As commenter Scott Moore writes from Seattle, “After having used Office for Mac for two years now, and having worked at Microsoft, it’s my feeling the company has killed Office for Mac on purpose.” He thinks the glaring issues with this release amount to sabotage of the product for the Mac market.

But then, maybe you went over to iWork long ago …
(Apple just started offering a free 30-day trial of iWork. Coincidence? You be the judge! :)

Prompted by an outcry over the use of Papyrus for the subtitles in the movie AVATAR, this article from last week’s BBC News Magazine online relates the passions—pro and con—that were provoked. Various other heinous examples of crimes against typography are included.

In 2009, the Swedish retail giant IKEA changed its signature typeface from Futura to Verdana—a font that had been created by Microsoft specifically for screen display.

As in other cases, widespread outrage ensued, with bloggers and tweeters madly weighing in:

“On Aug. 26, Romanian design consultant Marius Ursache started an online petition to get Ikea to change its mind. That night, Verdana was already a trending topic on Twitter, drawing more tweets than even Ted Kennedy.”

It must be noted that some opinionators were more sympathetic.

While typography has a rich history that goes back to the earliest written forms, new typefaces are always arriving on the market, making it tempting for designers to stray from the classic choices. And, sometimes, with good reason. Depending on the target audience and the branding message, it may be perfectly reasonable to select one of the very latest typefaces, especially if it can be effective across a wide variety of corporate needs—website, business cards, magazine and billboard advertising, price tags, serial number labels, Hi My Name Is badges, exterior and interior signage … the list goes on.

I found some great Best and Worst lists. Here’s one that I particularly like because it includes my favorite two Worst examples—#2 and #3, where companies invested in a logo redesign when what they really needed was an overhaul in corporate practices.

If your scroll wheel (or your two-finger touchpad action) is in good shape and you have an extra half hour, check out these collections from Smashing Magazine, an online resource for web design.

• 80 gorgeous typefaces for professional design, in no particular order, based upon suggestions from designers and web developers all over the world (scroll past the well known fonts at the top of the list to see more unusual examples later in the list)
• 60 effective typefaces for corporate design, offering a much quirkier selection than the first list
• 30 new typefaces for corporate design—just what it says: new typefaces

I saved the best for last, but this one isn’t strictly typography. If you have read this far, you may be interested in two visually engaging articles on Writing Systems And Calligraphy Of The World. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here. My bet is, you’ve never seen such an array of writing samples from so many historical language roots and from virtually every corner of the world.

Calligraphy from illuminated Armenian Gospel manuscript

(Bonus points if you noticed which typeface I used in the numbers in my thumbnail illustration at the top.)

TimeBridge isn’t the only meeting scheduler that offers this, so they need to differentiate themselves. Yesterday, TimeBridge launched a movement to change the way we think about meeting length: why not schedule for 45 minutes instead of a full hour? The announcement email noted:

In his book, “The Hamster Revolution for Meetings,” Mike Song reports that meeting attendees claim 43% of meeting time is wasted. When you consider the average professional is in 463 meetings a year we think it’s high time to take action.

To that end, TimeBridge has created a separate website: The 45 Minute Meeting Movement. In the first post, they offer “5 Rules of the 45 Minute Meeting”—rules that are not really new, but good reminders for making our shorter meetings more efficient. Further, TimeBridge has set a new default meeting length of 45 minutes instead of an hour when scheduling a meeting using their online tools.

What are some implications of holding 45 Minute Meetings? When you count the scheduling time and the time it takes to compile and send the notes you may have taken, is it fair to still bill the client for a full hour? Can they only work if they start right on the dot? And more importantly, does this leave enough time for eating cupcakes?

If you have ideas about making meetings efficient, Tweet your tips using the tag #45minmtg. You just might win a free copy of “The Hamster Revolution for Meetings: How to Meet Less and Get More Done” by Mike Song.

Creators are Fighting
There has been a lot of talk in the tech community about which online technology is best. You may have heard words like, aJax, HTML5, jQuery, WordPress, Drupal, mooTools, Flash and discussion around whether or not Flash will soon be unneeded (dead! some shout from behind enemy lines), and it seems a lot of people are taking sides.

If you’re in the creative or business community (or some kind of bliss where you get to do both), you have undoubtedly heard people who are passionate about a particular product or solution, and rightfully so. Normally people get hooked on the crack of a new technology because it allows them to do things other technologies didn’t or couldn’t support at the time.

The issue here is that often creators and developers get so high and excited on their breakthrough—and then ultimately comfortable with the a new type of technology—that they forget it simply allowed them a path to a goal. Suddenly we have been using a new tool for 6 months (which is the innovative equivalent to a decade nowadays) and we forget our motives for using said product.

I concede that each technology has its power doing certain things better then others. This is why we have more then one application. After you work with a technology and become comfortable with it, heck, you’re an expert! This can make it hard not to bad-mouth the other guys in an attempt to play up ones own skills. Can’t we just be ok with the fact that WordPress and Drupal are just as powerful and both based on the same php technology doing different things? Can we agree that Flash and jQuery are still important but their power is moving into new areas? (Sorry if I lost the non-web people at the end there!)

Powerful Idea
I just read an article by Dan Mall at A List Apart that seems to throw a splash of cold water on some hot heads. Mall basically sits on the fence. To break down what the huge article says I will summarize it as such:

-Hey! cool your jets
-Be careful about backing a technology
-Don’t get all emotional about it
-Be creative and push the limits
-Create solutions that are good for the people!

This may be a safe place to stand, but with the speed of advancements increasing and new versions of prior technology being released every 3 to 6 months, I think it’s not just safe, but smart.

Cool Heads Prevail
A List quotes Big Spaceship (a savvy large agency), where they state how they don’t have a “Flash developer” but rather they are good at Flash and love it but they use other terms to keep a broad scope on what their goals are. The goal is not to deliver a great Flash experience—or a great experience with jQuery, or any other new tech jargon—their goal is to provide a great experience for people, the users, with whatever allows them the best path.

It’s easy to get attached to technology, especially if you’ve been having a love affair with it for some time. Or all your business buddies are building their websites on XYZ. No one wants to be told “Hey, maybe you should break it off for a project.” The response is sharp in return “What! Who are you to tell me how to live my life?”

I think I’ll jump on the big spaceship with “I am not ‘x technology developer.’ I am a creative making solutions for the user and for the business. I push the limits of the technology to bring the people the best experience.” If we are going to have passion lets not draw lines in the sand about what technology is best (the winds of change will erase it by next quarter). Lets be passionate about creating great experience.

So in a world of drama, and exciting change, what’s the take away? Yes we need to innovate, and a level of competition is great. And of course you can’t become great with every technology so we need developers who are set on one or the other. However, we the broad range of creatives, entrepreneurs and “get it done-ers” need to make sure we are not blinded by love of the technology and forget that businesses and users have goals. It shouldn’t be about down-talking the other team all the time, but playing your own strengths, and pushing the limits, and designing and solving problems for the people.

So as with every tool, it’s not the hammer that matters. It’s the carpenter. (And sometimes we need a steel worker too, depending on the project. :)