I decided to make a quick comparison between the Vancouver 2010 olympic official app, and the mobile website of the olympics. The app makes better use of the user location, asking for access to location data, and updating the schedule to user’s timezone for instance. In theory user location sniffing could be done on the mobile web site too, but this would obviously be less accurate. But I think it would get the timezone right. The schedule is just a joy to use in the app, making it easy to star your favorite events and keep track of your olympics timetable. There’s also additional content describing the event details and venue information in the app. I wonder why this is missing from the mobile site, as it could easily be added there too.

The app relies for much of it’s content coming straight from the mobile website, like live results, and latest news headlines. Some of the integration from website to app is not done very smoothly: You could use a back button to go back from a news article to headlines list. This is a feature that comes by default in the browser, and is easy to miss when converting content from web to an app. Live results page layout also seem to be a bit too big for iPhone screen, making the text very small and difficult to read.

Basic iPhone features, like the map, are very well integrated into the app. The mobile site and the app however lack the more bandwidth intensive content, like photos and videos. It’s something I’m actually missing, because I have a good carrier and a data plan The inclusion of quicktime video clips would definitely tilt the experience to the app’s favor, because video playing integration is so well done on the iPhone. This is something that I truly value in other well done iPhone apps, offering a quick and easy access to multimedia content.

The app also offers more quick user experience via the iPhone cache mechanisms. This is something that could be done on the mobile site too, by utilizing HTML5 browser cache in Mobile Safari. In fact, I did not find any real advantage to the app versus creating the same user experience in Mobile Safari.

1. Use frameworks

This is probably the most important tip. There are very good frameworks for Web Development for language of your choice. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel, when you can have production quality code for your commercial projects freely. Using frameworks saves you lots of energy, and helps to focus on the stuff that matters.

2. Use an Integrated Development Environment

I’m currently using Eclipse for PHP, Javascript and XHTML development.

3. Modularize (appropriately)

Yes, keep doing quality modular, object oriented code, and you’ll thank yourself later. The bigger the project, the more essential this is.

4. Debug front-end issues more effectively with browser tools

Tools of my choice are currently Firefox and Firebug for Javascript debugging. Very, very useful.

5. Code for re-usability

Good classes help. I’ve been currently studying Design Patterns, in order to gain better understanding of the best practises for class design.

6. Collaborate and track project status online

Email is probably my most used collaboration technique. I’m planning to launch a tool in the near future which grew from my own needs for project management, but will be utilized in my future projects for project tracking with my clients.

7. Automate code formatting and standardization

Good IDE helps in code formatting too. Standardization is something, that I’ve learned to appreciate. It helps you to gain better understanding of other people’s and your own code, if the code is formatted according to standards.

8. Invest time in requirements-gathering and planning phases

Lack of proper planning and specifying is the no.1 reason for bad projects IMO. I’m trying to make clear to myself, that I as a developer understand what is needed, what techniques will be used and what the result will look like. More importantly I’m trying to make sure client knows this too.

9. Use code that’s already written

As I said, using frameworks is essential, but sometimes those cannot be utilized in the project. Then it’s time to look for existing stuff, and see if there’s code that could be used with as a base for your customization.

10. Have less features

Less features and more focus means better product in less time.

“We’ve found the same thing with Google Maps. If you make the process faster, you get more use right away.” Speed also affects the learning curve, she said.

1. Download UXTheme Multi-Patcher (Neowin Edition) 4.0.
2. Unzip, run .exe, click on the ‘Patch’ button.
3. Click ‘Ok’ on the warning, click ‘Cancel’ when it asks you to insert Windows CD, and click ‘Yes’ to keep these unrecognized file versions.
4. Click ‘Ok’ when it says you to restart your computer.

You’re done. Now you can install new themes, they are usually distributed as a .zip-file. Just unzip them into the \Resources\Themes inside your Windows directory, and they become available at the ‘Appearance’ tab on Display Properties window.

Now let me show you the ones I like most. These themes are highly polished, and are very high quality, therefore any of them is highly recommended for your everyday need of eye candy.

1. Reluna. Name probably indicates a remake of the standard XP theme ‘Luna’ (or not), it is very well done and pleasant looking theme with 3 distinct variations (not just colors but overall look as well).
2. New Tiger Milk. Obvious Apple love here, theme inspired by Mac OS X Tiger. Look, it’s perfectly ok to have Macintosh theme on your Windows, as long as you don’t tell your friends. It’s that cool!
3. XPMC RC3. “A professional theme made for developers and XP users who are at their PC for long periods.” That’s quite accurately put. There’s certainly that kind of order that coherent, logical minds love. My favorite theme for programming desktop.

You probably want to also turn on ClearType font smoothing technique while you’re at it, click ‘Properties’ on Desktop, go to ‘Appearance’ -> ‘Effects’, and select ‘ClearType’ on the second drop down list. Makes reading text highly more pleasant IMHO.

And while you’re at it, grab a cool new wallpaper from Wallpaperstock. My favorite place to look for wallpapers, for example check out this with mountains and snow, or this grassy green wallpaper.

1. User experience. Creating technology that doesn’t feel like technology. Most people associate with technology clumsy user experience and overall negative feelings when they remember the situation where they didn’t get things done or it was unnecessary difficult because they were not ableto understand the gadget. Stuff that Apple make, just feels like natural extension to your instincts.

When people use Apple products, and find that those actually respond to you the way you would expect, it feels like it’s a natural extension to yourself. You don’t need manual for iPod. Most importantly those gadgets don’t do anything unexpected. They start to trust those equipment, and this also brings other positive feelings towards those. They attach humane feelings with the gadgets. This is actually what people want; to feel that technology has some human qualities.

2. Harmony. Apple design has distinctive look and feel to it. When people begin to trust some technological gadget, they look for signals that really set them apart from other devices. In case of Apple, this is the simple and stylish, almost Zen feel to them. They clearly look like artifacts designed with someone with clear sense of style and harmony.

This extends also beyond shape. The marriage of software and hardware is one of the key aspects with success of Apple, as many people have noticed. I believe it is essential, that software and hardware is made by the same company. Extensible platform just complicates things, and creates an environment, where software that does not happen to possess those qualities that originally captured user might disrupt the user experience enough to shatter the “illusion”.

3. Magic. Last aspect is the most harder to describe, because it actually stems from our primitive instincts. Technology has in a way become almost religious aspect in our lives. We want to believe in things, and we want to be able to trust them. We want to have something in our possession, that seem to have some divine qualities in it; Harmonic impression created by simple, yet stylish design, and user experience, that makes it feel like extension to ourselves. We define ourselves by they things we own. The technology we choose makes us to experience the environment we live in a different way, in a way they “enhance us”. This is no different from wearing an amulet that you think will bring you fortune.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Famous words by Arthur C. Clarke. That’s the way we _want_ the gadget to appear, magical.