We were debating a Backpack feature in our Campfire room today and the word “can’t” came up a few times.
Seeing that word describing different competing solutions reminded me that there are different degrees of can’t. The problem is that can’t is an absolute that’s actually relative when it comes to software design.
You have to ask yourself which can’t wins. Is it “We can’t launch it like that because it’s not quite right” or is it “We can’t spend any more time on this because if we do we can’t launch” ? The outcomes of those two scenarios are night and day, yet they both sound like there are no alternatives. In this context, can’t kills priority which is why it’s an especially dangerous word.
And that’s the problem with using absolutes in debates. They can be healthy when a decision absolutely needs to be made, but they can also box you into corner by pitting two opposite absolutes against each other. That’s head-butting, face-saving time. Can’t squeezes out middle ground when there is usually middle ground to be reached.
Moral of the story: Be careful when attaching absolutes to your position. Attaching absolutes is like throwing a Hail Mary pass—it’s an all or nothing play.
I’m a sucker for novel inventions that solve real problems. Enter the Endurus XCR Boa by The North Face. It may not solve a problem that a whole lot of people face, but it’s a real innovation for long distance runners.
In The Perfect Human, Dean Karnazes — a man who ran 50 marathons in 50 days — shares his 12 secrets for success. Among them: Go laceless.
One of the biggest annoyances in long-distance running is lace management. After banging out 50 miles, it can be hard to squat or even bend over long enough to tie your shoes. The North Face recently responded to Karnazes’ complaints and came out with the $130 M Endurus XCR Boa. Its laceless upper is enmeshed in thin steel cables that connect to a tension dial at the back. A simple turn cinches the shoe onto the foot. No more slowing down to fiddle with laces.
I love it. Turn the dial to tighten or loosen the shoes. Neat thinking. And according to The North Face, “This unique closure automatically micro- adjusts with foot movement to eliminate pressure points, kind of like a suspension system.” Further reading about the lacing system if you’re interested.
How about a happy story to start off 2007: After the only grocery store in Truman Minnesota closed, 17-year-old Nick Graham bought and re-opened it to help save his struggling community. People are even volunteering to help him stock the shelves. What a wonderful story. The kid’s got a great James Stewart-like voice too.
A new year, a new job? Find or fill your position on the Job Board. We’ve also added live search to the job board. Just type something in the box and the results filter dynamically. Enter things like “Chicago” or “New York” or “Boston Rails” or “NY PHP” or “San Francisco Design” or “Senior Designer” to find the right job.
Brontes Technologies, a 3M Company is looking for a Web App Developer in Lexington, MA.
TheLadders is looking for a Software Engineer in NYC.
The New York Times is looking for a LAMP Developer in NYC.
Facebook is looking for a PHP Performance Engineer in Palo Alto, CA.
The Integer Group is looking for a Web Developer in Des Moines, IA.
The SAVO Group is looking for a Web Developer in Chicago, IL.
Outside Source Design is looking for a Flash Developer in Indianapolis, IN.
Meetup.com is looking for a UI/Web Designer in NYC.
Continued…
A lesson in how to get fleeced. Common example: If you want your airline ticket in paper you’ll have to pay $75 at United; $50 at American, Continental, Northwest and US Airways; $45 at Virgin Atlantic. [via Wheaties]
There’s this little storefront on Ashland Avenue in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood called Marrakech Cuisine. If you’re not looking for it you’d ignore it. And if you were looking for it you might even think it was the wrong place.
In the front you’ll find authentic Moroccan lamps, hand-made jewelry, wood carvings, boxes, and other imported curiosities. But the real treasure is in the sunken, dimly lit room in the back.
The first treasure is the owner. He’s a gentle, soft spoken man with a smile baked into his face. He sells you the lamps, he takes your order, he cooks your food, he serves your food, and he rings you up. He’s not quick, but there’s no reason to rush.
The second treasure is the food. The menu is simple and fairly priced. Everything I’ve tried is good — especially the Harrira, the Lentil Salad, and the Atlas Tajine. This is food made by someone who cares about what he cooks and what you eat. The ingredients are fresh, and the flavors are just right, and the portions are proper (read: not too big).
Finishing off the meal with some tea made from fresh mint leaves, rosewater, and the slightest touch of honey is highly recommended. It goes well with his homemade sticky Baklawa.
This place is such a great escape from the busy street and the fussy cuisine that’s popping up all over. You’ll never need a reservation. Don’t be alarmed if you’re the only one there. It’s guaranteed good food with a truly personal touch that seems rare these days.
I would have never walked in this place had someone not recommended it to me. That’s why I’m passing on my recommendation to you. Good eats.
We just launched a revised version of our home page. The redesign took about 2 days from paper to screen to launch.
New on the left, old on the right.
The goal was to tighten up the design, say more with less words, and hone our overall message. We wanted to shine the spotlight on our current three paying apps (Basecamp, Backpack, and Campfire). The redesign also gave us an opportunity to commit to a new typeface we’ve been itching to use for a while now. I see we’re not the only ones who like that type.
There was one other goal: begin to unify the design, layout, and HTML/CSS of our corporate and product sites. This new design will serve as a template for our redesigned product sites which we’ll begin to roll out in 2007.
It feels good to start with a clean CSS slate. New sheet, no legacy. New foundations are fun to build.
Sometimes during software development you need to hack something together temporarily just to see it working. You have no intention of leaving it like that.
We recently needed to add an email field to something we’re working on. And to make sure we didn’t forget about it we made it ridiculous.
Now it works, but we can also tell it’s not finished. And we can have a laugh about it.
There are other techniques too. You could set up a CSS class called “temporary” that throws a ugly thick purple border around things you know are temporary.
Or you could just keep a log somewhere, but we think it’s better to show the temporariness on the screen itself instead of on a piece of paper that may or may not be accurate and comprehensive.
What techniques have you used to keep ugly temporarily-necessary hacks from slipping into your final release?
There’s a big difference between trying something and using something.
Trying something is more common than using something. That’s why most products are optimized for trying.
Trying something is looking at some screenshots, signing up, playing with it for a couple of minutes, forming an opinion, and then moving on. Trying is mainly about first impressions and surface appeal.
Most product reviews are based on trying something, not using something. That’s why many reviews are pretty thin or don’t get to the core essence of the product. The real deep knowledge of a product can only come from using it. Using it is what reveals greatness or failure on an intimate level.
You don’t notice the quirks and shortcuts when you try something. Those revelations only come from real use. Eye candy shines during trial, but fades fast during use. Cool wears off quick, usefulness never does.
Think of the difference between something painted gold and something made of gold. They’re both gold now, but once the paint wears off the first one you’re looking at something different. On the other hand the solid gold one continues to be gold no matter how much you use it.
In some ways it’s the difference between meeting someone and knowing someone. You don’t know someone until you’ve really spent some time with them. How do they react in certain situations? Are they kind or only friendly on the surface? Are they smart or can they just recite a few facts? The same goes for a product. How does the product react? Is the product just clever enough or is it too clever? How does the product make you feel when you use it?
... I don’t know how to end this post, but I’ve been sitting on the content for about a week now so I figured I’d share it as is. It’s been a frustrating post to put together and I’m not sure why. I’m having a difficult time clearly explaining why the difference between trial and usage is such an important distinction. Anyone care to finish my thoughts?
