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Splash screens == sloth

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Re: Splash screens == sloth

#21

Post by Maro »

saturdaysaint wrote: post #16
Maro wrote: post #11

This weekend the 3G mysteriously stopped working on my iPhone, so after months of use, I rebooted it. Rebooting the iPhone takes 1+ minute, and there _is_ a kind of splash screen shown during that time. The reason it appears instantenous during normal use is that it doesn't actually boot or load, it just turns the display back on. Also, many iOS apps actually have splash screens, you just don't see them very often as…

He's talking about smartphone app behavior, not the OS. A lot of good apps (with notable exceptions like Facebook and Kindle) work to minimize the "splash" by throwing up a graphic that looks like the UI, even while the app is loading and the UI (briefly) isn't even responsive to user input. I like it - it definitely smooths the transition into using that app.

iOS apps that I have that use splash screens:

Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, IMDB, Dropbox, Angry Birds, Skype, iGo, Quotes, PCalc Lite...

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#22

Post by podman »

Photoshop CS5 took roughly 4 seconds to start on my MBA. Is this guy seriously complaining about 4 seconds? Several popular iOS (and I'm sure there are some on Android as well) take longer than that to load...

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#23

Post by jnorthrop »

I wonder how Kas Thomas feels about the credit roll that occurs at the start of a movie? You know the one where they show the logo of the movie studio, then the production company, then the producer, editor, et al.

I see the software splash screen in the same light. It is giving credit to those who have put it together. Now, obviously entertainment is different then a work application, but many of us feel that software is art, just like a movie and that if someone wants to do a credit role then they should.

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#24

Post by untog »

munin wrote: post #4

>When I turn my computer on, it should just be on. Ready to go. Kind of like—well, like my phone, for example. Which is, after all, my real computer. what phone does he use? every phone that I know of takes at least two minutes to come up from a cold start, and has for the last ten years...

Yeah, he's comparing two entirely different things. The phone is instant when turning the display on. My laptop is near-instant when resuming from sleep. Neither are instant at actually booting up.

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#25

Post by JS_startup »

I don't understand what he's angry about. Photoshop, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, these are all enormously complicated programs that require resources to load. That doesn't make them bloatware and it doesn't make the programmers lazy.

His proposed solution sucks too. Show the UI while it's loading so the user can impotently click around waiting for the program to "turn on". Windows does this when it boots up and it drives me insane -- if the OS or program isn't in a usable state when you show it to me, don't show it to me

Loading speed is just one of a multitude of factors that come into play when making software. According to this Adobe employee it should be the chief most concern, even dominating other things like features, usability, UX, cost, technological debt, etc.

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#26

Post by kenrik »

Adobe is the king of bloatware and they will not fix it while they have us by the well "you know". If there were serious alternatives then Adobe would not be in the position it is today. Any company that requires me to PAY just to talk to outsourced tech support after I just bought $15,000 worth of software that is not working correctly seriously needs to get what's coming to it.

"Oh sorry sir you are using a "server" with Indesign that requires escalation level 3, and that is $79 to talk to a level 3 advisor sir, kindly."

Thanks a lot Adobe.

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#27

Post by jsavimbi »

techdog wrote: post #2

I don't think the guy will lose his job. Do you? He is addressing a very real issue. Adobe should read this.

> He is addressing a very real issue.

He adressed nothing beyond his hate for the splash screen, which has seen its time imo, but nonetheless has nothing on many of the other features and tools that Adobe puts out when it comes to bloat.

If Adobe really cared about the user, they don't because they own the brand name synonymous with image manipulation, they would at least make an attempt to tailor the application to the specific user's needs, not the user base as a whole. But they don't have to and will keep doing what they deem good for them until a real challenger appears. And then they'll buy them or sue them into oblivion.

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#28

Post by rauljara »

Louis CK has a fantastic rant about people complaining about technology being too slow (and technology, in general). It helped to put my own rage in perspective. I find myself getting less pissed at technology since watching it, and I kind of hope that lasts.

(NSFW)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grxL5umOE6g&feature=relat...

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#29

Post by rsanchez1 »

JS_startup wrote: post #25

I don't understand what he's angry about. Photoshop, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, these are all enormously complicated programs that require resources to load. That doesn't make them bloatware and it doesn't make the programmers lazy. His proposed solution sucks too. Show the UI while it's loading so the user can impotently click around waiting for the program to "turn on". Windows does this when it boots up and it…

It's the same for any complex program, smartphone or desktop. I have Picsel Smart Office on my phone and it has a boot time, because it's an office app and has to load resources to use the app.

And on his proposed solution, he asks developers to empower users, to not make users feel belittled, and at the same time he asks developers to trick users into thinking the full app has loaded. How can you avoid belittling someone and trick them at the same time?

Re: Splash screens == sloth

#30

Post by DrJokepu »

Maro wrote: post #21
saturdaysaint wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's talking about smartphone app behavior, not the OS. A lot of good apps (with notable exceptions like Facebook and Kindle) work to minimize the "splash" by throwing up a graphic that looks like the UI, even while the app is loading and the UI (briefly) isn't even responsive to user input. I like it - it definitely smooths the transition into using that app.

iOS apps that I have that use splash screens: Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, IMDB, Dropbox, Angry Birds, Skype, iGo, Quotes, PCalc Lite...

This practice actually goes against the recommendation of iOS Human Interface Guidelines, although it doesn't seem like Apple actually enforces it:

  Display a launch image that closely resembles the first screen
  of the application. This practice decreases the
  perceived launch time of your application.

  Avoid displaying an About window or a splash screen.
  In general, try to avoid providing any type of
  startup experience that prevents people from using
  your application immediately.
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