But some apps do require our attention. I tend to read the release notes ^[1] with app updates on my Mac and devices. I find them interesting/useful. I’ve been finding an alarming trend with developers warning users to take actions before updating their apps. They range from problems with an update crashing on launch and recommending to skip the version and wait for the next update to telling users to make a backup of their data before updating.

App developers cautioning users to make a backup of your iCloud data before updating the app doesn’t work.

Like this one:

Important Note for iCloud users: if you sync Contacts Journal with iCloud, please backup your data before updating the app. You can create a backup from More -> Manage Data > Backup iCloud Data.

If I’m reading your warning, it’s probably already too late.

There’s a fundamental problem with these types of warnings. In most cases, 1) assume your users don’t read release notes. Cause they don’t. 2) With Automatic Updates turned on in iOS, chances are good, they’ll be unable to stop the update.

One could argue that developers should issue ample warning in the previous versions, allowing users to plan ahead. However, that doesn’t help with users who don’t read release notes.

But the reality is, the iOS App Store needs a delayed download and update feature like the Mac App Store. In addition, developers could request to Apple that users have to initiate the update manually after highlighting where to read the release notes. Users would launch the App Store and see a separate notice, saying something like, “there were a few updates that require your attention”.

Users can choose to take appropriate precautions, or just manually start the download. The action wouldn’t add much time to the whole workflow, and the users would have a chance to backup important data.

The example above includes:

1. A separate section above 'Pending Updates' for updates that need review.
2. A header containing the number of updates that need review.
3. A unique badge that grabs the users eye and attention, in this case I used an orange Info icon (i).

1. That “What’s New” text below the version number. ↩

The last two months have been filled with updating this site.

1. The content
2. The backend
3. The SEO

I needed to update the content of my portfolio, as well as move from Squarespace software version 5 to 6.

The projects include the following:

Web Projects

File Browsing

List View, View Files, ShareRoom File Upload

Administration Management

New User Authentication, Service Signup Process

Ark

Ark Site, Web Forms

Other Projects

Wikipedia, Social TV, User Management

Mobile Projects

SpiderOak for iOS, SpiderOak for Android, Mobile Web, Ark Mobile

Desktop Projects

SpiderOak Mac Desktop, SpiderOak Mac Installer, Mac OS Removable Drive & Folder Icons, Windows MSI Installer

Some takeaways I've learned from redesigning an app from the ground up over a year-long process.

• Operating systems update and change
  • Two OS updates - iOS 5-6 (iOS 6 changed many UI elements)
• Design trends change
  • We called an audible, changing the entire menu structure a couple of times.
• Screen sizes change
  • Designing for Android made this less of an issue for me.
• Minimum requirements change
  • SpiderOak's feature set and mobile API has updated many times in a year, and our feature set has grown substantially.
  • Many of them have come in the last month, so be adaptable (not just be willing to adapt - but actually adapt).
  • Make sure your designs and specs are scalable to include last minute changes that make sense to everyone involved in writing and testing.

Now to work on some updates...

You can check the app out here - SpiderOak for iOS:

Do you get annoyed with people that just forward emails without asking themselves, why am I forwarding this? Well I don’t like getting emails that are a mile long, and the actual message 3/4 down buried in the message. Typically, if I see more than 3 or 4 lines down the left side of the email, I won’t even start to read it. If it’s not reworded, reformatted or explained, it’s obviously not important enough for me to read. It’s really a pet peeve of mine.

I love reading articles on email etiquette and learning new methods that improve readability. It’s not often I learn a new shortcut or tip for the iPhone. But I found this yesterday, and think it’s pretty nice.

So you have an email that needs repeating. Before you go on and forward it half of the country, ask yourself what you’re sending. If it’s a part of the email, then let me know and quote it.

So here’s the email

Here’s what it looks like when you forward it.

Once

But I know you just want a line or two. So, find the line and select it as if you were going to copy it. — Now that the text is selected, you can go ahead and hit the reply or forward button.

Now doesn’t that look better? If there ends up being 2 or 3 back-and-forths, it’s going to be easier to read and reference back to…

for both of us.

Read the original article here.

This time a promo for an iPhone app.

Check it out. http://benthebodyguard.com

But the really cool, awesome, crazy new feature… Voice Memos new icon!

AirPrint, ah yes the AirPrint (phantom) feature. If you’re like “AirPrint yes! Wait - WTF I can’t get it to work?!”, that’s normal. Native AirPrint support was not shipped with 10.6.5. Unless you have an AirPrint enabled printer, head on over to this site to hack your Mac a bit. I did it, it works, nuff said.

AirPlay, I don’t have AirPlay enabled speakers, so I won’t be testing it anytime soon. You’ll let me know how it is.

One thing that deserves mentioning, ‘Find My iPhone’ is now available for free, which is great. This was originally only to MobileMe members. Although, Apple should be giving the whole MobileMe package away for free considering alternatives like Google Sync and the reduced feature set. I’m not exactly sure why it’s considered a 4.2 feature update, it’s more like a policy, mmm?

4.2 is really an update to bring the iPad up to speed. There are a several under the hood updates/changes here and there, mostly subtle from what I’ve seen. I’m sure I’ll notice more in the next week. Correct me if I’m wrong but birthday presents next to your birthday calendar events, new? Ehh.

There goes my Magic Mouse connection again. Firmware update anytime now Apple. Yes this update bored me, yawn.

The first thing you’ll notice when logging into Gmail, the Safari navigation toolbar disappears. One thing about native applications, given that users are not in a browser, normally no navigation toolbar exists to enter in a URL, you don’t need it.

Gmail in “Full-Screen Mode” with a fixed-position toolbar.

Gmail’s prior version also had a fixed toolbar with the same navigation UI elements, but the difference was in the placement. It was very cluttered originally, with your controls fixed on the side. The effect was that of a toolbar following your every move. Quite annoying when you are trying to scan your inbox. This time around, it’s affixed to the top status-bar, clean and out of the user’s way.

This is one of my favorite part’s to the redesign. Prior versions might have hid the navigation toolbar at first launch, but when you would pull down to scroll, the URL would reappear. No reappearing now.

Safari navigation toolbar hidden, giving Gmail “Full-Screen Mode” with a fixed-position toolbar.

But we are still in a browser at the end of the day, so we can’t be sandboxed in. By tapping the status-bar just as if you were trying to scroll to the top in Safari, not only will you fly to the top, but our old friend re-appears. When the user scrolls back down, the toolbar hides once again.

iPhone status bar revealing the Safari toolbar.

They also made some crazy improvements to the page load speed and caching. When one flick’s their finger to scroll down quickly, normally you see a bit of that loading “checkerboard” effect. Scrolling now is more like a momentum-driven gliding.

While scrolling the Gmail toolbar remains fixed in a better, less obtrusive way than before. Scrolling is also much faster, without the “checkerboard” loading look.

Google keeps impressing me by how much they look into improving the iPhone’s UI. Considering Google is now competing directly with Apple, I think they are clearly taking the higher road. When Apple has a petty dispute over an app they may try to release, that’s when the true innovations come. With the Google Voice HTML5 breakthrough, YouTube and now Gmail, my hat goes off to them.

I love this kind of tip. I have an app on my iPhone where I can print webpages or whatever I last copied to my clipboard, but this solution is much better.

This tip is from a Lifehacker article by Aaron Ladage (@aladage). It uses Automator, an easy to use application for creating automated workflows. It’s also pre-installed on every Mac.

First things first, if you don't have a Dropbox account, create one here (Dropbox referral link), it’s free. Next, here are the steps directly from the article:

1. Create a folder in Dropbox (mine’s called “Printing”), and within that folder make two more folders: “todo” and “completed.” Then, fire up Automator. In 10.6, a box pops up asking you what type of template you want to use for your workflow. Choose “Folder Actions.”

2. At the top of the workflow, where it says “Folder Action receives files and folders added to…” choose the “todo” folder you created in your Dropbox. Then, in Automator’s search box, type “print” and you'll see an item called “Print Finder Items.” Drag that into your workflow and select your printer (I left mine as default). Go back to Automator’s search box and type “move”. You'll see an item called “Move Finder items.” Add it to your workflow and choose the “completed” folder you created at the beginning. Choose “Save as…” and give your workflow a name.

3. That’s it! Anything you drop in the “todo” folder (Ed. note: Which you can do from any phone or computer with Dropbox installed and connected to your home computer) will now automatically open its respective app, print it and file it for you.

I tested it out last night, works as advertised. Very cool stuff using Automator.

Here is a similar concept for Windows users, although I haven't tried that one out.

• This video was uploaded in SD

• and this in HD

Make sure that the settings are set to the highest resolution (320p or 720p).

Let me know what you think in the comments section. Is it noticeable? Do you care about the clarity of videos when it’s on YouTube? I do.

• Go to Settings ➜ Turn Airplane Mode ON

• backup your phone in iTunes

  • By turning Airplane mode on, this reduces the chance of getting interrupted by a phone call, text, or push notification
  • It’s also is a lot faster

(Photo from www.cultofmac.com)

[Cooper sees me | Confused?]

Very cool example of what can be done using HTML5

Thanks to Squarespace support, they have always responded to my questions and issues wicked fast, like within 20 minutes usually…no pressure. But they got on the problem right away and it was resolved this morning. It’s all good.

For the time being, until the problem has been fixed, I will be taking parts of this site down. Hopefully we’ll up and running soon.

Please subscribe to the RSS feed for updates, thanks again.

Day 3

My nephew just peed on me and I couldn’t be happier. (It’s even cuter when set to 360p☝).

Some new features

The main ones are as followed:

• Editing modes - multiple markup language support
  • I love this, I normally write posts like this one in Markdown, if not HTML.
• Comment moderation with push notifications
• Support for iOS 4 and fast app switching along with Retina Display support

Very nice update, though I would still like to see analytics reports for more than a week out. A month would be nice.

You can read the full details on the Squarespace blog here.

Remember, don't write blog posts driving your car. This was just a test.

Google continues to release updated mobile apps like Google Voice and YouTube while Apple’s released apps do sometimes get the cold shoulder. For instance one example is Apple’s Texas Hold’em which remains neglected at version 1.1. They have been very good with some of their other apps, i.e. Remote, but I hold them to a higher standard considering they created the platform. Apple should be concentrating more on being a better role model for iPhone and iPad developers. Paid apps written by Apple seem to be forgotten about quicker than their widespread free counterparts, which is one of the reasons I haven't made the iMovie purchase yet.

Google’s push to use more HTML5 is good web practices. Even if it’s not directly related to Apple’s iPhone development roadblock’s, it clear Google has chosen to take a smarter ‘higher’ route.

Google’s ‘business as usual’ attitude with development should be admired. In the last couple weeks they have introduced some welcomed features. One addition, rich text signatures in Gmail, has been on my wish-list from the beginning. I really like the sound of App Inventor for Android, although I don’t own an Android device (I would love one though), it sounds like a great way to support a developer community which competitors should take note.

There’s been fantastic storms this year.

In a previous interview, we looked at an excellent desktop time-tracking/invoicing application. Today we are talking to Henry of Runaway Apps. One of his applications is a full-featured invoicing app that can fit in your pocket. I personally love this application, it has a very nice interface allowing the user to have a record of past and future jobs, visual charts of earnings as well as outstanding payments. Henry has released several updates since I started using GetPaid! and is very responsive to user requests. I wanted to talk to him about his experience developing for the iPhone.

My thanks to Henry for taking the time.

Henry, what is GetPaid!?

GetPaid! Tracks time and generate instant invoice and timesheet in PDF format. (note: See app store description for additional app features.)

How did you get started developing the application?

With a Mac and a Passion. :)

Where did the idea of creating a mobile time-tracking & invoicing application come from?

I was an independent consultant often forgot to record my billable time.

What do you enjoy about being a developer in general?

Creativity freedom

Do you develop for any platforms other than iPhone OS?

No

What kind of advise would you give a starting developer looking to enter the App Store marketplace?

Be creative, be diligent, be patient, most importantly be passionate.

How do you go about promoting your products?

Best product always sells itself, with apple’s help, that is. :)

How do you go about ensuring your app will be found if searched for?

Keywords, keywords, keywords.

What are the some of the difficulties of developing an application that is so important for business?

iPad version has been frequently requested since the release of iPad.

User ratings are such a huge factor when it comes to the point of sale for applications, does that ever become an issue?

When Users  write inaccurate reviews without fully understand the functionalities and there’s no way to communicate back and have the reviews corrected.

Are you working on any other projects besides GetPaid!?

The Prayer Network (PN) is a free “soul”cial network app in app store right now. We are working on other productivity apps as well.

Thanks again Henry, you can find GetPaid! [iTunes link] and The Prayer Network [iTunes link] at your local iTunes App Store.

looks like my keyboard threw up on my screen;

}

Since the launch of the app store I have been curious about the market as a whole. I check out craigslist and job boards with keywords like iPhone, developer, Cocoa, Obj C, etc. There is a market with job openings, the mobile developer/programmer job openings are astounding given the economy. Go off and do some good. Stop putting apps out there that only tech savvy people would know are fake. Claiming the app will track your friends phone if you give it the number, unlock your phone with a thumb print scan, there are even hand warmer apps. Actually I think my phone has that app already installed, it opens after an hour long conversation.

This practice is especially evil when you charge for it. Unfortunately given the structure of the store it breeds a window shopping experience asking for impulse buying. Typically there will be a disclaimer telling the buyer that this app does not actually do what we just told you it did. But awesome news for shady developers, don’t fret, you can still trick your buyers. That wonderful “more” button is so convenient. Depending on the length of the description the disclaimer on the bottom could be hidden, only revealed when clicked. Why would someone develop an app where ratings dwindle and reputation is tarnished? I don’t know, I want to understand, I do. Does the feeling of “taking someone” give that of service.

Yes, the claims of millions and billions of apps and download’s and dollars made is justified. But frankly too much of the app store is reminiscent of that guy in the trench coat selling fake Rolex watches to trusting tourists. Both will give the time, it’s accuracy is another story.

Really to the disingenuous developers in the crowd, check craigslist. You will make more money that way, and guess what? There’s an app for that. Personally I like this one.

Mashing-up with Bump, allows users to make paying people just a bit more entertaining. My buddy needed to pay me for a parking validation the other day so we "bumped" phones. Bumps app recently added Facebook integration, the list goes on.

App developers are starting to get very creative with collaboration mash-ups that shared the best technology with the best features and design. Another great example is Occipital, makers of Red Laser. From their site "Occipital, LLC is a technology startup focused on mobile visual search, founded by University of Michigan alumni Jeffrey Powers and Vikas Reddy."

Apps such as Alice.com, Cor.kz, and many others are using Occipital’s Red Laser technology to make product search a lot quicker.

I think it’s great that although the iPhone OS is essentially a close system, developers are teaming up to share and license technology.

What is GrandTotal?

GrandTotal does what most service providers (hopefully) do from time to time: It creates invoices and estimates and keeps track of the payments and due dates. The key feature is that invoices can have almost any look, which is really important to most of my users.

How did you get started developing the application?

I started in early 2008, building the layout engine, which was the most important thing to get done. If I would fail on that my yet unnamed product would never make it to a final release. After 7 months of development I picked some of my TimeLog users to give it a try. Thanks to my users, with their input I could release a fairly mature product in September. Maybe I should mention, that I tried this several times before and failed big time.

Where did you get the idea to create the application?

That’s an easy one. It was #1 request of my TimeLog users. So I knew there is a demand.

One of the features of your application is the ability to have multiple customizable tax rates, domestic and international. Were there any issues or complications dealing with taxes?

GrandTotal is a European product; dealing with international customers is a very common thing here. This required a bit a more flexible of a tax system - which in some cases can make the product look more difficult than it actually is.

TimeLog is one of your other apps, is it difficult to create applications that “play well” with each other?

Not really - being in control of the source allows you to make them fit together. It’s harder to deal with 3rd party integration.

What is TimeLog?

TimeLog was my first Mac application I wrote, it was written in RealBasic. I wrote it for myself to figure out where my time going. I submitted it to MacUpdate with no expectations. My first sale was a great experience.

Some invoicing application’s log time as well. Was there a reason you chose to write GrandTotal and TimeLog as separate applications?

Yes there were several reasons. One reasons is that TimeLog can collect working time over the network which means more than one person can be involved.

Another is that a lot of users don’t track time because they work for fixed fees anyway. Last but not least, I did not want to raise the price of TimeLog, nor was I willing to give away the app for 19€.

I love when applications incorporate companion mobile apps. What drove you to develop GrandTotal for the iPhone?

That was a logical step. I love the iPhone, my users love it…

How difficult is it to write applications for a separate platform like the iPhone?

It’s just another product. There is almost no code you can share. It’s more about dealing with the limited screen-space you have on the iPhone. You have to also consider the feature-set. But it’s a very nice experience.

How did you get your creative juices flowing to create such usable invoice designs?

I wish I had. One of my users (hi Frank) provided me with some very nice layouts. Actually the templates are not intended to be used 1:1.

At the beginning, the built-in template had a fairly bright orange typo on it, and instead of modifying it, a lot of users just kept that. Meanwhile I supplied a grayish, less screaming one as default.

How do you go about promoting and distributing your applications?

I should really do more on this part. I was lucky to have a big installed base of TimeLog users and sales where excellent from the first day on.

What are some of the difficulties you run into being an independent developer?

You don’t have to search for a distributor. I just ran across one Belarus site selling an outdated crack of GrandTotal for 8€…

Personally I don’t see the point of selling boxed software these days. My shop is open 24/7 worldwide.

You have several Mac OS and iPhone applications, are there any future projects you have in the works?

I focus on the future versions of my applications. Currently I have no intentions to launch a new product. GrandTotal and TimeLog keep me very busy right now. But that’s how it should be, isn’t it?

Thanks again to Stefan Fürst of Media Atelier for speaking with me.

Stefan can be found at @mediaatelier and http://www.grandtotal.biz/GrandTotal/?lang=en

I used Air Mouse Pro [iTunes  Link] quite often back in the day. In my opinion it is  one of the best mouse/trackpad applications for the iPhone. The setup is  quick, and it not only allows you to use it as a trackpad but also as a  gestures based pointer. You use it like a remote control for a TV,  flick your wrist and the cursor flies up, down, left, right, etc. Before I  had my Roku, I was using it everyday to watch movies on my Mac via  Netflix.

R.P.A. Tech, the makers of Air Mouse Pro, released a  significant update earlier this year. Now not only is it a mouse, but also an application launcher. It syncs with your dock  giving you the ability to launch, switch to and quit any application  sitting in your dock. Air Mouse gives you a visual of your current dock right on  your phone. Toggling the applications is very similar to the command +  tab [⌘+tab], command + Q [⌘+Q] shortcuts.

But what if you  want to launch and application that’s not in your dock? I have been  using Google’s Quick Search Box (gQSB). Right away the gQSB became my  default app launcher. I press [⌘+⌘] to activate the box, type any  application’s name and hit return. So how do we tie the two together to launch any application or command? Well, Air Mouse Pro has a separate  module controlling the the function keys F1-F12 as well as four shortcut  buttons you could use for assigning applications or scripts.

But the  gQSB is set to run in the background so it’s already open, it needs  activating not opening.

Here’s the steps:

1. Under the QSB  prefs make sure ‘open at log in’ is checked, then assign an obscure  keyboard shortcut to activate.

gQSB Preferences Window

-I used control+grave accent (tilde)  [⌃+~], making sure it was not already assigned to  the system.

Keyboard Shortcut’s

-You  may notice ⌘+⌘ is already assigned, but Air Mouse Pro only allows one  modifier key so you must create a new shortcut.

2. In the  Air Mouse server settings go to the ‘Hot Key Setup’, for the name I  chose gQSB, and the action is control+tilde [⌃+~], click apply with Air  Mouse open on your phone.

Air Mouse Pro Hot Keys Setup

You should now see one of the four buttons on top in the functions  module as gQSB. If everything went as planned tapping it will activate  the box.

Air Mouse Pro Function and Shortcut Module

From there you can do anything from launching any app, opening  files, Google queries. Best of all QSB can control system commands. Type  trash to empty the trash, shutdown, etc, a couple good article on all the  functionality can be found here and here.

The combination of Air  Mouse Pro [iTunes Link] and the Google Quick Search Box allow’s  you to do just about anything with your Mac from your phone.

That’s where Mailplane comes to the rescue. Before I take up too much more time explaining why I started using the application, I asked the developer of Mailplane.app Ruben Bakker (@Mailplane), if he wouldn’t mind talking about his application.

Thanks for taking the time Ruben.

What is Mailplane?

Ruben: Mailplane is an email client for the Gmail web interface. It is a Mac-only application, and it works as a “site-specific” browser for Google Mail. In other words, you get the Gmail web interface plus full desktop integration. For instance, you can drag and drop files, folders, or photos to create email attachments. The attachments are reduced in size when possible: Pictures are converted to smaller JPEG files and folders are compressed to a ZIP file. Another example is email notifications. When you get new email, the user gets Growl and sound notifications. Plus the number of unread messages is prominently shown in the application icon in the menu bar. Another important feature is support for multiple Gmail accounts: It’s easy to switch between accounts as passwords are stored in the keychain. Support for multiple HTML signatures is quite popular, too.

How did you get started developing the application?

Ruben: I loved Mac programming. We had already a “family” iMac we shared, but in 2006 I bought my own MacBook. I played around, tried all tools and loved it. But, then I wanted to create something serious; something users would download and use. The Mailplane project started in summer 2006 on the island of Corsica, France.

Where did the idea of making a desktop version of Gmail come from?

Ruben: I used Email in many different applications (Outlook, Thunderbird, Mail.app and more) for business and private use. But, I never felt happy with these solutions. My inbox was a mess and there was never enough space on the server. Then came Gmail and I absolutely loved it: Enough space, threaded conversations, the “Archive” idea, labels instead of folders and access from any computer. However, I missed some desktop feature traditional applications offered. It was a pain to send attachments and new email notifications required a separate application. I see many advantages in using a web application, but it still needs to be integrated into the Mac experience. This is why I started the Mailplane project.

In March 2007 I published the first version and asked for 200 private users. I never anticipated the response: The 200 seats were taken in just one hour - the same day I already had 1000 users on the waiting list. This was the start of the adventure, which finally led in founding a business and quitting my day job.

What do you enjoy most about being a developer in general?

Ruben: I love to create software; I enjoy the freedom of an indie developer. No boss, no company politics, no fixed hours or schedule, no long meetings, and very little paperwork.

Working on Mac software is great. XCode, Interface Builder, Instruments are great tools and the Mac is a joy to use. As an indie developer, I wear many different hats: I’m the programmer, supporter, marketing person, and accountant.

In the beginning it was rather difficult to make decisions, there’s nobody to blame but you.

Also, I need to actively stay in touch with other persons or I get isolated soon.

How do you go about promoting your products?

Ruben: Try to make the Mailplane users happy, by improving the product and by giving them good support. This hopefully leads to positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Of course it’s important to be on the Apple’s download page, to be on the different download pages and to get product reviews, too.

Finally, I constantly try to improve the website and the store.

What are the some of the difficulties of developing an application in which features are part of another organization’s services and/or technologies?

Ruben: Google constantly improves Gmail and Mailplane needs to keep up with these changes. Sometimes, there are Gmail bugs that look like Mailplane problems, which lead to support requests. But, it’s not that bad and there are very positive aspects too.

For one, Mailplane only stores some configuration data - the emails are all handled by Gmail and stored on their servers. No sleepless nights, here :)

Are you working on any other projects besides Mailplane?

Ruben: Yes, I am working on a second product. But, it’s still secret :)

My thanks again to Ruben Bakker for taking the time.

Ruben and Mailplane can be found at http://mailplaneapp.com/ and @Mailplane on Twitter.

Many of the low-level suits of the airline companies, those on the phones and in the airports, have the same artificial sense of elitist entitlement as their “frequent flyer”, “advantage” and any of the other eye-roller titles the blood suckers give to the customers they hook.

It’s not difficult to notice so many of the simple improvements airlines can make to make the flight just a little bit more bearable. obvious size constraints aside, my being 6’ 3” I could use just a tad more leg room, but my comfort runs into profit margins as it would require a reduction of seats. What would that mean in the long run? Simply put, an easy excuse to raise the fairs even more. So let’s focus on what could be done with the tools we already have. The drink cart: does it have to be the same size as the aisle? Especially since most airlines no longer serve food on the average flight? If you look at the cart you will notice that the edges have a metal trim on every corner and edge. I find it odd that it’s such an armored device considering most other trims in the plane are plastic and rubber to cut weight.

Another thing you will notice are all the dings and dents. To me, that’s like the fear I get parking next to a beat up car in the parking lot. Whether it’s the driver or the car(t) it doesn’t matter, truth is, it’s probably a combination of the two. Get some foam or any kind of padding, and wrap that up. Everyone will thank the first airline that implements this because everyone at one time or another has been a victim of the cart, and it hurts.

But I do want to stress again that the carts do not have to be that heavy or wide. There are so many lighter and better maneuverable alternatives available. Look at any of the latest high-tech baby strollers. Those hold and house the safety of a helpless child, something anyone sane person cherish’s much more than a bag of peanuts and a Sprite.

The armrest needs to be wide enough to hold more than 2/3s of an adult elbow. I always think about the non-verbal struggle my brother and I would have on family vacations when we would fight for armrest real estate. One person would always be taking up the front half and the other would have the back. What’s even worse is the raw deal the middle seat gets having to share with both neighbors.

Can we give some love to the brave one that gets blocked in by not one but two passengers? The window seat experience would be just a little bit more bearable if the surface around the window frame were a padding similar to what’s around the drink cart. It can’t be a porous foam as that would cause just a bit more spreading of bacteria and germs. Though its not like we should really worry about that considering the close quarters passengers sit in, but we are trying to improve the situation. By having the padding sealed it would allow for quicker better cleaning.

I would like to hear suggestions others have, feel free to add to the list…

Interesting side note, I guess flights are scheduled in such a way as to make sure planes abide by quiet hours after 10.

What is making me want to report on the awkward hilarity of the situation, are the faces. I think the guys are liking the treatment. There is a dense feeling of nervousness when we walked in, but people are feeling right at home now.

I’m seeing a new trend in the App Store in iTunes that scares me a little. Charges and (sorta) hidden fees that come along with a paid app. I am limiting this to paid apps because I am under the system of belief that free apps have the right to charge for an added feature set. My first aggravation came along with an application my buddy recommended to me. BNO Breaking News. It was an app that he had found which solved the “I have an idea for an app” conundrum. I don’t why I call it a conundrum, but I’m keeping it. So continuing, he was ecstatic when he found his app for sale. BNO Breaking News is a real simple application that simply sends the user ‘push notifications’ to the user’s iPhone. I was pretty impressed with the idea and that he found an application that perfectly met his needs and expectations. He told me about it and without much hesitation I downloaded it while I was still on the phone with him.

The charges started with the application costing 1.99. Not a bug deal, but I see that number as a paid app that is viewed by the developer as semi-premium. Many of the applications that cost to download “paid applications” are .99. Little differences like a dollar make a big difference. I was not paying a close attention to the fine print in the description, but BNO’s plan was to offer the application at 1.99, with a trial period. To get more than one news update a day a subscription plan is required. For a year’s worth of news pushed to my iPhone it would cost a total of $13.97. In my opinion it’s just not that good of an application to call for a $14 price tag.

The part that really got me fired up enough to write a negative review for the app was that there was a change in the application in an update. Conveniently, BNO added an account button inside the application. There really is no real reason to enter the application otherwise. Just make sure push is enable in settings, and the app just sits there. I consider this bad design, and that’s being kind and rational. I look at this as a hidden charge which I refer to as an app store bait and switch. So, unfortunately there is an application on my phone which is useless. I am not willing to pay $13.97 to use this application, being under the impression that 1.99 was the real price. But with the faceless customer service and developer support that is the iTunes App Store, I think this kind of ethically challenged business practices will continue for sometime.

The combination of one-click, impulse buying together with faceless customer service, makes screwing customers easier developers. It’s just good business.