---- MANTEX NEWSLETTER ---- Number 76 - December 2002 Writing + Typography + Design ---- ISSN 1470-1863 ---- Winter PUB QUIZ Edition 0----- 'The Complete Manual of Typography' [new book] If you're interested in type, good design, and the details of typography - here's your ideal Xmas present. James Felici has compiled a manual on every aspect of type and its uses - both in print and on screen. It's an ambitious book which covers the history of typography, but also comes completely up to date with sections on digital type and modern production techniques. His writing is fluent and easy, every page is packed with illustrative examples, and the book itself is a stunning example of good design values. This comes close to challenging Robert Bringhurst's 'Elements of Typographic Style' as the classic work which no type fan or fontaholic can afford to miss. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/felici.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 What are metric royal, metric demy, and metric crown? 0----- 'eCommerce Usability Experience' [new book] Jacob Nielsen is the number one guru on 'usability testing'. That is, what people actually *do* when they visit websites. He conducts rigorous, semi-scientific tests to see what people click, where they go, and what they do - as distinct from what web designers *think* they do. His latest book is a heavy-duty report from his company Nielsen-Norman. They tested lots of full-scale eCommerce sites and commented on how they might be improved. Everything is covered, from font size and clickable buttons to page layout and shopping carts. The sites he looks at range from Disney to eBay and from eToys to Herman Miller [office chairs]. This is a hefty and serious piece of work - mainly of interest to professional designers, information architects, and eCommerce specialists. Nielsen remains at the centre of the Web usability debate, even though there are challenges to his views emerging. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/nielsen-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 What is kelp? 0----- 'Blogging: Genius Strategies' [new book] Biz Stone gives an enthusiastic and very readable account of what's possible in the world of blogging. Blogs are Web Logs - free Web pages on which you can record anything from your daily thoughts to political manifestos or pictures of your pet dog. He's one of the new young enthusiasts who use blogs to promote a style, a cause, an enthusiasm, or a lifestyle. This book covers everthing you need to get started. How to get your blog on line, how to turn it into a full scale Web site, and even how to make money out of what you write. It's an enjoyable read - and he knows his stuff too. Details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/stone.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 In the Shakespeare play, who kills Macbeth? 0----- 'Information Architecture' [new edition] This is a major event in the world of Information Architecture. The first edition of this book became an instant classic. The second edition is not only twice as big - it's much better and more carefully thought through. Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville look at the world of designing and organising large scale Web sites in the light of all that has happened in the last four years. They cover all the major issues - navigation systems, usability, labelling, information chunking, and creating understandable structures. The new information in this second enlarged edition also includes resources and software which have been created in the last few years of this rapidly expanding profession. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/rosen-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 What can be a short jacket and a dance? 0----- 'Train of Thoughts' [new book] This is a counterblast to the current orthodoxy on Web site usability. John Lenker thinks that Web theorist and guru Jakob Nielsen is wrong - or at least misguided. People don't just want efficient navigation: they want to browse around Web sites and have fun. He spells out a lengthy manifesto which claims that over-emphatic information architecture is going to disappear - to be replaced by what he calls flowpaths. It's a controversial argument, but some of the early reviews of this book have been positively rapturous. It's certainly a very stylish production. See what you think for yourself at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/lenker.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 Which digit is your pollex? 0----- 'Pause and Effect' [new book] How do stories get told on a computer screen? Mark Meadows looks at the possibilities in his new book on narratives and interaction. He's mainly interested in the relationships between the author of the software, the user of it, and the characters and action on screen. He explores media theory - but the book is full of practical examples of interactive games, web sites, and online 'experiences'. Meadows discusses Web navigation and draws his theoretical support from comic books, interactive games, paintings, and TV programs, as well as novels - from The Bible to James Joyce. There are also interviews with digital artists and writers, plus case studies of interactive 3D games. This is a lavishly illustrated and very attractively produced book which will appeal to those people interested in graphic design, cultural theory, and new media. Full details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/meadows.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What is the former name of Belize? 0----- Internet Fridge!!?? [product news] South Korea's LG Electronics has released what is claimed to be the first Internet fridge in time for Xmas. In the US it sells for a cool $15,000 and no price tag has been announced for the UK. The 26 cubic-foot broadband fridge, complete with 15-inch touch-screen display, can be used to view email, play MP3s, watch television, leave video messages for family members, and keep track of dates and appointments. The smart fridge, which maintains a list of its contents and can download recipes, can also store food and drinks at a controlled temperature. However, it cannot tell if anything has gone off, nor can it email your corner store to bring you fresh milk. This information has to be entered manually. Yes - all this is true. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1136407 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #7 Alphabetically, which chemical element is last? 0----- Microsoft Manual of Style Available Online The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications has long been regarded as the definitive style guide for authors writing any kind of content for Microsoft - both online and print. The second edition went out of print recently, and copies have become hard to find. In response to ongoing requests for the title, Microsoft have posted a copy of the Microsoft Manual of Style online. It's a self-installing HTML/Help file (in .chm format). There are plans for a 3rd print edition, but no release date has been set yet. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ 0----- Amazon FREE Shipping + Delivery There's free postage and packing at Amazon during the Xmas sales period. This lasts up to December 12. Amazon.co.uk is offering this on orders of more than UKP 39.00 and Amazon.com on orders of US$ 25.00 0----- Winter PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS What are metric royal, metric demy, and metric crown? ANSWER: sizes of paper What is kelp? ANSWER: seaweed In the Shakespeare play, who kills Macbeth? ANSWER: Macduff What can be a short jacket and a dance? ANSWER: A bolero Which digit is your pollex? ANSWER: Your thumb What is the former name of Belize? ANSWER: British Honduras Alphabetically, which chemical element is last? ANSWER: Zirconium 0----- COMING SOON 'Electronic Texts in the Humanities' 'Teaching Academic Writing' 'Windows XP Annoyances' 'Write in Style' 'Digital Academe' (c) Copyright 2002, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm FREE BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and list-joining information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and list-joining information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to leave the list, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-76 December-2002 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library