The Donut Project

Pretty Loaded is a flash preloader museum curated by Big Spaceship. In their words:

Pretty Loaded is an archive of preloaders that preload other preloaders… which in turn reveal yet more preloaders. Copy that? It’s a tribute to a vanishing art form amid a constantly changing landscape.

The site is quite interesting, with preloaders that date back as far as 2002. Some of them really show their age. Others are quite beautiful and it’s almost a shame this practice is dying… well, maybe that’s a stretch.

Visit www.prettyloaded.com to see the digital goodness, submit a preloader, or download a screensaver.

Thanks to Erica Klink for emailing this to us :)

The future of computers doesn’t include a mouse, and maybe not even a keyboard. Lost in the melee of last week’s iPad launch, Engadget posted an article detailing the upcoming Microsoft Courier, including the video above. The video is a must watch for any creative planning to use a computer in the future (and watch in HD).

We’re [Engadget] told Courier will function as a “digital journal,” and it’s designed to be seriously portable: it’s under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn’t much bigger than a 5×7 photo when closed. That’s a lot smaller than we expected – this new picture really puts it into perspective – and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we’re told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we’re taking to mean Windows CE 6.

I detest Microsoft… but this is pretty amazing. If it works as it should (that’s a gigantic IF with Microsoft) then the iPad and all other tablet-like computers need to worry. The entire machine is controlled via your finger touch and a stylus. This is targeted squarely at creatives like you and I. What are your thoughts on this digital journal/sketchbook? Can you see yourself using this?

Head over to Engadget to see all their exclusive photos of the hardware, interface and multiple videos.

Thanks to Stephanie Mote for bringing this to our attention. iPad madness caused me to miss this completely.

Update: According to Gizmodo, Microsoft has cancelled this project. Of course they have. They almost made something awesome, and realized they were Microsoft. [Link]

Do you have something we should post?
Email us at hello {at} thedonutproject.com and if we love it we’ll post it.

Really amazing 82×27″ prints from Density Design illustrating a Map of the Future. The five parts collectively make one poster, shown above, and development and data came from sources all over the globe.

The italian magazine WIRED asked us to draw a map based on the scenarios developed by the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto to help the reader in the net of ideas and hypothesis built by 7000 influencers from all over the world.

See more of the prints in detail, here.

via design work life

Wired magazine has always been my favorite non-design magazine about design. They push the boundaries of publication design and they are always pushing the boundaries of their magazine and their online presence. Well, now they are doing it again. Wired is teaming up with Adobe to bring their magazine to tablet devices and it looks delicious. Even the advertisements are interesting. I can’t wait for this to come to the market. It looks fantastic.

More info can be found at Wired.

via @H_FJ

I mean it was only a matter of time right? Yeah, I ordered one for my Valentine and one for myself. She sure is a lucky lady. Get one at Pajamagram.

via Gizmodo

{ Fuji Instax Mini Camera, $99, sold here }

{ The SLR Sloop, $149, sold here }

These two drool-worthy products being sold on Photojojo are also being given away next week by Creature Comforts!!! I’ve had my eye on the Fuji Instax Mini Instant Camera for a long time now and was really excited to see a giveaway going on. Along with the Instax Camera, Photojojo is featuring this really neat SLR Sloop Bag that I would easily carry around and not feel like was slugging around a black sack. Head over to Photojojo and buy one for yourself or enter to win either one on the Creature Comforts blog here. Good luck!

via Creature Comforts

I’m going to admit now that I’m not a fan of sushi. I do, however, love my friends who ask me to get sushi and I try my best to at least try some raw fish, and usually end up eating only spring rolls. Even though I’m no sushi-connoisseur, I was under the impression that I was at least in-the-know of what to do and not to do and at least knowledgeable of sushi etiquette, until I came across this instructional image.

In all honesty, I have done EVERY SINGLE ONE of the “don’t” section while trying to enjoy sushi. Major sushi fail. In order to correct my faults and others who thought they were sushi-cool, I thought it helpful to pass this along. Thanks swissmiss, for helping me correct the error of my ways!

Super cool book covers by Book City Jackets. I really wish I had these when I was in school! I used to draw on my paper bag covers but nothing this elaborate! More like “Sharon loves Math class.” Ok, maybe not that specifically. Purchase your own set here.

via seesaw designs

This has been circulating around, so you may have already seen it, but I thought I’d share anyway. It’s so fun to look back at the fads and trends from the past 10 years. So many of the boxes I would have put in different years; they all seem to blend together! See the full chart on the NY Times, here.

If you’re like most of America, this week is full of long lunches, last minute shopping trips and lots of cookie and cake eating around the office. It’s also full of lots of wasted time on the internet. To help, Smashlab has but together a list of Twelve Time-Sucks of Christmas to help in your wasting of time these last few days before Christmas. Enjoy all the links here.

via HOW