Among other things, the funds would be channelled towards training high-potential but disadvantaged, unemployed youths and getting them jobs in digital fields such as service center support, online research and Web design.

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The idea came to him as he was preparing to give a talk at a conference on user experience in Web design.

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Web pages are so ugly because, having abandoned centuries of experience in graphic design, web designers have decided that what matters is to cram as much info as possible into the first page.

FORBES: Malone's Musings

Other groups are certainly involved in the relief effort, and are mobilising through social media and the web - among them Rockaway Relief, which describes its members as "local New Yorkers working in tech, design, fashion, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality".

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