Another bus ride, another blog post from my phone.
With my Droid Incredible, though I love the native typing interface, I do find typing long passages with my thumbs to be problematic. Sure, the autocomplete features are great and help in a lot of ways, it’s still tough to type long messages.
I, like I’m sure everyone else, have seen the blackberry commercial with the guy setting a record for text messaging by dragging his finger around. I figured it was a gimmick. So, when I heard about the beta for droid users, I was skeptical.
Then a friend and coworker, Matt, tweeted about Swype, and how he recommended trying it, I decided to go for it. It’s been two days and I’m more than happy I made the switch.
The intelligence, for lack of a better word, is nothing short of impressive. Rarely does it get a word wrong and even then I feel like I screwed something up.
I was worried about a learning curve, and having it not be worth my time, but it took very little time to get used to it and I was quickly able to type far faster than with a traditional QWERTY touchscreen.
Every now and then, someone comes up with something so simple and so easy to use, it’s just mind-boggling. Swype is like that.
June 18, 2010
One software development book that I have found is very informative and though-provoking has to be Code Complete. One of the main points is that the ultimate goal for software development is to manage complexity.
It goes very well with Wil Shipley’s blog post about being a code samurai, an article that is a favorite of mine. Ultimately, they say the same thing: develop deliberately, with the goal to keep the software simple.
I’ve mentioned keeping it simple in mobile web development, but it applies to all development, in fact. Development shouldn’t just be done with the goal to get things done quickly, it should be done with the goal to get things done right. What’s right? Something that gets the job done efficiently now, but also can be revisited and updated later, which is ultimately the most important goal because very rarely, especially in these days of web development, is software ever “done.” How does getting it done right happen?
It happens when a developer keeps it simple. Both for the current development and for the potential future developments. Ultimately, the best coding comes when the software is simple and readable. This gets the job done well and let’s a developer continue to get the job done well and quickly later. Simple is maintainable, and maintainable is good. More than good, the best.
Minimize complexity, keep it simple.
June 6, 2010
While I’ve always been a big fan of simple, CSS-based designs, that applies even more in the mobile market. While the speed and power of these devices and the networks they use is quickly increasing, the fact remains that we want to give users the best experience we can now.
With a site that relies on CSS for it’s design instead of background images and the like, that CSS can quickly be minimized. Sure, you can create and optimize a sprite away to your here’s content, but this can be an immense time-sink while still not giving you the benefits of having your design come from CSS.
Similarly, there are a variety of browsers to test against in the mobile market, and a simple design has a far higher chance to remain consistent among these different browsers without relying on hacks. Which, again, makes your site far more maintainable and less complex from a developer’s perspective, making life far easier, not to mention more efficient.
Just another reason clean, simple sites will make a developer’s life better.
May 31, 2010
