I will always look back at the first time I ever opened Netscape Navigator, ver. 1.0a as THE turning point in my career. In 1994, the browser was released in the first non-beta version and was passed around on disks to friends at work who were lucky enough to either have a modem or, gasp, a connection to BBN Planet.

On February 1, 2008, the sometimes bane and sometimes joy of my existence, Netscape Navigator, will cease to be. And while I haven’t felt the same about Netscape since the 1999 acquisition by AOL, I will always and forever blame my love/hate relationship with javascript on version 4.7.

For those of you who feel nostalgic and wish to keep your old-school roots in tact, brave it out and download the skin for Firefox.

Maybe I’m just feeling nostalgic on a cold, rainy Saturday, but the industry seemed so much smaller back then and you felt like you were part of something big that most everyone else thought was just a fad. For those who knew better, this was “it”. You were paid well for knowing your hacks. You were called three to five times per week with lucrative job offers.

These days we still have similar issues as we fight our way through user experience designs being presented correctly in all browsers. We still wish to God Almighty (or your power of choice) that there wasn’t the need for CSS hack repositories (thank you, Ethan).

So, while I may feel nostalgic for the old days, I’m glad to see things change and I’m ecstatic that I still get to call this industry my home.

Netscape Navigator, I bid you farewell. Thanks for the memory (leaks).

Each year we say we’ll relax around the holidays and that the season will be easier this time around. Thankfully, it’s not! We’re always thankful for our clients and this year we’ve been able to enjoy success stories with a number of fantastic companies and partners. We’d like to thank the following companies and partners for working with us during 2007:

• Interactive Data Corporation
• Harvard University
• Vantel Pearls in the Oyster
• SalesEngineering.com
• The Lowell Spinners
• HubUnity.com
• Jon & Laura Goode / Pitching With The Papelbons
• Providence Performing Arts Center
• The Zeiterion
• New England Business Bulletin
• Third Fish
• Apex Properties
• Tri-Color
• Saint Joseph School
• Vermonster / IDG
• M.O.L.I.F.E.
• American Marketing Association
• J.J. Best Banc
• Hanover Casualty
• Janet Mendelsohn

We’re both blessed and thankful to have had such a strong year and we look forward to all that 2008 has already lined up for us. Many, many thanks for passing our names around and we’ll hope to hear from you soon.

Maybe it’s the time of year. Maybe it’s the kooky font choice. Maybe it’s the way we all feel after indulging twenty spoonfuls of high-octane sugar and brain freeze. Regardless of the reason, the new baskinrobins.com site seems to me to resemble a Rankin/Bass production.

I half expect to see Rudolph appear and tell me “she thinks I’m cuuuuute!”

The brand needed a face lift and I’m glad that the new ownership group has taken charge of getting things going in the land of Dunkin’ Brands. If you haven’t noticed any changes, you will. More menu items (regardless of how you feel about them) and the addition (FINALLY) of a fresh-brewed, year-round iced tea, which is delicious for a chain.

The Baskin Robbins I visited in London (Richmond Upon Thames) could have been mistaken for just about any hole in the wall ice cream shoppe, but when the new branding hits, it’ll certainly stand out (for better or worse).

Enjoy a pint (not that kind) and have a safe, warm holiday.

It reads like a score from a soccer match, but the title says it all. Firefox, ver. 3, Beta 2 is out for distribution and is definitely headed in the right direction.

While working on a couple of designs last week, we encountered a ton of issues with Beta 1 and are now seeing course correction like nobody’s business. Thankfully, even after admitting and fixing over 300 memory leaks, the thing runs faster and without many issues (if you don’t use Windows Live Mail or the New Yahoo Mail).

We don’t portend the success or even shortcomings of the final release, but I will say that at the moment it’s so far, so good.

I’ve had a very bad time dealing with the memory management in FF2 and I’m truly hoping that both the increased speed and massive bug fixes that 3 can become my primary browser.

Regarding usability: the browser has upgraded the look and function of the downloads in particular, which is heaven-sent since we always seem to forget where the testing machine may have picked up a download or two.

Take it for a spin. The bumps you feel should be ironed out when they get the final release candidate up and running.

It’s that time of year again where clients and potential clients look for ways to bust open their budgets and spend the majority of their holiday leftovers (before the 31st of January, that is). This has a significant impact on our business / industry since we love to go into a new year with something extra in the bank account.

This year, in fact, we were given three relatively small, but incredibly wonderful projects by … no one.

That’s right. No one. Not that we didn’t get the work. We did. Three jobs, in fact.

Unfortunately, under penalty of SOW, I’m not at liberty to say which companies/institutions gave us the Christmas bonus.

This  is not so much a problem, as I stated, for the company coffers, but for our sizzle book (which is very sizzle-like if you invite us in for a quick chat about your needs). It’s happening more and more to the point where I now feel like we’re part of a secret society (and while that is cool, it’s a little hard to sell).

Where word of mouth and traditional marketing leave off, the name of a couple of hot clients pick you up. Usually.

I suggest that while we are true to our word in not naming names, we would love to be able to share with others (*cough* potential clients *cough*) our good fortune.

Until then, thank you “masked client(s)” and enjoy your holidays.