Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 16th May 2012 21:17 UTC
An interesting study has been making the rounds across the web these past 24 hours. The creators of OpenSignalMaps have been logging which new devices download their product, and they've collected data on 681900 devices. The results are... Diverse.
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Member since:2005-07-06
Haven't we been making applications that can withstand arbitrary viewport sizes (window resizing) for the better part of a decade now?
Overall: I don't think so / not really / depends what we mean by "withstand" - many (most?) applications had and have UIs which can't exactly be described as ideal in the first place.
Member since:2006-03-20
Member since:2005-07-08
I think the issue with the fixed width web applications is just that the web is broken as a concept for applications. The web is for documents.
Any native application with proper use of layout managers won't have any big issues with resizing. The only problem is that a minimal size is required, of course.
Member since:2006-07-14
But it is difficult for designer for make flexible UI (Fixed width Web page are a testament of it).
Plus Porting the fixed graphical mockup to a flexible size screen is not straightforward (cost more money)
Plus Porting the fixed graphical mockup to a flexible size screen is not straightforward (cost more money)
Yes, the money thing is real, but seriously, its not technically hard to do. It is creatively and emotionally hard for designers to allow for their creation to not be rendered at a fixed width screen size. I don't really care if there is a tad more blank space between elements or the relative position between elements changes on different screen size. HTML was created with the idea that it would be rendered differently on different screens. Its the professional designers that have mostly screwed that promise up.
Member since:2010-01-08
Personally, I'm surprised at the whole screen resolution being such a bother to developers. Haven't we been making applications that can withstand arbitrary viewport sizes (window resizing) for the better part of a decade now?
It looks like this. Fast answer is yes, but reality is different:
First of all most mobile developers are not used with this any more AND
For desktop:
1) The DPI didn't increase so fast
2) Apps were not made to work full screen only
3) Touchscreen (mouse adapts easier to changes in DPI)
4) Screen size was not an issue
How does this influence:
1: - Don't need to take care about font size, icon size..., you can assume it will be readable
3: - Don't have to be sure the buttons are big enough to press them easy while small enough to use less screen size.
2: - you don't have to make each app resizable, most dialogs could have fix size.
4: - didn't have to think the interface so well to display all info needed, while taking care that on small screens it should be visible, on big ones uses all space and still look good.
Over all the biggest problem is that you have to create a GUI that looks good and is usable on a 2.5 inch X10 mini, and a 5.3 Galaxy Note.
Most GUIs that worked ok on a 15 inch 800*400px display, also worked ok on a full HD 22inch screen
The upside of mobiles is:
Each OEM knows the size and DPI of the display, so the OS can display the UI right (size of buttons...), with little help from developers: font size resolution independent, use a dynamic layout, be smart about how you place elements - try to use vertical layout as much as possible
Most important thing is to use standard GUI elements, or derive from them, do not create your own GUI framework just because you like it.
News
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:11 UTC, submitted by Drumhellar
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Member since:
2009-07-16
I wonder if Apple is so determined to stick to set resolutions because it's easier to do skeuomorphism at set resolutions. That does make me wonder why WP7 is so constrained by comparison. Perhaps it's just not as mature?
Personally, I'm surprised at the whole screen resolution being such a bother to developers. Haven't we been making applications that can withstand arbitrary viewport sizes (window resizing) for the better part of a decade now?