| Thursday, April 15, 2004 |  |
| Bespoke |
 What an odd word. OK, I don't know everything, and I thought I spoke English, but I certainly missed that word as an adjective. I see a website that says it is designed with a "bespoke front end". And they don't seem to be talking about the past tense of "bespeak". So I suddenly think I've missed some kind of new technology I should know about. A search on "bespoke" brings up a bunch of web design companies that say they do it, but not what it is. OK, "bespoke web design", about 30 matches down in Google, somebody finally admits that it means a custom website. Meaning, eh, a website built to somebody's specifications. I suppose that is contrasted to selling somebody a website that isn't to their specifications. Anyway, it must be a British word. Webster's dictionary clears up for me that it is a word used about clothes that is made to individual order. Tailoring. One can be a "bespoke tailor", when one makes clothes to somebody's order, rather than just adjusting what people have bought in a store. OK, I'll try to get used to it. "Well met, my lord, pray thee, let me be thy bespoke web design bloke!"
Ah, here's an article that explains well what bespoke web design implies and how it fits in historically. The idea is that one size doesn't fit all. I.e. it isn't necessarily good enough for you to just use some ready made template, or to just rip off Yahoo's look. And the idea is also that you might not be able to make a good site by yourself, even if you have Dreamweaver or Frontpage. So, it is a setup for telling you that, if you really want a website you'll be very happy with, and that fits your unique circumstances, requirements and goals - you need to hire a professional to do a custom job for you. "I call this the "Bespoke" period of Web design, named for the time-honored, English process of hand-tailoring suits based on the customer's individual characteristics and needs. Done right, the suit fits like a glove and lasts a lifetime – or until the waistline needs to be altered."OK, so find a real professional, in other words, who'll listen to what you want, take your measures, work for a month, and come back with a product that fits you perfectly. Which will cost you a hefty penny, but you'll feel good wearing it for years. The only problem I'm having with it is that most of the websites I could find, used as examples by bespoke web design companies, DO look like templates, even if they maybe aren't. But then again, tailor-made suits don't look noticably different from other suits, other than that they fit their owner. [ Culture | 2004-04-15 11:16 | 3 comments | PermaLink ] More > |
| Water that isn't wet |
 News item about a substance, NOVEC 1230, that looks like water and acts somewhat like water, except for that it isn't wet, and anything you submerge into it doesn't get wet. This company uses it for firefighting purposes, and apparently it was developed by 3M. You can sprinkle it out over computers and papers and everything, and it puts out fire as well as water, but the items don't get damaged. As a matter of fact, you can apparently drop a book or a running computer into the stuff, and the book doesn't get wet, and the computer keeps running.
Give us some cool pictures, dammit. Looking at those company websites makes it sound much more boring. [ Science | 2004-04-15 11:51 | 3 comments | PermaLink ] More > |