Membranophonist’s Ramblings

I finally redeemed two iTunes gift cards last night, finding the process generally straightforward. That said, many Macs now have iSight cameras built-in. As proven by Delicious Library, an iSight can also function as a barcode scanner, moving the bulk of the input burden from the user to the computer.

A second barcode (which creates a bit of confusion) would not have to be added if the scratch-off alphanumeric code could be recognized as such using OCR. With foreknowledge of the typeface and the processing power of modern Macs, this seems technically feasible.

In case the camera is in use by another application, the Scan via iSight button is disabled and the application name is displayed.

There would have to be some conditional rules to hide the mention of optical scanning and the attendant button on Macs without a compatible camera.

Being annoyed with having to constantly open and close Fireworks’ modal Numeric Transform dialog, I thought would be particularly useful in design applications to scale and reposition objects based on relative calculations like “this box should be 25 percent taller”.

Assuming this had been implemented somehow, I found the current method available in Mac applications described by Dave Mark, who learned of it from Mike Ash. The process is as follows:

1. Enter a formula in a text field such as 10/2.
2. Select the formula.
3. Press Shift-Command-8.

Easy enough, but totally invisible unless you know it’s there (not necessarily a bad thing) and yet another keyboard shortcut to remember. The fact that Script Editor pops open is also mildly surprising and irritating.

Proposed Improvements

Keeping the existing method (though not requiring Scrip Editor to perform the calculations) is fine for free-form text, but a design specific to number boxes would be very helpful in many applications. It reduces input repetition (a starting value is always available), application switching, and would be a great help to me as I have trouble doing math in my head. As Dan Saffer stated in his Designing Smart and Clever Applications presentation: “Do what humans have trouble doing but computers can do easily.”

1. Giving focus to a number input field displays a calculator pop-out.
   
   
2. As the user inputs a formula using the keyboard or pop-out, it is written into the field. This provides a hint to the user that they can type in formulas directly.
   
   
3. The formula is executed when the user clicks the Equals button, presses the Equals or Return or Enter key, or moves focus away from the field. The pop-out calculator disappears whenever focus moves away from the field. In the image below, Enter was pressed, moving focus back to the object in the document window.
   
   

I find myself wasting a lot of time creating calendar events that share a lot of properties, but differ in time of occurrence and duration. Auto-complete still requires per-field interaction.

For example, a band may rehearse regularly, but not on a fixed, repeating schedule that can be cleanly accommodated by a calendaring app’s recurring event interface. You want to be able to easily create an event involving the same people (your bandmates), usually at the same place (your rehearsal studio), with a varying date and duration.

Templates to the rescue.

Event Templates Pane

• Once dropped to the calendar area, the template title text is given keyboard input focus to allow renaming from the default.
• A Custom sorting option allowing the user to arrange the templates however they like might be useful. The set of templates you use may change over time as you work on different projects.
• Double-clicking a template opens the editor.
• Modifications to events created from templates do not propagate back to the template.
• Deleting a template has no effect on events created from the template.
• A menu command allows a stand-alone event to be used as the basis for a new template.

Event Template Editor

• Modifications to templates do not propagate to events created from them.
• As they exist outside of specific dates, only a default duration is set on a template.
• All other properties can be set as with normal events.

Problems

Templates would not work cleanly in Contactizer’s All events list view. What happens when you drop a template event to the list? A title field and date/time picker could appear at the drop point. It’s still likely to be less input than creating the event from scratch.

Evolution is generally a good app, so the e-mail account configuration assistant sticks out. Unfortunately, it is the first thing users encounter after first launching Evolution.

1. 1. First, a pointless welcome message that refers to the Assistant by a name different from the window title.
   2. It appears that prime marks rather than quotation marks enclose “Forward”. This typographical mistake appears throughout the Assistant.

   
   
   

2. Poorly wrapped instructional text.
   
   
3. “None” is not a sensible default for an incoming server type.
   
   
4. The server portion of the e-mail address the user input in the Identity step should be placed in the Server field.
   
   
5. 1. An automatic periodic check of 10 or 15 minutes would be a sensible default.
   2. Junk filtering on incoming messages would be a sensible default.
   3. Hiding the custom command and folder namespace settings in a progressive disclosure would cut down on the clutter.

   
   
   

6. 1. More poorly wrapped instructional text.
   2. The Assistant should take a stab at the outgoing server address based on the incoming server address.
   3. Use the incoming server username as the outgoing by default (I typed mine in).

   
   
   

7. 1. If an account name is already taken (thereby disabling the Forward button), tell me.
   2. Poorly wrapped instructional text.

   
   
   

8. Lastly, a pointless pat on the head.
   
   

Rescheduling an event to another day using the mobile Calendar app on the iPhone requires at least six taps across four screens. The method depicted below reduces the minimum taps to two with the number of screens depending on how many days the event is moved.

1. In Day view, tap and hold the event.
   
   
2. With your other hand, tap the forward (or back) triangle button in the date bar.
   
   
3. Alternatively, while still holding the event, swipe from right to left to go to the next day (or vice versa for the previous).
   
   
4. The event is moved to the next (or previous) day at the same time. The event box would always remain beneath the tapped spot, nudging overlapping event boxes aside if necessary.
   
   

Problems with the Method

1. Not easily discoverable
2. Requires two hands or Evgeny Kissin-level finger dexterity
3. Only works cleanly in Day view, though variations for List and Month could work

Indra Raj on MySpace

In the Now Playing table view, I’d like the total length of the album displayed in a hidden row that only appears when scrolling beyond the track rows:

After releasing the screen, the total row is hidden again.

Unlike addresses displayed in contacts’ details, locations added to calendar events cannot be tapped to display a map of the location.

The current event details screen:

Slightly tweaked to indicate the location is actionable:

Location field input is not structured, so Calendar would simply pass whatever text it contains to Maps as the search string. Some heuristics around the text would be nice; if I typed “Joe’s house” in the Location field and one of the attendees is a contact named Joe Smith, the input string could be replaced by Joe’s home address.

Being a musician and big proponent of metadata, I frequently add musician credits in the Comments field of music tracks. Like lyrics, comments could be displayed atop the album cover image in the Now Playing view.

I want to be able to add contacts, events, and tasks to Contactizer Pro without having to move to its space (virtual desktop), open a New Thing window, then move the New Thing window to the space displaying the information I want to save. That is a lot of overhead just to arrange your windows to begin inputting information. Simple task additions are already possible using the Quick Task Entry window, which provides a subset of the full editing window functionality. My proposed solution: New Thing commands in the Dock menu that open a Thing editing window in the current space.

These commands will be less useful if Data Detectors become globally available in a forthcoming release of OS X, though detectors cannot determine what textual information prompts users to create tasks or projects given the lack of a common semantic structure.

1. I want to add a friend’s upcoming gig to my calendar, so I right-click on the Contactizer Dock icon and select the New Event command.
   
2. The New Event window opens in the current space.
   
   Event or Appointment? One term, please.

Dot dot dot

The File > Backup Databases and File > Restore Databases commands should have ellipses as they require further user input to execute. The file picker that appears after selecting Restore should open to the last backup save location.

Mike Davidson posted a critique of the number of steps required to change battery life-extending settings on the iPhone. Off the top of my head, I proposed what I mocked up and posted below; an always available means of switching among configurations.

1. Tap the battery icon at the top right of the screen. This target is potentially problematic given the relatively small size and its proximity to other controls.
   
   
2. Tap the name of a configuration to activate it or the disclosure button to the right of the label to view/edit its details. The Add button opens an Untitled configuration with the default iPhone settings.
   
   
3. Edit the settings by sliding one or more sliders or tap the oval to edit the configuration name.
   
   
4. Edit the name and tap Done. The sliders remain manipulable.
   
   
5. The configuration has been renamed. Tap the OK button to return to the configurations list.
   
   

November 12 Update: Minor changes to better follow iPhone conventions, larger thumbnails with alpha channels.