This morning I read an article on what the ideal operating system should look like. I devoured all all three parts and it got me thinking about my thought process and how I approach development. This post is a loose collection of those thoughts. What Problem? One thing that I’ve discovered about my thought process is how I approach problems. Too many times, it’s easiest to start from where I am right now and how I can modify the existing tool / code / product to do what I need.

Last week I attended the Artifact Conference. It was my first design conference, and I was impressed. The talk lineup was amazing and speakers consistently delivered. The talk that stuck in my head (and not only because it was the last talk I attended) was Dan Rose’s Photoshop’s New Groove. The talk was about using Photoshop while designing for the web. It was the counter balance to all of the random snarky comments on Twitter and so forth about Photoshop and how it should die in a fire (I’m paraphrasing, but just barely) and how you’re not a real web designer if you use Photoshop and so on and so forth.

A few years ago I switched to an old fashion safety razor and haven’t looked back. The latest entry into the razor market has reaffirmed my decision as the right one. The new Pro Glide from Gillette only costs less than $10 to purchase. Good deal, right? Nope. The replacement blades cost $3-$4 each! Assuming you get a few weeks out of each blade, you’re looking at paying between $6 and $10 every month to use this razor blade.