The UI. Or Not?

[Doug Kaye]

Now that Norm has the basic functionality working -- still looking for
more feedback on that -- it's time to plan the UI of what I'm calling
for now the iTunes Connector. (Of course, Apple won't allow us to use
'iTunes' in the name, so we'll have to come up with something else.)

Here's what we need:

1. Standard installers for Windows and OS X.

2. A way to initialize the app.

3. Turn it into an always-running daemon in ways that Windows and OS X
users expect.

4. A way to turn it on and off.

5. A way to see that it's active and to check it's actions?

I'm wondering (re #4 and #5) if we should do this via iTunes.
(Anyone's thoughts?) Or maybe just a link in the iTunes menu system
that gets you to a UI for the Connector.

Tell us what you'd like to see in terms of user-interface elements for
this app.

Thanks.

...doug

Doug Kaye, Executive Director
The Conversations Network
A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
do...@rds.com
v: 415.453.1400
twitter: dougkaye

[John]

Just starting to use this today, Doug, so I'm hardly speaking from
experience, but what I expected to see when I downloaded the connector
was a Daemon that inserted an icon on the OS X Menu bar, providing
access to a list of functions and to a preferences dialog, which would
install in system preferences.

Why did I expect that? Because that's how the other Daemons run on my
machine - Quicksilver, Growl, Spanning Sync, Evernote, Wakoopa etc.

Maybe as I get into using the connector, my thoughts on this will
change, but I thought I'd share my initial impressions as a noob, for
what they're worth.

John

On May 4, 12:42 am, Doug Kaye <d...@rds.com> wrote:
<snip>

[Doug Kaye]

My apologies for not explaining the status of our alpha-test software
to all. (I'll update the ReadMe file.)

At this stage we're just trying to establish the functionality of the
SpokenWord.org Connector. As John points out, the app/daemon will
eventually be relatively invisible, perhaps with an icon in the menu/
task bar. We're just not there yet. Once we have the proper UI and
installers, we'll refer to the software as beta.

...doug

Doug Kaye, Executive Director
The Conversations Network
A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
do...@rds.com
v: 415.453.1400
twitter: dougkaye

[John]

Hi Doug,
re-reading my post, I see that it reads like a snarky complaint to the
effect that the App wasn't what I expected - that's not what I
intended at all. I was aware that this is Alpha software and I
absolutely expected a work in progress.

What my post was intended to be was a reply to the thread on whether
or not the app would have a UI and what form that would take. I wanted
to say that my preconceptions of what to expect when I downloaded the
alpha might be some sort of guide on the type of experience that would
work. I also meant to say that my views might change as I used the
app, I'm intrigued to see how it can/should integrate with iTunes.

Anyway, apologies for posting what seemed like a negative criticism of
the current UX, I simply posted hastily and absolutely understood I
was downloading work-in-progress software.

regards

John