Jackson Fish: Why I won’t hire people who want to be the “user advocate” on the development team.

What really struck me from the article was this:

I don’t care what your role is (i.e. developer, designer, tester, etc.). Everyone should be a user advocate. Everyone should have a common bar for the caliber and quality of the software the team is delivering.

It’s easy to have people advocating for users, it’s a lot harder to have a team advocating for the same user. 

Five little problems with Twitter's UI

I rarely use the Twitter web UI, but have certainly felt like it’s gotten worse in the last couple of revisions. This post does a good job of pointing out a few issues.

Lion terminal: nice touch

What’s going on here? 

I’d just restarted my machine (installing 10.7.1 update) and had opted to ‘Reopen windows when logging back in’ (another nice new feature). The terminal pops up with my previous session still visible but greyed out to indicate that it’s not current. Nice attention to detail.

Some intern got pretty busy upgrading the terminal app. Other changes I’ve noticed:

  • Spinner in the title when there is a long running operation
  • Opaque background (didn’t like it.. turned it off)
  • Support for fullscreen mode
  • Tons of pre-canned color themes

Updating Mac apps: still shitty

I think the Mac App Store is awesome - it sure beats the crap out of sites like macupdate.com. After buying my first app through the store I was bewildered why buying and installing software hasn’t always worked like this. I’ve spent more on desktop software since it’s come out than I had cumulatively beforehand*. 

However, upgrading an app without going to the store kind of blows.

What happens now:

  1. I get a notification within an app
  2. It takes me to a web site like this one that gives me some info about the app
    Great, thanks - I’m already using it. 
  3. I click on the button to look at the app in the Mac App Store
  4. The app store opens to a screen with the  app, telling me what I just saw on a web site, and shows that it’s installed.
    There is no clear indication that the app has an update available
  5. I go to the updates section of the App Store, and press an update button for my app
  6. I’m prompted for my Apple ID and password
    Seriously? this is a free update! (same issue with iOS store..) 
  7. The App Store then downloads the update
  8. The App Store notifies me I have to quit the application that needs an update
  9. I wait some more for the app to install (presumably overwriting the existing app)
  10. I have to re-launch the app
    Really??  You made me quit the app.. you know I want it open!

What should happen: 

  1. I get a notification that there is a new version within the app
    It’s important that I only get these notifications when there are actual user-facing updates. See Adobe products** 
  2. I have the option to see details about what’s new - possibly rich content 
  3. I choose to install it, piss off or that I’ll do it another time
    It’s important that if I tell it to piss off that it actually pisses off. See Adobe products 
  4. The app lets me know it’s updating
  5. The app is updated and running

Yes, I understand that this is quite a bit harder to pull off, but this is what people pay the premium for: the absence of bullshit while dealing with their computer. 

    * this is a combination of the convenience of the app store and my growing a conscience 

    ** I would write up something like this criticizing Adobe installers, but I’m not sure Tumblr supports enough bullet points