Given the attention it started to receive it also became the target of a slew of copycat applications (my thoughts on which I discussed then on Developing Perspective). I wanted to try and make sure that I stayed ahead of these so I began working on another major update to the application that was a bit more thoughtful than the rush-job I’d done for v1.1.

via david-smith.org

This article from Underscore David Smith makes me so happy for so many reasons. Pedometer++ is an awesome app, and it demonstrates the Underscore methodology perfectly.

• Read about a new feature that comes from Apple.
• Think of an idea that takes advantage of that new feature.
• Write a minimum viable app very quickly and get it on the App Store.
• Wait and see if it gains any traction.
• If it does, quickly iterate to fill out its feature set and differentiate from the competition. (If it doesn’t, move on.)
• Once the app is sufficiently differentiated, don’t just keep adding features for no reason. Work on other things until you see a real opportunity to improve the app, perhaps when another new feature from Apple makes something new possible.[1]

This is so different from what has been my standard approach, and yet it works so well for David. It takes extreme discipline, I imagine, to a) keep the feature set in that initial app very tight so you can get the app out quickly, b) stop fiddling with the app once it’s sufficient, so that you can concentrate on other new ideas, and, of course, c) have the discipline to let the app go if it doesn’t do well. That last one has to be the most challenging.

Another thing that intrigues me about Pedometer++ is the business model. Pedometer++ is completely free to use, with no ads. There are three in-app-purchase options, but they do nothing to the app itself. They simply offer “tip jar” donations in three different amounts. But, and here’s the kicker, the in-app-purchases can be bought more than once. So particularly generous users can actually provide recurring revenue.

So while the app relies solely on the kindness of his users, which sounds insane, it’s actually working out. I imagine the vast majority of his over one million users has never paid David a cent, and yet there must be enough people like me giving him regular tips to make up for it.[2] Since the app is helping so many people strive for a regular exercise goal, perhaps this shouldn’t be so surprising.

If I had come up with the idea for a pedometer app right after the M7 chip was announced, I would have dismissed the idea as unsustainable. First, there were bound to be hundreds of competitors in a matter of weeks. Second, while useful information, a daily step count isn’t solving a problem that costs people money, nor will it make people money. So few would see the value in paying for it.

Far from ignoring these facts, David chose to work around them, first by getting the app out extremely quickly, so that he’d be the first one many people tried, and then by coming up with a business model (free with tips) that got it onto as many phones as possible. He actually made what looked like an unsustainable idea work for him.

This is precisely why I always tell people to avoid the trap of thinking there’s only one way to make a living in software. No matter what other people have done to achieve success, chances are your path is going to require something different. That’s why it’s important to read about as many different approaches as possible and constantly keep an open mind.[3]

Update: It seems Pedometer++ does have ads now. At launch, the app didn’t contain any ads, but as of last fall, new users will see ads until they give at least one tip. Thanks to Paul Brown for the heads up, and to David Smith for the clarification.

1. Like, perhaps, a new gadget for your wrist that makes for a perfect complement to your iPhone app. The Apple Watch extension for Pedometer++, by the way, is one of the few third-party apps I’ve seen that works really well. Loads super fast, and provides exactly the info I expect. And nothing more.  ↩
2. As I’ve said on the podcast, I’ve tipped Pedometer++ every few months or so since I started using it. Why wouldn’t I? It’s one of my “1st and 20” apps, one of those chosen few that I actually use daily. How is that not worth $5 every couple of months? Since David seems happy with his income from this app, I imagine I’m not the only one tipping him more than once.  ↩
3. There’s a good reason why we chose David Smith to be one of our speakers for Release Notes this October. I feel like I still have a lot to learn from him, and so do our guests.

Many reviews have already been written about the MacBook by people far more qualified than I, making a comprehensive review by me pointless. But I did have a few thoughts over the past few days that I wanted to share [1].

The New Keyboard:

Lots of debate on short throw vs. long throw. My approach to typing is much like my approach to any musical instrument. If I want to play fast, I need economy of motion. The less distance my fingers need to travel, the faster I can play. That’s physics. Typing is no different. If you’re used to pounding on Cherry switches, though, you’re probably going to disagree. That’s okay. We’re allowed to disagree on this.

Based on what many reviews suggested, and my own experience typing at the Apple Store for a few minutes, I thought it would take me a day or two to get used to the new keyboard. In reality, it took seconds.[2]

Because of the lower height of the keys, and the fact that they are sufficiently recessed into the unibody, this is the first laptop I’ve ever owned that doesn’t have the nasty habit of leaving keyboard-shaped grease stains all over my screen whenever I close it. I can’t tell you how significant an improvement this is. There’s virtually no grease on my screen, and that’s without putting a cloth over the keyboard when I close the lid. As someone who has been a laptop user since 1996, I’m practically weeping with joy over this. I’ve been cleaning that grease off of various screens regularly for years, and now I don’t need to worry about it nearly as much. Future of the notebook, indeed.

Backlighting is not just nicer, but significantly nicer. Having each key illuminated with its own source results in far less light leak around the keys, which makes the keyboard far less distracting in low-light situations. Combine that with the improved font (San Francisco) on the new larger keys, and you get a far better low-light experience using this machine.[3] It’s almost as if the text on the keys isn’t artificially lit up, but rather just happens to be visible in the dark.

My only issue with the keyboard is the arrow key situation. Specifically, the “up” key is pretty hard to find by feel alone. That’s a bummer.

Space Gray

I’m usually a plain old silver kind of guy. For whatever reason, I usually like the silver iPhone, the silver iPad, etc. The whole Darth Vader thing never appealed to me. (I even ordered the silver steel link bracelet for my Apple Watch.) But when the Space Gray MacBook was announced, I thought, “What the hell. Might as well do something different for a change.”

I think if I had seen the MacBook in person before ordering it I would have chickened out and gone for the regular aluminum color. That’s not to say that I’m regretting ordering the Space Gray. But I would recommend people have a look in person before ordering.

The gold was a non-starter for me. I think it looks nice enough, but I can’t have all that yellow reflectivity hitting my eyes as I’m trying to choose colors in Photoshop.

I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about the Space Gray that I don’t love, until my colleague Tim said it for me. He said it reminded him of one of his old PC laptops before he became a Mac convert.

Now, I’ve never owned a PC, but I immediately understood what he was talking about. This MacBook is way too pretty to be a PC, but we’ve been looking at aluminum Macs for so long that any Mac laptop that isn’t that specific shade of silver just doesn’t look like a Mac. At first glance, it looks like a PC that’s trying to be a Mac. I suspect that will change over time as we get more and more models in this color.

Meanwhile, having a Space Gray Mac does make me want to use Dark Mode in OS X for the first time. And it makes me wish all that much more that Dark Mode were a true dark UI, not just a change in menubar and Dock. (Hopefully, Apple will consider enhancing Dark Mode to include the entire UI in a future OS X release.)

And, oh my, does this darker Space Gray ever show fingerprints. Not just on the non-illuminated logo on the lid (Which is an absolute fingerprint magnet) but the entire body of the machine. (The keyboard, too, even shows prints far more than the other laptops.) So while I’m cleaning my screen far less often, I’m wiping down the rest of the machine on a regular basis now. (One step forward…)

USB-C

I understand that Apple wants to keep making licensing money on Lightning accessories, but having the diminutive USB-C connector and Lightning coexist seems silly. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually iOS devices just go USB-C. Maybe not this year or next, but eventually, it would make sense.

The one port thing has been talked about to death. It’s not much of a factor for me and my workflow, but I’m sure it’ll be a nuisance from time to time. My guess is it’s a temporary situation with this first model.

As far as losing MagSafe goes: yeah, definitely a step back. It’s obvious why it had to happen, though. This MacBook is far too light for MagSafe to have worked well, anyway. It would be hard to imagine that even a redesigned “MagSafe 3” connector for this machine wouldn’t have either disconnected too easily and become annoying, or too hard to save your laptop from a trip over the cable. And adding a magnet connector to the universal USB-C standard really wouldn’t work for other USB peripherals. USB-C is a snug fit, so that cable isn’t coming out unless you want it to.

Give it time, and USB-C will be everywhere, so the adapters and such are another temporary issue. There are already some good options on Amazon.

The biggest annoyance for me, actually, regarding this new universal port: The lack of an LED to indicate when the MacBook is charging. Obviously, this couldn’t be incorporated into the cable, as it makes no sense for other USB-C peripherals. But just a little light laser etched into the side of the MacBook case near the port would have been very handy. The MacBook does play a sound when you plug in the power, but only if the machine is not on mute. (My Macs are always on mute.) Not being 100% sure that the machine is charging is the sort of thing that drives a nerd like me nuts.[4]

The Lid and Hinge

Opening the new MacBook, you can tell they got much closer to nailing the balance in the resistance of the lid vs. other Mac laptops. It opens fairly easily with one hand, and you don’t have to hold down the bottom of the laptop to keep it from popping up and then slamming back down onto the table as you open it.

The metal hinge (as opposed to the old black plastic) also adds to the fit and finish of this machine. The Unibody construction just keeps getting more and more solid, and Apple just keeps getting better at mass producing gadgets with increased levels of polish.

Size

Don’t let the 12-inch screen fool you. This machine is smaller than the 11-inch Air in almost every dimension, including the most important one: width. It fits better into my portable Muzetto bag than my Air ever did. Once Apple can get the price down on these machines, neither model of the Air will need to stick around.

Speed

This is another one of those things that is mostly a matter of opinion and workflow. My biggest fear in replacing my 13-inch MacBook Pro with this machine was the apparent step back in terms of performance. Having used it for a few days, though, I can say that my fears were overblown. This MacBook has yet to feel “slow” at any point since I’ve started using it. Even with Xcode (albeit with my relatively simple iOS apps) the machine performs such that I don’t notice any sort of decrease in speed. I keep the display at the “More Space” 1440 x 900 setting, so I’m getting more real estate than I did with my old 11-inch MacBook Air, too. I’d say that if you’re working with an Air right now, there’s no reason to worry about performance when switching to the MacBook. Migrating from the 13-inch Pro, of course, is another matter. Again, it depends on what you want to do with your laptop.

The fact that I’m not really noticing a difference in my day-to-day use, though, is a testament to just how little processor speed means for most people nowadays. Maybe I don’t push my laptop nearly as hard as I do my iMac, but I do more processor-intensive stuff than the average person by a long shot.

I did get the build-to-order 1.3 GHz option, though. So this is as fast as the MacBook can currently go. I don’t imagine it’s that much faster than the base 1.1 or the mid-range 1.2, but getting the Turbo Boost up to 2.9 may make some difference.

I’m sure when I do some video work in Final Cut Pro I’m going to notice the difference much more. But for UI design in Photoshop, working on web sites in Coda, Keynote, the Omni Apps, etc.—all the things I tend to do in coffee shops on my laptop instead of on my iMac at home, the decrease in size and weight easily trumps the performance tradeoff in my mind. The same way it did when I first switched from a 15-inch MacBook Pro to an 11-inch MacBook Air many years back.

Overall

Here’s the thing about this MacBook: I’m drawn to it. I don’t know if it’s the small size of the thing that just makes it more lovable, but I’m already finding more excuses to use this machine than I ever did with my 13-inch MacBook Pro. Nothing against the folks who love the sweet spot that the 13-inch offers in size and weight to performance ratio, but I just never became fond of using that machine the entire time I owned it. The MacBook is as close as Apple has ever come to making the right laptop for me. What I thought I wanted more than anything a year ago was a MacBook Air 11-inch with a Retina display. But this is so much better than that. I can’t wait to see how this new machine evolves over the next few iterations.

1. I’m not saying that no one else has written about any of these things. I’ve just been getting lots of questions from people about my reactions to this machine, so I thought I’d offer some of my own perspective.  ↩
2. I think my trouble with typing at the Apple Store was the low tables they use there. Puts the keyboard at a terrible angle for someone my height. Any keyboard would be hard for me to use in that environment.  ↩
3. Those of you who know me know that low-light is my preferred work environment, so this qualifies as a big deal to me. I want Apple to make a wireless Bluetooth version of this keyboard immediately, so I can use it with my iMac.  ↩
4. Ditto for the non-illuminated Apple Logo on the lid which makes it impossible to know if the machine has actually gone into sleep mode when you close it. You know the old adage about the refrigerator light? Same thing here.  ↩

Lots of criticism going around regarding Apple’s handling of the Watch launch in the Apple Retail stores. Seems many people are unhappy that Apple is forcing everyone to order online, rather than having stock of the watches in the physical stores for day one. “People who brave the lines and come to the Apple store in person should get first priority,” the thinking goes.

I completely understand this criticism. If there’s one thing I can’t stand about modern retail, it’s the tendency to not stock many of the items found on the web site. The whole point of coming into a store instead of just ordering online is to see the products and then walk out of the store with them. I get angry when I go into a store to see what an item looks like in person, only to be told that they don’t keep that particular item in stock at all.

Apple is, at least, stocking display versions of every model of Apple Watch in stores (including the gold Edition collection in some locations). So you can at least see what they look like and feel them in your hands before ordering online. But it’s still a drag to not be able to just buy the thing right there and walk out with it. It’s un-Apple like, to be sure.

Here’s the issue, though: Apple doesn’t have enough Watches. And it probably won’t until late summer. From all indications, there have been millions of preorders already, and the shipping times for most models slipped past the April 24th launch day in minutes.[1] That means there will likely be less than millions of watches ready for the 24th. Maybe even less than hundreds of thousands. Given that there are hundreds of Apple stores to stock (even just counting the initial launch countries) how does Apple keep enough stock in each store to satisfy what would have been crazy long lines, all while not knowing which models they would need in each store?

When it comes to iPhones or iPads, Apple has past data to figure out which stores need each individual model. How many Space Grey, how many Silver, how many Gold, etc. With Apple Watch, there are many more models to track, and zero data to inform which models should ship where.

As bad as it is to tell people who come into the store now that they will have to order online, the notion of having long lines on day one and sending most of those folks home with no Watch after hours of waiting is far worse.

One thing I learned from my time at Apple Retail is that it’s always better to set expectations early, rather than disappoint later down the line. If there is only going to be enough stock to give each store a couple dozen of each model (I suspect less than that for some models, given how fast many were pushed back to May), it’s better not to sell Apple Watch in the stores at all at this point. Don’t send the majority of people who are going to wait for hours in that line home with nothing.[2]

Angela Ahrendts seems to have made a very tough call here. She was handed a dilemma, and she chose the less painful of two terrible choices. In an ideal world, I’m sure she would have been happier to launch Apple Watch the way the stores always launch new Apple products. But given the situation, I can’t say I would have handled it differently.

The only other option would have been to wait to ship the Watch to anyone until Apple had enough stock to handle both online orders and in-person pickups. For all we know, Ahrendts argued for this, but can you imagine the press backlash if Apple started shipping in July instead of April?[3]

By late summer or fall, I’m certain Apple will be selling the Watch in all Apple stores just like all of Apple’s products. Make no mistake; Apple hasn’t lost its mind here, experimenting with evolving the retail division into some sort of Gateway model. It’s simply dealing with a temporary bad situation in the most fair way possible.[4]

When the Watch was announced, and people were still in speculation mode about how the Watch would be sold at retail, I had two strong opinions. First, that Apple would let us try the Watches on some time before launch day. And second, that Apple would sell all the models, including the Edition, in Apple Retail stores. They may sell the Edition at other fine jewelers as well, but there was no way they’d give up an opportunity to cut out the middle man and send customers to another store to buy a gold Watch. (Apple loves profit margins even more than it loves its customers.)

For this reason, I’m very confident that Apple will get Watches into the Apple stores to sell directly in person as soon as that’s feasible.

1. I ordered my Watch with link bracelet at 3:01 am Eastern time, as soon as the iPhone app allowed me to. My order ships mid-May. I’m pretty certain no one will be getting a link bracelet on April 24th.  ↩
2. I most definitely would have been one of the crazy people in line on day one, and I would have been sent home after hours of waiting when I found out that my Watch of choice (the link bracelet stainless steel) wasn’t going to be ready for day one. Personally, I prefer knowing that my Watch is coming sometime in mid-May. Saved me a long night of waiting for nothing.  ↩
3. As it is, people are already mocking Tim Cook for shipping in April, when he said that Apple Watch would ship “early in 2015”. Personally, I’m dumbfounded by this criticism, since April is, of course, early in the year. What else could April be? It’s not late 2015. It’s not mid–2015. It’s early 2015. If I say “middle of the year”, any reasonable person thinks June, July—maybe May. The term “early” was classic Apple vagueness. Those of us who have been following Apple for years know to always set your expectation to the latest possible interpretation of any Apple announcement for launch times. But I digress.  ↩
4. One thing I’m certain of, given my recent experiences with waiting in lines on day one for Apple launches: Online ordering will help guarantee that most of the few Watches Apple has on hand day one actually get into the hands of people who will want to use them, rather than into the hands of smugglers who will illegally ship them overseas. This is a continuing problem for the Apple Retail experience, especially in bigger cities, and I hope Angela Ahrendts has some plan to address it.  ↩

As some of you may know, last year Charles and I rented a conference room at the Parc 55 hotel during WWDC and invited some of our close friends to come watch the sessions as they were being released. As with most things we do together, the idea was entirely Charles’, and it was brilliant. Everyone pitched in, from chipping in for the cost of the room, to lending us some equipment (including a portable projector, speakers, and some Karma hotspots). We had a great time, and we learned a ton. I don’t recall ever watching so many WWDC session videos so early after their release before.

Almost immediately after we got started on the first day (and had a standing-room only audience for the Keynote and State of the Union talks) it became apparent that this should be something bigger. The folks at AltConf agreed, and we decided that we should talk about joining forces the following year.

AltConf has become an institution during WWDC week. I was there for the first year at Stack Mob’s headquarters, when Alt was just getting started. And I’ve been to every rendition since. This year’s event is going to top all the previous years and then some.

Were there benefits to a small group of nerds watching these videos on our own over the course of a few days? No doubt. The discussions we had that week were invaluable, and there was a magical, small, intimacy to our little renegade project.

But there are far more benefits to us doing our “viewing room” at AltConf this year. First, it’ll be free for everyone. We don’t need to pool our pocket change together to get a space. Second, it’ll be accessible to everyone who attends AltConf. You don’t need to be in the “in” crowd or know one of us to benefit. Many more people will happen upon our room and enjoy the event, thanks to AltConf’s never-ending commitment to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all. Third, the theater rooms at the Metreon are several times larger than our little conference room at the Parc 55, so many more people can see the videos at once. We’ll be watching the sessions in a movie theater. The screen is gigantic, and the sound system isn’t two little laptop speakers. Finally, the location is far more convenient. We’re right across the street from Moscone West, and the AltConf talks will be happening in the same building. You can bounce back and forth between watching video sessions and watching the great talks going on in one of the other rooms. (Did I mention, I’m also giving a talk at AltConf?) I missed so many great talks at Alt last year because I had to walk twenty minutes between our little room at the Parc and the AltConf location. This year, that won’t be a problem.

I say to my friends every year, “Just be in San Francisco that week. It’s always worth the trip.” And I believe that. WWDC may not ever be able to expand beyond the few lucky people who get tickets, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a non-stop, week-long celebration of our love of Apple in the same city. I’m proud that Release Notes can play a small role in making that celebration even better this year.

UPDATE: There is one sponsorship slot available for our viewing room. We’re looking for a good company to help us make this viewing room a great event for everyone. Get in touch with AltConf if you are interested.

You can’t swing a dead cat today without hitting any number of (at least a dozen so far) reviews of Flexibits new version of their popular calendaring app…

That’s what the Loop’s Shawn King had to say about the release of Fantastical 2 from Flexibits today. He’s not wrong. My Twitter stream is also full of Flexibits today.

And that’s exactly why I always watch Michael Simmons very closely when he’s launching a new product. The guy never fails to get great press coverage. And it’s not by chance.

Having spent some time chatting with Michael on different occasions over the years, one thing is clear: He knows how to make you feel like he values your opinion. Even if he were faking that (and I don’t suspect he is), it’s a remarkable skill. Most of us suck at even pretending to care what other people think. But Michael has a natural enthusiasm for his work, and he wants you to feel it, too. And he really does want to know what you think.

Now, multiply his chats with me by the dozens of other people he must have similar chats with, and you start to see that he’s investing an incredible amount of time—pre-launch—to getting other people invested in his products. To gather feedback, listen to suggestions, and, of course, fix bugs. By the time the launch happens, you can’t help but be rooting for him. And, as a result, you end up tweeting, blogging, pitching in with the promotion yourself.

It’s brilliant. And it obviously works. But only because it’s genuine. And only because he’s willing to put in that time. That incredible amount of time. Not coding. Not designing. (That’s all getting done, too.) But good old-fashioned marketing.

Notice I haven’t even mentioned anything about the quality of Fantastical 2? It’s, of course, an amazingly good app. Took away my final few reasons to ever want to launch the built-in Calendar app. But you know that already, if you’ve read any one of those dozens of reviews out there.

But at the same time, I could easily see an app this great sitting on the store shelves, getting ignored, if it weren’t being marketed properly by an experienced expert. As Shawn King might say, You can’t swing a dead cat on any day without hitting an app that is incredibly well crafted, yet a complete financial failure.

If you’re out there building great products, don’t short-change their chances of success. Start caring about promotion. The best products deserve it.