joshbuhler.com

Earlier this week I signed up for an account in the Goowy Mail beta. I really like the idea they’ve got going, but I don’t know that I’m completely sold on using it fulltime yet.

It’s been pretty easy to use, and it looks great, but it’s little too slow for me to use as a web-based client. It seems to take a while to initialize once you sign in, and on my machine (OS X, dual 2.0 G5) I get that lovely spinning beach ball ‘o death a few times doing things like changing the interface skin or adjusting other options. It’s also a pretty hefty download for anyone who might be using dial-up, coming in at a little over 400 K. Of course, once you get past that initial download, and have stuff cached, then it won’t be so bad.

Overall, I’ve liked it, and having a web-based email client that behaves similar to my desktop one is nice. Of course, time will tell if it’s the next Hotmail or GMail, and if I’ll keep using it everyday. The biggest issue I have now is that I’m quite happy with my email setup now, and one more address is the last thing I need. However, I’d love to see a Flash-based email client that I can install on my own server to use with my existing accounts.

Valuable skills you can probably use every day.

Check out the rest of the site - really good stuff, especially the Dancing Puppet, Kaleidoscope, and The Scribbler.

Found this great Volkswagon commercial today - the famous “Singin’ in the Rain” dance scene updated with Gene Kelly bustin’ a few new moves. The sets from the movie were recreated, breakdancers hired, and Gene’s face was then mapped onto the dancers. It’s something you’d need to see to believe.

The commercial is for the new Volkswagon Golf GTI. Read the article by The Guardian. The article contains a link to a RealMedia version of the video. Or, view a QuickTime version here.

Saw this link over in Eric Dolecki’s blog. The guys over at WebFeats Design have some amazing motion design and great use of sound going on in their portfolio site. I normally can’t stand background music in a website, but these guys not only have good music playing over there, but they’ve also got plenty of choices to listen to as well.

Also, the intro animation is definitely worth watching. One of the few intros out there that’s fun to watch! Reminds me more of the opening titles for a movie - almost a “Monsters, Inc.” or “Catch Me If You Can” vibe.

http://www.webfeatsdesign.com/