During this intellectual discourse (ha!), I’m reminded of how one software goliath has versioned the last few releases of one of their more widely-used product offerings (forgive me if the order isn’t 100% accurate, it really doesn’t matter):

• Windows 3.1
• Windows 95
• Windows Me
• Windows NT
• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7

Well, that’s consistent. Any questions?

They’ve been kind enough to let me have a little quality time with their new toys, and I really appreciate it. Before it arrived, I thought it would be a game changer. Maybe not completely revolutionary, but certainly evolutionary. At least, it’d make the coolest electronic portfolio for the photographers/videographers/designers out there. And, a damn nice bookreader slash picture frame.

But now that I’ve been able to use the shiny new gadget, I might have actually underestimated it. Not the iPad itself, but what the iPad means for the future. For the future of user experiences.

It just works. A kid – a young kid – could figure it out and use this without any assistance at all. No bloat, no OS configuration, just get the app you need, quick and cheap, and go. All about the content and convenience (instead of the power) for the consumer.

It’s about touch, too. There’s no mouse, there’s no keyboard. Do you think any of today’s iPod touch, iPhone and iPad kids are going to suddenly decide to go buy a mouse? Those days are almost gone. Direct (touch) interfaces are the future.

So, maybe the iPad itself won’t be a world changer, but once again, Apple has created a little more of the shape of the future.

Gartner‘s Ray Valdes has a recent blog post on the future of HTML5 and Flash, brought to light most recently by rumors of no Flash support in the iPad. The post was interesting, but the very last bullet was the one that really hit home:

Lastly, the average enterprise won’t effectively use Flash or HTML5 or any other shiny new UI technology. Because the root problem as I see it is not lack of powerful UI technology. Instead, the root causes for sub-optimal user experience have to do with lack of appropriate process, and governance, and lack of a genuine commitment to a quality user experience. Such a commitment would lead organizations to adopt a user-centered usability-oriented development process. Rather than taking these steps, we see a lot of projects that are “stakeholder driven” (i.e., driven by internal politics). Very few organizations center development around user needs by relying on objectively measured data about user behavior. Most enterprises don’t care enough about the user experience to change their habits (developer-driven, vendor-driven, stakeholder-driven). The principles of creating effective user experiences are well-known among successful external-facing ecommerce or consumer sites such as Amazon, Ebay, Expedia or Facebook. Unfortunately, it will likely be a long time before these principles become part of the average enterprise skillset.

Yup.

Inner seal (Lift 'n' peel)

The “tabs” start out flat (of course, you don’t find out about the extra seal until you’ve determined that the liquid is not coming out, so you remove the cap), you lift the little “tab”, then you try to pull the seal off. You try.

For me, most of the time, the tab comes off. The seal itself remains wonderfully glued to the container, and my burger is getting cold. Once that tab is freed from its prison, the remainder of the thing is almost impossible to remove. This is pretty much the same, usability-wise, as those old-fashioned seals that you had to remove with some more primitive means, like by stabbing with a knife or punching with a stick (try a windshield washer fluid bottle, if you need a refresher).

Why the heck are they there? Convenience? Nah. Food safety? Ok, I like that one, but they’re still not very friendly. ‘Cause we can’t build a leakproof bottle, and we don’t wanna be sued if the stuff leaks out on the way home? Nah (my trunk smelled like bleach for a year once). But, really, why does a bottle of bleach or soap need these things? Is someone going to tamper with the bleach so I don’t drink it? Pour soda into the soap bottle so everything comes out sticky?

I get more bleach on my hands and clothes trying to get these darn things off…

If I had the choice, this is a pretty handy comparison of touch-screen drawing capability: http://labs.moto.com/diy-touchscreen-analysis/

Newsberry is perfect: they offer very reasonable pricing, both monthly subscription and pay-as-you-go, a nice selection of templates, reporting, segmented lists, bounce management and Basecamp integration! Go give them a try!

Usability suffers when users type in passwords and the only feedback they get is a row of bullets. Typically, masking passwords doesn’t even increase security, but it does cost you business due to login failures.

This’ll make for some interesting discussions…

It’s easy. It’s super-fast. It’s got nearly every widget you could ever need (cover flow and iPhone sliders!)

You can purchase a desktop version for $79, and there’s an on-line version (a bit restricted with a regular nag screen, and no save capability) you can use to get the feel of it. 

I could try and write down all the great ways this product has helped me, but just go try it. It really is amazing. You might just be instantly hooked. I was.