They truly messed this up. So sad to see what has happened to webOS.
Today, Facebook’s mobile apps look like its website shrunk down. Soon, that could change. I’ve seen first-hand the employees-only iOS app build of an evolved form of Facebook’s mobile news feed which ditches the empty blue and white chrome for full-screen photo tiles and overlaid text.
A lot of the things people amuse themselves with really are just toys for grown-ups, and it eats your time and pulls your concentration.
I agree, but I find the toys fun (and occasionally phenomenally useful for work).
My criticism is that this is very easy to say when your “job” is 100% dealing with people in a hands-on manner and when you have a veritable army of producers and assistants to manage your time and operations for you. You can bet your bottom dollar that the AD, Producers and Cinematographers all rely on smartphones like never before in order to pull of Nolan’s mammoth visions in time and to budget.
Still, it is interesting to see someone in this day and age who is totally disconnected: no email or mobile phone? how do you get things done?!
…Ironically, I imagine that, like Paul Miller, I’d get a lot more done. Or at least procrastinate less.
Don’t even try explaining Siri or that you can speak into an iPhone and have the words translated to text.
“Really?” he said, looking bewildered. “What’s the purpose of that?”
It is interesting. What really is the purpose of Siri? Does it make us more productive? Not really, I’d argue…but it is amazing…sometimes.
…Why do I use it?
I don’t have a valid answer.
I know competition is great for innovation, but seriously? Mozilla? Why?
File this under Dead on Arrival.
Probably the most stupid thing a PR rep can say about his company.
“Oh, hi, I’m looking to buy your horse.”
“Horses aren’t for everyone.”
“Fine then, I won’t buy your horse.”
(I recommend clicking all the links in this post and reading them)
Combine the link above with the following:
This. And This. Oh, and this too:
Never, ever forget this. Android is a rip-off product. It was designed to beat BlackBerry and pivoted to challenge Apple. It’s still trying to catch up today. It still isn’t there. Why? Because the foundations are for a phone built for non-touchscreen devices* with a keyboard based on a ripped-off Java base.
The whole thing is a rip-off. The design ripped-off the iPhone after it ripped-off the BlackBerry and the code is ripped-off Java.
Now it’s ripping off consumers, convincing them to buy junk hardware with long contracts and shit software.
Android is a weed. It is disgusting. It should have been a webOS-iOS race.
*Note how only with 4.0 have they gotten rid of buttons, by making ever-present touchscreen buttons. Those are still buttons. They’re soft buttons in disguise. What shitty design. Android sucks.
Lots of good and pertinent angles are raised here and woe betide the technologist that ignores them. It certainly highlights a growing trend and, personally speaking, it reminded me of why I first decided to give up my BlackBerry: it was making me a monstrously antisocial creature.
With so many amazing happenings concurrently enveloping us, never forget the value of personal connections: you won’t regret not texting during dinner and actually focusing on an evening.
It’s a bizarre time, and I’m sure a new, social etiquette of acceptable phone usage will develop - it certainly has amongst those that I know. The ones to watch are the 13 year olds as they grow up: how will their usage change? Their behaviour will form the ‘acceptable’ manners of generations to come.
Hamish McKenzie:
And then there’s the problem that there are just too many social media presences to maintain. I’ve split my personality between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, About.me, Spotify, Pinterest, Quora, and Google+. (Just kidding about that last one.) Adding Path, a slightly more granular social network, to that list just seems indulgent, not to mention annoying.
“LOL.”
He’s right, though. It may have a fantastic UEX, a beautiful design…it may get everything right, but that doesn’t mean people want to use it.
Why use Path?
I mean it: Why?
I can think of no good reason and I can think of plenty of reasons not to use Path, principal among which is “I really, really don’t want to use another Social Network.”
My Spidey-sense tells me that maintaining 2 Social Networks is bordering on too much. As Valley Bloggers are all too liable to forget: Regular Joes don’t like visiting loads of websites and “trying” stuff. Very few users even give a shit about UEX. Path falls squarely in the “don’t give a shit.” category for Regular Joe.
That’s not to say they shouldn’t keep working at it and keep building. As I have said before: the next social network is almost certainly mobile-only. That’s how you justify spending $1 billion on Instagram. It’s clear as day that it’s coming. Path could be the company to do it, but were I them I would not court press as I built it.
As someone who has been mugged twice, the UK could do with this.
