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1 year ago
in Touch Typing on the Cell Phone on punctuative! by Matt Winn
I'd also have to disagree with Eric as to the perceived movement towards QWERTY. I don't see it happening. Business consumers have spoken (Treo/Blackberry/*some* smart phones) - they want QWERTY. The average consumer - I don't think so.
The average user's interests are: #1 form factor, and #2 ease of use. They might even tell you that "ease of use" is #1, but I bet their buying decisions don't reflect that. People will buy pink Razrs with mediocre UIs by the millions. They spend more time carrying their phones (in pockets and purses, not in briefcases) than they do using them - form factor is #1 for valid reasons.
The QWERTY keyboard still hasn't made the form factor cut. Apple has arguably done the best job, but as you say, with QWERTY usability sacrifices. The Treos and Blackberries, while still getting smaller, are still bricks compared to phones like the Razr which came out several *years* ago.
My prediction: T9 touchtyping will remain the "average user" king until something more efficient comes along that doesn't add bulk to the device. Even though consumers might prefer QWERTY, T9 is good enough and still allows them to pick up the latest, sexiest phones.
The average user's interests are: #1 form factor, and #2 ease of use. They might even tell you that "ease of use" is #1, but I bet their buying decisions don't reflect that. People will buy pink Razrs with mediocre UIs by the millions. They spend more time carrying their phones (in pockets and purses, not in briefcases) than they do using them - form factor is #1 for valid reasons.
The QWERTY keyboard still hasn't made the form factor cut. Apple has arguably done the best job, but as you say, with QWERTY usability sacrifices. The Treos and Blackberries, while still getting smaller, are still bricks compared to phones like the Razr which came out several *years* ago.
My prediction: T9 touchtyping will remain the "average user" king until something more efficient comes along that doesn't add bulk to the device. Even though consumers might prefer QWERTY, T9 is good enough and still allows them to pick up the latest, sexiest phones.
1 year ago
in The Forgotten Form Entry on punctuative! by Matt Winn
Sam: Rails has a fairly standard password module (acts_as_authenticated). OpenID is a more interesting element to the conversation though in terms of a real "standard" that is language-independent.
Personally, I'd love to peek through the logs of, say Comcast's DNS servers to get a list of domains that people tried to hit which didn't resolve. I bet that would make for a fine list of ideas for common domain name misspellings (which can be easily monetized).
Personally, I'd love to peek through the logs of, say Comcast's DNS servers to get a list of domains that people tried to hit which didn't resolve. I bet that would make for a fine list of ideas for common domain name misspellings (which can be easily monetized).
1 year ago
in Concerned Citizen’s Take on "Who Killed the Electric Car?" on punctuative! by Matt Winn
I'm skeptical of the notion that car manufacturers would stand to lose anything by building cars that last longer for a few reasons:
1) Cars have consistently improved in reliability, and manufacturers compete on those reputations. Even cars with a "cheap" reputation like Hyundai do what they can to build reliability into their brand (like by offering a 10 year warranty). With the boom of Japanese cars many years ago, consumers demonstrated that they have no tolerance for it, and car manufacturers have adapted.
2) If you're making money on leases and trade-ins having more reliable cars that last longer should help your revenue stream via the higher resale value, potentially allowing you to offer better lease deals, lower maintenance costs during the lease, etc.
3) I have no numbers to support this theory, but I wonder what percentage of car owners actually hold on to one car until the end of it's useful lifetime? Or, more to the point, if a car could last 20 years, how many owners would want to drive the same vehicle for 2 decades? My guess is that we hit a point at which a car's useful lifetime doesn't substantively affect the pace at which new cars are purchased.
I *love* the idea of a car as a platform for services though. To some extent with OnStar and satellite radio those things are happening, but if someone really wanted to re-invent the model by coming up with more creative services (like wi-fi) things could get really exciting.
1) Cars have consistently improved in reliability, and manufacturers compete on those reputations. Even cars with a "cheap" reputation like Hyundai do what they can to build reliability into their brand (like by offering a 10 year warranty). With the boom of Japanese cars many years ago, consumers demonstrated that they have no tolerance for it, and car manufacturers have adapted.
2) If you're making money on leases and trade-ins having more reliable cars that last longer should help your revenue stream via the higher resale value, potentially allowing you to offer better lease deals, lower maintenance costs during the lease, etc.
3) I have no numbers to support this theory, but I wonder what percentage of car owners actually hold on to one car until the end of it's useful lifetime? Or, more to the point, if a car could last 20 years, how many owners would want to drive the same vehicle for 2 decades? My guess is that we hit a point at which a car's useful lifetime doesn't substantively affect the pace at which new cars are purchased.
I *love* the idea of a car as a platform for services though. To some extent with OnStar and satellite radio those things are happening, but if someone really wanted to re-invent the model by coming up with more creative services (like wi-fi) things could get really exciting.
1 year ago
in Email, Meet Sushi on punctuative! by Matt Winn
The Waterfront does this too, and they send coupons in the mail which is pretty sweet. Similarly, Il Fornaio down in Pacific Place sends invitations to special multi-course dinner/wine nights if you sign up. I find myself far more comfortable giving my e-mail address to an organization with a physical presence nearby, not for privacy concerns, but because I feel like they're more likely to send me information that's relevant/useful.