Each provider makes changes to their services, the ones that usually do the most are Microsoft and Google. Yesterday after I installed the latest update, all my Google+ circles contacts (that were online) where showing on on my contact list. I didn’t want that! I am strongly against social media chat services on (not on Google+ or Facebook). I value my privacy and being constantly online on both networks, checking on my personal profile as well as the fan pages for my clients and projects, I actually do some work in those networks.

Worry not, as this is easily fixed. Go to your Google+ home screen, sign on to Chat and click on Privacy Settings, and choose Custom and remove the checks for all of your circles. Next time you restart Adium the Google+ contacts shouldn’t be there!

So, one of the things I mentioned to Jake was that I want to start a yearly tradition:

Change the look for Design Backslash to the Pantone Color of the Year.

For 2012 is Tangerine Tango

You can download the Adobe Swatches here

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Over the past several years, orange has grown in popularity and acceptance among designers and consumers alike. A provocative attention-getter, Tangerine Tango is especially appealing in men’s and women’s fashion. Fashion designers featured in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2012, including Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Steffe by Shaun Kearney, Elie Tahari and Adrienne Vittadini, are incorporating this attractive orange into their spring collections. A fun, lively take on a traditional autumnal hue, Tangerine Tango will surely carry through to fall fashion as well.

A winner in cosmetics because of its versatility, Tangerine Tango is a bit exotic, but in a very friendly, non-threatening way. Add a sultry flair to lips, cheeks and nails with Tangerine Tango. An unexpected eye shadow color, Tangerine Tango is a complementary opposite that flatters blue or green eyes. When paired with brown eyes, it brings out an amber cast.

The color of the year selection is a very thoughtful process. To arrive at the selection, Pantone quite literally combs the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.

For over 10 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design. Past colors include:

• PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)
• PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)
• PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa (2009)
• PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris (2008)
• PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper (2007)
• PANTONE 13-1106 Sand Dollar (2006)
• PANTONE 15-5217 Blue Turquoise (2005)
• PANTONE 17-1456 Tigerlily (2004)
• PANTONE 14-4811 Aqua Sky (2003)
• PANTONE 19-1664 True Red (2002)
• PANTONE 17-2031 Fuchsia Rose (2001)
• PANTONE 15-4020 Cerulean (2000)

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission: ideas worth spreading. The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. At TEDx events, a screening of TEDTalks videos -or a combination of live presenters and TEDTalks videos- sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that a TEDx event was going to take place in Guatemala at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (UFM). And by early August, they announced that for a couple of days, they were accepting applications to be part of the first TEDx in Guate. I had to go! I sent my application, and a few days ago I got the email with a bright big Yes! -Ok not literally, but felt like it! So I’m ready for Saturday. Packed with Business Cards, plenty of chat and ideas to spread! The main subjects will be: Disruptive Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Freedom. The list of TEDxUFM speakers include: John Chisholm, José Raúl González, Grete Pasch, Quinn Stewart, Michael Strong, Magatte Wade and Luke Williams.

Adobe Edge Preview is an upcoming tool for creating smooth motion and transitions for screens of all sizes, utilizing the latest web standards like HTML/HTML5, JavaScript and CSS. In a few words, Simplify HTML animation.

This tool that helps you efficiently create animated content with web standards like HTML/HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS. Visualize animations in an intuitive timeline-based interface. Create new compositions from scratch, energize imported graphics files, or add interactivity to existing documents with best-of-breed accuracy and performance.

Trust that your animated content works on multiple screens (iOS, Android and the different sizes). All content created with the Adobe Edge Preview is designed and tested to work reliably on the Android™ and iOS platforms, WebKit-enabled devices, and browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9.

Since this is just a preview, it’s crucial that you go to the Discussion Board on Adobe Labs to give the Adobe team feedback and who knows, maybe even give them an idea of a feature it’s not there yet!

Download Edge at Adobe Labs.

First, you go to your Address Book, and choose Synchronize with Yahoo! and fill out your Yahoo! ID and Password, the same with Google. then a very important step is to set the Default account for new contacts: I set it on My Mac.

Before even syncing, I decided that I had all the information I needed on my MBP, so I went on and deleted everything on both the Yahoo! and Google Contacts. I wanted nothing to be lost in translation and get the different services’ labels mixed up.

After the first sync, I got everything working properly… That was easy! But… Not so fast. My Address Book is not an application I launch every day, but when I do I notice if something is off. Some of my contacts had duplicated emails or IM handles. That definitely has to be an issue with labels from each Service’s database. I ended up unchecking the options as you can see above, but now I have a backup of my address book somewhere else other than my Mac and MobileMe. Not that I’d use it much… But good to have.

The reason I use Yahoo and Google are for the IM services the first one, and the later for IM, reader, G+ and all the goodies.. including Analytics for my sites and more. Good to know I have backups of my contacts, but won’t have it synced automatically all the time.

*This scenario is for Snow Leopard, I will upgrade later on to Lion and will update this post!

After a simple google search I got to this Apple Support Article. Basically what you need to do, is drag your notes from On My Mac to MobileMe.

That’s all it takes! Sync away back your beloved notes

Michael Niness, VP of Content at Lynda.com was the one who gave the Keynote to kick start PePCon. This entire conference changed the way I see how I will approach (learn and enjoy) ePub creation. It’s not thinking of print or digital, is getting into print and digital. As content creators, we get to break apart the structure of publications and put them back together, in a way that will bend the rules of how us as designers from the print industry will challenge the reader of our creations. We have this great opportunity to experiment and innovate, pushing for new interactions.

He suggested that we all should buy the book Our Choice by Al Gore for both the iPhone and iPad to see what we can be capable of. That is a great example of what the device is capable of doing and how far we can push the lines. As well, as getting subscriptions to Martha Stewart’s Publications such as Everyday Food Magazine* and Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

As for every publication, we need a certain set of skills, such as typography, color, composition, be able to switch from our static background to create motion and  interactions, think of time in a much more flexible way, create stunning infographics, embrace online and offline collaboration, critical thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit that will make you push the boundaries.

The most important matter is to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the reader. You will create experiences, not just a publication that will give out information.  This last line I am quoting from Michael: Step up, embrace change, take risks and have fun.

*Make sure to double check when you purchase the Everyday Food Magazine that it’s for the iPad. That app is free to download but the In-App subscriptions are $2.99. There’s an iPhone version of the app, but it’s not a magazine/book as the one I’m linking in this article.

We’ll release the new episode soon!

Swing by Rookie Designer (new look and site!), follow us on Twitter @rookiedesigner or Facebook