Speaking of interface design, it’s pretty neat that Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu) are taking public input on the design of the core applications for Ubuntu for phones:

Canonical is taking community input on what the core applications (e-mail, calendar, clock/alarm, weather, file manager, document viewer, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) should look like.

Designers looking to make a name for themselves certainly have an opportunity here. Check out the gallery for some interesting interface ideas. My two cents? Designers should stay away from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter apps. I wonder how “community input” will go down when Canonical shows Twitter the suggestions for their client. Probably not well.

Louie Mantia rarely vents his thoughts on design in a way other than via twitter. This recent essay of his is a refreshing change. He discusses “The S Word”, visual design and app interfaces. It’s a good read. This struck me:

More importantly, a visually distinctive app such as Game Center, Find My Friends, Podcasts, or iBooks helps you to remember which app you’re in. The colors, textures, and environment paint that picture instantly. (When I look at an Android phone, it’s often hard to remember which app I’m in because most default apps look the same and use the same colors and theme.)

I couldn’t agree more. The most memorable apps tend to be the ones with the most personality. I’m reminded of Dustin Curtis’ recent blog post:

I've settled pretty firmly in the camp of thinking that interfaces should mimic social creatures, that they should have personalities, and that I should be communicating with the interface[.]

Apps which are the most fun to use tend to be opinionated.

Rosa Prince has the scoop over at The Telegraph:

Sir John Butterfill, a former Conservative backbencher, received £15,000 back after previously announcing that he would return money which he had received to help run the servants’ quarters at his Surrey mansion.

Sounds like Butterfill really needs the cash.

I don’t know where to begin with this article given to us by ZDNet writer James Kendrick entitled “ThinkPad Tablet 2: Inking in Windows 8”. Armed with a Lenovo tablet PC (inspiringly named Tablet 2) and a video camera, Kendrick takes to YouTube to demonstrate the capabilities of the new tablet and, presumably, “inking”. (I have no idea what “inking” is, but surmise it’s something to do with drawing on a tablet with my fingers and a pen; à la ink on paper. I enjoy doing this already with an iPad app appropriately titled Paper.)

The article and video feel like adverts for both Lenovo and Windows 8. Starting from the point Kendrick calls the Tablet 2 “very light”, continuing past the point he exudes that the device is “very very thin” right until wrapping up with “really cool, I’m impressed with this tablet”, I don’t think Kendrick is giving readers a fair impression of what the tablet offers or how it compares to the competition.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 weighs 1.3 pounds — but Kendrick doesn’t mention the iPad Mini weighing almost exactly half that whilst discussing thickness. (The Retina iPad weighs in at 1.44 pounds.) In fact, the only time Kendrick mentions the iPad — or any other tablet — is when comparing the physical dimensions of the Tablet 2. He calls the device “very very thin” during the video. It’s 2.6mm thicker than an iPad Mini and 0.4mm thicker than a current generation iPad. Sure, it may be “very very thin” when compared to a laptop from ten years ago, but what are we comparing this device to? There is not enough context, leading the whole piece to feel skewed and lacking integrity.

Let’s get to the meat of the video. It’s clearly about “inking” — it’s in the title, after all. So, what does Kendrick think of using the included pen whilst playing with the Lenovo Tablet 2? Here are his own words, transcribed by yours truly from the video:

“A good use for this pen on Windows 8 is in the Desktop because all these controls and menus that you see are really tiny, so this makes it a very easy way to manipulate when the fingertip is just too big.”

Does it sound like Microsoft thought about people without pens? It’s worth noting here that this tablet does not ship with a pen, according to Kendrick. It’s optional. Not all Windows 8 devices will be available with pens, either. Suggesting the pen is valuable because it allows you to interact with Windows 8’s broken desktop interface is the epitome of sweeping the real issues under the carpet. Windows 8 has a lot of problems.

Kendrick finds it “odd and quite strange” that Microsoft hasn’t updated Windows Journal to support the touch UI in Windows 8. I think it’s an embarrassment to the company. Microsoft is a software giant, shipping devices without appropriate software. Kendrick sounds genuinely surprised when Windows Journal correctly recognised his handwriting. Considering the app has been around since 2002, always having been designed to be used with a pen, I’d have expected that to be a pretty nailed feature by now. Personally, I was more surprised at the ten-year-old user interface of the app: why was Journal not updated for Metro?

Windows Journal is included in Windows 8, yet Microsoft — a software company — hasn’t optimised their software to work within the UI constraints of their own operating system. Windows 8 is a clunky mismatch of touch-first elements and pointer-first elements. Styli just happen to behave more like pointers than fingers.

Microsoft is not having a great year.

If you count the iPad as a PC, guess what happens? Apple ships almost twice as many PCs as the second manufacturer, HP.

In this delicious article for The Industry, I take a look at two new Basecamp apps for iPhone. The short version? If you want the best iPhone Basecamp app, buy Camp.

This took my breath away. Bonus points for checking this out on an iOS device — the built in accelerometer and gyroscope make exploring the views even more stunning.

Couldn’t help but realise this image is exactly what Google Photo Sphere could have been.

If you’re anything like me, you bought GarageBand for iOS as soon as it was announced. It was initially iPad-only. Did you realise the app is now universal? If you’ve got an iPhone, you can install it there for free, too.

On top of that, here’s the guide for using GarageBand on your iPhone to create ringtones… for your iPhone. This is something I can get behind.

I learnt a few things whilst reading this. You might, too.

I especially like the Guided Access section on the second page: got any non-tech-savvy friends or relatives and want to stay in contact with them? How about an iPod touch or iPhone with FaceTime and Guided Access enabled? The possibilities are almost endless.

Harry Marks has some… things to say about The Verge’s review of the Surface Pro:

[G]iving a below-average product an above-average grade forces readers to question the credibility of every review prior and since this one. This isn't an "It's not for me" situation. This is just a bad device. Why is it so difficult for The Verge to just come out and say it? Why are there so many "but ifs" instead of one definitive opinion?

I give the Surface Pro a 4/10. I give The Verge's reviews a 2/10.

I think a lot of large news organisations find it incredibly difficult to say negative things when given a product to review. That’s bad practice. If someone asked me to review something and I thought it sucked, I’d say so.¹

Publishing a review containing many negatives coupled with a lot of “but ifs” with an overall positive score gives me, the reader, an impression that the reviewer is unable to have a bold opinion.

Covering up flaws in products or dampening your own view isn’t healthy, isn’t interesting writing and isn’t as helpful to your readers as having a honest and critical attitude.

Go on, take a stand. Have an opinion.

—

1: I’d probably initially tell the person in question, rather than writing several hundred public words trashing the product. (Unless it’s a really fun several hundred words.)

From The Verge’s video review of the Surface Pro:

It's the best surface by a long shot… But I’m less and less convinced that you want a surface in the first place.

Ouch. From the written review:

But if you’re going to buy a $900 tablet, get the decked-out iPad with LTE and 128GB of storage, and if you're going to buy a Windows laptop, check out the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga or the Dell XPS 12. Which leads me back to the same question Josh asked about the Surface RT: who is this for?

So, who’s the Surface Pro for?

My guess? Microsoft. Just like the Surface RT. Here’s what I said in January:

In short, tablets are where the growth is happening in larger-than-phone computing — and Microsoft has little presence there. In traditional PC sales, Microsoft receives around $50 for a license of Windows, and $67 for a license of Office.

The Surface RT, with its Apple-esque 30%+ margins, is a way for Microsoft to keep revenue and profit high, without manufacturers like Asus and Dell paying $50 a pop for a Windows license… Manufacturers who could easily switch to making hardware for Android — which lacks this hefty fee. Sometimes, Google will even pay manufacturers to use Android.

Shockingly beautiful yet disturbing look at US gun murders in 2010. Over 400,000 stolen years, taken in just one calendar year.