WORLD WILD DEBACHING CHOCK

DEAR LOSERS WHO ARE GOING TO WWDC HERES MY GUIDE TO MAKE YOUR TRIP PLEASENT IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

CHOCKTUB

APR 23 SO THIS GUY @MACGUITAR GETS IN THE HOT TUB AND SAYS HE WANTS TO SHOW ME HIS THINGS WHAT A WEIRDO MADE @GRUBER JEALOUS TO

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APR 24 @jsnell BE CAREFUL OR I WILL MAKE YOU GET IN THE HOT TUB WHAT KIND OF WHINE DO YOU LIKE

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MAY 8 WELL LOOK WHOS SHOWN UP AND HE BROUGHT SOME READING MATERIAL COULD IT GET ANY HOTTER IN THIS TUB I HOPE SO

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MAY 9 NOW THAT @SIRACUSA HAS FINALLY SHUTUP ABOUT HIS DEEP FEELINGS FOR LARRY WALL WERE GOING TO LEARN ABOUT THE BLINK TAG FROM JEFFRAY PARTY ON

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MAY 13 OK WHO LET THE CHICKS IN I TELL YOU WHAT IF SHE STARTS UP WITH THE POETRY SHELL BE LOOKING FOR A WORD THAT RHYMES WITH PALM

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MAY 16 WHO THE HELL LET THE KID INTO THE HOT TUB BOY BE CAREFUL OF THE GUY BEHIND YOU HELL WANT TO SHOW YOU HIS THINGS YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR HAT ON TO

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MAY 19 I THOUGHT CATS DIDNT LIKE WATER THAT SNEEKY BASTARD @SOCKINGTON IS PROBABLY GOING AFTER MY WHINE

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May 21st Looks like Twitter’s avatar uploading is broken. Again.

MAY 21 OR MAYBE IT WAS JUST THAT @ATEBITS AND ME BEING IN THE SAME TUB WAS TO HOTT TO HANDLE

MAY 21 IN MORE IMPORTANT NEWS TWITTER FIXED THERE SERVER SO THE CACTUS FITS IN THE HOTT TUB AND @GRUBER THOUGHT SITTING IN MY LAP WAS PRICKLY

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MAY 29 SO ITS BIKINIS ON MONDAY AND WOLFS SHIRTS ON TUESDAYS WHAT ARE WE GOING TO WEAR THE REST OF THE WWDC WHEN WERE NOT IN THE HOTT TUB

MAY 29 AN IMPORTANT AVATER UPDATE IS NOT WORKING AND NO IM NOT WEARING A BIKINI IN IT BUT ITS BETTER

MAY 31 HEY HEY IT LOOKS LIKE THAT FOXY @TJW DUDE LOST HIS HAT ON THE WAY TO THE HOTT TUB AND WHAT THE HELL DOES INMO MEAN http://twitpic.com/59r88

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JUN 3 WHO LET THE DOGS OUT THIS HOTT TUBB IS FULL OF PARTY ANIMALS NOW MOOF MOOF MOOF MOOF http://bit.ly/QNz2G AND DONT SPILL MY WHINE

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JUN 4 I LOVE TO CUDDLE WITH TEDDY BEARS ESPECIALLY IN THE HOTT TUBB WONDER WHO LET HIM OFF THE FARM IN THAT KEEWEE COUNTRY

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JUN 4 OH CRAP ANOTHER BEAR SHOWED UP BUT THIS ONES CANADAIAN AND HES GOT HIS EYES ON MY DRINK HES ALMOST A FRENCHIE TO

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JUN 5 WHOA SOMEONE AND THERE ROCK HARD ASS JUST SHOWED UP IN THE HOTT TUBB NEVER SEEN SUCH FANCY SWIM TRUNKS EITHER WHAT AN PARTY ANIMAL

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JUN 5 THE HOTT TUBB IS GETTING SO FULL WERE ONLY ALLOWING SUBATOMIC PARTICLES FROM THE HARDON COLLIDER MAYBE HIS EXISTENCE PROOFS THE THEORY

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JUN 5 @Curvyboom YOU CHICKS SPEND ALL YOUR TIME ON FACEBOOK PLANNING LUNCH AND WAITING IN LINE FOR THE TOILET NO TIME TO PARTY WITH US ANIMALS

JUN 6 WITH ALL THE CHICKS SHOWING UP FOR WWDC I KNEW ONE OF THEM WOULD TRY TO SNEAK INTO THE HOTT TUBB GOOTEN MORGEN MINE FRAULINE ICH HABEN CHOCK

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JUN 6 IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE WITH A TELETYPE SHOWED UP TO THE HOTT TUBB ID KICK HIM OUT BUT HIS PALMS LOOK DELICIOUSLY FLESHY

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JUN 6 @dsandler ITS EASY TO EXPLAIN JUST SAY THAT ITS PINK AND WARM

JUN 7 ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER CHICK IN THE HOTT TUBB SHES ALMOST AS PINK AS I AM AND I THINK SHES LAUGHING AT US NOT WITH US WONDER IF SHES MARRIED

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JUN 7 @AmyJane ILL MAKE SURE TO WHISPER POPS IN HIS EAR WHEN WE HAVE OUR ANUAL SNUGGLE

JUN 8 YOU LOSERS WHO DIDNT COME OVER TO THE YERBO BUENO HOTT TUBB MISSED OUR SURPRIZE GUEST DURING THE KEYNOTE @GRUBER WAS SO EXCITED HE PEED

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JUN 9 ITS GOT SO CROWDED IN THE HOTT TUBB LAST NIGHT I HAD SOME GOLDEN GATES INSTALLED SO YOU CAN ALL LEAVE NOW

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JUN 10 SOMEONE TURNED UP THE HEAT ON THE HOTT TUBB LAST NIGHT AND IM STILL FEELING A BIT WOOZY ALSO SEEING GRUBER SWEAT IS NASTY

JUN 10 OOOOOOHHH FUZZY BALLS ARE TICKLING MY NOSE IN THE HOTT TUBB AFTER FREE BEER AT THE MAC WORLD

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JUN 11 YEAH ITS TRUE I MAY BE GETTING OUT OF THE HOTT TUBB TO PERFORM AT A BASH WORKING OUT DETAILS WITH THE LAWYERS

JUN 11 FRICKEN LAWYERS WONT MEAT MY DEMANDS FOR THE YERBO BUENO SHOW MAY HAVE TO GET A FAMILY MEMBER TO DO IT STAY TUNED FOR OFFICIAL CHOCK ROCK

JUN 11 BTW DONT FOR GET TO USE CHOCKROCK WHEN LOCALIZING FOR JAPAN

JUN 11 IF YOUR LOOKING FOR THE HOTT TUBB ITS CONVENIENTLY LOCATED NEAR THE FOUNTAIN AND KEGS LOOK FOR GRUBER IN HOTT PANTS

JUN 11 YES I AM LIVE TWEETING THE BASH TURN OFF YOUR FRICKEN PHONE SO I GET SIGNAL LOOSER

JUN 11 HOTT TUBB http://yfrog.com/5hgdgtj

HOTT TUBB

JUN 11 CAKE IS BEING SERVED IN THE HOTT TUBB BEER TO

June 12th For me, there will never be a beer bash as special as the one this evening.

JUN 24 AND YOU THOUGHT I WAS JOKING ABOUT MY BUDDY STEVE BEING IN THE HOTT TUBB http://bit.ly/Y8MCf A MAGIC MOMENT

Don’t design for early adopters

If you’re like me, the iPad has changed how you look at computers in just a matter of weeks. The possibilities for this device seem endless. It’s natural at this point to start thinking about the future, and to do that thinking in terms of the past.

As an example, we’ve been getting plenty of feature requests for Twitterrific that ask for features and capabilities that exist in other mobile and desktop software. That’s not surprising, since one of our early decisions with the iPad app was to trim the app down to its bare essentials.

Part of this had to do with schedule constraints. Sixty days was not a lot of time to build a product from scratch.

But a more important reason for paring back the design was to simplify the user interface. A new kind of user is about to be introduced to a computer that they can actually use: less interface is more as far as they’re concerned. We designed our iPad app with our families in mind, not the Twitter power user.

It turns out that our design intuition was pretty good:

The non-tech-savvy users want something simple, to push an icon and get your e-mail and go online. With the iPad, people don’t feel intimidated by it.

Mary Elizabeth O’Conner

To this technical-ninny it’s clear
In my compromised 100th year,
    That to read and to write
    Are again within sight

Of this Apple iPad pioneer.

Virginia

Even folks that have access to the latest and greatest technology are preferring the iPad over more complex devices. Initial statistics also show that the iPad has an older demographic.

Of course, 300,000 geeks like you and me don’t fall into that category. We’re the first ones standing in line at the Apple store, and the first ones to use all this cool new software. And we know all the things that apps “used to do”. And we want all sorts of other bells and whistles. And we’re wrong.

As a developer, you should be very careful about this early feedback for your app. Simplicity is the name of the game in this new world order. You don’t maintain simplicity by adding tons of features.

Two of the most requested features after the 1.0 release of Twitterrific for iPad were Instapaper support and photo uploading. If you think about these things, both have a high cognitive load. To use Instapaper, you need to know that:

  • The service exists, and that you can signup for an account.
  • That you can install a bookmark and use it to save pages from your browser.
  • That these saved pages can be synced to your iPad using another application.

For photo uploading, you have to know how to do one of these things in order to “get a picture”:

  • Use the camera connection kit to transfer photos, or
  • Take a screenshot with a non-intuitive gesture (the power and home buttons), or
  • Tap and hold on a picture in a web page and save it to an album, or
  • Create events in iPhoto and sync them with iTunes

Ask yourself if you could explain any one of these things to your mother in less than 25 words. I know I can’t and I’m pretty good with this kind of stuff.

Of course, these are both useful features and we added both of them in subsequent releases. In the case of Instapaper, the feature doesn’t even show up in the UI until you go into the Settings app and add your account information. My mom will never see it.

Photo uploading is a simple button on the compose screen that lets you choose a photo from your library. Eventually, our mothers will figure out how to add things to the photo library and use that feature. But they’ll be happiest when a future device let’s us put a “Take Picture Now” button on that screen.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement this new device has generated in the last month and a half, but the real thrill will be in a year’s time when people who’ve never used a computer will be telling you how much they love your app. And there will be a lot more than 300,000 of them…

Updated: Check out similar thoughts from my colleages: David Lanham and Gedeon Maheux.

A lot of typing

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to write a book. Now I know. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but rewarding beyond words.

For those of you asking for PDF or Ebook editions, you can order them now directly from O’Reilly. The printed version will be available in a couple of weeks. The “Look Inside” feature at Amazon.com will give you an idea of what the book covers. I’ve also written an overview of each chapter. (And for those of you who are dying to know, the CHOCKLOCK first appears on page ix.)

If you think you know everything about iPhone development, this book will probably prove you wrong. I learned a lot while writing it, and it’s my sincere hope that you’ll benefit from reading it.