Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 06, 2010
A Future Where Usability is the Prime Virtue
(iPad image © Apple)After months of speculation, rumour-mongering, and hype, the iPad was announced last week. A lot has been written elsewhere about it, much of it utterly wrongheaded, so I won't rehash any of that. However, some folks do seem to grok what the iPad is about — click on the links at the end of this post if you're curious to read what they say. In the meantime, imagine a near-future where computers are different — much more accessible and useful to non-geeks. First, a brief tour of where we came from, and how little progress we've made as computer
victims
users, really — until now.
victims
users, really — until now.
Jan 2003, self-explanatory:
From: Bill GatesJan 2004 - Allchin (who led the Vista team) wrote:
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame
I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues
From: Jim Allchin
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 8:38 AM
To: Bill Gates; Steve Ballmer
Subject: losing our way...
I am not sure how the company lost sight of what matters to our customers (both business and home) the most, but in my view we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems [our] customers face are. I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn't translate onto great products.
I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft...my point is about the philosophy that Apple uses. They think scenario. They think simple.
Feb 2, 2010 - developer David Alison looks back on his switch in 2008:
In relatively short order I went from having a MacBook to purchasing a Mac Pro, which replaced my primary Windows desktop. Whereas the MacBook was quick, the Mac Pro was-and still is-remarkably fast. With dual 2.8Ghz quad core Xeons and 12GB of RAM, I was suddenly able to run a huge number of applications seamlessly.Former MS Business Development Director Don Dodge tries out Apple stuff:
The bottom line is I'm really happy I decided to "try out" that MacBook two years ago. Computing-as a software developer the place I spent a huge number of my waking hours-became fun and exciting again.
The most obvious distinction between Microsoft and Apple is design. Apple is quite simply the best hardware / software design company in the world...You see the design ethic in everything Apple does. The Mac, iPod, iTouch, iPhone and iPad are just beautiful, elegant, and imaginative designs that provide a delightful user experience.Feb 4, 2010 - Former MS VP **** Brass recounts Microsoft's self-inflicted woes:
When we were building the tablet PC in 2001, the vice president in charge of Office at the time decided he didn't like the concept. The tablet required a stylus, and he much preferred keyboards to pens and thought our efforts doomed. To guarantee they were, he refused to modify the popular Office applications to work properly with the tablet. So if you wanted to enter a number into a spreadsheet or correct a word in an e-mail message, you had to write it in a special pop-up box, which then transferred the information to Office. Annoying, clumsy and slow.
Which, when you think about it, describes most Microsoft products.
People should have confidence that their work is always preserved unless they explicitly cancel or delete it. If your application helps people create and edit documents, make sure they do not have to take an explicit save action.
Additional reading
Joe Hewitt: iPad
Fraser Speirs: Future Shock
Lucien Dupont: My Dad and the iPad
Mike Monteiro: The Failure of Empathy
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Earlier and earlier...
- Symantec is reporting that porn is among the top four search terms for children under the age of seven. Before we all get bent out of shape wringing our hands about this, know that there are easy steps we can take if we have young children at home and we want to reduce the likelihood of their stumbling upon porn: (1) sign up for a free OpenDNS account and set the appropriate level of filtering for our home network at the router and as a backup also on all the computers our children use, including handheld devices such as the iPhone and iPod Touch; (2) turn on and lock SafeSearch in Google or set the default search engine to one that uses SafeSearch restrictions; (3) set and lock the Parental Controls in the operating system; (4) give our children only non-administrator user accounts so they cannot easily override our settings. OpenDNS can generate reports of which website and domains are being blocked, and we can monitor online activity using the OpenDNS web dashboard from any internet-connected computer or smartphone.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Check out BlockChalk
I'm on BlockChalk. It's the voice of your neighborhood. Use it to talk to anyone, about anything. It's anonymous, there's no sign-up and nothing to install. Go to http://blockchalk.com with your iPhone and check it out! Sent from my iPhone 3G
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The iPhone is not really a phone at all
My friend Craig Nakamoto just posted his first review of the new iPhone 3Gs. Long story short: he likes it. I'm not surprised. Craig has in the past used (among other devices) a Moto Razr, a Moto Q, a Blackberry, and an iPhone 3G (which got run over by a car).I've had my iPhone 3G for only 8 months, and I've just updated it to OS 3.0, so I won't be upgrading to a 3Gs but will wait until my current contract ends in 2011. By then, I expect the iPhone 4Gs or whatever it'll be called will have evolved into a badass pocket computer with multi-core CPU, 3D GPU acceleration, universal real-time voice recognition, 2+ megapixel front-facing camera for full video chat, 5+ megapixel rear camera with at least 3X optical zoom that can shoot noise-free RAW images up to ISO6400, full HD (1080p) video recording and playback, 512GB of flash RAM, a micro SDXC expansion slot, outdoor GPS accuracy to under 1 meter, wireless broadband in the 20-50Mbps range, a built-in pico projector with 1+ megapixel resolution, biometric security, and an all-day battery.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Lamborghini Galliardo
Summer in the city brings out the exotic cars, like this blue beauty
Sent from my iPhone 3G
A Calgary landmark
I've lived in Calgary for 23 years but I had never gone until today. Cool. This image was stitched together from 3 shots using Pano on my iPhone 3G.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
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