Show HN: my new app is fast user switching for the iPad (sort-of) | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: my new app is fast user switching for the iPad (sort-of)

mechanicalteeth.com

38 pointsmcobrien25 comments

"Ever get nervous leaving iPad around with your email account logged in?"

Please don't use Apple's insufferable house style of ditching articles and possessives when mentioning the physical device.

Thankfully you use "an iPad" and "your iPad" elsewhere, you just need to be consistent.

I'm cringing. That was a mistake, fixed.

Don't sweat it. It pales in comparison to "the ebay", "the google", and "the internets".

Where does Apple do that??

"In general references, don’t use an article. When referring to the user’s particular iPhone, it’s OK to use your."

from (pdf) http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/UserExp...

They used to do it absolutely everywhere, with insane consistency. They almost always used the construction "with iPhone" and never "your iPhone" or "an iPhone". The only such strings I would find would be stuff like "your iPhone Developer Program membership".

They relaxed their style considerably after they started using the term "iOS" — they no longer need to use the same term to refer to both the abstract device and the one in your hand, though they still do quite a lot.

They've been doing it for at least 10 years, there's lots of "with Mac" and "with iPod" in their old copy text. It's something I can easily imagine Jobs having a fetish for.

everywhere. examples from apple.com/ipad

iPad Opens Up New Worlds for Autistic Children

Archaeologist Steven Ellis and his team use iPad with apps from the App Store to capture invaluable historical data in the trenches at Pompeii

Apps on iPad look...

...specifically designed for iPad

Stories are even more immersive thanks to iPad capabilities

...9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS display on iPad...

you get the idea

I never noticed that. I think subconsciously I wrote it off as OK when they are speaking about the platform, and not a specific device.

No one would ever say "grab iPad and visit a website" but they might say "does your app work on iPad?"

Interesting. I had never noticed those. Thanks for the examples.

The website could really use some work for those users trying to browse it on an iPad. The paging indicators imply that the user should be able to swipe, but in actuality, the user must wait for the timed change, or try to hit one of the extremely small pips (well, extremely small for mobile browsing)

Creating a positive web experience for actual users of the device you're selling to is critical.

I think you should add app icon and/or some kind of logo on the website.

Now it's a bit confusing:

> Switch lets different people ...

And people start thinking: Switch? What is Switch?

---

Take a look at: http://www.apple.com/ipad/ See? iPad. The biggest text on the page.

By the way Switch is a very cool name for an app so use it a lot :-)

Love the idea...I think that its important people know its about web browsing...perhaps a tweak to the App icon to indicate this?

Thanks! You're right - the icon does need work. I wanted to avoid using a globe, but maybe clarity > everything.

I'd lose the "mechanical teeth" branding unless it actually has something to do with anything - and even in that case, put in a corner somewhere.

You appear to have something usable as "porn mode"; have you looked into keywords like "ipad private browsing"? I'm not sure you want the business, but...

Absolutely. I had no idea the app was called Switch until a read another comment in the thread. That's a great name; Mechanical Teeth means nothing.

I like the name but tbh it means nothing without a logo and it's obviously distracting so I've changed the site for now. How do you think it looks now?

Pretty nice. Some comments:

* the url should probably be something like mechanicalteeth.com/switch. Or throw some keywords in the URL for SEO purposes (/ipad/switch-multi-user-web-browser/).

* the "coffer" graphic breaks consistency with the rest of your graphics. Not everything needs to be a screenshot, but if everything else already is...

* the dark bar should always be at the same height on the page.

* I'm not sure I like the moving (as you from page to page) "available on the App Store" graphic.

* Your headings look a bit plain next to your header, and next to Apple's (over)-slick websites.

* I'd add some more space about the tilde (~) in the header, especially to the right.

* The contrast between your gray page and white form is rather large.

* I was not actually aware that there was a form until a minute ago.

* The feedburner link throws a 404.

* The purpose of the form isn't very clear to me - you have no blog that I can see, almost no content on Twitter. Are you trying to build an audience (you'll need more content), is this a support channel, or..?

Notwithstanding the above, I think it does look nice and may be useful to the iPad-using part of humanity. Good luck with it!

That's awesome feedback, thanks! I agree with pretty much everything - my plan is to have a lot more on the site (which is based on a theme I bought), but I also wanted to release early and iterate.

Sounds like I have some iterating to do, but it's nice to be busy :)

Here's the sort-of: it's a multi-user web browser rather than full fast-user switching but (at least for me), that's 90% the same thing.

It's implemented with some nice UI and cookie swapping.

It looks really nice. I think that you should make it clear that Switch is a 'multi-user web browser', because the description on your website/app page is a bit confusing (at least for me). Also, the name 'Switch' is hardly mentioned on your site (and this HN submission).

My 2 cents.

Thanks for the suggestions! I've changed the main heading on the page. I'll have to look into making the name more prominent too.

Out of interest, do you have any plans to launch for other iOS devices too? If not, what are the issues? I understand there would be some UI work involved, and I can see its strongest pull would be on the iPad, but I think it could carve a niche on other iOS devices too.

(As an aside, it's interesting how natural "iOS" sounds these days. "iPad" too.)

I've thought about it -- it's not difficult to port iPad apps to other iOS devices -- I guess it depends on demand.

People are more likely to share iPads of course, but for hackers the other things you can use Switch for (juggling site logins, testing without cookies) are just as relevant on the iPhone.

Atomic Browser has a private browsing mode and PIN protection, but not user switching. That probably means they could add user switching reasonably easily and be a direct competitor.

But they also add tabs, gestures and so on.

Do you add any other features to mobile Safari, or do you plan to?

I add an awesome bar and I have more stuff in the pipeline.

Atomic is a more complicated browser than Switch or Safari. It's a great app, but not for everyone.

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