I just stumbled across an interesting product concept called Nymi. It's essentially a wristband that authenticates you via your unique cardiac rhythm every time you put it on, and you can use it throughout the day to unlock your car, sign into your various devices, and make purchases. Of course, this assumes you live in a world full of stuff that's compatible…
If you're the type of photographer who's always dreamed of carrying your gear like Hawkeye, then the Urban Quiver by Blackstone Bags should be right up your alley. Made of military-grade nylon and sporting a surprising amount of storage space despite its slim profile (including a dedicated smartphone pocket on the shoulder strap), the Urban Quiver is an awesome way to tote…
The Around Clock ($50) is a clever little timepiece that turns itself throughout the day, using a stationary red line rather than clock hands to tell you the time. It runs on a single AA battery and is operated by a standard quartz clock. It's not exactly fancy, but it'll add a little flair to your workspace.
Pedometer++ is a free new app for iPhone that should appeal to fitness-minded nerds, and it's made by none other than David Smith. It pulls data from the iPhone 5s' new M7 coprocessor – the always-running, low-power chip that measures motion data from the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope – and as the name suggests, it uses that data to turn your iPhone…
Sean McCabe is a very talented hand-lettering artist and designer, and sells a number of awesome prints and other goodies. My favorite of the bunch is the 'Influence the World' poster, not just because it's beautiful, but also because it's a much-needed reminder for us to strive to find our own voice rather than merely follow the crowd. I recommend hanging it…
Patrick Rhone's excellent guide to becoming a Mac consultant (which we mentioned a while back) is now available in audiobook form. As with the text version, this audiobook will occasionally undergo revisions and additions, with new editions of the book being sent out to all customers. And just like the text version, the audiobook is only $5.
The ProTravel Carry-on by Minaal is a Kickstarter that caught my eye recently. Essentially, it's a backpack that was specifically designed with travelers in mind. The main pocket opens up wide enough that the bag can lie flat while you pack, and the full-length zips make it easy to retrieve any of your belongings without having to dig around for that one…
Brett Terpstra's awesome Markdown-preview app for Mac, Marked, has been updated to version 2. For those who don't already know, Marked acts like a sort of extension for any Mac text editor, allowing you to preview your Markdown-formatted plain text in its rich-formatted state, every time you save your document. The preview can be customized to look however you like, even as…
Remember that Snake game that used to be on Nokia cellphones back in the day? Nimble Quest is an iPhone game that combines the mechanics of Snake with those of a 16-bit RPG. You choose a hero, hit Play, and it puts your character on an open field with enemies continually spawning across the map. Swipe in different directions to move your…
"Underscore" David Smith has just released Pod Wrangler, a new podcast app for iPhone. The UI is very focused, with only the essential features most podcast listeners will need. You can subscribe to shows (or import from an OPML file), download episodes for offline play, and toggle playback speed while listening. Since this is an iOS 7-only app, new episodes can also…
A handcrafted combination leather wallet + notebook cover.
Baking pizza at home seems like it should be a simple project, but it can be a little tricky. The outer crust and the pie center don't always cook evenly, and you might even end up with some burnt zones. The Baking Steel, essentially a flat slab of steel that you use like a pizza stone, will conduct heat more evenly –…
When I think of all the wooden iPhone cases I've seen in my life, I realize that most are sold on the merits of their eco-friendliness over their manufacturing quality. Truffol's Nature Series case may be perfectly eco-friendly as far as I know, but as a company, they seem to take a more Apple-like, tightly controlled approach to their engineering process. The…
The wonderful folks at VSCO, makers of VSCO Cam for iOS, have released an update to their VSCO Film 01 preset suite for Lightroom 4 & 5 and Adobe Camera Raw 7 & 8. This update adds support for pro-level Sony, Olympus and Leica cameras, in addition to their previous support for Fuji, Canon and Nikon rigs. To celebrate the occasion, they're…
I've said before that I'm not much of a connoisseur of watches. I typically don't even spend more than twenty bucks on one. But I do have an appreciation for things that exhibit a certain level of craftsmanship. The Runwell watch, hand-assembled and leather-stitched by Shinola right here in the U.S., seems to fit that bill. As you can see in this…
One of our longtime favorite camera tripods has been the Joby GorillaPod, which has flexible legs for customizing your shooting setup — even if it means hanging the thing from a tree. If you've ever found yourself wishing for a similar setup for your smartphone, you're in luck because now the Joby people have released the MPod Mini Stand. With the original…
Just Enough Research is the latest book to come from the ever-excellent A Book Apart publishing group. Written by Mule co-founder Erika Hall, Just Enough Research delves into the nitty-gritty of doing excellent research for your projects, whether they be design-related or otherwise. Erika has been doing this kind of thing for many years, making her a foremost expert on the matter.…