IPad - please don’t ding while you and I are asleep
modern-products.tumblr.com
modern-products.tumblr.com
I think what's at issue here is the mental model at work on the part of the designers vs. this user (and other users, clearly)
For the designers/Apple, locked is clearly not synonymous with "sleep" – any device that can receive push notifications or perform background tasks isn't really asleep... it's just not the focus of my attention. Would you say your smartphone is ever asleep? Mine never is. If it's not powered off, it's constantly working in the background, for my benefit (presumably). It checks email, weather alerts, waits for calls and everything else. It may not be the focus of my attention, but it's certainly not asleep.
The author clearly wants to treat it like a traditional computer not surprising given his opening statement about not viewing it as a worthy replacement to act as one's "main device". If that's the mental model one uses, then yes, I completely see the issue – and yes, the upcoming do not disturb settings will be an all around blessing.
However, the big take away isn't whether the designers at Apple were right and the do not disturb settings will be just an added feature or if the author is right and the lack of a do not disturb setting is a huge failure.
The point is, instead, that we need to be better about understanding and predicting alternative mindsets on the part of others.
From a design perspective, this is pretty obvious... but from a consumer/critic's standpoint, it's a necessary one as well. Failing to see this subtle issue makes your criticism much less impressive and much less valuable if you're in a place to be influencing future development because seeing the more abstract difference in mindsets will (often) help you see other issues (good and bad).
Also, all iPads have the switch above the volume button as a mute button already for notifications like this.
(Note: yes, I know most people have changed this setting (back) to be an orientation-lock, but this guy's new to iPads so I'm assuming he didn't change the setting)
I guess if you want the notification sounds but not while the device is open, then yeah you've got a bit of a problem (you would have to hit slide down and then slide the switch back up once you opened it.
I guess in the Apple world you need to wait for Apple to do it. And this feature has been missing since iOS 1. Yeah. Not missing iOS one bit.
You solved your "problem" in a Google search, but used this article as a trojan horse to soap box about two unrelated tangents. My note was for everyone here who was wondering how to fix it, but weren't willing to look in the second lines of the sixth paragraph.
Does it really make sense that it takes so much effort? These are otherwise such effortless machines; it just seems weird that I can't make this part of using them easier.
iOS is a much better user experience for me, and the people that point to "user control" of android never show anything that is of such value to me that it would overcome the better experience of iOS.
I'll give one huge value iOS has over android in my life. My 2 year old can use an iOS device without needing assistance. She can't do the same with an android device.
If you want a more consistent UI and smoother animations over that, then great - there's a polished, well made device for you too on iOS. Different strokes for different folks.
"More control is a big source of value for a [minority of people]"
I know here on HN the mantra is that people buy Android because it is cheaper/"they cannot afford iPhones", but in the real world people deliberately choose things not made by Apple.
Despite the Apple fandom on this website, there is no universal truth in Apple being a superior platform.
In fact, I say the lack of customizability speaks of it being poorly engineered.
The hacker news meme that Android is barely usable is getting rather stale.
Also, most android phones are not nexus phones. Most of these phones can not be upgraded to 4.0 yet. By your logic customer acceptance clearly shows they aren't interested in control if they can't even upgrade the OS.
I mean this in a humorous sense, but are you a 2 year old? And even then, what user experiences vary so much across them that there's a discernable difference? Go home, press the middle button; launch an app, tap an icon. Even multitasking is more intuitive in Android. I have friends that were "camp out for the new iPhone" for each iPhone that could multitask on iOS5 until I showed them.
I guess I just fail to see how "it's more intuitive" is anything more than "I'm used to it" these days.
"I guess I just fail to see how "it's more intuitive" is anything more than "I'm used to it" these days."
If a 2 year old can use iOS easily, and not use Android, then it is much more than "I'm used to it". Right? Regardless of whether I am a two year old, that is strong evidence that it is more intuitive.
"Even multitasking is more intuitive in Android."
Not on my droid x2. I have no idea wtf it's doing. When I hold down the home button it shows me about 5 apps. It thinks it is showing me the most recently used, but I have no idea how it determines that. It usually shows me the "Home" "app" which apparently gets used often. All this "app" does is take me to the home screen. The next app it always shows me is the google currents app. Apparently every time it fetches more content in the background it counts that as "recently used".
I can go on and on and on like this.
"I mean this in a humorous sense, but are you a 2 year old? And even then, what user experiences vary so much across them that there's a discernable difference?"
Tons, but I don't feel like taking the time to type them out. I'll give you two quick examples. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. The 4 year old had an iPad when she was 2 as well so I've watched two kids use iPads and one of them use android. They learn by pushing buttons/icons and remembering what happens. My android phone is sleeping, how do they wake it up? There are 4 buttons instead of 1, that confuses a two year old for a while. eventually they can remember which one is which, but it takes a while. So that's one thing. Now once they get the screen on and they want to unlock it, there are two sliders instead of 1. The second slider turns the sound off and on. That's the second thing. Ok, I'll add one more, widgets. When you look at an iOS screen there are only icons for apps or folders so all you can really do are open apps or open folders which shows you apps. On android you don't know what you're looking at or what will happen when you click it. Maybe it will call the person in the picture, maybe it's a text box to enter a search, maybe it doesn't do anything and is just some informational widget, and maybe it's an app and will open an app. There's another.
Ok, one more. Many apps, even ones for kids, depend on the back button. This confuses the hell out of a 2 year old, yet my two year old has no problem figuring out how to navigate around the coloring apps on iOS which have buttons in the app for navigation.
Wow. You've never found anything compelling about being able to take a pain and being able to fix it yourself? As opposed to having to rely on others to fix it for you, sometime in the future, if they can be bothered?
If you can see no compelling value in that, your opinion is worthless as far as hackers goes. To me your reply reaks of iOS apologetics more than anything else.
And I don't have a 2 year old i need to accommodate. When I was 8 I was programming my brother's TRS Color Basic. Despite not even knowing English. I don't mind technology upping your understanding.
The simplicity of iOS also puts severe limitations into what can be done with the platform. To put it bluntly: It bores me. It is boring technology.
I think it's telling that you didn't point to a single app on android that adds significant value which doesn't exist on iOS because of "control".
As far as hackers go, I've been an emacs user for over a decade, I think I know something about hacker ethic. At some point in my life, probably after kids, my time became more important to me. Hacking up my own RSS reader, or maybe my own keyboard, etc is not the best use of my.
Regarding control, I have a droid x2 and I can't upgrade to android 4.0. I promise that an iPhone as old is this x2 can get the latest version of iOS
Do you need an example of why having medicine when terminally ill is a good thing? How fundamentally disconnected from the reality of things can you possibly be?
But here you go. Example. I don't want to be disturbed while I am in a meeting. I can tell my Android phone (via apps) that whenever I have a appointment in my corporate calendar (you see I can have plenty of calendars) which has the term "meeting" in its title (so it doesn't collide with "meeting up with friends" in my personal calendar), the phone should always be in silent mode.
I can have all my SMS auto-synched in the background to my gmail, live. And all my phone history. Via third party apps. Google didn't think about that one, but on Android that is not a problem.
I can do all that. Because that fits me. You can't do that on iOS. Unless Apple decides to add it. If Apple doesn't come up with an idea, your platform can't do it. That sucks.
I don't want my platform to be limited to its creators imagination. That is a recipe of how to kill innovation, not breed it.
Ignoring that is being disconnected from reality.
Is that an argument against either iphone or Android?
No. If you are going to cite platform advantages tied to going full vertical, you need to compare iOS on Apple hardware with Android on Google hardware. And guess what? That works out the same.
Even on a Nexus you can find yourself without the upgrade for extended periods of time: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/04/27/verizon-to-blame-for...
It does not work out the same. QED
So far you have proven that you as a iPhone-user are retarded and unable to get back basic point, have no perspective, trolling or all the above.
I'll stop wasting my time on you. You seem like the kind of person who would deem even a death sentence superior to anything as long as it comes from Apple.
I too find it annoying that calendar event notification doesn't honor the mute setting.
it comes with adjustable volume controls... it comes with configurable sound menu... he has an iphone so knows the process.. seems like someone bought into hype so much it blinded him to the obvious.
Of course, I have different use patterns than the author I guess. I do everything I can to get the least amount of mail, for one. In lieu of just dealing with a lot of mail and getting upset when I'm notified of it, I prefer to limit the amount of mail I get by limiting newsletters and the like the I subscribe to.
I suppose if he's more famous than myself, that might be more difficult, but I think I'd try to work on a high-volume /public mail account that wasn't auto-polling in order to keep my personal/low-volume email account more usable.
My iPad also sleeps in a different room than me, so that might be the biggest difference maker.
I think Android's solution solves his particular problem better (but is suboptimal in perhaps other ways) in that it only dings on the first notification of each event type. I'll get a ding for 1 unread email, but the second and _n_ after emails don't bother me until I've checked and cleared the active alerts.
1) mute your iPad,
2) Don't sleep in the same room as your iPad.
In addition to more complicated ones being offered elsewhere in this thread.
I was just posting to point out that it isn't necessarily a design flaw just because it doesn't fit your use case as, to the contrary, I would be very upset if my device didn't notify me of something just because it was sleeping.