Safari launching on an iPhone (it took many tries to get this screenshot right!)

More and more gadgets use fancy animated graphics. From your cellphone to your high-end Linux box running Compiz Fusion, they’re all looking better than ever. But animation is more than looks. And today I’m going to cover many of the benefits of animations in software, from multiple angles.

Animations are exciting

Animations makes people go “Ooh” and “Aah”. This makes people happy, and they’ll be more likely to like the software. Even Vista with all its problems was famous for its Aero flip 3D. Bringing animations to your software also makes it seem more professional and complete. Static software is boring, animations are not. Too much is not good either, so finding a place in the middle is important.

Using animation to hide slowness

Everybody hates slow software. Animation is a great way to hide this. Of course, the best solution is to make software faster. But when this is not possible because of limitations in hardware, animations can be a great solution.

A very good example of this is launching apps on an iPhone. You zoom from the springboard (desktop) to the app. It may only take milliseconds, but it gives the app some extra time to start that doesn’t annoy you. Many apps are ready to use when the animation is done, making the launch seem instantaneous instead of having a tiny delay. This gives a great user experience, and is one of the “secrets” to why people love the iPhone.

Using animation to give feedback

Animations is a great way to give users feedback on their actions. When you click something, you expect something to happen. A good example is the jumping dock icon on Macs when you launch a program. Another one is minimizing windows on almost any operating system.

On Windows 7, you get outlines when dragging windows to the edge of the screen, highlighting that you are about to invoke the Snap feature.

Using animation to show relations

Animation is a great way to show how things are connected. A perfect example is switching screens in a table-based iPhone app. When you press an item in a table, the table slides off to the left and a detailed view comes in from the right. When you go back, the opposite happens. This gives the user a sense of relations between objects on and of the screen. The app seems more logical and self explanatory.

This works so well because we humans are wired to see relations between objects. This is also the reason why interfaces inspired by real world examples often work well (provided they are well executed).

How to implement the correct animations in your software

Knowing that animations can be used for many things is good and well, but how do you use them the right way? The easiest way to know if animating something is the right thing to do, ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you sure it won’t impact performance too much?
2. Will it help users understand what happened?
3. Will it make the software look better?
4. Will it make the software seem faster?
5. Are users going to be excited by it?
6. Is it fast to implement?

If the answer to at least three of these questions are yes, you should really consider implementing animations.

Finding the right animation for the task is even harder, but this is so different from case to case that I won’t recommend anything specific. A great general tip is to look at software you love to use and learn from it.

Often used animations most people undestand are zooming, bouncing and sliding. Be careful not to let the animations become the main focus. They should generally last for under 1 second and be gone. A bouncing icon that repeats over and over until you click is not a good user experience.

Debate, test and ask

Are you unsure about animations in your software? Do you want to learn more? Debate with friends, test software yourself and ask people what they think. Hit me up at twitter if you have any specific questions, or leave a comment below.

Macs have only one mouse button

No they don’t. Previously they did, then Apple added support for two-button mice, and now their own mice have many buttons.

The Apple Magic Mouse can even be configured with as many buttons and gestures you can imagine using third party software, like MagicPrefs.

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iPhone doesn’t do (insert feature here)

Most likely it does. MMS? Yes. Tethering? Yes. Multitasking? Yes. It is just a question of how far you want to go with your iPhone.

With the 3.0 software update, Apple implemented almost everything people complained about: Cut and paste, MMS, tethering and more. It also does partial multitasking, but if you want you can get full multitasking with doing a jailbreak.

I would advice not to jailbreak because of warranty and battery life, but go ahead if you feel adventurous. That said, I believe the next iPhone and the iSlate will have full multitasking.

Steve Jobs is dying

No he is not. He was ill last year, but he is healthy now. He wouldn’t be announcing products if Apple was getting ready to live without him.

If you don’t believe me, check this awesome site: http://www.isstevejobsdead.com/

Macs are more expensive than PCs

Sometimes. But if you buy a Mac at release, they are most likely similarly priced to their PC equivalents. And that is not even considering all the Mac-only features, like MagSafe, OS X, multitouch trackpad, better battery, and more.

Apple are control freaks

Apple's 1984 ad

Sort of. But they want control because they think they can make better selling products that way. For example the iPhone is still immune to viruses, unlike Windows Mobile and Symbian OS. If you think Apple want to own you, you are wrong. I would be more afraid of Microsoft’s lock-in tactics or Google’s privacy invading operations. You can always export your content from Apple’s software quite easily, unlike much of Microsoft’s software.

Steve Jobs can walk on water

No he can’t. At least not as far as we know.

I expect the new iMac to look more like this (the Apple LED Cinema Display).

A rumor about new iMacs have been floating around the Internet lately. They mostly agree on this: New design, new internals, thinner and cheaper. It will be launched by mid-October (possibly even at the end of September) This sounds too good to be true, so here are my predictions:

• Core i5 or i7 processor (possibly custom designed by Intel)
• New design
• Slightly thinner, but with better heat dispatch technology
• Blu-ray option
• LED backlight
• AMD 5000-series high end graphics chip, and/or something entirely new from nVidia or Intel
• Slightly cheaper low-end ($100-$200)

If Apple announces an event, I also expect some or all the following:

• A new LED Cinema display (20″ and/or 30″)
• Upgrades to Mac mini (same CPU as new low-end iMac)
• 5000-series GPU option for Mac Pro
• OpenCL and full Grand Central Dispatch support for some of Apple’s software

A norwegian article about the subject

How Apple play by their own rules

Macbook Pro: Unique design

The Mac has always been different. And that is a key part of Apple’s image. The differences used to be bigger before, when Macs used different internal components than normal PCs. They still do to some degree, but not as much as before.

But that doesn’t really matter. Because while normal computers are marketed based on their processor, storage space and memory, Apple market the Macs by touting their ease of use, great displays, aluminum enclosures, battery capacity and other non-performance features.

Why can they do that?
1: Most people don’t care about internals.
Most people really don’t care if their processor is a Core 2 duo 2,4 Ghz or an AMD Athlon X2 6000+. They don’t even want to know if their graphics card is an Intel X4500 or an Nvidia 9400GT. 1TB says nothing to most people, and they just want to know that the computer can “store all their stuff” and “runs fast”. And that brings us to the next point:

2: A Mac is always high-end
You won’t be disappointed with the performance when you buy a Mac. Apple only uses high-performing components, giving you the confidence to choose your computer based on other merits. This is also some of the explanation for Apple’s high prices.

3. It is easier to sell design than Ghz

This means your computer is faster! Really!

Imagine you are a sales person at a computer store. Little Bill and his uncle Steve are out shopping for a new computer.

How do you explain to them why the HP with a 2,4Ghz Quad Core Intel processor is faster than the Fujitsu Siemens with an AMD Phenom 2,8 Ghz? Wouldn’t it be much easier to say: “This computer is fast and easy to use. And look, it looks cool too!”.

Macs have always been known for great design, and Apple knows this. Their big Apple stores are designed more like art galleries than traditional stores. This also gives them a feel of exclusivity, which of course sells well to many.

4. Macs are cool

Not cool / Cool

Apple are geniuses at marketing. Ask any teenager what is cooler, an Apple laptop or an HP laptop? Or even a Mac or a PC laptop? The answer will most likely be a Mac, unless you happened to stumble upon a gamer or a hardware-geek.

Apple have historically not cared much for these groups, but lately they have pushed slowly but steadily to get more games on the Mac platform.

Why did I buy my Mac? (rather long story)

These are four of the main reasons why Macs sell well and are considered different and in many cases better. But I am a hardware-geek myself, and I was a gamer when I bought my Mac. So why did I buy my Mac?

A Macbook like mine

So I went shopping for a laptop. Like the hardware geek I am, I set out with a few decisions already made. I wanted a fast laptop. Core 2 Duo processor or a top-of-the-line AMD. I wanted a laptop where I could upgrade the RAM myself easily, because I wanted 4GB RAM at a time when most laptops came with 1 or 2. I also wanted good battery, and it needed to be light. I didn’t care that much for graphics, because I wouldn’t be gaming on this anyway. And it had to be compatible with Linux.

Already this ruled out most computers under $1000 (at the time). The only fast enough computers under $1000 were mostly heavy 15,4″ laptops built in cheap plastic and sub-par battery time.

All of this, together with my curiosity for the Unix’y Mac OS X, pushed me towards a white Macbook. One day after work I walked down to the local Eplehuset (a Norwegian Apple premium retailer), and I was sold. The machines looked amazing, the keyboard and the trackpad was great. Before trying the Mac I really liked the nub-mice found on some Thinkpads and Dells better, but the Mac trackpad was just… better.

OS X Snow Leopard

Me and OS X
I had decided that if I didn’t like OS X, I would put Ubuntu on the machine, since they provided a nice how-to for getting Ubuntu working perfectly on the Macbook. A week after my purchase I had already decided that I didn’t need to. OS X was like the perfect Linux distro: Unix-like core, user friendly, intuitive and fast. It even had more programs available for download than Linux.

Now, one and a half year later, I still think Mac OS X is the best OS out there. Snow Leopard will arrive in the mail any day now, probably making my Mac even faster.

Give it a try
I don’t work for Apple. I just like their products. So my recommendation is: If you haven’t tried a Mac, do it. It might just make your next computer upgrade a much more pleasant experience than if you went for Windows 7. Not that Windows 7 is bad (it is much more polished than Vista), it is just that OS X is so much better. And The Mac hardware is, too. Not faster, but better designed. Apple designs their machines to be used every day, without slowing down or break.

My Macbook has been with me everywhere I have been for the last 18 months, except for my trip to Naxos where I only brought my Asus Eee. If I had decided to buy another computer I might not have done so, and I might even have been looking for a new laptop now, instead of sitting here with my Mac.

Final words
This has been my longest post so far. This is because I had so much to say about this topic, and I probably could have continued for much longer if I wanted. These words are my thoughts about the Mac. Feel free to think otherwise, and if you do, please comment below.

News for everybody

• Smaller: Snow Leopard is 7GB smaller, while keeping all the features and more. This is because of optimizing in the code.
• Even faster: Snow Leopard is significantly faster, most noticeable at start up, shut down, connecting to networks, and using built in programs like mail, safari and finder.
• Using your hardware more effectively: Apple has made technologies that will make it easier for third party software developers to make software faster, and more power efficient.
• New mediaplayer (QuickTime X): QuickTime X is based partially on the research done for the iPhone video player. It also contains video editing tools, which was previously a QuickTime pro feature, available for purchase. QuickTime Pro is no more.
• Better videochat: iChat is now capable of showing 4x the quality compared to before, with only 1/3 of the bandwith.
• Stability improvements: Even less crashes than before, for example in safari. Flash and other plugins will no longer make safari crash with them.
• Exchange support: If your workplace uses MS Exchange, you can now read your email and see your contacts directly on your mac, without Microsoft Office.
• Several small interface improvements: Apple has made improvements to the user interface based on feedback. For example the possibility of browsing folders in stacks.
• More accessible: Snow Leopard expands on the previous accessibility features with more voice over features, and more.
• Quicker backup with Time Machine.
• Write on the keypad: You can now write chinese characters on the keypad with your fingers.
  

News for nerds, stuff that matters
If you understood the headline of this section, you can read on. If not, just skip this.

• 64-bit all over: Snow Leopard is now almost fully converted to 64-bit. The kernel and the subsystem, and most of the software and utilities.
• Grand Central Dispatch: An advanced technology to make multi threading easier and more efficient.
• OpenCL: This C-based standard makes it easier to use the power of the GPU for normal computing tasks.
• Many rewrites of code to make use of GCD, and to make the system more responsive.