'Mobile as the Driver of Desktop Software Design'

Andrew Binstock, for Dr. Dobb's:

Desktop apps, just like Web apps, are also showing the effects of mobile. This is clearly visible in the new designs of icons and dialog boxes. The latter, which were often complex, multi-paneled widgets that required lots of interaction, have now been greatly simplified with far fewer options in a single pane. In addition, the use of widgets that can substitute for typing data values is becoming more widespread. For example, sliders are now much more common as a way to enter values and they will continue to gain popularity. Likewise, spinner controls.

I've seen a similar trend in the past few years.  I wouldn't necessarily describe it as 'simplified' since that doesn't quite capture the entire flavor or nuance of what is occurring.  A better way, I think, is to describe it as 'focused'.  In contrast to yesteryear's 'everything-including-the-kitchen-sink' applications, today's apps are finding success by focusing on the core features and user experience.

Japan's Attempt to Get Children to Read Newspapers

Ida Torres, writing for The Japan Daily Press about a new app being created by the Japanese newspaper The Tokyo Shimbun:

A new iPhone app has been developed in Japan to “translate” normal newspaper articles to kid-friendly versions. Through augmented reality, children can hold a smartphone (via the camera) over a newspaper to see a child-friendly version of the text.

The video embedded in the article gives you a good feel for how this would work. The basic idea is to provide content that is engaging and appropriate for the intended audience (in this case, children). Although newspapers (like most print media) are in decline, the fact that this technology should work just as well on screens as it would on print means that this might actually have a solid foundation for the future.

The same technology could be expanded to provide other alternative types of views for audiences besides children. Articles could be translated into other languages, for example. Likewise, it might do well in providing context that is appropriate to the audience by translating technical jargon or explaining cultural colloquialisms.

The Perils of Technical Debt in Software

Joe McKendrick, writing for ZDNet:

As Jones put it: "If you skimp on quality before you deliver software, you end up paying heavy interest downstream after the software is released for things you could have gotten rid of earlier, had you been more careful." Cunningham adds that applications themselves have a way of taking on a life of their own -- turning into "its own little bureaucracy where you can’t actually on a daily basis create value." The result is technical debt that "has piled up and you’re paying that interest."

In my career, I've seen first-hand how technical debt can impact software projects. I've seen it cause a project to be woefully over budget, behind schedule, and ultimately disappointing to users. I've also seen it completely destroy a project (at the expense of many jobs).

However, that isn't to say that technical debt must be avoided at all costs.  It isn't necessarily always possible or practical to get things correct the first time. Sometimes software needs to 'bake' a bit more, especially when blazing new trails. As well, it is naive to think that shipping is unimportant (real artists ship, right?).

In short, technical debt should be minimized where possible but understood as a reality of software projects.

The Next Xbox Will Not Disable Used Games

The staff at Edge wrote this particularly juicy tidbit:

Sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft’s next generation console have told us that although the next Xbox will be absolutely committed to online functionality, games will still be made available to purchase in physical form. Next Xbox games will be manufactured on 50GB-capacity Blu-ray discs, Microsoft having conceded defeat to Sony following its ill-fated backing of the HD-DVD format. It is believed that games purchased on disc will ship with activation codes, and will have no value beyond the initial user.

This same tired rumor keeps coming back year after year, console generation after console generation. This particular iteration caused a lot of concern around the web (such as the post by John Biggs for TechCrunch). The story even prompted electronics retailer GameStop to make an official comment after the retailer's stock price was rocked by this supposed 'news':

“We know the desire to purchase a next-generation console would be significantly diminished if new consoles were to prohibit playing pre-owned games, limit portability or not play new physical games,” Hodges said in an e-mail.

GameStop, of course, makes quite a nice profit on its used video game sales so the stock market's investors reacted negatively to what they believed to be a significant threat to the company's business strategy. The problem is that this story doesn't pass the 'sniff test' once a person takes a moment to really think about the likelihood of its claims coming to pass.

First, we have to consider what Microsoft would gain by eliminating the used game market. Hypothetically, Microsoft could bring in more revenue by removing a source of game content that doesn't directly send money their way. Although that sounds fine on paper, in practice it is absurd to think that gamers will simply decide to funnel their cash into buying new games. It's not as if someone who would have purchased one to two used games at $20 apiece is going to purchase those games at $60 apiece; that person is just going to purchase fewer games or find alternative means of acquiring games (i.e. piracy).

Second, we have to consider what Microsoft's competitors would do in reaction to this move. The only possible way that Microsoft could escape unscathed is if Sony and Nintendo both decided to follow suit. However, this is highly unlikely to occur. What is more likely to happen is that Sony and Nintendo would take the opportunity to rake Microsoft over the coals for making such a move. The PR would be terrible for Microsoft while simultaneously being great for its competitors. This would likely drive gamers into the waiting arms of Sony and Nintendo, thereby decreasing Microsoft's revenue.

Folks, don't buy into this nonsense. This sort of story is published for the sole purpose of generating page views.

On Dell Going Private

Nathan Ingraham, writing for The Verge:

Dell has struggled in recent years to maintain its position in the PC industry, losing more than a third of its value in 2012. By going private, however, the company won't have to deal with quarter-to-quarter scrutiny from shareholders as it attempts to turn things around.

At first, I thought it sounded odd that Dell was going private. It's not the sort of thing you see everyday. On further inspection, it actually makes a lot of sense.

In today's 'quarter-to-quarter' obsessed market, investors can make loopy decisions with how they rate a stock (for the best example of this, see Apple's recent stock-related drama). For many companies, the pressure from investors to hit certain quarterly numbers can lead to ruin in the long term by placing short term gains over the best interests of the company. By going private, Dell can focus on creating a solid foundation for the company's future instead of catering to the whims of investors that are looking to make a quick buck.

'Amazon's Cute Little Robots Change the Game for All'

The folks at Bloomberg have an excellent short video (see the source link) about the Kiva Systems warehouse robots used by Amazon. The Kiva robots are intended to operate much more efficiently than humans performing the same job of retrieving items from the warehouse. In addition, repetitive motion stress is reduced since there isn't as much need for people to bend over or carry heavy items.

One of the most interesting statements in the video relates to the fact that we shouldn't be so obsessed with the idea of creating robots that look like humans. As years of effort have shown, it's actually fairly difficult to achieve something that approaches human dexterity.  With that said, it is far easier by comparison to create single-task robots that do things that humans can't do well or shouldn't do much of from an ergonomics perspective.

Go ahead and check out the video (which is only about a minute and a half long). I bet you can't look at the Kiva robots without thinking of them as the 'bigger brother' to iRobot's famous Roomba robots.

"Google and the World Brain"

Casey Newton wrote an article for CNET describing "Google and the World Brain," a documentary by filmmaker Ben Lewis.  Lewis' film covers the topic of Google's efforts to digitize books from libraries spanning the globe.  As far as I can tell from the article, the film seems to be heavily slanted:

The trouble, as writer William Gibson is quoted as saying in the film: "Google is not ours." Sure, the company may make millions of books searchable today, critics say. But what would stop Google from later deciding to restrict that information in a severe way, or to charge for access?

I'm not sure why this is considered to be such a problem. It isn't as if Google is destroying the books after they scan them; the original copies of the books remain intact. If Google decided to restrict the information in any way, it would still be possible for the information to be obtained via alternate means.  Charging for access, likewise, should not be an issue since Google is providing an archival and curation service.

Not every venture is evil, folks.

Looks like Japan Has an International App Hit

Michael Fitzpatrick from Fortune writes:

What do you get if you cross emoting, goofy manga characters with free messaging and calls? Japan's only export app hit—called Line—which recently hit its 100 millionth download.

I just so happen to know some folks that use this app. While anecdotal evidence is scant evidence at best, it at least provides a single data point (at least personally).

I'm fairly impressed by how well this app has done in the international (i.e. external to Japan) market. I can think of many apps that have relatively wide global appeal (Facebook and Twitter come immediately to mind), but none that have come from the Land of the Rising Sun. In this case, it looks as if Line has found the right blend of app features.

Thoughts on the BlackBerry 10 Event

Like many folks today, I watched the BlackBerry 10 event (see the source link for the full BlackBerry 10 event video). I find these types of launch events to be fascinating. While they do not make or break a product, they can often set the tempo for the months to follow. Apple, of course, is famous for its product launch events. Amazon has done a particular good job with its launch events, and Google is no slouch (if less refined). The less that is said about Microsoft's launch events, the better (see the Surface launch for the gory details).

Where then, does the BlackBerry 10 event fall on that scale? Probably a tad below Amazon. This is due to several factors: people, devices, and software.

With regard to the people aspect, the results were mixed. BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) CEO Thorsten Heins was not very personable. That's not to say he was unlikeable, but rather that he was very bland. If you want to create a mental image of what I'm talking about, imagine Apple CEO Tim Cook but with 50% less personality. Steve Jobs, this man is not. However, he wasn't the star of of the show here. That award goes to Vivek Bhardwaj, BlackBerry's Head of Software. This guy is a natural on the stage. His presentation of the BlackBerry 10 software features was smooth, relaxed, and intriguing. Keep a watch on his career, folks.

The devices suffered somewhat in the presentation. Heins showed both the Z10 (referred to as the "Zed 10", which I find pleasing to the ear) touchscreen-based device and the Q10 keyboard-based device. I think there was a real missed opportunity here. While both devices were described on stage with their respective feature lists, I do think that BlackBerry should have spent a bit more time convincing us of the design qualities of the devices. Apple is a master of this. The folks at Engadget have an interesting review of the Z10, by the way. It seems like the Z10 is a solid (if flawed) device.

The BlackBerry 10 software was the best part of the presentation, especially in Bhardwaj's capable hands. The BlackBerry Hub feature integrates just about every major communication method (email, text, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) in an easy-to-glance UI. The Hub feature is bolstered by BlackBerry Peek, which lets users 'peek' at the hub from any screen in any app without causing the app to pause (including video). BlackBerry Flow is probably the best multi-tasking UI I've seen on a mobile device. Perhaps the best feature for modern smartphone users is BlackBerry Balance, which lets users separate apps (and more importantly, data) into "personal" and "work" profiles with a UI that allows for seamlessly transitioning between the two.

It looks like BlackBerry has put together a competent (if uneven) story for what it provides to users. It will be very tough to dislodge Google and Apple from their entrenched positions as the market leaders, but this is a good start for BlackBerry's attempt to regain its former glory.

Roku, the Tiny Content Device

Gavin Sullivan, writing at Forbes:

Since piggy backing on Netflix’s transition from snail mail DVD delivery to online streaming in 2008, Roku has in five short years landed 5m of its devices into American homes, and is running neck-and-neck with Apple TV for market leader position of non-gaming (Microsoft’s Xbox, etc.) set-top boxes. Yes, that Apple.

I love my Roku. It has a wide variety of 'channels' that provide lots of on-demand and streaming content. I'm a bit surprised that this small company hasn't been purchased by one of the other larger competitors (Google, I'm looking at you).

By the way, in case you were wondering about the oddly familiar-sounding name, from Wikipedia:

The company was founded in October 2002, by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood. Roku means "six" in Japanese, a reference to the six companies Wood has launched.