Lorem ipsum, the Latin placeholder text often used when submitting designs to clients, has long been a popular choice for designers. As we’ve previously noted, Latin isn’t much like English, and so it can be misleading to use Latin filler text when designing type-heavy sites.
But sometimes, using any filler text at all can be too much at the earliest stages of a design. Especially when exploring possible layouts and doing thumbnail sketches (or the digital equivalent), a simple way to suggest where type will go is all that’s needed.
That is the role BLOKK fills; it’s a font made up of dashes (almost like what you’d find in a cartoon newspaper) for quick mock-ups and wireframing, and it’s awesome.
Yes, BLOKK is quite simplistic, but there’s something clever about it; it’s both a useful and comical way of rethinking filler text.
As an alternative, you can also take a look at Redacted, an open source project by Christian Naths based heavily on BLOKK, with interesting script variants. Incidentally, a developer by the name of Cullen MacDonald has even created a bookmarklet, dubbed “Redactor,” to let you try Redacted on any site. Check that out by dragging this link: Redactor into your bookmarks bar, and try BLOKK via the link below.
BLOKK
Today, according to reporting in The Hill, Senator Dianne Feinstein publicly affirmed the Mandiant report that directly fingered the Chinese military for repeated cyber incursions into US corporations and infrastructure.
China vehemently denied the allegations. However, the outspoken response has had little effect, it seems. From discussions on MSNBC, here is the Senator: ”I read the Mandiant report. I’ve also read other reports, classified out of Intelligence, and I think the Mandiant Report, which is now unclassified, it’s public, is essentially correct.”
There are trade and security implications to directly challenging China on issues of hacking. The White House hasn’t expliclty endorsed the Mandiant report, it should be noted. However, having Senator Feinstein affirm its veracity places the United States government far more on the side of holding it up as fact.
The allegations at the heart of this issue are not small. As the New York Times reported – it broke the Mandiant story – the scope of hacking in question is massive:
Mandiant has watched the group as it has stolen technology blueprints, manufacturing processes, clinical trial results, pricing documents, negotiation strategies and other proprietary information from more than 100 of its clients, mostly in the United States. Mandiant identified attacks on 20 industries, from military contractors to chemical plants, mining companies and satellite and telecommunications corporations.
Thus, the Senator stated that the Chinese military is behind economically-minded assault on US enterprise and infrastructure. This is, I repeat, no small claim.
While the White House hasn’t directly endorsed the Mandiant report, it has challenged China and Chinese intersets. Following the report, a document was released by the name of the ‘Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets.’ It contains 120 mentions of the word ‘China’ and has contains myriad descriptions of intellectual property theft involving Chinese actors.
Oft cited is a key provision in the document that states the following:
Chinese actors are the world’s most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage. US private sector firms and cybersecurity specialists have reported an onslaught of computer network intrusions that have originated in China, but the IC cannot confirm who was responsible.
China isn’t the only actor mentioned, it must be said, Russia is dinged in the very next bullet point. However, it is clear that Chinese activity in this area is direct center of Administration thought. And with the Senator chiming in, the pressure on the issue is enormous.
The question now becomes if the White House’s proposed diplomatic solutions, and public pressure, stem the tide of cyber attacks.
Top Image Credit: futureatlas.com
For those who have lived in London, you know just how wet it can be most of the year, and an umbrella should not be too far away from your reach. As for the rest of us who live in areas where there are rainy seasons, an umbrella is normally stashed away in the boot of our vehicle, just in case the heavens decide to pour, you know. Well, having said that, it goes without saying that in this day and age, space is always a premium, whether it is at home, at the office, or in the car, which is why the $29.95 World’s Smallest Automatic Umbrella makes plenty of sense when you think about it.
The World’s Smallest Automatic Umbrella can be carried around inconspicuously in a purse or trouser pocket, and has been touted to be the smallest umbrella available which opens and closes with a single push of a button. It measures a mere 8″ in length when closed, but when you deploy it via a button press, this “tiny terror” will be generous in nature with a 40″ diameter canopy to provide you the relevant shade and protection from the elements. When the skies start to clear up, all it takes is a second press of the button, and the entire canopy will collapse.
If you happen to have a sizeable yard (whether it is at the back or in front, that does not matter), surely it would look a whole lot better with a carefully manicured lawn and some trees growing out of it, providing a decent amount of shade from the heat of the scorching sun. Where there are trees, you can be sure that life will be attracted to it, such as creepy crawlies that turn the soil to make it more fertile, and of course, them birds who you love or hate (the latter tend to be folks whose freshly washed cars were parked under a tree). Well, the chirping of birds will surely bring about a smile to anyone’s face, no matter how gloomy it was in the beginning, but what happens when you take the idea of a bird box and add some technology into it? You end up with the 19.99 Bird Box Radio and MP3 Speaker, that’s what.
The Bird Box Radio and MP3 Speaker is pretty much self-explanatory, where it is shaped like an FM radio, sporting a retractable aerial as well as a headphone jack that allows you to plug in an MP3 or portable media player, and play back your own tunes out loud. The radio itself will come with multi-colored lights which illuminate and flash whenever music is played, resulting in a disco atmosphere. Being eco-friendly, it is made from cardboard so that you can recycle it when the product reaches the end of its life. It is powered by a quartet of AA batteries.
Following up on their latest two iPad ads, Alive and Together, Apple has released a third in the series, Hollywood, and done so smack dab in the middle of the Oscars. Like the previous ads, Hollywood features fast-paced, almost blip-vert style keywords that shoot rapid-fire across the screen, interleaved with scenes of related apps.
This time the first set of words finish with Lights, and we get iMovie, shopping for lights, and the lightning bolt from Back to the Future. The next set finish with Camera, and with — wait for it — camera based apps and movie clips, and finally, everyone say it with me, we get Action, with Apple’s Maps, Indiana Jones, and more.
Fast paced and jaunty, I know some people aren’t fans of the crowd chanted words, but I think they work as a way to reach increasingly broad, mainstream audiences, and mix the traditionally app-centric iPad ads with the funner iPod style ads.
Watch it up top and let me know what you think.
Well known accessory manufacturer Mophie has announced its latest accessory for the iPhone 5. The Mophie Juice Pack Air is the second iPhone 5 accessory to offer prolonged usage by packing an additional battery into a small form case specifically for the iPhone 5.
The ideal case for the everyday 9-5er and for those whose day doesn’t always end when they leave the office. Lighter and thinner than previous generations, but packed with more power to make sure your phone can keep up with your busy lifestyle. Up to 100% extra battery with the flip of a switch. Turn on the case when your battery runs low to stay fully charged through the late nights.
From the dawn patrollers to the parents rushing to get the kids off to school. From the busy day filled with meetings and presentations to the day off filled with errands and friends. The juice pack air ensures you have more than enough power packed into a streamlined, protective case so you’re ready to take on the day.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air comes with a 1700mAh battery neatly hidden away in a very nice looking iPhone 5 case. It charges via the included micro USB cable which can be plugged into any computer or “Made for iPhone” power source
The case also comes with a pass-through 3.5mm audio jack so you can still plug in your headphones when the case is fitted to your iPhone 5. The Mophie Juice Pack Air also works as a virtual speaker box enhancing the sound of the iPhone 5′s built in speaker. If you want to sync your device you can do it wirelessly but the case would need to be removed if you want to tether it to a Mac or PC.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air will cost $99.95 and will be available in white, black or red; with black available first on March 7. If you want to hold off for the red or white case then you will need some patience as they will not be available until March 22.
Source: Mophie
Director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill, who are working on the in development Deus Ex film said that they’re not making a video game as much as a cyberpunk film in an interview with Crave Online. District 9, Looper and Inception are all mentioned as touchstones for the silver screen incarnation of Deus Ex, but as ever with the transition from video game to film even the best intentions (and IP) usually turn sour.
Having developed a game about a skinless boy saving a girl made out of bandages from an evil fetus and one about a boy who uses his tears to fend off monsters after being locked in a basement by his religious zealot mother, Team Meat’s next release was probably going to be unconventional. Enter Mew-Genics, a game they’ve been working on (as well as teasing) for the past seventeen weeks about breeding cats as a cat-lady and managing the consequences of their genetic traits.
Code found in a YouTube app update suggests that Google is preparing to launch channels that run on a paid access model. According to Android Police, the latest Android version of YouTube includes the following lines:
For today’s Daily Deal we’ve found 15 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 7 productivity / entertainment apps and 8 game apps in today’s bundle.
We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 86% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.
Game Apps
- Civilization Revolution for iPad – This very popular strategy game from Sid Meier has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 86% off the apps’ normal price of $6.99.
- European War 2 for iPad – This WWII strategy game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
- Galaxy on Fire 2 HD () – This great role playing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $6.99. This app weighs in at 561 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
- Infinity Blade () – This awesome action game is still available for Free instead of $5.99. This app weighs in at 595 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading. Don’t miss out on this great deal!
- Memodies () – This music game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Plants vs. Zombies HD – Don’t miss out on this great iPad game! This top zombie game has a 5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $6.99. This is a fun game for kids of all ages…this is definitely an iPad must-have.
- Texas Hold’em for iPad () – This very popular Texas Hold’em poker game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $1.99.
- TowerMadness HD – This fun defense game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $4.99 instead of $7.99.
Productivity and Entertainment Apps
- AmpKit+ () – This music app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $9.99 instead of $19.99.
- Cleaner – Remove Multiple Contacts Fast () – This popular contact cleaning app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Essential Travel Checklist () – This convenient travel app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.
- FileApp Pro () – This file and document management app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 83% off the apps’ normal price of $5.99.
- Scripts Pro () – This popular productivity app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $11.99.
- Splashtop 2 – Remote Desktop – This great remote desktop app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Writer’s Studio () – This writing app is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $3.99.
Also be sure to check out yesterday’s Daily Deal to find more great savings.
= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
We use our PadGadget Apps Tracker to constantly monitor the App Store to find the biggest price changes on iPad apps. Our editorial team goes through the data, picks the best deals on the most interesting apps and then brings them to you on a regular basis. All app prices are checked at the time of posting but prices are subject to change without notice. When developers put their apps on sale it’s usually for a very limited time, often 24 hours or less, so be sure to check pricing on iTunes before making a purchase.
