Error handling

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I am only too aware that there are a few glitches in this site. Little by little I’m trying to fix them, whenever I get a spare moment and have the energy. Hopefully search is now fixed. I’ve implemented a very simple search only, as I don’t really believe this site needs anything more complex. There are two separate search contexts, one for each blog. For more general search, you know where to go ...

I would be very grateful for any feedback on bugs or any other issue - my next task is to try to nail down the remaining glitches in the comment system, but that is always tricky.

And on the photography side, the gallery design is actually pretty much finished. The problem now is selecting the content!

Mobile Design and Development

Monday, August 17, 2009

Mobile Design and Development, by Brian Fling, is hot of the presses at O’Reilly. In fact the publication date isn’t until next month, but it can be read in digital form at Safari Books.

I’ll say it right away, this is a 5-star, thoroughly excellent book. The biggest puzzle is why it has taken so long for somebody to write the definitive text in this space, but anyway, Brian Fling has nailed it.

Written in a deft and engaging style, with a touch of weary cynicism about the old operator-dominated order of the mobile space, and the legions of executives who neither get it, nor accept that anybody else does, this is an absolute must read for anybody getting into mobile development of any kind on any device. I really get the impression that every page has been obsessed over, that the author really, really cared about getting it as good as he could - which I’m afraid to say is not too common in the field of technical books, and especially some about the mobile web.

The author covers pretty much all aspects of building mobile applications, from a discussion of the ecosystem (which should be a real eye-opener to newcomers), to the all-important topic of context, to mobile-specific information architecture, usability, interaction and visual design. Despite the big changes heralded by the iPhone and it’s competitors, the book is right up to date, including discussion of WebOS and Android.

What I really like is the way he avoids sitting on the fence. Rather than surrender to the calls for lowest common denominator design, he encourages designers to be creative and take risks. In my opinion, there’s a strong argument for going out on a limb aiming to build an application people will upgrade their phone to be able to use, rather than be dragged down to level of 120 by 160 pixel monochrome devices - who’s owners are unlikely to be big data services users anyway.

Some parts could be a bit clearer. For example, when the author discusses the concept of teasing the content to improve user experience, I’m pretty sure I know what he’s talking about, but the illustration given (figure 7.6) is so unclear that I’m half sure it’s an editorial error. Or it could be a case of over-channeling the lauded, but in my opinion, unnecessarily opaque, Jesse James Garrett.  Surely an actual example with page screenshots would be a better way of getting the point across ?

I’ve been working in this field for over 7 years, and I’ve experienced most of the frustrations described in these pages. There isn’t actually much in this book which is really new to me, but seeing things spelled out so clearly is refreshing and encouraging, and provides some very timely reminders.

If you’re developing for any mobile platform, iPhone included, you will be well rewarded for the you invest in reading this book. Brian Fling has suffered so that you don’t have to ... well, not too much anyway.

All a Twitter: good read

Monday, July 27, 2009

My previous post displayed me at my sarcastic best, with a cheap jibe at a book I hadn’t actually read. When I actually started reading the book, I soon discovered this…

This Book Is Written in More Than 140 Characters

Yes, I’ve heard that joke. I’ve heard it often. If you are at a book signing and are thinking of asking me, “So is this book written in more than 140 characters?”, please reconsider. The fact that this book is as thick as it is and has thirteen chapters should be the hint that there is a bit more to Twitter than you might expect.

And just tonight, as I was writing this, someone cracked that joke. So, please, don’t make that joke. It’s just not working for me anymore. Thank you in advance.

...and felt suitably embarrassed.

Well, the case for the defence rests on the fact that there is an awful amount of new-agey, geeky, shallow idiocy written about Twitter - amazingly, not all of if by Tim O’Bookshifter - and I just expected this to be another bloated hagiography. Well, I was wrong.

“All a Twitter” is actually rather good. Tee Morris explains the mechanics of Twitter as a web application, and critically examines various tools you can get hold of to enhance your experience. But beyond that it takes a reasoned, balanced view of the “why” of Twitter, and encourages readers to decide for themselves what benefit they could get by joining in - or not.

You may think that Twitter is something that young people today waste their time on, or you may think that it is the biggest revolution in personal communication, like, EVER. Or you may think that it is a healthy social lifeline for the millions of people who spend their waking hours, at work or at play, in front of a computer screen.

You may also be turned off by the crass levels of self-promotion which various public and insider figures have indulged themselves in. Well, the author deals with them, gloves off, and makes it clear that their egocentric behaviour reflects themselves, not the wider community.

Personally, I’m still not sure if Twitter is for me - and especially vice-versa, but I’m better informed now than I was on Friday. Wherever you stand, if you’re at all interested in this social phenomenon, “All a Twitter” is a remarkably interesting, well written and thought provoking book that deserves a wide audience.

And yeah, it’s written in more than 140 characters.

140 characters in 312 pages!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Due to necessity I’m back on Twitter. I still don’t like it, but I need to talk about it with some degree of confidence so I’d better get back up to speed on it.

Checking out some shortcuts, I came across this:

Now, it may or may not be any good. And it least it hasn’t got Tim O’Reilly written on the front. But really: 312 pages to talk about a service which lets you send 140 character messages ?  As Sven remarked, it must use a really big font.

(Note: I see the author has anticipated this sort of smartass comment. Well ok, I’ll read it. And if I like it I’ll write a nice review)

Meanwhile, on the ‘B’ Ark

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I’ve been tasked with “doing something with Twitter” on the project I’m working on just now, which is still under wraps. Well, I’ve “done stuff with Twitter” before, and I’ve been on Twitter. And I found it creepy and really, but really disturbingly superficial.

But anyway, I’m supposed to be being paid to do what I’m told, so I though a quick refresher might help, and I’m reading The Twitter Book by Web 2.0 Cult High Priest Tim O’Reilly (who I also find creepy and superficial) and Sarah Milstein (who she?).

The book design follows a sort of playschool format, with big letters and big pictures on small pages, which I guess is the designer’s wonderfully subtle way of referring to Twitter itself. Whether or not that is a good thing is somewhat open to question.

By page 120 of 240-ish my eyelids feel like steel shutters and my body is invaded by narcolepsy. It is so, so, so dull. It really doesn’t help that it parades the same old Web 2.0 names in cutesy referential ways, or that all of the examples have a very strong gee-whiz San Francisco air about them.

Above all, it is so remarkably self-glorifying, self-referential and vapid. Which, actually, is well matched to the subject, I guess.  “Be interesting to other people”, preach the authors. They could start by taking their own advice to heart.  Well, I’ve got a message to all you Twitterers: the ‘A’ Ark is coming real soon now.