One section included his thoughts on server side Swift.
Some of his comments:
Everyone on the project wants it to be “the way to do server development”.
It’s phase 2 of Swift’s plan for world domination plan.
Everyone hopes Swift will be the next best thing. They’re hoping for it to be more popular than Java, Python or even C.
He commented that open source is the key to this. “Without open source, it wouldn’t be available on other platforms; it won’t be used in education or teaching.”
He also thought that systems programming is the next great frontier for Swift. He indicated that the necessary libraries and frameworks are needed and are coming together. This is being guided by the Swift server working group.
He thought there were half a dozen different interesting approaches. But stated it’s not yet clear which one will win out.
]]>If you would to discuss your app design process, please contact me.
No More Xcode
This is the last mention of Xcode in this article because it’s not necessary for prototyping. It’s too cumbersome, restrictive and final. Storyboards seem to be a good fit for this purpose but fall short when compared to the following tools.
Speedy Sketching
Sketch is a user interface design tool. It’s been designed that way from the ground up and it has a healthy ecosystem of plugins and resources.
It’s intuitive use means that the learning curve is low. Although there are a ton of tutorials and guides out there if you get stuck.
iOS App Prototyping
Amazing iOS 9 design resources have been provided by Facebook and Meng To. These contains elements of all levels of app design from entire tableviews to single icons. Each of the resources can be broken down to a granular level. With each one having customisable settings for size, colour, opacity, tint, border, blur, anything, ever.
This means that prototyping becomes a matter of arranging existing elements on screen rather than designing from scratch.
By reusing existing UI elements a design can evolve very quickly.
Building Blocks
Through the use of Symbols and Text Styles is possible to build resuable blocks of elements. These can then be updated in one central library with the change being reflected throughout the design.
(This is the first step in ensuring that the design has been structured correctly and a cohesive style guide has been applied).
Marvelling with Marvel
Marvel is a prototyping tool. It allows you to upload your designs and create links and transitions between screens. A project can then be viewed on the web or via the Marvel iOS app.
Using a third party plugin it is simple to publish your Sketch design in Marvel.
When adding hotspots to a design to link to another screen you also specific the transition type. These settings are stored in Marvel and are kept when a new version of the Sketch design is uploaded.
There is something very powerful about the lack of effort required to deploy your prototype to a device for feedback and testing. The reduction in time so drastic your project feels successful immediately. With early stage feedback from a design preview on device you’re cutting costs and adding value at the same time.
Feedback with Lookback
Lookback is a user testing tool that records a test session in the prototype, including a video of the users reactions.
Through an integration in Marvel, you can watch users testing the design you created in Sketch.
The session is initiated from within Marvel. Users can be invited via a shared URL or by email. They are asked to install the Marvel app and then start the test. It’s a seamless experience for the user.
The results of the testing are presented in a very powerful way. The timeline, app recording and user video recording are all synced to show the route the user took through the design.
It also archives all the user testing for future reference.
Winning Combination
This simple workflow is amazingly powerful. The number of steps are minimal. The value is unfathomable.
From creating a design in Sketch, animating it in Marvel to watching recorded user feedback sessions in Lookback.
Any app design process can benefit from this workflow. If you would to discuss your app design process, please contact me.
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- Highlight text on web page
- Right click, select Share
- Create Tweet with highlighted text and URL
Download Share via Twitter workflow. For Mac, using Safari and Twitter app.
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Created a mobile service
Ran the iOS app in the iOS simulator
Ran the web app locally
Ran the web app deployed on Azure
Added Facebook authentication to both iOS app and web app
Deployed a nodejs site
Installed nodejs command line tools for nodejs
That’s a whole lot of stack.
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]]>- Surround yourself with people smarter than you. (Online friendships do count.)
- Surround yourself with people who ship good work.
- Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Or, otherwise put, make it work, then make it shine.
- Know your tools inside and out.
- Read the documentation. Write documentation for your own work.
- Don’t couple your code to your specific use cases, but don’t generalize it too early, either.
- Complex, successful things are made of lots and lots of simple things.
- Don’t be afraid to use other people’s work, but do be cautious about introducing dependencies
- and more
This interview was part of the campaign for App Camp for Girls.
]]>Every service uses email as a fallback method of sharing but it deserves a much higher status than that.
Long live email.
]]>Update: an interesting article covering the use of Chromebook for development – Reviewing the $250 Samsung Chromebook as a Developer
]]>As a personal productivity tool its great, but it really comes into its own when used as part of a team. It’s simple to create an account and invite others to your Trello board. There is also another level of user management by creating an organization to assign users.
The Basics
The highest item is a board. A board contains cards. Cards can be flipped to show the details.
Workflow
The three default boards are called To Do, Doing and Done. Add your items to the To Do list. Get started on one of your tasks and move it to the Doing board. When it’s done, move it to the Done board. When all tasks are done, the board can be archived off. Simple.
As an item is being completed, the card can be flipped, with further details added. Comments can be added to keep track of progress. Checklists can be added. (This comes into its own when a card is used as a template and is copied between boards). Checklist items can easily be resorted.
Repeated Tasks
Create a card with a checklist for a task that needs to be repeated. This card can then be used as a template for copying and renaming tasks.
Voting
The voting feature is useful for deciding which tasks should appear on the To Do list. This allows collection of ideas with voting to encourage the best ideas to rise to the top.
Mobility
An iPhone app, Android app and mobile friendly web version are all available. Your mileage may vary. I found that the iPhone app version didn’t really allow to do the nice drag ‘n’ drop gestures of the desktop app. This proved more useful for checking progress on the go than for using.
How much?
From the web site: “Trello is free forever. We may add pay-only features in the future, but everything that’s free today will be free tomorrow and forever.”
Is it safe?
Trello is brought to you and supported by Fog Creek Software – a trusted company. The service hit 500,000 users in July 2012. All your data can be exported as JSON.
How secure?
It’s all done over HTPS/SSL. Login is possible using your Google Account.
So, how are you using Trello?
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Magento SEO Slides from ThinkVis Sept 2012
Probably the best social media campaign ever! http://t.co/XUi34QfK via @basvandenbeld at #thinkvis 
Content Marketing – Beyond the Bullsh*t
Coolhunting: How To Predict The Future → Using Social Media Data Mining Techniques
10 YETIS TALK AT THINKVIS 2012 – SHIT MY SEO SAYS & ThinkVisibility September 2012 – Another Great SEO Conference
Is Google Afraid of the Big Bad Wolfram?
Think Visibility 2012: Building Online Communities on WordPress
Special Mention: DON’T TWEET THE BRIDE
WordPress Optimisation and Security
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