What would your txt msg templates be? By Nic Price on 2 November 2007 — 1 min read These are the text message (SMS) templates that came with my phone: I am late. I will be there at I’m at home. Please call I’m at work. Please call I’m in a meeting, call me later at I will be arriving at Meeting is cancelled. Please call See you at See you in Sorry,... More
So… going forward By Nic Price on 2 November 2007 — 1 min read I’ve noticed two expressions being used more and more these days, mostly in a work context. First, the use of the word “So” to begin an answer to a question. This seems particularly rife amongst presenters on the conference circuit. Often it seems to be used to acknowledge a question and the questioner as if... More
Never can say goodbye By Nic Price on 26 October 2007 — 1 min read Have you noticed that on the radio very few, if any, presenters and guests say “goodbye” at the end of an interview or phone call? More often than not they say “thank you” instead. I was just wondering if this is conscious and deliberate. More
To have this conversation in Welsh please press 7 By Nic Price on 19 October 2007 — 1 min read I’m on the phone to a well-known supplier of outsourced services… “Please listen carefully to the following options…” There are 7 options, but they don’t tell you how many there are going to be. I’m not quite sure if what I’m calling about matches any of them. And there’s no “For all other enquiries please... More
Automatic accents By Nic Price on 24 September 2007 — 1 min read Do you have a lift at work? Does it have a male or female voice? Who decided that? Does a lift in Belfast have a different accent to a lift in Manchester, Falmouth or Glasgow? Should the automated announcements on trains change accent depending on which part of the country you’re in? More
For the record By Nic Price on 7 January 2006 — 1 min read A search for a definition of the currently much- (some say over-) used word mashup takes you to this wikipedia disambiguation page (i.e. it has more than one meaning) which then leads to the following: Mashup (music) redirects you to this definition: Bastard pop is a musical genre which, in its purest form, consists of... More
Work-life blur By Nic Price on 4 July 2005 — 1 min read 3 things that cross over between my work and my life: A desire to understand how things work. (What goes on under the bonnet? What do they feel like to use? What’s the story behind the design?) Using technology to help connect people with each other and with information My love of language(s) Not to... More
What’s in a wiki? By Nic Price on 20 May 2005 — 1 min read The life of a wikipedia page on the subject of the Heavy Metal Umlaut, brilliantly captured and explained in a screencast (animation of screens with voice-over commentary). Via: podbat See also: wikipedia More
You are here By Nic Price on 11 May 2005 — 1 min read Yes, but how did I get here? Yesterday I went to the Design Museum in London with some friends from work to see the design of information exhibition “YOU ARE HERE” (now in its last week). It was full of amazing examples of how we convey complex information through models, signs and symbols, including navigation... More
The wood for the trees By Nic Price on 5 May 2005 — 1 min read In the park the other day with my son when he asked if we could walk to the swings through the forest. So I was just wondering… What’s the difference between a wood and a forest? And when does a copse become a wood? A quick straw poll amongst friends says size matters, though whether... More