Leave It Behind > Brian Bailey

Help goes visual

Another observation on the iPhone launch. I find it fascinating that everything you want to know about how to use the iPhone is online and in video form. Conventional wisdom says that most people are visual learners, yet most product instructions are heavy on text, with a few simple graphics or screenshots added for good measure. Apple's use of short and long videos (called, brilliantly, Finger Tips) to explain features and common tasks is perfectly executed and brings visual help into the mainstream. Want to know how to activate your iPhone? Watch a video. Want to know how to unlock your phone? Watch a video. Remarkably simple, friendly and helpful.

Friday double-feature

In the hundreds of thousands words written about today's launch of the iPhone, I've seen very few about a fascinating twist - today is also the debut of the Pixar/Disney film Ratatouoille. Though the iPhone is clearly dominating the news, both the phone and the movie have received terrific reviews. The New York Times calls Ratatouille "one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film." and the Wall Street Journal writes, "The film sustains a level of joyous invention that hasn't been seen in family entertainment since The Incredibles."

When have we seen such an amazing run of success in two wildly different fields? iMac, Mac OS X, iTunes, iPod, Powerbook/MacBook and iPhone. Toy Story, Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars.

It's a good day to be Steve Jobs.

Postscript: By the way, thanks, Scoble, for making me and every other dad in America seem completely lame! Scoble and his son Patrick are first in line at the Apple Store in Palo Alto after camping out for the last 24 hours.

Turn of phrase

I love words and the clever use of them. This most likely comes from my father who was obsessed with words and poetry. I'm often amazed at how a certain phrase can have such an impact, framing a conversation, making you look at something differently, or simply making you laugh. Of course, political phrases come to my mind first - "morning in America", "a thousand points of light", "the people who work hard and play by the rules", and "change versus more of the same". Sometimes, it's just the great use of a great word - I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to use "nefarious" or "usurp" in a sentence.

I've come across two fun examples of this lately. One is from today's New York Times. People who write headlines, particularly for an editorial, face a terrific challenge of how to sum up the piece, get people interested, and be clever, without settling for the groan-inducing pun. On Tony Blair's last day as England's Prime Minister, I think they nailed it: The Which Blair Project. Very impressive.

The second example is a quote that already got a lot of press, but it's just so outstanding I have to document it here. When two new books appeared on Hillary Clinton, her campaign decided the best way to make sure they didn't become an issue was to make it clear that it was old news, more of the same, and completely irrelevant to the campaign. Clinton's spokesman Philippe Reines accomplished all of this a one simple, beautiful response: "Is it possible to be quoted yawning?"

USA 2 Mexico 1

A terrific Gold Cup final today saw the United States beat Mexico 2-1. The was one of the most entertaining soccer matches I have seen in some time - very fast paced and high energy. There were some excellent plays throughout the 90 intense minutes, with the U.S. coming from behind to win. I always say that there isn't anything like international soccer in front of a packed stadium of passionate fans and that was the case again today.

At this point, I'm left with no choice but to jump on the Bob Bradley bandwagon. The new U.S. coach is now 10-0-1 since taking over the national team earlier this year. Though I was one of those who wanted a high profile foreign coach, Bradley has proven himself to be both innovative and determined. His clean record will likely take a hit over the next two weeks as the U.S. takes an inexperienced squad to a tournament in South America, but he clearly has the team on the right track.

Read the full article, post-match quote sheet, and blog coverage.

We're stuck in Flow Mo and we can't move

You know your sleepy suburban town has arrived when you have your own rap video: Flow Mo. We've lived in Flower Mound, Texas for nearly twelve years and watched in grow from 30,000 people to a thriving metropolis of 60,000. Located just north of DFW Airport, halfway between Dallas and Ft. Worth, Flower Mound is an awesome place to live and raise a family. The schools are excellent, the Starbucks are plentiful, and everyone is very friendly.

Of course, it probably looks very different if you're a teenager. "We've got nothing to do. We're stuck in Flow Mo and we can't move." I think it's a rite of passage to be bored with your hometown when you're in high school - I know I was. Check out this hilarious and incredibly well done video - these are some talented (admittedly white) guys and girls. As a bonus, you get a fun tour of Flow Mo :)

Link love from MacSurfer

MacSurfer, the best site to stay on top of Apple news, was kind enough to link to today's post on The power of consistent interfaces. I've relied on MacSurfer for years and the consistent quality is truly impressive. I greatly appreciate the link - it's amazing what a high flow site it is, even on a Saturday.

For the latest Mac news, visit MacSurfer daily.

The power of consistent interfaces

Apple has released a 20-minute guided tour of the iPhone. It's a remarkably thorough and low-key overview of the features, some of which have not been highlighted before. I love the small touches like the ".com" button on the keyword which is accessible when you're entering a web address.

As I was watching the video, though, I was struck by the true power of what Apple is trying to accomplish - a consistent user interface across all of its products. The new Finder in Leopard is inspired by iTunes, including cover flow for your applications. The same view is now part of the iPhone music experience and will surely be added to the iPod shortly. The stock and weather apps on the iPhone are visually identical to the Dashboard widgets on the Mac. Apple TV is familiar to anyone who has used Front Row on an Mac. Apple's numerous applications are becoming more consistent all the time. And Safari and iTunes are increasingly at the foundation of it all.

Hardware, of course, benefits from this same consistency. The remote for Front Row is identical to the one used by Apple TV. Both function in much the same way as the iPod's click wheel. The base of the iPhone is the iPod dock connector. And you'll find no more than a single button anywhere. The button-free iPhone, in fact, has achieved the ultimate Jobsian state.

By providing a consistent interface, as well as a consistent experience, the user knows what to expect as they move from device to device and app to app. The experience is familiar and comfortable. No matter how they are first introduced to the Apple ecosystem, they are soon curious to explore the rest of this world. Instead of it feeling foreign, it feels like home.

A brief aside: The one element that seems out of place in this world is .mac, Apple's online service. In fact, the recent redesign of Apple.com has made .mac largely invisible. Though Apple would never discontinue a service that adds $69 to many new Mac purchases, what it offers is largely out of step with competitors. The design and features are due for a significant upgrade, one that will hopefully come with Leopard's release this fall, along with the new version of iLife. With the debut of the iPhone, I can imagine .mac being re-introduced as a way to keep your Safari bookmarks, address book, and more in sync across your Macs and your iPhone, and perhaps a convenient way to upload your photos.

20070623_miscellany

» iPhoney: An iPhone web simulator for designers. Free, nicely done and very handy way to see how your site will look on the iPhone. The nearby screenshot is an example (iPhoney uses the Safari engine and is currently Mac-only). [via 37signals]

» The next time I work up an image for this blog, I hope to be using Skitch - a new Mac app for quickly and easily working with images and sharing them. A private beta at the moment, but boy do they have some good buzz going. "I can say this is the coolest thing I have seen at Macworld that isn't an iPhone." "I’ve been using Skitch for a couple of months now and couldn’t live without it." Don't miss the great video overview, complete with a groovy soundtrack. 

» Dave Winer: "The business of the valley is not publishing. It is not advertising. It is not retailing. It is not pet food. It is cool packages of technology that thrill people with empowerment and novelty."

» An hour-long conversation with Rick Warren and Ed Young on evangelism. Outstanding!

» The final word on Bloomberg: Aiming for the gold, with gold from The Economist.

"Ross Perot, a Texan billionaire who made an independent run in 1992, reached nearly 40% in the opinion polls before people suspected he was nuts, observes Charlie Cook, a political analyst. Mr Bloomberg is obviously sane and competent, though no rousing speaker. In a three-way race against flawed opponents, he could win."

» The fantastic trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix. We in the Bailey household are counting the days to the movie and the final book.

» Blogging Toolbox: A collection of over 100 links to nearly every blogging resource imaginable.

» Sunday afternoon on Fox Soccer Channel (thanks, Verizon!): USA vs. Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, live from sold-out Soldier's Field in Chicago.

20070622_miscellany

» I really miss Kathy Sierra. What an incredible source of ideas, inspiration and good vibes.

» Great piece on Hillary Clinton by Peggy Noonan. "People want a president to be strong but not hard." If you haven't seen it, the video she references is Hilary's latest campaign video, inspired by the Soprano's finale.

» Ben's revelation on watches: "I finally know why that watch company is called Fossil - it's because nobody buys watches anymore!"

» My contribution to really bad medical humor: what do you call the non-invasive virtual colonoscopy? A semicolonoscopy!

» Miscellany: "A collection of various items, parts, or ingredients, especially one composed of diverse literary works." The title comes from a book I always wanted to write for Ben. For his first 5-6 years, he was a collector of miscellaneous objects like no one I've ever known. Bottle caps, rocks, shells, dinosaurs, matchbox cars, acorns, leaves, magnets, water smoothed glass (o.k. that one was my idea) and assorted pieces of metal. Every corner of his room featured a collection of something. The story was going to be called Bennett B. and the Land of Miscellany.

Raising boys

Tony Woodlief is a terrific writer and blogger who I've read off and on for years. He writes many excellent posts on fatherhood and raising boys, two things I think about a lot. We crossed paths a couple of years ago when we nearly participated in a book featuring many different bloggers, a project that never saw the light of day.

Last weekend, I was reading my treasured copy of the weekend Wall Street Journal when I came across a piece that sounded vaguely familiar. The theme and writing style struck a chord and I skimmed to the end to see who wrote this interesting article — none other than Tony Woodlief!

Wow — a Father's Day essay in the Wall Street Journal! You can read it online. Of course, it's excellent and well worth the read. The only thing missing was a quote from one of the best movies of all time, Say Anything: "The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy." I'm thinking of having this printed on a t-shirt for Ben.

If you don't already read his blog, Sand in the Gears, be sure to check it out. Congratulations, Tony!