This Week @Mobelux #17

We’ve been hunkered down in the office completing a number of projects, planning and chatting about a few things this week.

1) Lot’s of interesting news coming out of Google I/O including Google Play Music All Access, a Samsung-less Galaxy S4, a Racer game & more immediately useful, a Gmail/Wallet integration.

2) Yahoo is reportedly in talks to invest in or acquire both Hulu & Tumblr. We’ve got our fingers crossed they don’t forget about them like they did flickr.

3) PrimeSense, the brains behind the groundbreaking Kinect sensor showed their latest creation off at Google I/O in the hopes that they can partner with a manufacturer to bring their 3D sensor to the market.

4) We joined the rest of America in watching this unfortunate brand metldown on Facebook after their unfortunate Kitchen Nightmares appearance.

5) The office has come down with a massive case of Bluth-fever with the impending debut of Arrested Development on Netflix next Sunday. Get in the spirit with Recurring Developments.

Until next week…

This Week @Mobelux #16

It’s a week (month/year) of team building and as we continue to grow, we’re able to improve our focus on key interest areas. As a result, here’s some of the things we’re chatting about this week.

1) In the wake of Instapaper’s sale to Betaworks, this profile on their future was an insightful read into some kindred spirits.

2) Perhaps it’s the weather, timing or the mood around the office, but we’ve gotten hooked on a few games recently. Dots is currently currently occupying most of our devices & Geoguesser occupied our browsers yesterday. Top scores & 9875.

3) As fans of the continued bizarre life of John McAfee, slashdot offered this Q & A with the man of mystery.

4) Some of the benefits of living in Richmond is that we don’t have to contend with the winners of The worst room.

5) Google once again outdid themselves with this awesome Saul Bass Google Doodle.

Until next week…

This Week @Mobelux #15

Amongst new employees, new projects and an appreciated recognition for our efforts, we’re soldiering on and keeping the progress up. Here’s what we were chatting about this week.

1) They say good design will change the world, so does that mean that bad design and a blatant about-face will destroy it? Follow the continued fallout from the failed rebranding of JC Penny, via Forbes.

2) Continuing the design discussion Jeff weighs in on the importance of growth & maturity in logo and console design and the disappointing statements Nintendo has released recently regarding the Wii U.

3) One of our favorite Kickstarted-innovators, Studio Neat (the Glif & The Cosmonaut) released the digital book It Will Be Exhilarating Indie Capitalism and Design Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century. You can read it, or buy it on their site.

4) There’s nothing sexy or cool about white men wearing google glass.

5) Speaking of sexy, we’re now itching to play Leviathan Warships after they released such a smooth video trailer, “It’s cheaper than a REAL boat”.

In other news:

• Improve your typing with this Ludum Dare inspired typing “game” from Minecraft Creator Markus “Notch” Persson.
  
  

Until next week…

Welcome Chris Lewis to the Mobelux Team!

We’re happy to announce that Chris Lewis has joined the Mobelux team as a designer. When he’s not designing he can be found riding his scooter between the Northbank/Buttermilk trails or discussing the finer points of “football” at Penny Lane.

Mobelux was well represented at the AIGA Grade 7 awards last week winning two “Best Of Category” awards for our work on the RVA Companies To Watch Awards and the updated Mobelux identity. It was an honor to be recognized amongst such great Richmond design work.

(via Photo by jeffrock • Instagram)

Welcome Justin Michalicek to the Mobelux Team!

We’re glad to announce that Justin Michalicek has joined the Mobelux team as a developer. In his spare time, he plays guitar, experiments with different programming languages and likes to try exotic foods… and beers. Justin is also our lucky 13th employee, if you believe in luck.

This Week @Mobelux #14

The weather stabilized for long enough to get outside and breathe the fresh spring air (via a scooter side-car ride), but here’s the other stuff we had a chance to chat about this week.

1) Last week we avoided the chance to become a social media expert for $30, but are thinking twice at the chance to launch a $30 million startup for free.

2) We knew there was a reason we skipped the Google Glass wait list, because now we’re in a prime position for the Samsung Brain.

3) Wow, we are apparently making apps for the wrong reason. Check out the most amazing abuse of in-app purchasing & content plagiarism we’ve ever seen in game form via IGN.

4) We watched a lot of hubbub around the Twitter #music launch, but surprisingly no one noticed when we did it years ago with “Tumblr Play”. Our Creative Director, Jeff Rock muses on the hidden feature in Tumblerette that could have been.

5) Since we missed out on WWDC, like apparently every other developer on the planet, we’re gonna send the whole team to Hard Fest in LA, as long as there are as many dogs as advertised there.

Until next week…

This Week @Mobelux #13

Roadblocks be dammed, we’ve got to keep this train moving. Amongst sickness, travel and visitors we’re still truckin’. Here’s what we’re chatting about this week. 1) Google Fiber continues its rollout, and made us & the rest of the country jealous by finally convincing HBO & Cinemax to offer their services à la carte.

2) The ongoing Cupcake crash appears to be affecting the country, and we fear for the viability of our Froyo & Taco holdings.

3) We’re amazed that the amazing FL Studio has finally made its way to Android.

4) We played this nifty accordion throughout the afternoon and schemed about what we could do with their GITHUB repo.

5) Astronauts are awesome, and one helped prove a pair of student’s science hypothesis on the surface tension of water in space.

In other news

For those who’ve always wondered about the “mystery j” in emails from your friends and family, we uncovered a potential answer.

Until next week…

This Week @Mobelux #12

This has been a very mobile week at Mobelux: planes, trains, NYC to Dublin, Mobelux has been a mobile group this week. And yet we still find ways to get work done and chat about stuff. Ahh the spoils of modern technology. 1) Just when we was ready to trade it it all in for a 3D Printer, the NY Times reports on Chiplets, the next potentially life-altering printer technology. Using a laser-printer-like machine they use miniature electronic circuits the size of a grain of sand to custom-print circuitry for a variety of applications. I can only image the cost of changing THAT printer cartridge.

2) Always opening our eyes to the next amazing thing, The Oatmeal presents: Mantis Shrimp. We’ve been talking about putting a fish tank in, this will be perfect for it.

3) Very interesting FourSquare, just as they release an iOS update, version 6, they announce plans to offer their data for advertising purposes on other platforms.

4) Adobe gives us all Save for Web Claws

5) We got in the spirit of spring by talking camping with Poler and their Camp Vibes:

Poler Instructional Video from Poler Outdoor Stuff on Vimeo.

Until next week…

This Week @Mobelux #11

Spring Is Coming!!! (That’s the saying, right?) We’re seeing growth and rebirth in our world as things warm up and new projects take shape. It’s a very fun and exciting time for us and we can’t wait to continue to build and share the projects we’re working on. Here’s what we’re chatting about this week.

1) The Square + Starbucks debacle has confused customers + employees and hasn’t proved as simple as promised, according to Fast Company. While we’re all for simplicity and the walletless world coming soon, it’s a shame that such a high-profile launch for them has been so flawed.

2) It took an april fool’s joke for someone to discover Google Map’s “Thumb Zoom”?!? How long until that becomes as ubiquitious as pull to refresh?

3) We happened upon these Leafy Beats, which was enough to blow our minds for an afternoon.

4) Speaking of new app functionality, the race is on to add deep linking and new twitter cards.

5) The always entertaining and educational Creators Project from Vice launched a series on everyone’s favorite humanoids Daft Punk as they gear up to launch a new album (and an impressive marketing campaign).

Until next week…