From my day job: equinux has written about some of our Macworld experiences over the years and how we made the decision not to go back this year. It’s a good look behind-the-scenes at Macworld and worth reading if you’ve been or plan on going.
JetLinks
28
Jan 10
Jetlinked: iPad UI Roundup
Sebastiaan de With has posted a very comprehensive analysis of some of the new UI elements introduced on the iPad:
As usual with a large Apple product launch, I’ve written up this post to round up the good, the bad, and the ugly of all the new interface and interaction designs that were set loose on the world by the company that’s regarded as the most influential and skilled when it comes to designing experiences.
Man, where do I begin.
He’s done a terrific job of scrutinizing all the videos and screenshots on various websites as well: Cocoia Blog
16
Jan 10
Jetlinked: 20 Beautiful Mac apps
Designreviver has a nice list of 20 Beautiful Mac apps that is worth checking out. There are only a few picks I disagree with:
- Pixelmator’s black icons on a HUD window background have always bothered me and seem like a bad UI choice
- iStatmenus is pretty, but never feels very Mac-like
- TuneUp is the antithesis of a beautiful Mac app. It leeches onto iTunes and looks & feels more like a Firefox plugin than a Mac app.
But the list has a few lesser-known entries as well, so it’s worth reading for a few gems that you don’t see on every other list (I’m typing this in blogo which I hadn’t heard of before…).
12
Dec 09
Jetlinked: Simple Desktops
I just came across a nice collection of simple, clean desktop backgrounds that I had to share. For example:
Head over to Simple Desktops to check them out!
25
Jul 09
JetLinked: Installing applications on the Mac still broken
Lukas Mathis has posted some thoughts on the issues Mac newcomers have with .dmg files. I also talked about this issue a while back in a post on the most common issues switchers have, but it’s worth noting it again. I agree with his followup post that adding another file format isn’t really the way to go either – DMG files are a great feature to have – once you’ve understood them. But from a usability and customer support perspective, a simple zip file seems to be the better choice.
I’d still be interested to see what kinds of customer support issues you run into with zip files though:
- Do people using alternative browsers, that don’t automatically open “safe” files like Safari does, struggle with them?
- Do users who prefer to manually download updates have several versions of the same app sitting in their Downloads folder?
- Are there any issues if users have a 3rd party archive tool installed (I’m looking at you StuffIt)?
But despite those questions, I think there is a valid reason to reconsider whether .dmg files should still be considered “best practise” for app distribution.
22
Apr 09
JetLinked: Tweetie for Mac
Enough has been said about Tweetie for Mac, so I’m just going to link to it, in case you’ve been living under a rock and have missed it.
Bottom line is: The UI is fantastic, support for dragged in images is great and I believe it sets the bar a little higher for UI design on the Mac in general.
There are some additional features I’d like to see at some point, but from the look of the responses on Atebit’s Get Satisfaction page, some of them are already planned.
- Support for stored searches
- Sync state with the mobile version and across Mac
You can find out more about Tweetie on the Atebits website.
17
Dec 08
JetLinked: FutureTap on how-to acquire an iPhone application
FutureTap, a new iPhone development shop, has just announced their purchase of “Where To”, formerly a TapTapTap application. What’s interesting about this story is how openly new owner Ortwin Gentz describes the process of evaluating the application’s value before making a bid for it.
It’s a fascinating look into the business side of iPhone application development that offers a lot of insight for investors and developers alike. I know Ortwin personally, so I know “Where To” is is very capable hands.
Be sure to check out the full story at futuretap.com and Where To in the AppStore.
2
Dec 08
JetLinked: iPhone headphone mod
The original iPhone headphones are great in a lot of ways (sleek design, unobtrusive microphone and remote), but are a bit lackluster where it counts – sound quality. There are various 3rd party alternatives of course, but I’ve yet to see one with a mic / remote as nice as Apple’s original.
One iPhone user over at everythingicafe decided to take matters into his own hands and has modded his original headphones, replacing the earbuds with the in-ear buds from his Crossroad X3′s.
The result looks pretty nice and others have had success with this mod as well. (I’m not brave enough to try it with my Shure SE310′s though…)
22
Aug 08
JetLinked: Gruber on OpenClip
John Gruber takes a detailed, technical look at the OpenClip project and why it’s not such a brilliant idea from a technical standpoint.
I think given that Apple has already admitted they’re working on native copy / paste support this framework seems like a non-starter.
27
Jul 08
JetLink: Skitch Public beta
A lot has been written about Skitch since it was first released as an invite-only and later as a public beta over a year ago, however I was just using it (like I seem to everyday) and was wondering why Plasq still hasn’t officially released this gem. It boasts an image editor, screenshot tool, free online image hosting, easy uploading to FTP or WebDAV servers and much much more…
So if you haven’t yet checked it out, do yourself a favour and go take a look!
16
Jun 08
Jetlink: 3 great sites for finding OS X Apps
A question that never stop being asked is where new Mac users can find OS X equivalents of their favorite Windows apps. Whilst some people would say to just head over to VersionTracker or MacUpdate, I’ve found they’re usually a bit overwhelming: I don’t want to sift through every update, utility or abandoned freeware if all I want is to find a semi-decent FTP client.
So here are 3 sites I’d recommend anyone new to the Mac should check out if you’re looking for the right app for the job:
2
May 08
Times – a sleek new RSS reader
Dustin MacDonald has given users a first gli
mpse of his new RSS reader “Times” on his blog.
Unlike other RSS readers that use an interface similar to a desktop email client, Times promises a new interface that looks reminiscient of a traditional newspaper.
The standout – and probably most controversial feature – is Times’ abillity to follow links within a RSS feed to retrieve the actual content of a story from a webpage, strip the advertising and formatting from the webpage and display it alongside other feeds. However MacDonald also states that this feature is mainly targeted at larger news sites that tend to only include one paragraph teaser in their feed.
All in all this looks like a very welcome fresh approach in the crowded category of RSS readers and will surely be an Apple Design Award contender (Times will be released this coming Friday, the deadline for ADA submissions is May 12th - so expect to see a few more announcements this week…)
3
Apr 08
Popular Mechanics sums it up nicely…
On two iPhone competitors with “touch” interfaces:
Both touchscreen handsets bear an uncanny resemblance to the iPhone – only without its soul. While it’s hard to complain when more than one person looks like a supermodel, the resemblance here is barely skin deep. I scored some face time with the new handsets, and, like previous iPhone-influenced devices, the charade ends quickly: Dig past the touchscreen, and the seamless, intuitive, well-thought-out design of the iPhone just isn’t there. For example, the Instinct’s browser pales in comparison to Apple’s Safari, with so-so zooming and landscape-only orientation topping the list of gripes. And, unlike the iPhone, which makes touchscreen typing more palpable with fingerprint-size letter-zoom functionality, the Instinct forces you to press tiny characters.
19
Feb 08
Jetlink: iPod shuffle now just $49
It’s funny – I would never have thought I could get by with just the iPod shuffle, but the few times I’ve borrowed my girlfriend’s it’s been great: Most of the time when I’m cycling around town on my bike I listen to podcasts or just one playlist anyway… the shuffle’s “double click the play button” feature that lets you jump back to the beginning of the list is perfect for that. The only time I miss having my entire collection on me is when I’m in the car, as that’s when I like to enjoy albums I haven’t heard in a while… But at $49 it’s a great deal.