iPhone 3.0 Nits

Some quick notes on what I think can be improved:

1. Why do we now have two separate applications for note taking? One is verbal (Voice Memos) and the other is textual (Notes). I could easily imagine a Notes interface button with the old style microphone as its icon that brings up the audio recording interface.

2. Why does SMS get renamed Messages and still stay separate from Mail?

3. The idea that swiping to the left to get to a simple search function is a sad solution. The ultra tiny magnifying glass icon tucked into the list of open windows blows that UI metaphor apart. Why not have the user pinch the screen? We do* have more than just left/right swipes at our disposal right? The pinch could use the same zoom+fade in motion as found on the desktop OS.

4. Why does the Contacts app support screen rotation and re-orientation but the Phone app doesn’t?

5. Because Mail is such a monstrous piece of shit, I’ll tackle that in a separate post when I have time to redesign the whole fucking thing. I’m tired of that app and wish it was more useful than it is.

6. Can we please have more information in the top status bar throughout the OS? Why do I have to back all the way out to the home screen to see if any Pushed emails are present? Why can’t I tap the battery icon in the top right and get a percentage? I know it’s there because it was shown to be so in a hack. Obviously, don’t repeat info shown when on the Springboard but that goes without saying.

7. Is YouTube still so fucking important that it needs to reside on the home screen? Why can’t this be on a second page of lame apps like Stocks or the Weather widget?

8. Why can’t we hide apps from the Springboard? Sorry Apple but not every app you make is something everyone wants. Let us decide please.

9. Why doesn’t the Calendar app icon on the Springboard display a badge when an appointment is nearing?

10. Why in the iPod app’s Artists and Songs screen do you hide the search field at the top? Same goes for Audiobooks, Composers, Genres.

11. If you don’t have a certain type of content on your iPhone, wouldn’t it make sense to provide a button to the iTunes store from the iPod’s Videos, Audiobooks, and Podcasts screens instead of just saying “You can download something from iTunes.” Guess you’re really not trying to sell content to users.

12. Why not share the same iconography from the iTunes store when browsing Genres in the iPod app? Reading text lists in the iPod app is not sexy or fun.

13. At what point in the future will you standardize the placement of the Edit and Create New Item buttons in your apps?

Messages: Create New is top right and is a Pencil icon in a button.
Calendar: Create New is top right and a Plus icon in a button.
Mail: Create New is lower right and a Pencil and “paper” shape – no button.
Notes: Create New is top right and a Plus icon in a button (but it’s brown!)
Contacts: Create New is top right and a Plus icon in a button.
Clock: Create New is top right and a Plus icon in a button.
Voice Memos. WTF

14. Photos. Why can’t I create a photo album on the phone and assign photos to it from the camera roll? And why is the “Photo Albums” header background transparent? What is the benefit of doing this?

15. Mail, can we please mark a message as read without having to literally tap into it? One would think that the Edit button would offer this option, but it doesn’t.

So how’s that for a 15 minute evaluation?

Once a Month?

I just noticed that my attention has been siphoning off to facebook and it’s been a month since I’ve written anything. That kinda makes me sad.

The big news is that I’ve been interviewing like a madman. Constantly on the phone talking to recruiters, talking to companies in many different states, selling my house, and spending a ton of time with my family, which has been really nice.

We’ve also had some bad news lately. My wife’s grandmother passed away and is still very difficult for everyone in her family to deal with. Hell, it’s hard for me to deal with. I constantly feel like I can’t really feel anything at all because any minute of any day I could be on the phone trying to get a job and that requires that I’m upbeat and ready to go. I’ve had a few days where I’ve been able to let everything soak in and it’s not fun.

I’m pretty far down the road with one particular opportunity and hope it comes to fruition very soon. This massive amount of uncertainty has been very trying…

The time I get with my new boy Miles really helps me let go and forget all the problems swirling around us right now. He’s such a great source of love for me. Before I left to interview out of state, I had a quiet moment with him and told him I wouldn’t let him down.

It seems like someone knocked everything in my life up in the air and nothing has landed. I know this will all settle down and we’ll be okay but it’s getting very hard to keep up this positive attitude when nothing is certain.

When anything becomes a new constant in my life, I’ll certainly post about it here first, instead of facebook. Deal?

Sweet UI, Lame Icon

I’ll make this short. New audio slowdowner app called Capo.

Cool UI:

Lame App icon:

Sharing an iTunes Library Between Users the Easy Way

For a while now, I’ve been trying to share my iTunes library with the other 2 user accounts on our home computer. Apple has a suggestion of placing the Library that has the music in it into a shared location on your computer but there’s an easier way that’s much more reliable.

All you have to do is log into the account that has all the music, turn on “Share my library on my local network” in the master iTunes account (iTunes > Preferences > Sharing), switch to the other user account that wants to listen to the music and open iTunes. The shared library will be in the source column and you can play whatever you want.

Facebook’s New Layout Vote

38,300 votes approve
612,128 votes do not

Only 6% of the voters approve of the redesign.

Damn that’s rough. Hate to be the UI designer who worked on that one. Didn’t they do any user testing and analysis? My guess is yes…with hardcore FB users, not average joes. Me thinks a new FB design will be heading down the pike any day now.

Adam Cook / David Lambert

I’ve only seen Adam Lambert sing a handful of songs now on American Idol but I’m starting to hear a pattern. Starts low, jumps into jazzy broadway-esque musical theater only to push the upper register throughout the last third of the song until he unleashes that god-awful failed 80’s metal band screech. Too predictable and seriously, when he hits that high note where his tongue falls out of his head, I literally have to look away because my ears react like a dog to a dog whistle. I can’t stand the sound.

While David Cook is more audibly tolerable, he is quite similar in approach to Adam. Start quiet, belt it out in your own way and always ALWAYS end on a scream/”high note”. It’s so fucking boring I can’t take it.

I think Adam got the huge review last night because the judges know people actually don’t want to vote for him and they want to keep him in the competition.

Whora The Explora?

Just heard last night that Dora might get redesigned to be more “feminine.” I hope they don’t do it. She’s perfectly fine and doesn’t need to age. The reason children grow out of Dora is because the show format is designed for children at early education levels. If they just gave Dora a bigger vocabulary and “missions” that weren’t so linear and repeatable, Dora could stay relevant. Maybe a new shirt color would help but that’s all they really need. Lipstick, nails and longer legs don’t matter.

Twitter

This is for those people who want to follow me on Twitter.

First, I only signed up to see what it was all about. Second, I don’t fucking use it. That’s why I haven’t approved you. I only approved one or two people to see how it worked and then I instantly lost interest.

My life is not so fascinating that I a) need to update everyone on every little thing I think/eat/drink/visit/talk about/wish I could be doing/never will do.

I also think Twitter is a rip from Facebook’s Status Updates feature, and therefore, don’t really like to support rip off crap.

I’m sure the few people who tweet away and happen to read this blog, of which there are probably 3 of you, will be mad at me for those comments. Like Simon Cowell says, Sorry!

Strict Job Requirements

Hey Matt, how’s the job search going?

Great! I just found a job but I’m not sure if I can meet their high demands.

Really? What are they looking for in a candidate?

Well, funny you should ask. This is what they need:

Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the colleague is regularly required to sit. The colleague frequently is required to talk or hear. The colleague is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The colleague must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25-pounds. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a colleague to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment: In general, it will be a typical office environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a colleague encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Safari 4 Reaction

I’ve been using the Safari 4 beta since the day it was released and I have a few comments to make.

1. The page loading UI device is just too hidden. The current spinner approach is worse than the previous aqua background animation in the address bar. Users look at the page itself to see if anything is happening, not the right end of the address bar. I suggest Apple consider either layering something on top of the center of the page (dimming it a little and showing the spinner).

2. The Top Sites feature is neat but not terribly useful. It’s basically a graphical bookmark folder. I’d suggest adding a tracking feature to the bookmarks menu that lets you identify URLs that you haven’t visited in X months/days so you can prune your list.

3. The history page just doesn’t need a cover flow UI. It’s totally useless because pages from the same site can look almost identical, therefore forcing the user to jack up the cover flow icon view to full size. I’d rather have the history break things down by hour if possible. I frequently try to recall pages in terms of time: “I saw that yesterday around 9am.

4. The new tab button in the top right corner is just not useful. It’s dimmed to a darker gray and makes the user think they will get a new window, not a new tab. If the new tab glyph must be there, why not add “New Tab” to it as well?

5. The tab bar at the top of a window was very jarring at first. I think it would be interesting for Apple to allow users the option to revert functionality and then track it (with the user’s consent) to better evaluate major changes like this.