iPhone Interface

Honestly, I found this video to be dirt dry. Edward Tufte put me to sleep a couple of times

Edward Tufte

(sorry I’m sure he’s a great guy). Sadly, I had to watch the video a couple of times (I don’t have time to spare, so I kind felt like I wasted time the first time I viewed this video).

First off I have to ask why does a professor have a jailbroken iPhone? Ok, back to the subject at hand…

Ok, so here’s my take on what Tufte is talking about. I think he commends the iPhone on the great job it’s doing with high resolution and top quality this-and-that’s that the phone is capable of. Tufte also points out areas that can be improved.

Some of the points he talked about were the high resolution design that greets you when you first open up the iPhone.  He also goes to the New York Times on the phone and notices how the url and the title bar go away s the user moves deeper into the newspaper. According to Tufte, the idea is that the content is the interface, information is the interface – NOT computer administrative debris. He notes how the broad button bar at the bottom of the screen steals away 10% of the screen (which I totally agree with); he goes on to say that the button bar should be transparent (again, I concur).

He then moves on to the messaging icon.  He notes that the design is fairly good with the messaging portion of the phone; noting that the obstruction between messages are removed and that the information is on the same surface. He goes on to point out that their is no computer administrative debris barricades and the history of messages then carries on through just like a real conversation.