David G. Shrock's Blog, page 11

Read an Ebook Week

This week, March 6th to 12th, my ebooks are included in the promotion at Smashwords. Raven Memory is 50% off and Shadow Memories is free. For 2011, I am donating proceeds from sales of my books to KIPP including from this promotion.

Find my ebooks on my Smashwords page, or browse the promotion for other ebooks.

Source Citation Fail

While reading a technical book, I came across a footnote referencing a source citation with a Wikipedia URL. I frowned upon seeing an encyclopedia as a source. A book or article would be more useful to me. Ignoring the arguments about the quality of Wikipedia versus other encyclopedias, let's look at problems on how this turns into a source citation failure.

It turns out the specific URL has changed, and Wikipedia redirects to a the same topic on another page. However, there is no mention of the specific point referenced by the book as someone has since updated the entry. The page also boldly states at the top that the entry "needs attention from an expert on the subject."

The author of the book is an expert on this topic, but chooses to cite an encyclopedia entry in need of improvement, and the point in question has since been edited out. No value to the reader.

Please cite a solid source that provides more information to the reader.

New Crank

Shimano Ultegra Crank

I chose a Shimano Ultegra crank to replace the one broken by Bike-Breaker Hill. It costs more, but worth it for longevity considering my regular riding habits and strong legs. I like the modern bottom bracket. Easy to install and very smooth. May it last more than 30,000 miles.

Caution: Bike Breaker Hill

Bike-Breaker Hill

Caution: Bike-Breaker Hill

Bicycle parts break. It happens. Most vulnerable are the moving parts. On my ride home this week, a part broke that I never expected. The crank arm. Snapped clean off at the middle. I one-leg pedaled the rest of the way home.

The arm snapped off during a power stroke and sent me wobbling. At first I thought it was the pedal. When I spotted the broken crank arm on the pavement, I paused a moment to stare at it making sure it was real. I couldn't believe the arm snapped in half.

Broken rank arm

Clean break

The bike has never taken damage from a crash. I have a bad habit of accelerating hard, and maybe it doesn't help that I live on a steep hill. It's good exercise. Two years ago, I snapped a chain on the hill. Since then I only use the same high quality chains I use on my mountain bike. The crank lasted five years and about 30,000 miles. The sad thing is I just replaced the chain rings (teeth.) I'm replacing the crank with a stronger model from a different brand.

I have broken spokes, wheels, chains (one on my hill,) a brake, and a frame (crash.) Now a crank arm while pedaling. Crazy.

Leg power? Maybe it's just Bike-Breaker Hill.

Gazing down Bike-Breaker Hill

.

Bike Breaker Hill

Caution: Bike Breaker Hill

Bicycle parts break. It happens. Most vulnerable are the moving parts. On my ride home this week, a part broke that I never expected. The crank arm. Snapped clean off at the middle. I one-leg pedaled the rest of the way home.

The arm snapped off during a power stroke and sent me wobbling. At first I thought it was the pedal. When I spotted the broken crank arm on the pavement, I paused a moment to stare at it making sure it was real. I couldn't believe the arm snapped in half.

Broken rank arm

Clean break

The bike has never taken damage from a crash. I have a bad habit of accelerating hard, and maybe it doesn't help that I live on a steep hill. It's good exercise. Two years ago, I snapped a chain on the hill. Since then I only use the same high quality chains I use on my mountain bike. The crank lasted five years and about 30,000 miles. The sad thing is I just replaced the chain rings (teeth.) I'm replacing the crank with a stronger model from a different brand.

I have broken spokes, wheels, chains (one on my hill,) a brake, and a frame (crash.) Now a crank arm while pedaling. Crazy.

Leg power? Maybe its just Bike Breaker Hill.

Gazing down Bike Breaker Hill

.

Donating 2011 Ebook Proceeds to KIPP

I will donate all proceeds from my 2011 ebook sales to Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP.)

What is KIPP?

Knowledge is Power Program is a national network of open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools. KIPP improves academic quality by offering more classroom time focused on achievement with great educators. Learn more about KIPP at www.KIPP.org. Also see what Give Well has to say about KIPP.

Donation Details

My ebooks, found on the Books page, are available for free at Scribd. If you would like another format, you may choose an ebook and select a retailer. On December 15, 2011, I will submit a total donation to KIPP, and post the results on this blog.

Here is the breakdown of purchase price, and how much of your purchase will go to KIPP.

Shadow Memories

For $0.99 purchase, the following donated to KIPP:

Smashwords, B&N, Sony, Kobo: US$0.56
Amazon: US$0.35

Raven Memory

For $2.99 purchase, the following donated to KIPP:

Smashwords: US$2.21
B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Sony: US$1.79
Amazon: US$2.00

Kandy Fangs (available in March) is free, and not included. If I release another ebook this year, it will be included.

If any retailers make adjustments during 2011, including sales or fees, I will stick with the numbers above for donations.

In summary, I will donate proceeds of my ebook sales during 2011 on December 15, 2011 to KIPP.

Future iPad

I never liked the clamshell notebook computer design. It's great for carrying from desk to desk, but worthless in the field (try holding and typing) and uncomfortable on an airplane. I don't even like dragging one out at an airport. My iPad replaced my notebook computer. If I need to work away from the office, I use remote desktop software on the iPad to work on Windows programming. My biggest complaint is the screen resolution. It's adequate, but crisper text would be better. Front-facing camera is another component many wanted, even if iPad pre-dated FaceTime by a few months.

The iPad needs some upgrades to make it a better business computer

More memory. The current iPad is a little shy.
Higher resolution screen. Crisper text improves reading enjoyment and graphic quality.
SD card slot. Thin. The USB adapter covers other connections.
Front-facing video camera. A back-side low-res camera might also be nice as a cheap bar code scanner or quick snap for documentation. Too cumbersome for photography.

Faster processing will also come with higher resolutions. It will be interesting to see if the next iPad update will include higher resolution. Increasing the resolution to 2048×1536 may happen, but it's a tall order. That's more pixels than the average desktop display. John Grubar of Daring Fireball makes some good arguments against a hi-res screen in the near future in "Cold Water on iPad2 Retina Display Hype"

Even if we need to wait another year, a hi-res screen would satisfy me at least until flexible displays for easy folding. By then, the clamshell computer will be a funny museum piece.

My Software Dream

A few months ago someone asked me why her mobile device could automatically open an email attachment, but her desktop computer could not. Her desktop operating system (OS) told her the file type could not be recognized. The attachment is a document for a popular office suite created by the same company as her OS. Not only did the OS not understand the common document, it failed to point her to an available solution (a reader made by the same company.) This is not just a failing of the OS or software company, this is an embarrassment to the entire software world.

History

Long ago (4+ decades) smart people thought about how best to interface with computers. Resources were limited, but imaginations came in great supply. The GUI (Graphic User Interface) concept (see "History of the GUI" at Ars Technica) appeared in the 1960s. Other ideas were about software design (flexibility, maintainability, and extensibility) including other programming concepts. Key results included that users should not need understand computer technology.

Software should simplify tasks and deliver a positive user experience. Bring the user closer to their data. IBM lists seventeen design goals and David Hooker lists seven,  but I focus on four. The rest fall in line.

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS.)
High visual communication; no clutter.
Maintain common actions; don't surprise the user.
Stay focused on the goal. Some problems are moving targets.

Adhering to these goals allows the consumer to reach their goal by using the best tool for the job. Consumers sometimes end up using software differently than intended, because the designer didn't completely understand the problem or the problem changes over time. These four primary goals live on after the product is finished.

In the beginning (1980s,) personal computers achieved these goals, more or less. Technology was limited for better and worse. Computers limited in abilities made some tasks difficult, but tiny resources (memory and CPU) also kept software design in check. This forced programmers to focus on simple tasks. My favorite word processor born in the 1980s died in the early 1990s, even though new versions continue on like scary ghosts haunting the computer world. Today's version has many more features, but doesn't process words any better. And does it much slower on faster machines.

How Software Designers Have Failed

Today when I listen to common consumers, I hear more concern about technical aspects than about experience. Consumers argue about "gigabytes" and "gigahertz." They are concerned about how to carry all their videos, pictures, and other creations around. They demand disk space and adapters. Consumers brag about the number of triangles per second their video card can push. What does the number matter if it results in poor video or terrible overall performance? They beg for features, some of which they rarely ever use or duplicate abilities in better performing products.

What's wrong with this picture? A consumer should never need worry about x number of features, disk space, or how a file system works. The consumer should be more concerned about getting their work done using the best tool for each job.

Part of the problem is the explosion in hardware advancement during the 1990s leading to faster and cheaper processors, memory, and storage. Software designers are lazy. Without resource limitations, many programmers don't worry about using too much memory or looking for more efficient algorithms. The mantra: computers have more than enough, just get the program done.

Marketers are lazy, too. It is much easier to market numbers: GHz, GBs, number of adapters on the hardware side, and x number of features or all-in-one solutions on the software side. You can't put a number on experience.

Overall, the software world has gone backwards leading to cluttered products full of afterthought features, difficult to navigate menus, slow performance reducing our work flows and degrading our experiences.

Mobile Computer Revolution Failure

Advancement in tiny technology has given birth to phones more powerful than desktop computers of past decades. Like the computers of the 1980s and early 1990s, memory and processor power are (were) limited. This results in refined software.

However, many software designers misinterpret "maintain common actions" as familiarity. Some phones try using menus or actions like their PC cousins, but on a tiny screens resulting in clumsy operation. Many users happily navigate this familiar nightmare until they try another device that does it so much better. But the designers aren't completely wrong about familiarity. Even worse is introducing something so radical that consumers run away.

Consumers don't know what they want. It's like the Simpsons episode where the car manufacturer asks Homer what he wants in the perfect car. Homer asks for bubble domes, fins, and multiple horns—more features—little about improving the driving experience. New ideas are unfamiliar, and too many changes turns into an Edsel.

More power for mobile devices leads to designers implementing the same failures of their desktop counterparts. Manufacturers market number of features, processor speeds, ports, and other bullet points meaningless to the experience. Like Homer Simpson, consumers demand features. And software designers deliver at the cost of usability.

Apple Inc products aren't perfect, but the genius behind their design is in small iterations of familiar concepts while maintaining a focus on the user experience.

Software Design Back On Track

There are complaints about Apple controlling their App Store and holding developers inside a "walled garden," but there is an advantage: it helps keep design on track. Design needs to get back to basics through education, collaboration, and putting the end user first.

Consumers have become so entrenched in poor design and feature creatures that great user experiences may take time. Here are my four tips to help achieve the four primary design goals:

Assume resources are limited. And often are given a multitasking world.
Solve one problem.
Familiar buttons, icons, actions should stay familiar.
Carefully consider new actions and visuals, collaborate with others to establish, and be willing to modify or abandon for other ideas.
Work with other software to help the user create a work flow without the user having to understand file systems.
Use, and love using, your own software. Then make it better.

A word processor should be amazingly good at its job, and not try to tackle the problem of laying out content for digital magazines or the web. A layout program should make arranging content for digital magazines amazingly simple, and not have to worry about editing photos or processing words. A person should be able to open an email attachment containing common, well established, data in the right solution without knowledge of the data file.

My dream is a software revolution bringing users closer to their data, opening a stream from imagination into reality. The same thing designers dreamed about in the ancient times (1950s.)

2011

2010 was a busy year for me in the software world, but I did manage to post a couple books to Smashwords and other places. I will continue to write fiction.

2011

This year and beyond, I will post most of my short fiction at www.KandyFangs.com, including going beyond the novella such as this week's FridayFlash, "Quiet Storm." This blog will be for news or posts on reading, writing, software, science, or technology. Look for longer fiction at Scribd.

My current projects for this year include:

Kandy Fangs novella and other stories
a novel featuring Torre
iPad development
Art

Donations

My fiction is free. If you enjoy my stories and feel like donating, you may do so by purchasing an ebook from Smashwords, Amazon, or another retailer. Your purchase also supports these retailers in delivering works by your favorite authors. See Books page for details. Find my ebooks at:

www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dracotorre
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003ZMBRX4

Thanks for your support.

Ninth at 12 Days 2010

"Ninth" is at 12 Days 2010 among twenty-three other short stories. Hosted by Jim Bronyauer, 12 Days 2010 features two stories for each of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" posted two at a time for 12 days. My story is on the "nine ladies dancing" theme where a man walking home meets the nine spirits from a local curse.

Read "Ninth" at 12days2010.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/ninth-day-9/ and enjoy all the stories finishing up on Christmas.