In short I think this method sucks. Rewarding devs based on the number of apps they have published alone is stupid. Arguably, developers who only have a couple of apps that they really have put a lot of time and effort into to ensure they are THE best apps of their type won’t benefit from that kind of system. If you want more apps in your listings then sure, encourage people to churn out app after app, but if you want quality (especially from someone who has other significant commitments) then I suggest hand picking the best apps and featuring them. Devs benefit from increased sales and the market owner portrays themselves as a purveyor of quality applications. I suppose they do this anyway so perhaps rewarding based on quality of updates/time spent as a devoted developer could be a better option.
In short; quality not quantity.
Assuming you know everything about the universe and its current state and you are able to calculate exactly what someone will do so you can interfere and prevent said event from happening, then by interfering you would effectively render your calculation wrong even if in the initial instance everything had been correctly evaluated because you would prevent the originally ‘planned’ event from happening. This is an argument against determinism while also inferring that the mere prediction of an result changes its outcome.
Very few things will always seem modern to us. Very few objects stand the test of time and remain ‘forever young’ as if they are the absolute marriage of form and function. I count the Eames chair among these design classics. Since 1956 it has stood as an icon in seating and even today it looks perfectly at home in any contemporary environment.
I’d like to redirect your thinking now to graphical user interfaces. I personally love designing them and very much enjoy using good examples of them. User interfaces quickly become old as soon as a new edition comes along, think of how many times you have gone to facebook and been greeted with a new layout to get your head around. You complain but then find that it feels even better to use than the old one. Remember OS X Tiger? At the time you thought it was beautiful with all those brushed aluminium panels and bright blue icons. Then Leopard came along and it became the new standard for elegance and simplicity in desktop computing. Even Lion makes an Leopard feel fundamentally outdated. I feel like Apple have removed unnecessary clutter with each update and tried to make the experience feel purer, simpler. But it isn’t as simple as it could be.
I feel like designers are trying to remove what’s commonly known as chrome from their designs. The unnecessary graphical flourishes like bevels, drop shadows or glows. I firmly believe that microsoft has done this best of all. They have stripped away everything to leave only what’s essential for an average user. I say average user meaning someone who 90% of the time wants to consume content i.e. not a designer or developer. I think that windows 8 and windows phone 7’s metro design language whispers more than shouts. It sits there waiting for you, not begging you to act. The only things grabbing your attention are the content and the important potential actions. No distracting UI, it feels honest as if the lack of chrome means that it isn’t trying to convince you to do something. The apps become the tool, an extension of you.
Despite all this i still have some reservations. It feels like they have left no room for improvement in metro, as if what i see is what i will get and it’s utter perfection. I’m not sure it is. At least not for me. I found the full screen apps and the jarring switch between apps to be fairly annoying on my big 27” screen. I imagine that on a 11” or 13” laptop it’s more effective due to the reduced screen real estate though. it’s probably very good for tablets too and let’s not forget that it’s great on phones.
I won’t forget the first time i used a mac. The hardware is beautiful, the software is great and it looks really pretty. It lets me do everything i want to. I feel the same way about webOS. It lets me manage everything casually and act on notifications when i want to. It’s so powerful and so simple to use. Windows Phone 7 is nice, it’s simple and i just wish that webOS had metro’s design style. that would be my ideal user interface for a phone/tablet i think. On the opposite end i won’t forget the first time i used the terminal. Completely the opposite of user friendly but sometimes it’s the fastest and easiest way to do something.
I can’t really end this post. It started off well and turned into a ramble without any structure. Perhaps this is how some user interface designers feel. They have what they think is a great idea then they struggle to implement it and end up just throwing down content to try and carry across their original intention.
I’ve made another decision, i’m going to continue teaching enyo and webOS development to the kids at my school. I still love webOS+teaching and frankly i’ll miss development. Teaching a new generation of developers is the smarter move rather than denying them the opportunity.
This isn’t easy for me to write.
By now i’m sure that you’ve heard HP’s announcement regarding their position on webOS. In short, they won’t make any more devices. While some have hinted about another hardware partner, this likely won’t happen soon if at all.
I regret to announce that I shall no longer continue development of webOS applications until there is a clear roadmap pointing to more devices or at least some kind of future for webOS as a consumer product.
The announcement has come at an already stressful time in my life, balancing webOS with my A-Levels isn’t easy. I can’t continue heavy development and expect the great results I need to get in to my university of choice. I have also been appointed Head Boy at my school and i intend to do some development work towards improving my school’s communications and i have a lot of ideas surrounding web technology so I shan’t lose the skills i’ve picked up over the past couple of years.
Personally, i’m not directing my anger towards the great team who work on webOS and support their developers, they have been fantastic to me and I can’t thank them enough for all their help.
What of the app course i’m set to start teaching at my school? I don’t know. I don’t think it’s wise to teach something to kids and potentially waste their time.
[EDIT: New Thinking on the App Course (summary; i’ll teach enyo development because i still love webOS and teaching kids programming)]
I’ll still be around in the community, if you need any help then just ask.
So this is goodbye to development until I know what’s happening. One thing I do know is that i’ll miss the great community that has grown up around webOS. I’ve never felt more welcome anywhere in my life, and should webOS be reborn (again) then i’ll have no shame in returning to development and the community that has brought me so much joy.
I’m sorry, it’s been how many years and nobody has managed to push a cross platform, character unlimited, multimedia enabled, ubiquitous successor to SMS. Yes I acknowledge the existence of MMS and email but I’m talking about something as simple and cheap as sms (with everyone having virtually unlimited texting plans nowadays). I do hope the growth of data feeds the fire for this kind of service that can become available on every platform for cheaps with all the security we love from texting. I’m well aware that there is probably a solution, but until my technologically unaware friends know about it without my effort in having to evangelize it, then I don’t acknowledge it as a viable solution.
