Author: Deano

• Don't use it with your iOS device. iCloud will not be required for syncing iOS devices – yet (the existing "via iTunes" method will continue to be supported), and most iOS apps would be foolish to support only iCloud-based storage of app data (especially since such data is generally stored locally on the device already – not hard to leave that support in code).
• Don't use it with your OS X machine. iCloud-supported apps like iWork and iPhoto can still use local storage, and various built-in and third-party plugins allow for other network/cloud storage services.

No one seems to have asked so far if offline setup will still be possible for iOS devices, so it's possible you will need to set up "over the air", though whether this will explicitly require signing up for or using iCloud is as yet unknown.

We should have much clearer answers to the mysteries of iCloud within the next few weeks as developers and pundits (John Gruber comes to mind) wrap their heads around it.

Ultimately, like all things Apple, things will just "work better" if you use more of the integrated apps and services in your workflow/use of the related OSes/devices… Given that iCloud at the most basic level is free, there isn't much to lose in opting in (especially for iPhone users, Apple will already know so much about you, via the purchase/carrier/usage data it gathers).

What ways will there be of opting-out of iCloud?

I bought a single 10×10 pixel square for deano.com way back in the day… And for years, even that tiny, microscopic, and ill-placed square was delivering me a daily hit or two.
(Yes, people still click on mine… can you find it?)

I just checked the logs… and sure enough, this past month, I've received 2 hits from milliondollarhomepage.com.

I can only imagine what the initial traffic in years 1-2 would've been for companies with larger block ads… I tried to get the company I worked for to go in on a 3×6 banner… I'm guessing it would've been the best $1800 the company ever spent on internet marketing.

Overall, I'd say everyone "got" a decent return on investment, but that by and large, there probably are only 10-20 sites left getting any significant daily hit count from it. Still, that's a spend paid for ONCE, 6 years ago, for basically perpetual traffic being driven. Pretty amazing investment, if you ask me.

Did advertisers who bought on milliondollarhomepage.com get a decent return on their investment?

This question seems to overcomplicate matters – the best use of gamification in taxation would be to simplify the game ruleset to allow for "more efficient/enjoyable play".

Still, to stick with the question as asked – if the process of doing taxes actually assisted people in learning more about their current and future financial health, that might make the "game" more fun. One possible example of this are online tax prep services like turbotax.com – which provides help with confusing line items, as well as vaguely-useful advice on how to improve one's position in the current and future tax years.

It doesn't get all the way to fun, but I think that's largely due to the overall complexity/length of the process before any positive feedback is given (other than a constantly-changing "amount owed" figure up top, which can certainly help if it's in the 'refund' column).

When gamification hides market signals, is this necessarily a bad thing?

If there's one thing I learned in school, it's this:

Use 18 point Geneva, and you'll get credit for a full page (or, in this case, a full back piece?)

In seriousness, though, your best bet is to ask for good places to find interesting/unique/appealing typefaces in general, rather than a specific face for a specific tattoo – which is actually going to depend a lot on size, skin tone, and the skill of your artist.

A few places I'd advise looking at:

fontshop.com
veer.com
itcfonts.com

And, of course, reading good graphic design and font-focused blogs/sites until you start to really get a feel for how something like a ligature might resonate with the quote you've chosen.

I'm having a quote from one of my favourite stories tattooed on my arm but I want a really cool typeface for it. Can you suggest good places I can find interesting/unique/appealing typefaces?

Hands-down, my choice would be Quantum and Woody.

Amazing mix of serious action super-heroism, and slapstick comedy… Not over the top, but over the top of the top, or something. I really can't do it justice here without ruining it… Let's just call it the Lethal Weapon of Superhero comics, and leave it at that…
(Er… I guess they agree with me!)

A parody of just about every major comic cliché, Quantum and Woody somehow still managed to deliver the goods every time (up to cancellation, anyway). It always made me laugh and think, which is something a whole lot of Hollywood movies could use these days.
(Also, goats. Hollywood needs more goat movies.)

Suffice to say, it's the only comic I ever started a letter campaign to get Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes to make it their fourth reunion pic. Both could handle the action, and the comedy. These days, this option looks better and better – come on, guys, something has to pay for all that weed and taxes, non?

What are the best comic books that have not yet been made into movies?