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A while back, Gruber published an interesting article proposing iPhone UI design guidelines that developers could adhere to in order to preserve that “iPhone-Likeness” that we’ve all come to admire in apps.
You know what I’m talking about. That look that appears so flawless and stunning in an app that it functions just as good as it looks and yet becomes incredibly difficult to imagine that a work that remarkable could have been conceived and constructed by people.
I’m no mind reader but when Gruber said “figure out the absolute least you need to do to implement the idea and then polish the hell out of the experience”, I undoubtedly believe the TapBot team has done just that and have implemented that thinking into every one of their apps and even more so with their latest creation; Pastebot.
I refuse to go into detail to elaborate on what the app does other than to show you by the photo what it looks like because the website already does a phenomenal job with that but even more so because a big portion of my excitement for new software involves personally discovering how great something is on my own and I won’t take that away from you.
The most common function on a computer (Copy & Paste) has been now completely revolutionized on a mobile device. I love the iPhone but even more so brilliant masterminds who bang out amazing sh*t by sprucing up the mundane.
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Let’s stop making Apple’s App Store out to be our scapegoat and let’s start publicizing our products on the web a little better. And just as with other businesses, if you can’t make a profit with your iPhone applications, for whatever reason, consider what you’re doing wrong and if there’s any way you can improve what you’re doing.
– Louie Mantia on Success and Jealousy -
Separate Twitter Apps
Unknowingly I seemed to have established a framework for how I handle my participation on Twitter. The biggest thing to remember about the service is that it’s a tool for strengthening our communication and not bringing on more confusion to try to keep up with everything that happens.
At first glance it may seem contradictory that I have several Twitter Apps installed but they each serve a distinctive purpose that maintain sanity in my involvement with the service.
Twitter Apps I Use
- Tweetie 2 - Just recently upgraded from Tweetie 1 and this is the dominant App responsible for any form of Twitter interaction you can think of. It’s just beautifuly designed, super fast and it’s the epitome of what a Twitter experience should be like.
- BirdBrain - I turned off email notifications to track new followers and now rely on this App to brief me more on them as well as controlling spammers.
- Birdhouse - Indespensible App that literally contains a litany of Tweets that may or may not see the light of day as well as pre-written content that I intend on publishing when the day comes.
- Twitbit - Another well-designed Twitter client but I have to admit that I don’t publish much content from it but what justifies its presence is the push-notification feature that I enjoy. It works perfectly and any mentions that I get, I launch Tweetie to reply to them.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had just one App that accomplished all of these functions? With the exception of push-notification intergration in all Twitter clients, my answer to the question would be no.
Too many features just equals too many problems, which leads to cluckiness which later leads to forsaking a product that sounds appealing to use in theory but not in reality. I love having separate Apps that excel in one function only.
Features sell but if they get in the way of making them work for you, it defeats the purpose saying you have a product that does everything.
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A Sense of Entitlement →
Software usage is a funny thing. You either love it, support it and rave about how wonderful it is or you use a copy that maybe you didn’t pay for, don’t support and complain about wanting to get something free in the end. Most of this applies to desktop software but in essence if you enjoy something so much, just buy it but if you don’t, Jeff LaMarche shares his thoughts on those complaining about having to dish another $2.99 for Loren’s much anticipated Tweetie 2.
If the new features aren’t worth $2.99 to you, fine, don’t buy it. There are plenty of other Twitter clients available, several of which are free. So shut your pie hole and go find another client rather than whining about how you are entitled to the end-product of Loren’s hard work for the last half year simply because you paid about the price of a bottle of soda about a year ago. (via TightWind)
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Thinking Now, TextLater →
If there’s nothing pending, on her days off my wife enjoys to sleep late so I stay away in taking that warm privilege from her when I leave for work. Sometimes trivial things come up that I wish to communicate that don’t require immediate action but there’s a propensity to forget throughout the day, so for matters like this I’ve been using this neat app called TextLater.
It’s a very simple concept but it’s pure genius. The app allows you to create and schedule SMS text messages from your iPhone to be sent at a later date and time. You can even text yourself for important reminders. The funniest thing is recalling that you even scheduled a message in the first place which you do after you start receiving a slew of them responding to yours.
At the moment, most carriers are supported and they’re in the process of adding more. I wish there was an app that emulated the same principle in regards to Twittering.
