If you often use the local php-server in OSX and got tired of always typing php -S localhost:8000, here’s a little shortcut. Open your “.zshrc” or “.bashrc”-file and add the following line:

function p() { 
    php -S localhost:$1;
  }

Save and close. Open a new terminal-window. Now you can start a php-server by typing

p 8000

The number after the “p” is the port the server will listen to. Please note that this will only work with OSX-Mavericks or higher.

I understand that artists are having a hard time making enough money through services like Spotify—especially the non-superstars and indies.

I like the concept though, and wouldn’t want to live without it. I’ll gladly pay double and I also guess it would make sense, not to have the newest releases available immediately, so the record/download-sales aren’t hurt by streaming.

Netflix doesn’t show most new shows right away, does it?

You have to wait.

Wouldn’t that work for music-streaming, too? Why not: „Pay 5$ to hear NOW, or wait three months.“ And also have that „paid“ album available for good, without having to fear its removal two years in the future.

The fact that there are soundtracks priced triple its games price shows there’s something broke in the way we value art. People expecting most games to be for free and think that 3,59 is a premium-price just baffle me.

U2 giving away their album for free isn’t helping, too.

(But I guess that’s where the term Pro „Bono“ comes from, amirite?)

Here are my notes about the talks that resonated most with my work and interests. Check out the Push Conference on the Web.

Toby Sterret

Designing Delightful Details for a UI Revolution

Toby showed us how elegant banking can be with Simple. Even when it’s supposed to be boring and hard. The secret is to delight users with details they would never expect, like creating nice packages for cards, creative contact-forms or a tip-calculator.

May take a while until it arrives in Germany, though. One problem I see: the tagging and categorizing of transactions only makes sense when you pay everything with your credit-card. In Germany, most purchases still happen in cash.

The tagging and tracking also allows Simple to get insights about usage and user-behaviour.

Josh Carpenter

Virtual Reality & The Future of the Web

One of my favorite talks was about the coming of VR with the Oculus Rift and how it will change everything again, like smartphones changed web-design. New interaction-paradigms are going to emerge and new ways of conveying information are offering chances for pioneering. Using the Oculus Rift with Chrome/Firefox and WebGL is already possible. As soon as the free version of Unity3D supports it, I’m getting one.

Josh’s talk made me think a lot about the implications and use-cases of VR. Like the Segway found its niche in transporting tourists and mall-cops, VR might be useful in ways you wouldn’t think of right away, like getting rid of phobias or being in a live-concert.

Marcus Eckert

Getting from A to B – The Art of Interpolation

Frankly, I have never thought about easing more than using Robert Penner’s functions. But those pre-defined equations aren’t always the best choice. A custom easing-curve can communicate lots of attitude and style in a digital product when used right.

Ben Fry

Dancing with Data – Interactive Information Visualisation

Ben Fry is a co-creator of Processing and Processing is the creator of my interest in the interactive field, so I was really looking forward to this particular talk, and it didn’t manage to disappoint me.

Taming huge amounts of data and molding them into usable, readable and most importantly enjoyable experiences is what he and his company Fathom are all about. Ben talked about Miles Davis, Rocky and primarily Connected China, a project they did together with Reuters.