zerosleeps

Your turn, rest of the world.

Google Maps for iOS was released this week, and it’s lovely. It was accompanied by a blog post from Google directing readers to this page.

Tap-and-hold to do this, two fingers for that, swipe and shake for the other. Phew. Fortunately, not knowing the touch gestures listed on this page won’t impede daily use of the app.

These gestures are hard to guess, and there aren’t any visual clues in the app to guide users. I only discovered this page because I follow a couple of Google blogs: the overwhelming majority of iOS users won’t be aware that Google has published these tips.

I think Google are fine this time, but it highlights something I hope developers of human interfaces keep in mind as touch interfaces become even more prevalent: the very fine line between discoverability and usability.

Update: John Gruber’s comment on a post from Max Rudberg sums it up nicely:

A good rule of thumb is that the user should be able to figure out how to use an app just by looking at it.

NAB:

On Saturday 24th November we extended our Internet Banking password to allow more than 8 characters.

I think it’s pretty obvious that this change by one of the world’s largest banks is entirely down to my earlier post on this subject…

Here’s a handy little Dropbox on iOS trick: if you mark a file as a favourite by touching the little star icon, Dropbox will keep a copy of that file locally on your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch. Any favourite files are also automatically updated if they’ve changed since you last opened Dropbox on your device.

I was looking for an easy way to store booking confirmations, but honestly had no idea this feature existed in Dropbox.

My brother has just pointed out that in exactly one week - if everything goes to schedule - I will be touching down in Scotland for the first time since I left on 3rd April 2010.

I’ve been joking with people that for the price of this trip back to the UK I could have a kick-ass holiday almost anywhere in the world, and that’s true, but I’m really looking forward to seeing family, friends and the places I was once so familiar with.

But perhaps even more than that I’m looking forward to finding out how my perception of Scotland has changed. The first few days weeks and months here in Australia were tough. Really tough. And I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to shake the overwhelming desire to jack it all in and head back to familiar territory.

Some folk who have lived here for a while and have returned home for visits say that as soon as they walk in their parents’ front door they can’t wait to get back to Sydney. Others have the opposite reaction, to the point where a couple of people I met here have actually moved back to the UK after a visit.

I have no reason to believe I’ll be any different: this trip will either make me realise that life in Australia is actually pretty tickety-boo, or it’ll confirm that I’m happiest with what I know in the UK.