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diff --git a/old/published/leopard preview/leopard preview2 b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard preview2 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..72ff7e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard preview2 @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +Although Apple's new operating system, Mac OS X 10.5, better known as Leopard, won't be released until October, Steve Jobs is bound to give a sneak peek at Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference on June 11. + +He's promised some top secret features, but here's what we know so far. + +Leopard's New Apps + +Time Machine One of Leopard's most anticipated new features is Time Machine, a data archiving system that makes periodic automated hard drive backups. Unlike most backup solutions which restore a hard disk to a fixed state, Time Machine can be used to pick and choose specific files to restore. + +Time Machine is essentially a dressed up version control system, something programmers have long relied on for tracking changes to files. However, thanks to Apple's penchant for visual flair, it looks totally unique. Time Machine has a stunning 3-D interface that lets users move forward and backward through time visually. The effect of travelling through a virtual "time tunnel" is straight out of a Doctor Who title sequence. + +Spaces Another brand new feature for Leopard is Spaces, Apple's take on virtual desktops. With Spaces, users can swap between dedicated virtual workspaces. You can keep your web browser, e-mail client and iTunes on one desktop, then flip to a work desktop containing Photoshop and Illustrator documents. As with Time Machine, Spaces' animated navigation is pure eye-candy. + +These new apps showcase Apple's Core Animation, a new Leopard feature. The graphics rendering engine enables software developers to build animated 3-D user interfaces for their applications. Expect the apps built with Core Animation' eye-popping graphics power to cause the biggest splash. + +But the move to Core Animation will also require developers to drop support for earlier version of OS X, so the transition may take time. **90% sure that's true, but we should confirm, I'll ask some of the developers** + +Austin Sarner, a mac developer with Madebysofa, an interface design and software company, says the new features are more than just eye candy. "Animation in general creates continuity and more direct feedback to a user experience." + +As an example he points to the navigation interface in AppleTV, "your selection glides into place as opposed to immediately snapping to the next item. Midway through the split second animation, you can neatly cancel out and go in the other direction." + +Wil Shipley, the developer behind Delicious Library, says the next version of his cataloguing app will require Leopard so that it can take advantage of the Core Animation features. "Delicious Library 2 is based entirely around Core Animation and other key Leopard technologies, so our customers are going to have to upgrade their OS if they want to upgrade our program." + +Shipley believes that not only will developers embrace Core Animation, but that it will revolutionize the user experience as we know it. "The revolution coming with Core Animation is akin to the one that came from the original Mac in 1984 -- Apple said 'here's a relatively easy way to add graphics to your user interface' and Core Animation says, 'Here's a very easy way to add composited layers and motion to your interface.'" + +"We're going to see a whole new world of user interface metaphors with Core Animation" + +There is already speculation that interfaces like that of Time Machine, which relies heavily on the Core Animation features, may lead to the end of the traditional "window" metaphor for desktop applications. + +Already small screen devices like the iPhone have forced designers to abandon traditional UI elements associated with the window metaphor, such as pull-down menus, in favor of more innovative designs. + +But will that translate back to the desktop as a whole new UI paradigm? + +Shipley thinks some things will change. "I think the (new) paradigm is direct manipulation -- just grab your document and 'throw' it upwards to get it to scroll, for example, instead of fumbling about for the scroller." + +However he also believes that the old forms will remain. "I don't think we'll abandon the old way as much as supplement our armory with a whole new arsenal of tools." + +After all, even experimental interfaces like the iPhone revert back to a windowed application when it comes to traditional tasks like browsing the web. + +And while Core Animation may end up revolutionizing the way you interact with your Mac, Apple isn't abandoning the traditional Windowed application just yet. + +In fact many of the most anticipated enhancements in Leopard are improvements to existing Apple applications. + +Tidy Up Around the Office + +Apple's desktop Mail program will be greatly enhanced by the addition of Notes, To-do lists, an RSS reader and new templates for sending e- mail with embedded images. + +While Apple claims the revamped Mail has "breakthrough new features that have never been seen before in a Mail application," that's really stretching it. Nearly everything "new" in Apple Mail is already available to Outlook and Entourage users, and to users of specialty applications like EverNote. But Mail users should be happy that their favorite client is now up to speed with the competition. + +The Notes feature allows users to store personal reminders in the form of text, graphics, photos, web clippings and attachments. According to Apple, Notes can be stored in mailboxes accessible from any computer, but the company hasn't provided any details about how that connectivity will work. It may be limited only to users with .Mac accounts. + +To-dos can be created on the fly from Notes or in an e-mail. Newly created lists automatically sync with Apple's iCal calendar app. Lists will also be accessible system-wide, much like Mac Address Book data. They will theoretically be available to any app that wishes to leverage them, a boon for third party developers. + +Mail for Leopard will ship with rich HTML templates for e-mail and newsletters called "Stationary." Mail will also get its own embedded media browser for quick access to iPhoto libraries, making it easy for users to drag snapshots into e-mails. + +The last new feature for Mail in Leopard is a built-in RSS feed reader. Apple's Safari browser already handles RSS feeds, and so far Apple hasn't given any hint as to how the two will work together, if at all. + +OMG! New iChat! + +The video and sharing features in Apple's iChat instant messenger client will get a boost when Leopard is released. While video chatting, users will be able to add custom background images or tweak the feed with effects like Photo Booth's ever-popular "funhouse mirror" treatment. Additionally, iChat users will be able to stream videos, photo slideshows and Keynote presentations to each other. There's also a new collaboration feature that lets users give each other remote desktop access during chats. Turn it on and let your friend at the other end of the line "take the wheel" to show you how to perform a specific task on your machine. + +Browsable Widgets + +Mac OS X's Dashboard widget manager is rumored to be receiving a major overhaul, but details remain largely unknown. The only official new feature Apple has revealed is Web Clip, a Dashboard tool that allows users to clip any part of a Web page and turn it into a "live widget" -- really just a browser window embedded on the Mac OS X Dashboard. + +More Power Under the Hood + +Leopard will be the first version of OS X to fully support 64-bit systems. For the time being, this will really only help users with the latest Intel hardware -- namely the XServe, Mac Pro and the most recent Core 2 Duo notebooks. + +Spotlight gets more powerful, too. Apple's system-wide search mechanism will gain the ability to show previews of documents inside searches. Spotlight will also support common Boolean search operators like NOT and OR. + + +One More Thing... + +Steve Jobs has promised that Leopard has a few more tricks up its sleeve, and the Apple rumor mills continue to speculate wildly. While no one knows for sure which rumors are true, some developments do seem more likely than others. + +One notable rumor is that Apple's Bootcamp (which will ship with Leopard) may include some virtualization features and will offer full support for running Windows Vista on Intel-based Mac hardware. If true, this will be a tough blow to current virtualization offerings from VMWare and Parallels. + +Others claim that Safari and Mail will gain phishing protection and greater Ajax support for webapps like Gmail. This is likely, as these features are already available in nightly builds of WebKit, Apple's open-source code base for web-enabled applications. + +Finally, media-hoarding geeks are abuzz about Leopard's rumored support for Sun Microsystems' Zettabyte File system (ZFS) which eliminates file size limits and improves hard drive reliability. + +Whatever Jobs ends up revealing at the WWDC, one thing is for sure, as Wil Shipley says, "It's an awesome time to be a Mac developer, and, by extension, a Mac user." + diff --git a/old/published/leopard preview/leopard-CA.txt b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard-CA.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..16fd2d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard-CA.txt @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Ever tried browsing your hard drive in 3-D? + +How about shuffling your open applications like a deck of cards, or "throwing" your files with your mouse to open them? + +It may sound like some "desktop of the future" dreamed up by a Hollywood special effects crew, but such a scenario will soon be within reach of anyone with a Mac. The key to making this fantasy a reality is Core Animation, the user interface graphics engine included in the next version of Apple's operating system, <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/">Mac OS X 10.5</a>. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to highlight the new-found graphical might of the next Mac OS X (nicknamed Leopard) during his keynote address at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference on June 11 in San Francisco. + +Leopard's October release will bring with it an entirely new visual language for designing desktop user interfaces. The traditional desktop will become a multi-layered, three-dimensional environment where windows flip around or zoom in and out. Double-clicks and keystrokes will give way to mouse gestures and other forms of complex user input. + +"We're going to see a whole new world of user interface metaphors with Core Animation," says Wil Shipley, developer of the personal media cataloging application <a href="http://www.delicious-monster.com/">Delicious Library</a>. + +Core Animation is primarily an enabling technology that allows programmers to access the Mac's graphics processor more efficiently than before. By giving developers tools to easily add animation and greater interactivity to their applications, Leopard's graphics engine will fuel a revolution in user interface design akin to the one that followed the introduction of the original Macintosh computer. + +"In 1984 Apple said, 'Here's a relatively easy way to add graphics to your user interface'" and Core Animation says, 'Here's a very easy way to add composited layers and motion to your interface,'" says Shipley. + +Shipley's initial release of Delicious, with its glossy, highly refined interface, gave birth to a new breed of application often dubbed the "Delicious generation." For these often younger Mac developers interface experimentation is one of the appeals of the platform. + +Applications of Delicious generation, like <a href="http://www.appzapper.com/">AppZapper</a>, have taken traditional tasks (deleting application files) and added a fun layer of animation to the mix -- this isn't your father's rm command. + +But creating animations like those in AppZapper or <a href="http://discoapp.com/">Disco</a>, a disc burning program which features smoke animation that reacts to sound -- blow into the mic, and the smoke blows away -- is a complex and difficult task under the current version of OS X. + +Leopard's Core Animation will change that, giving the Delicious generation of developers a set of tools that will allow them to easily create new, non-standard, fluid, moving, interactive interfaces. + +The shift toward non-standard interfaces isn't necessarily new, Kai Power Tools, a set of plugins for Adobe Photoshop, featured what was at the time a revolutionary interface for editing image files. But Kai was too far ahead of its time -- the majority of Mac users disliked the novel interface which broke with conventions and ignored Apple's official Human Interface Guidelines (HIG). + +However with the rise of the "widget," both online and in Apple's Dashboard environment, users have come to accept novel interfaces and often expect the sort of highly-graphical interaction that Apple's new Core Animation enables. + +With many developers already moving toward smaller, single-task applications, the addition of Core Animation tools may signal a revolution in Mac application design: lightweight, heavily-animated, widget-like applications are the future of the platform. + +And while some long time Mac developers have decried the Delicious generation of apps, Apple seems to be embracing the changes. + +Apple is ignoring its own HIGs in upcoming Leopard applications like <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/timemachine.html">Time Machine</a>. + +Functionality-wise Time Machine is a banal program -- a content version control system that makes periodic, automated backups of a computer's hard drive. + +But Apple's take on the age old task of incremental backups features a 3-D visual browser which allows users to move forward and backward through time using a virtual "time tunnel" reminiscent of a Doctor Who title sequence and completely unlike any interface currently used in Mac OS X. + +<a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/spaces.html">Spaces</a>, also new to Leopard, lets users manage several virtual workspaces and flip between them using a navigation system that's pure eye-candy. + +Austin Sarner, an interface designer and engineer at software company <a href="http://www.madebysofa.com/">MadeBySofa</a>, says that the new style of Apple apps isn't just about glossy effects -- there's a usability payoff as well. + +"Animation in general creates continuity and more direct feedback to a user experience. In addition to obvious graphical speed boosts, the elegance (animation) can add to a UI is pretty substantial," he says. + +Sarner points to the AppleTV as an example of how animation is making interface navigation more intuitive. + +"Your selection glides into place, as opposed to immediately snapping to the next item. Midway through the split second animation, you can neatly cancel out and go in the other direction." + +Shipley predicts the new user interface paradigm will also include the direct manipulation of documents -- instead of fumbling for a scrollbar, users will be able to grab a document and "throw" it upwards with their mouse in order to scroll down. + +Upcoming small screen devices like the iPhone will force designers to further abandon traditional elements associated with the window metaphor, such as pull-down menus and scrollbars, in favor of more innovative designs emphasizing mouse gestures and click-and-drag actions. + +Core Animation will only make it easier to translate these new ways of thinking onto the desktop. + +Mac developer and <a href="http://www.panic.com/">Panic Software</a> co-founder Cabel Sasser has no doubt that developers will embrace Core Animation. + +"A fast, Apple-maintained way to do the kind of animations we now rely on heavily is a brilliant and well-welcome idea," he says. + +In order to run applications that utilize Core Animation, users will need to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5, as the graphics engine will only be available in the new OS. Apple has created a pair of applications to show off Leopard's 3-D interface abilities. + +While it seems logical to speculate that interfaces like that of Time Machine and Spaces will lead to the end of the familiar "window" framework for desktop applications altogether, many Mac developers predict that the most basic elements of the current user interface forms won't disappear entirely. + +Flying desktops and animated scrolling actions can enhance a user interface in many instances, but applications that like browsing the web and writing an e-mail will still require a traditional environment. + +"I really don't think that the desktop will ever become 'windowless,'" says Panic's Sasser. "Windows present a very familiar and natural way to work and multitask, and to radically change it might just mean desktop suicide." + +Even though we're still tied to the traditional computer desktop, Shipley agrees that the limitations of what that desktop can do are eroding. + +"I don't think we'll abandon the old way as much as supplement our armory with a whole new arsenal of tools," Shipley says. "It's an awesome time to be a Mac developer, and, by extension, a Mac user."
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/old/published/leopard preview/leopard.txt b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80d97e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/leopard preview/leopard.txt @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +When Steve Jobs takes the stage at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference next week he's expected to give a feature complete preview of Apple's much anticipated new operating system, OS X 10.5, nicknamed Leopard. + +While Apple has previously acknowledged that Leopard will be delayed until October of this year, Jobs has traditionally used the WWDC as a place to show off new features. + +Although no one knows for sure what Jobs will unveil, here's what we know so far. + +###New Features + +The much vaunted new Time Machine is an archival system that makes periodic backups of your hard drive, allowing you to recover those accidentally deleted files. + +The wow factor comes from the amazing 3-D interface that lets you visually move forward and backward through time, as it were. + +In addition to the visuals, Time Machine can be used to pick and choose which files to restore rather than restoring a fixed state as most current backup solutions do. + +From the information available it appears that Time Machine is essentially a dressed up remake of version control, something programmers have long relied on for tracking document changes. + +Another brand new feature for Leopard is Spaces, Apple's take on virtual desktops. Spaces allows you to group similar apps on virtual desktops and change from say your web browser and email client desktop to your work desktop with Photoshop and Illustrator. + +###Revamped Applications + +Leopard will see a new focus on productivity applications with Mail, iChat and Spotlight all receiving significant upgrades. + +Apple's Mail program will see a major overhaul in Leopard with the addition of notes, todo lists, stationary and an RSS reader. + +The notes feature allows user to write reminders and can include graphics, text and attachments. Notes can be stored in folders or smart mailboxes and according to Apple, behave just like traditional mailboxes meaning you can view your notes from any computer. +***(presumably with IMAP?? I actually don't see how that could possibly by true otherwise, perhaps that's limited to .Mac)*** + +ToDo lists are actually a system wide tool, featured in Mail and iCal, but theoretically available to any app that wishes to leverage them, similar to the way Address Book data is handled. + +Leopard Mail will ship with stationary templates for HTML mail and newsletters. Judging by Apple's demo video, the feature is very similar to the template handling of Keynote and Pages and will see Mail gain a media browser for quick and easy access to iPhoto and other media management programs. + +Leopard will also see the addition of RSS capabilities in Mail. Safari already handles RSS and so far Apple hasn't given any hint as to how the two will work together. + +While Apple's press release claims the revamped Mail has "breakthrough new features that have never been seen before in a Mail application," that just isn't true. Nearly everything new in Apple Mail is already available to Outlook and Entourage users, but Mail users should be happy that their favorite client is now up to speed with competitors. + +Also due to be significantly revamped is iChat, Apple's internet messenger client. + +Leopard's iChat will include access to special effects similar to those in Photo Booth as well as live presentations of iPhoto slideshows, Keynote presentations and videos through a feature called "iChat Theater." + +Other new features in iChat include a screen sharing feature that gives users remote desktop capabilities for sharing and collaboration during chat sessions. + +With 2007 already being dubbed the year of the widget, its no surprise tha Apple has big plans for OS X's widget manager, Dashboard. + +Dashboard is rumored to be receiving a major overhaul, but details remain largely unknown. The only official new feature Apple has revealed is Web Clip, a Dashboard tool that allows users to clip any part of a Web page and turn it into a "live widget." + +Judging by Apple's information the "live widget" is really just a browser window on your Dashboard. Users can resize the window to zero in on the portion of the page they wish to track. + +Spotlight, Apple's system-wide search mechanism has a new feature in Leopard named Quick Look, which allows users to preview documents without opening an application. + +Spotlight will also gain support for Boolean operators such as NOT and OR in searches. + +###Behind the Scenes + +Not all of the changes in Leopard are in the bundled applications, there are also some significant under-the-hood overhauls designed to speed up performance. + +Leopard will be the first version of OS X to fully support 64-bit systems. + +While various parts of the Tiger, Apple's current shipping version of OS X, support 64-bit systems, the changes in Leopard will extend the 64 bit support to all graphical applications. + +For the time being this really only helps users of the latest Intel hardware -- those running on the 64-bit processors, namely the XServer, Mac Pro and the most recent Core 2 Duo notebooks. + +While details of Dashboard's revamped widget system remain largely unknown, developers will be happy to know that that Leopard brings a new development environment, dubbed Dashcode, which should make it easier to create Dashboard Widgets. + +###More To Come + +Steve Jobs has promised that Leopard has a few more tricks up its sleeve and the Apple rumor mills are churning out speculations every week. No one knows for sure, but some things do seem more likely than others. + +Notable rumors include the notion that Bootcamp (which will ship with Leopard) might include some virtualization features and full support for Windows Vista. + +Others claim that Safari and Mail will gain phishing protection and greater Ajax support for applications like GMail (these features are already available via nightly builds of WebKit). Leopard may also support Sun's Zettabyte File system (ZFS) which eliminates file size limits and improves hard drive reliability. + + + + diff --git a/old/published/leopard preview/leopardinterviews.txt b/old/published/leopard preview/leopardinterviews.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c945cff --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/leopard preview/leopardinterviews.txt @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +austinsarner@mac.com + + + + +First off, do you think developers are going to embrace Core animation (given that doing so would possibly break the backwards compatibility)? I know the TextMate developers have said they plan to drop support for 10.4 in the next version to take advantage of CA (well the text rendering portion anyway, any plans for your software? + +Overall I do think that developers will be embracing Core Animation over time. Like you said, deciding to do so will make your application Leopard only, so I see it being something that will happen after the bulk of the shareware audience migrates. As for me, there isn't any specific feature in any of my apps that could rely on Core Animation for a drastic upgrade. However, once a bulk of my user base has migrated I will consider enhancing existing animations and other graphics with it. + +Is core animation more than just eyecandy? In other words does it provide a way to improve the user experience, whether through better UIs or speed boosts etc? + +Core Animation is definitely more than eye candy. Animation in general creates continuity and more direct feedback to a user experience. For instance, when you select an item in the AppleTV, your selection glides into place as opposed to immediately snapping to the next item. Midway through the split second animation, you can neatly cancel out and go in the other direction. In addition to obvious graphical speed boosts, the elegance it can add to a UI is pretty substantial in my opinion. + +From the demo video available on the Apple site it would seem that the new tools enable an almost windowless environment, is that true? + +While I can't really comment on the actual inner workings of the framework, it seems that with Front Row and Time Machine Apple has opened up to the idea of completely modal experiences when used correctly. + +Do you think Apple plans to move away from windows as a metaphor for the workspace? + +Definitely not. I think that in some cases a windowless environment makes sense -- when changing the content of all windows on screen (Time Machine) or browsing through a media library from a distance (Front Row), for instance. + +And as an extension of the last question, with Apple moving into more devices which run largely windowless UIs (i.e. Apple TV, iPhone) is the windowed application a thing of the past? + +I think that windows still have a place in the desktop environment, while more focused devices like those require modal user experiences. + +Jobs talked briefly last night at D about the various iPhone UI limitations: no mouse, no pull-down menus and so forth. While those are constraints in the case of the iPhone do you think Apple might be looking to turn them into strengths on the desktop platform? + +Again, I do think that the reason a minimal UI like that works on a device like the iPhone is because of the device itself. It's relatively small and when you open it up you generally will want to either make a call, check your email, or do another very specific task. The desktop environment, on the other hand, is entirely about multi tasking. + +Is there a new UI paradigm on the horizen and if so what do you think it would look like? + +I wouldn't be surprised to see an evolution in consumer software that stresses a more real world style for applications. Garageband, for instance, is a great example of an app that takes the standard interface to the next level by creating a more innovative experience through the UI. + +Regards +Sofa: Design, Interfaces and Software - madebysofa.com +Rozengracht 241-1 1016 SX Amsterdam + + +---------------------------------- + +Wil Shippley + +----- + +First off, do you think developers are going to embrace Core animation (given that doing so would possibly break the backwards compatibility)? I know the TextMate developers have said they plan to drop support for 10.4 in the next version to take advantage of CA, any plans for Delicious Monster? + +Yes, Delicious Library 2 is based entirely around CoreAnimation and other key Leopard technologies, so our customers are going to have to upgrade their OS if they want to upgrade our program. We had originally planned to make DL2 10.4-based, and worked for a year and a half on that version, but in August of '06 we learned more about Leopard and where it is going, and we simply couldn't say no any longer. We realized any app we released based on Tiger was going to look really pathetic when Leopard came out. + +Is core animation more than just eyecandy? In other words does it provide a way to improve the user experience, whether through better UIs or speed boosts etc? + +Absolutely... every time you give developers a chance to do better graphics with less code, you're going to see another revolution in user experience. The revolution coming with CoreAnimation is akin to the one that came from the original Mac in 1984 -- the Mac said "here's a relatively easy way to add graphics to your user interface" and CoreAnimation says, "Here's a very easy way to add composited layers and motion to your interface." + +The Core animation changes are quite significant and open up some interface possibilities that would have previously been a lot of work... Time Machine for instance has a pretty amazing interface which, from what I understand, is made possible by the new Core animation tools. + +I can't speculate on how Time Machine was written, but it's true that we're going to see a whole new world of user interface metaphors with CoreAnimation. For me, the original Cocoa was about making it really easy to me to construct an interface with sliders and textfields and buttons -- standard widgets. So we saw a whole generation of applications (for NeXTstep, and then later for Mac OS X) that had pretty decent interfaces, because they all used the same widgets and the widgets were pretty and functional. + +What we'll see with CoreAnimation is a move away from widgets and into direct manipulation. In Delicious Library 2, we're conveying much more information directly on our bookshelf view, instead of using textfields and the like, and similarly we're allowing the user to interact more directly with the books on the shelf, instead of just looking at them and then pressing buttons on another part of a screen to change them. + +Sure, we'll see some pure "eyecandy" applications that kind of abuse CoreAnimation, but we'll also see more of what are coming to be called the "Delicious Generation" of applications (not a term I coined!), where the entire application is designed from the start to be beautiful and fun while solving whatever problem it solves. + +From the demo video available on the Apple site it would seem that the new tools enable an almost windowless environment, is that true? + +One thing to remember about CoreAnimation, or any 'enabling' technology, is that any developer could do all the same effects herself, given enough time and motivation. It's not that CoreAnimation taps into some magic graphics processor that we didn't know about before, it just makes it extremely easy to use the existing graphics processor in the most efficient way. Which means we get to spend more time making cool interfaces because we are spending less time trying to get, like, anything to draw at all. + +Do you think Apple plans to move away from windows as a metaphor for the workspace? + +I am very, very hesitant to speculate on future directions, because people often assume developers have some secret "red phone" where Steve calls us and says, "Hey, Wil, we're going to dump windows as a metaphor in two years, you down with that? Oh, also, did you get those iPhones I sent you?" + +In truth, we wait for the same announcements as everyone else... and I have to wait for my damn iPhone. Which, believe me, is cruelty itself. + +And as an extension of the last question, with Apple moving into more devices which run largely windowless UIs (i.e. Apple TV, iPhone) is the windowed application a thing of the past? + +I personally think that full-screen applications are becoming more important (especially for Apple) as we see more special-purpose devices -- the Apple TV is supposed to a neat way to watch your shows, the iPhone is too damn small to support windows -- but there will always be a need for windowed applications. Humans are inherently multi-tasking creatures. + +I'm old enough to remember a lot of the early experiments with graphical user interfaces, before the world standardized on the Macintosh model. It's funny to remember all the varieties of metaphors that were attempted back then (eg, the Andrew Window System from CMU had a "tiled" interface, where windows never could overlap, but instead automatically resized themselves to perfectly fill the screen, and Microsoft Windows used to have windows inside of windows for applications), but I think they all died out for good reasons. + +Jobs talked briefly last night at D about the various iPhone UI limitations: no mouse, no pull-down menus and so forth. While those are constraints in the case of the iPhone do you think Apple might be looking to turn them into strengths on the desktop platform? + +Fundamentally it hurts my arms to hold them up to the screen, and I have enough trouble keeping my screen clean as it is, so I don't think I really want a touch-screen computer. I haven't seen the iPhone up-close, but I absolutely think some of the creative solutions Apple has come up with in terms of directly manipulating items on the screen (instead of using widgets) are going to carry over and inspire the Delicious Generation of applications. + +Is there a new UI paradigm on the horizon and if so what do you think it would look like? + +I think the paradigm is direct manipulation -- just grab your document and "throw" it upwards to get it to scroll, for example, instead of fumbling about for the scroller. + +Do you think users are ready to abandon the dominant metaphor of desktop UIs? + +I don't think we'll abandon the old way as much as supplement our armory with a whole new arsenal of tools. It's an awesome time to be a Mac developer, and, by extension, a Mac user. + + |