Oct 9, 2011
Steve Jobs, two letters, one word
Tim Windsor Apple 1 Comment
Photo: Ben Stanfield, cc flickr
Steve Jobs wasn’t a magician. He didn’t have supernatural powers. He was bound by the same rules of physics, chemistry and biology as all of us. And yet, somehow, he managed in his too-short life to turn extraordinary leaps forward in technology and usability into a nearly commonplace occurrence.
How, then, did he do that? The received wisdom after his death is that he was special, different, cut from a better grade of cloth. And, certainly, he was all of those things. But I wonder if his secret weapon wasn’t something remarkably commonplace. Mundane, even.
Yes, he was smarter than most of us. Yes, he was more driven. Yes, he had an innate sense of what would work and an unparalleled ability to motivate people to make those ideas come to life. And, yes, he was the greatest CEO-showman that we’ve ever known.
But, more than all of that, he knew and used the power of one simple word.
“No.”
Without “no,” in your arsenal, it’s easy to get distracted. Without “no,” vision can be destroyed. Without “no,” any project, large or small, will be derailed. But with it, focus is maintained, momentum grows and, ultimately, product ships that is as wonderful in production as it first seemed on the whiteboard or sketchpad.
Here’s Steve Jobs, speaking to the Worldwide Developers Conference in 1997, talking about how he reined in Apple’s developers who were pursuing multiple projects in many different directions, with the power of “no”:
You think focusing is about saying “yes.”
No.
“Focusing is about saying no. And when you say no you piss off people. (But) the result of that focus is going to be some great products where the total is greater than the sum of its parts.”
To me, the most inspiring thing about “no,” whoever uses it well and properly, is that it’s a word that’s available to each of us, if only we’d speak it. Each “no” stands alert, guarding the rare and precious yes that’s at the core of our visions. Alone and in concert, these small negatives clear the way for us to focus on the positive outcome we’re all aiming for.
Think about questions like these every time you’re asked to expand the scope of a project, or to take on a new one:
- Does it fit the vision?
- Will it get us closer to our goal?
- Without it, will we be unable to ship?
- Is it worth killing something else to do this?
If the answer you think is “no,” then you already have your answer. Say it. Aloud. “No.” You may be surprised at how close it’ll get you to the yeses that are most important.
Do that, and we’re honoring the memory of Steve in the best possible way.
Jun 8, 2011
User Experience is important: Reason #65398
Tim Windsor Ideas, Uncategorized 1 Comment
I have a last-minute trip to New York this week. Because this is the season, apparently, of $750 hotel rooms when you book them late, I decided instead to save some money and make it an up-and-back trip in one day.
Which means I wanted an early train. So I searched for morning trains on the Amtrak site:
…and found that the earliest train possible got me from Baltimore to NYC by 8:44:
I thought I’d remembered earlier trains, but guessed that they may have been sold out, given that I was traveling at the last minute (UX note: See how quickly I assume I’m doing something wrong, instead of the site). But this morning, as I pondered the mad 20-block dash to get to my meeting a half-hour late, it struck me as impossibly odd. So I searched other dates into the summer, all with the same result of no trains before 6 a.m.
I downloaded the official Amtrak Northeast Corridor timetable (updated March 2011) and it confirmed my suspicions: there were earlier trains. So why weren’t they showing up on the Amtrak site when I was looking, I thought, at all morning trains?
I called to talk to a ticket agent. While I was on hold, I did what all flummoxed web users do: I clicked on random things. Finally, I hit on the secret combination: Instead of selecting “morning,” I should select a particular hour in the morning. 5 a.m., for example.
When I finally got the friendly Amtrak web support person on the phone, I asked her why the choice of “morning” did not, in fact, display all of the morning trains. She didn’t know, but her guess (and I think she’s correct) was that the site designer assumed that most people meant 6 a.m. when they said morning.
Assumed.
Most people.
Dangerous words.
Anyway, I got what I wanted, I suppose. And now I’ll be setting the alarm for 4:30 a.m., instead of the comparatively luxurious 5:30 a.m.
Apr 22, 2011
The inevitable arc of any ‘controversial’ tech story
Tim Windsor Uncategorized Comments Off
By now, you’ve heard about the fact that your iPhone has been caching its location data file for months, leaving a nifty but, for some, troubling series of virtual breadcrumbs showing the phone’s movement over time.
I tend to agree with Gruber and other cooler heads that this is half-intentional, half-mistake. The intentional point is the short-term caching of location data to serve apps that use it. The mistake is in not flushing the data after it’s been used. Apparently, this is the way Android handles similar location information.
My guess: watch for an update real soon now.
Until then, marvel at the way these kinds of stories almost always play out:
- The original story is reported, in this case with nuance and a downloadable app to pull your own data and display it.
- Blogs pick it up and spin accordingly. Many Apple-centric sites report it with some perspective. Others freak out.
- A midwestern former-comedian-turned-senator demands answers.
- A subsequent post points out that answers to the senator’s questions already exist.
- Local television news joins the freakout. “YOUR PHONE IS SPYING ON YOU! DETAILS AT 11.”
What’s next? I don’t watch it, but I imagine that The Today Show will devote a sizable chunk of the show to it this morning. NPR will wring its hands. Consumer Reports will be sure to issue a news release saying that they still don’t recommend the iPhone. And Steve Ballmer will tell some interviewer willing to listen that he knew all along that “the iPhone is a flawed approach to smartphones.”
Okay. Now I’m exaggerating. But the point stands.
It’s a story. No question. And there are legitimate inquiries to be made about why Apple doesn’t flush out the data more frequently (or at all) and what, exactly, it’s being used for (there are many plausible guesses that are quite benign, but, so far, Apple hasn’t spoken up and cleared the air).
But by the time it gets to the ears of the general public, it’s become something much larger and, honestly, much more alarming and inaccurate.
Apr 20, 2011
Dear Amazon: Love the “Lending Library.” Now let me give my e-books to the local library.
Tim Windsor Uncategorized 1 Comment
One of the many bookcases at Baltimore's Book Thing, a free book exchange. Photo by Knile, cc at flickr.
Amazon announced today that, later this year, 11,000 libraries across the United States will be participating in the Kindle Lending Library, which will allow library patrons to borrow Kindle books.
Great idea, and long overdue.
But I want more. Or, if we’re getting technical about it, less.
I want to be able to donate my “used” Kindle editions to my local library. I’ve read most of them exactly one time. My wife and daughter could technically read them as well, using my login, but that’s as far as it goes.
With physical books, it’s simpler. Several times a year, I fill up the trunk of the Element with anything I’ve already read and won’t be holding onto for reference and take them to Baltimore’s Book Thing, an amazing and free book exchange where a sign near the exit encourages visitors to “Be Greedy” with their armloads of books.
And, yet, somehow the shelves are never empty. Because there’s an ongoing inbound supply of books.
Why not transition this model to e-books as well? I should be able to transfer my license to a public library. Why not? I give my paper books away all the time.
Apr 14, 2011
Now that’s how to help a new user
Tim Windsor Uncategorized Comments Off
A quick work-related link this morning.
The new Patch iPhone app was released on iTunes this morning. I think there’s a lot to like there — especially if you’re in one of the 800+ (and growing) towns with its own Patch.
One well-designed small feature struck me immediately after I’d loaded the app: The simple help overlay that appeared on first launch. At a glance, if I had any question about how to use the app, it was answered visually and easily.
Nice touch.
Apr 6, 2011
How do you spend $40 million on a pay wall? You don’t
Tim Windsor Uncategorized Comments Off
No real surprises here: Sulzberger says the NY Times pay wall didn’t cost $40 million. Or even close.
He doesn’t share any further details, but my bet is that a lot of that $40 million is marketing and first-year revenue loss, tracked as a cost (with the assumption of better numbers in the out years).
Apr 5, 2011
“What problem are you solving?”
Tim Windsor Ideas Comments Off
This is a link to the most useful post I’ve read in ages.
Ostensibly, it’s about how Mark Wahlberg “cut some corners” to make his magnificent “The Fighter” movie. But it’s really about how to focus on what you’re trying to accomplish, and whether the methods to get there you’ve been told are the right ones really are the right ones.
It ties in with another great question to ask: What problem are you solving? The goal was to make the fights seem real. Not to make them look good. To seem real. Focusing on that changes the requirements.
And that leads to another good question you should always come back to: Is there an easier way? The HBO fight crew is made up of experts at filming fights. They don’t need to be taught how to make it look real. They’re used to capturing a fight in one take — and that’s without knowing what will happen beforehand. Shooting this way is a piece of cake for them.
And maybe the most important question: What’s the opportunity cost? The whole film had a shooting calendar of 33 days. Filming it the HBO way means the movie gets made. A longer, pricier approach might have doomed the film and prevented it from ever being shot in the first place.
Most of us aren’t filming fight scenes. But the way Wahlberg and his team challenged assumptions and questioned traditional “best practices” is something that can be applied to all kinds of arenas, not just boxing ones.
Me, elsewhere