Potential mobile design pattern for a traditional device: Put only actions on softkeys and collapse the traditional ‘options’ list into a list of buttons at the bottom of each screen. Potential plus: Allows customer to more easily discover the most important actions in a path Potential downside: Puts less frequently used options on a slow road. »
For reasons best known to myself I wanted to start a Java application in OS X. Now this Java application (the rather good JDarkRoom) comes as a Jar which works fine, just double click and it starts. But of course, this is where it gets a bit more complex. I want to start it in Quicksilver, the excellent launchbar for OS X, but quicksilver won’t see my Jar file. Now I’m sure I could do a workaround: You could use the Apple Developer Tools to make any Jar file a proper OS X app (I don’t really want them installed, they’ll be a temptation) You could write a plugin for Quicksilver to recognise Jar files and deal with them appropriately. »
For reasons of laziness I recently put a shabbily restored cut of my archives back online although I can’t recommend them as literature. At some point they may come back and live in the database but until then all the permalinks etc. are likely to be broken but really, you didn’t want to comment on some badly spelt livejournalesque stuff that I wrote six years ago did you? »
Rarely do I agree with anything professional controversialist Andrew Orlowski says but he has got a point here: “Nor is that the full story. A PoP (Plain Old Phone) is simply better in what we might call “adverse situations” - such as making a phone call from a tree while trying to rescue a cat, while driving… or being bladdered. The coming few weeks will tell. Britons spend December in a foggy cloud of Christmas Parties, work booze-ups - and then into the final straight of the holiday break itself: family get togethers in which reality is best tempered by even more alcohol. »
“After a lot of emails and rooting around for info, it seems O2 have a proxy server that replaces content on the fly to speed up web-over-EDGE performance. This includes downgrading images, and removing any references to Mp3’s - hence the lack of a play button. In the States, there’s no such proxy, so although its slower, US users get the full playback experience. We trying to see what we can do about this issue in the UK, but for now, we have to consider that our directory is WiFi only. »
Possibly the best title for a TV documentary about an archaeologist ever: “Sir Mortimer Wheeler: A Life In Ruins”. »
“a web of data” is sort of like the semantic web. it’s about designing openness and slicability into your product. Almost like turning anything into iTunes or Excel. “your site is not your product” A thought: how much power do power managers use? In other words, for what tasks is the visualisation or reporting requirement more burdensome than the task itself. But even then, do those tasks make sense to be done anyway if you can’t see what went on and how. »
It was great to see Matt talk again. More than anyone else he always gives me Ideas. They may not be immediately useful, ore even connected, but they’ll sit in your mind until required. You can get his transcript/slides on the interweb and you should, it’s well worth it. In many ways though his presentations sort of work better on the internet so you’re on good ground looking at it now. »
Firstly, excellent usage of the phrase ‘an online website’ something I feel we all need to remind ourselves of from time to time. Flickr turned itself into a website to get asynchronous. (there is lots of power in asynchronous communication although it is generally less highly valued than synchronous). “the less rules you have about progression through an experience, the freeer to are to enjoy” “community guides and taste makers are vital” “sometimes, if you’re jumping in on a message board for the first time it’s confusing when you see cunt every 5 posts. »
Some books and articles that he mentioned that I haven’t yet read (or need to read again): * Bryan Lawson, How Designers Think * Tog, First Principles of Interaction Design He had a nice microwave analogy where we should encourage customers to heat water in the microwave for 1 minute 11 seconds rather than 1 minute 10 seconds (3 button presses rather than 4, so overall it’s quicker). Care about edge cases and details. »