Hello there Neeks, this is the first of what could be a new tradition for SOMM, a CrossOver Debate. When Lasha asked me to write a column about “why the iphone sucks as a business machine” due to my devotion of the greatest little business machine in the Blackberry, I gladly accepted the challenge. For those that don’t know me, my name is Frank and I am the Chief Creative Director/Editorial Director of Sliceofmymind.com. Lasha is a great friend of mine and my “to go guy” for anything Apple and I’m his techie for anything Windows related. With the formalities behind us, let’s get straight to the topic at hand.

You can call me a tech savvy person or geek for short given that I can’t keep away from anything technological, but when Apple first announced the iPhone I wasn’t floored like the majority of geeks. I’ve always been a lover of Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry and the iPhone wasn’t going to create any voids in that relationship. I knew the iPhone was going to be killer device, but when I heard some of my friends calling the iPhone a BB killer, I quickly shouted foul. The BlackBerry as a business device is leagues ahead of the iPhone. There are many reasons why the iPhone can’t tackle the Blackberry as a business phone, but I’m going to give you my top five reasons....

Today is day 1 into the second month of the New Year, and things are looking pretty bright at the moment! I would say that January was pretty productive, but more needs to be done. My internship has been going pretty well as major changes are going to be taking place very soon.

Now that school is back in session, my daily to-do list has grown 10 fold. So far, it has been a good thing since I have to stay on top of the game, but it is bound to get harder as my classes are advanced level design courses. One course I want to talk about in particular is Advanced Web Design. Our goal throughout the course is to develop and deploy a live website, indexable by search engines, with active affiliate programs. Most people in the class don't have any experience in this, but it will be great to see what I am up against come this Tuesday. Continue reading...

Here it is! After a few weeks of thought and decision making, here are the final* visuals that will be turned into the next iteration of One Fused Life. As you can see, the site structure remains virtually the same, but the way content is presented has changed significantly.

My goal was to streamline the way content is currently being presented. In this new design, I have not only made it easier to access existing elements, but also introduced new ways to browse around and discover new content.

I will put forward my best efforts to code and launch OFL 2.0 within the next couple of weeks. On top of that, I have some GREAT content coming up!

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This month has been pretty great so far - filled with tons of things happening!

Something I haven't talked about is my new internship. Back in December, I started working with GiftGenius.com, a rapidly growing online gift guide for all occasions, recipients, and more. Now, you may be thinking that an internship generally doesn't require much, but it's quite the opposite with this one. My job is to directly work with the Art Director, developing new designs, ideas, feature and interface enhancements, and so forth. So far, it has been an amazing experience, and we are currently in the process of revamping the entire website!

About 2 weeks ago, I started uploading some videos to my Vimeo account (finally!). There isn't much there at the moment, but I've got  a lot of ideas planned out for videos. The design show that I promised a couple of posts ago is still in progress and steadily coming along. Technical limitations are slowly becoming less of a problem, so that's definitely good news! Stay tuned for more on that!

Yesterday, I replaced my MacBook Pro's battery since it wouldn't hold a proper charge. Several days ago, I started reading my new Javascript and PHP & MySQL books. A part of my 2009 resolution list is to become a better developer, and more well-rounded.

One thing I haven't been doing as much as I'd like to, is design. It is such a huge part of my life, and the level of passion I have for it is huge! I just have to toughen up, prioritize what needs to be done, and insist on doing them as soon as possible. Quick Tip: Keep your work environment clean. Have as much open space and light as possible. It helps.

I didn't forget about the One Fused Life resdesign preview. Expect that very soon!

Here's a household item that could possibly change your life forever. Are you lazy to leave your house? Well, if you answered yes to that, this is the perfect (or not) product for you.

Once you manage to get this "treadmill" into your living room, consider yourself free of any whiney voices telling you to get off your behind and exercise a little. At a hefty $5,000, I doubt many people will be able to take advantage of it. For that price, you can get a (lifetime) memebership at a gym, plus a heck of a lot more fun than a table with a low-powered treadmill attatched to it. I'm a fan of Steelcase's products but this is just...silly. What do you think?

First off, I would like to wish everyone an excellent New Year! 2008 was filled with many changes and transitions in my life. By the looks of it, 2009 will be no different. There will be many things going on throughout the year, beginning with this month. Here's a short list of what's to come:

• One Fused Life Redesign: This blog has been around for nearly a year. It went from 0 to an average of 4,000 unique hits a month, thanks to the few Photoshop tutorials that I posted. After 2 months of planning, I believe I have the perfect recipe for a successful redesign, along with a re-focused direction for the blog. I will post a preview of the design, soon.
• Online Video Show: I have been juggling this idea for the longest while, and now is the time to make it happen. This show will mostly be about Design, Technology, and the Internet. There is always so much happening with all these subjects, and I will do my best to bring you the best of it all. I hope to make the show as insightful and useful as possible.
• Green Tips and News: If you look at the "Green & Environment" category archives, you will find that I have posted quite a few articles related to being green, environmentally efficient, and so forth. This month and so on, I plan to write a series of "going green" articles, as well as reports on the latest environmental happenings. In today's world, being efficient is not only good for the Earth, but for your pocket as well.

I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to all of my viewers that have supported me. This coming year is going to be filled with many new experiences, and I would love to share it all with you. Thank you!

After having watched several movies on the big screen, I am glad to say Valkyrie was a decent addition to the list. I went into the theater with minimal knowledge of what this film would be about, but I was quick to realize that it was a visual depiction of a Hilter assassination attempt - something you don't see too often.

Historically, it is known that there were roughly 40 attempts to take Hitler's life, unsuccessfully. This movie reinforces the fact that not all of Germany was on Hitler's side, which is good since most World War II movies express otherwise. Note: This is NOT an action film! Don't expect crazy battle scenes and explosions.

I have never seen a movie of this sort, but I can say that it was executed pretty decently. One event lead to another, so, boring moments were  seldom. This is movie is definitely for those who are curious about how it all went down, broken down into pieces.

Score: 8 out of 10

I finally managed to watch Helvetica today, over a year after its release. Being a designer who has a certain appreciation for typography, I should've seen it earlier. To put it simply, this film is a visual history lesson, showcasing where and how the it originated, and a plethora of designers who love and despise Helvetica.

I didn't quite know what to make of this film until it ended. At some points, you were lead to love the typeface, while other moments you were lead to put the boredom of Helvetica aside and experiment with other glorious expressive typefaces. Personally, I have often found myself using Helvetica throughout my designs simply because it looked very good, but I also most certainly use various other fonts as well.

One thing that this film will reveal to you is how often Helvetica is used everywhere and for everything. There are countless companies out there using some variation of the font as their logo, and signage systems that use it like no tomorrow. Funny thing is, you may have not even realized it.

There are excellent arguments from both the lovers and the haters of this font, so you will definitely have a lot to think about when you begin working on your next project. One problem with this film, is that it's not so exciting. After all, there are no explosions or amazing twists in the story line, so the average person may find it boring. There were times when I had to pause for a few minutes and continue afterwards to give my mind a stretch. Don't expect this to make you a better designer, haha.

Score: 6 out of 10

We are 3 days away from the year 2009, and we can only look back at all the things we've accomplished throughout the year, and smile. 2008 was the first year I made a resolution list, and it worked our quite well. I had about 35 items on my list and I managed to complete half of them. I would this is a pretty good amount, considering that some items were harder to accomplish.

Why a list? Lists are important because they serve as reminders to get things done. Now, a New Year's resolution list may not be any different from a regular list of things to do, but it is definitely more long term. Working on a list helps you prioritize important tasks - this way, you have an idea of what you will be up against throughout the new year.

Lists are meant to be changed. They say, "expect the unexpected." Everyone knows that throughout the year, things may happen that will require you to make some changes. Don't be turned off by this. Instead, plan fluidly so that changes to your "plan" can be made easily.

Tonight, I will start working on my New Year's Resolution list. There will be 2 columns on this list; primary items, and secondary items. Depending on who you are, something like "lose weight" will either be primary or secondary, while "get new furniture" may be more of a primary item. Question of the day: What are some of your resolutions?

If you're looking for a deep and engaging movie to watch on the weekend, this is it. As the title of the film states, "curious" is definitely a primary feeling that swept me throughout the showing.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. If you have seen the trailer, you have a pretty good idea of what the film is about, but the execution of it all is astounding! I have not read the short story, but I have a feeling that this movie is just as good as the story itself.

The acting is wonderful, the storyline and the level of detail althoughout the movie is something to be desired by other movies. Having a run time just a few minutes short of 3 hours might be annoying for people who need to go often, but a couple of minutes away from the screen won't do you any harm.

This movie had me wondering, hoping, and thinking every minute of it. The concept of this film isn't something you see too often (in this form, at least), but the fact that it is based on a work of written fiction may have something to do with it. I highly recommend this film.

Score: 9 out of 10