Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Michael Andrews: How can one hope to develop fresh and immediate feeling UIs when the planform one uses is so out of date? I agree with you that OS X is the best consumer OS currently available. I'm not sure I agree with the argument that the medium in which something is expressed has such a strong bearing on the results. I would think that the 'fresh and immediate' aspects of a new design are borne out in both the earlier stages of design as well as feedback from design reviews/critiques?? Your prototyping toolchain of choice should be the space for expression, not inspiration. /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
I am not sure that productivity should be the litmus test of the business case. Not only would hard it be hard to demonstrate productivity, it wouldn't address core issues of quality. The best reason to use a Mac is that MS Windows is dull and uninspiring. Ditto for Visio. Maybe Microsoft will change in future releases, but as of today, these interfaces are stone aged. How can one hope to develop fresh and immediate feeling UIs when the planform one uses is so out of date? It is hard create good practices while working in an environment where old or bad practices are common. While there is plenty of room for OS X software to evolve, for the moment, it is the best available to incorporate good practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
For *you* it may be dull and uninspiring. On Feb 22, 2009, at 4:49 PM, Michael Andrews wrote: I am not sure that productivity should be the litmus test of the business case. Not only would hard it be hard to demonstrate productivity, it wouldn't address core issues of quality. The best reason to use a Mac is that MS Windows is dull and uninspiring. Ditto for Visio. Maybe Microsoft will change in future releases, but as of today, these interfaces are stone aged. How can one hope to develop fresh and immediate feeling UIs when the planform one uses is so out of date? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
I think it can be understood that people aren't exactly describing objective principles of Truth. On Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 7:58 PM, live human.factor@gmail.com wrote: For *you* it may be dull and uninspiring. On Feb 22, 2009, at 4:49 PM, Michael Andrews wrote: I am not sure that productivity should be the litmus test of the business case. Not only would hard it be hard to demonstrate productivity, it wouldn't address core issues of quality. The best reason to use a Mac is that MS Windows is dull and uninspiring. Ditto for Visio. Maybe Microsoft will change in future releases, but as of today, these interfaces are stone aged. How can one hope to develop fresh and immediate feeling UIs when the planform one uses is so out of date? -- I have mad skills at doing spazzy things. - Janiene West Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Amy Alex, I appreciate your feedback on http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I do tend to agree with you that its too sketchy for pdf usage. It was the product of a discussion I had with a paper prototyping purist, my argument was that its easier in the long term to create artifacts on a computer, print out and then create clean approachable mock-ups. Essentially what Todd teaches I believe. I'll tidy it up a smidgen over the next month and let you know when I'm done. While I'm working on it, anyone else have a request? As for the Mac Omni in a PC environment discussion. While think there's a slight productivity advantage with OS X, in the end its not the tools that enable creativity or effectively communicate ideas. To the O/P if you really feel strongly, bring your own Mac to work rather than have them make another computer just for an Omni install. thanks /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
On Feb 19, 2009, at 12:08 PM, Amy Silvers wrote: It's just that OmniGraffle does everything more elegantly Like having real pages to navigate between pages rather than tabs? Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
On Feb 19, 2009, at 2:10 PM, mark schraad wrote: but when a new version comes out, you just buy it again, rather than upgrade. MS Office upgrade was $129. iWork upgrade or repurchase for the new model was $79. So, Apple just uses the same price for a new as an upgrade. It's a simpler model—both cost the same amount. And yeah, generally it's still cheaper. Not to mention things like Pages and Keynote do everything we used to use Word and PPT for w/o all the extra crap. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Ain't that the truth. The CS suite is a significant amount of money in whole, but when you look at it per product you receive, it's a great value. Still not cheap, however. But agreed, totally worth it. On Feb 20, 2009, at 8:34 AM, Will Evans wrote: Except for Adobe Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. Simple question, Why? John Morse Information Architect Professional Services Group UPA,Prince 2, ISEB IT Architect, AIIM, MBCS Eduserv innovative technology services john.mo...@eduserv.org.uk tel: +44 (0)1225 474395 mob: +44 (0)7500 069524 fax: +44 (0)1225 474374 http://www.eduserv.org.uk -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Nik Lazell Sent: 18 February 2009 10:25 To: IXDA list Subject: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Hi John, My main reason would be that I find Macs far easier to use and Omnigraffle has some fantastic stencils available thanks to communities such as Graffletopia and Konigi (http://konigi.com/tools/omnigraffle-wireframe-stencils) I guess I also find it pretty complicated to do simple tasks in Visio, such as duplicate a page, paste-in-place (both of which seemed to required delving into the Visual basic Editor, and then running Macros). There may well be simpler ways of doing the tasks mentioned above, so obviously welcome any suggestions. Added to this, the simplicity of creating clickable PDF's in Omnigraffle has meant I prefer to work in a mac environment these days. Thanks, Nik -Original Message- From: John M. Morse [mailto:john.mo...@eduserv.org.uk] Sent: 19 February 2009 14:00 To: Nik Lazell; IXDA list Subject: RE: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. Simple question, Why? John Morse Information Architect Professional Services Group UPA,Prince 2, ISEB IT Architect, AIIM, MBCS Eduserv innovative technology services john.mo...@eduserv.org.uk tel: +44 (0)1225 474395 mob: +44 (0)7500 069524 fax: +44 (0)1225 474374 http://www.eduserv.org.uk -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Nik Lazell Sent: 18 February 2009 10:25 To: IXDA list Subject: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
There's already a sketchy stencil for Omnigraffle. http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I've also followed Michael Angeles's tips for making your own, and I'm pleased with the results so far. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Hi Amy, Thanks! I did look at that, but I just didn't click with it. Sorry that that's not an objective reason - perhaps it's a little *too* sketchy! The exporting to a clickable PDF is a really big factor for Omnigraffles though. Cheers! Alex 2009/2/19 Amy Silvers ahack...@gmail.com There's already a sketchy stencil for Omnigraffle. http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I've also followed Michael Angeles's tips for making your own, and I'm pleased with the results so far. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Alex Horstmann - http://blobfisk.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
I was an existing PC user I switched to a Mac (had an option to choose either) primarily for Omnigraffle. Also, I find Adobe CS a lot faster on a Mac. Though I'm not entirely sure about this- I think that a PC with comparable performance for tools that most UX designers use is going to run almost as expensive as a MAC. I'm saying this because even the standard PC desktop I had does not compare with my Macbook Pro (the PC laptop was almost unworkable). I use the Macbook as my primary machine and I find the portability very convenient (also have Parallels in the unlikely scenario that I need a PC). Finally, isn't Mac s/w especially iWork a lot cheaper (did I miss better?) than the Windows counterpart. -- -Vishal http://www.vishaliyer.com Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. Simple question, Why? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Yeah, I can see how the sketchy stencil from Graffletopia wouldn't be for everybody. I've used it when I needed something quick and didn't have time to create my own, but it is a little limited. Having used both Visio and OmniGraffle extensively, I can't say that OG is exponentially better than Visio--Visio is a decent tool that does quite a lot. It's just that OmniGraffle does everything more elegantly (and has a lower learning curve than Visio). With the availability of virtualization tools (I prefer VMWare Fusion by many miles over Parallels), I don't see any reason not to have a Mac, and just run Windows apps, including Visio, when needed. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: Hi Amy, Thanks! I did look at that, but I just didn't click with it. Sorry that that's not an objective reason - perhaps it's a little *too* sketchy! The exporting to a clickable PDF is a really big factor for Omnigraffles though. Cheers! Alex 2009/2/19 Amy Silvers ahack...@gmail.com There's already a sketchy stencil for Omnigraffle. http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I've also followed Michael Angeles's tips for making your own, and I'm pleased with the results so far. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Alex Horstmann - http://blobfisk.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
if it comes from Apple, software is relatively inexpensive the first time around, but when a new version comes out, you just buy it again, rather than upgrade. It is a slightly different pricing model that lowers the hurdle of switching platforms (in either direction btw). But they are fairly confident... attrition from Mac to PC is pretty minimal. Over the long haul, if you upgrade, they get their money just like Microsoft does. Mark On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:19 PM, Vishal Iyer vishaliy...@gmail.com wrote: I was an existing PC user I switched to a Mac (had an option to choose either) primarily for Omnigraffle. Also, I find Adobe CS a lot faster on a Mac. Though I'm not entirely sure about this- I think that a PC with comparable performance for tools that most UX designers use is going to run almost as expensive as a MAC. I'm saying this because even the standard PC desktop I had does not compare with my Macbook Pro (the PC laptop was almost unworkable). I use the Macbook as my primary machine and I find the portability very convenient (also have Parallels in the unlikely scenario that I need a PC). Finally, isn't Mac s/w especially iWork a lot cheaper (did I miss better?) than the Windows counterpart. -- -Vishal http://www.vishaliyer.com Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. Simple question, Why? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
As an aside, it would be interesting to have Mac devotees list the negative aspects of the Mac or a person who uses both the PC and Mac highlight the differences. I use both a Mac and PC, everyday, and find the single menu on the Mac antiquated (it fits the philosopy of the original Mac and has not really evolved). The Mac toolbar with all the apps can get really cluttered if you are a software junkie - the icons are nice, but it is hard to pick them out. I like the dialogs in Windows that allow you to resize from more than one corner. The Mac seems to connect to networks more easily than my Windows PC where I often have to do some tweaking. Some of the apps are more elegant like the one that creates separate workspaces (but that isn't new, Xerox used the same ideas in its Room tool on Windows 3.1). I admit to liking some of the small animation touches on the Mac. Has there been a shoot-out lately using the same tool and two people trained to equal levels? There is a technique called a User Interface Race suggested by Ben Shneiderman in the early Brenda Laurel anthology from the late 1980s that might be fun. Chauncey On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 5:25 AM, Nik Lazell nik.laz...@realadventure.co.ukwrote: Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Somewhere, somehow, you have to highlight the efficiencies of Omnigraffle over Visio, and show that it costs the company money. If you're working for a consultancy, that's going to make it even harder because usually they bill that back to the client. I recently worked for a company that was totally committed to the PC world, and the ENTIRE UX team were Macheads. Personally, I live in both worlds, and I don't see as much of a difference between Visio and Omnigraffle, and actually have work for clients stored in both formats (I run Parallels). I prefer to do work on the Mac, but it's not as much as a dealbreaker for me to work in Visio. As people experienced in software usability, and we should have to experience multiple platforms and be agnostic. But that's just my opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Nik, A couple thoughts: How much do you have to share files with other members of your team? Do your developers read the Visio files or can they work from PDFs? If collaboration is important, the latest version of Graffle does open Visio files nicely. For the documentation consulting side of our business, we usually recommend the Adobe suite. The learning curve is steeper, but you'll get more power in the long-run. Using CS4 to create reusable wireframing and design components, our company has saved our clients thousands of dollars just by being more efficient in producing deliverables. And CS4 is cross-platform. The tougher business case may not be the application you use for your artifacts, but instead for supporting the Mac and hooking it up to the existing infrastructure. (I don't need replies telling me this is easy. I know it's easy. I'm just saying it may be a tougher case to make to the Powers That Be.) -- Dan On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 5:25 AM, Nik Lazell nik.laz...@realadventure.co.ukwrote: Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Dan Brown, Principal • (301) 801-4850 EightShapes, LLC • eightshapes.com Also at: communicatingdesign.com • greenonions.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Hi Nik, I am a huge Mac fan and Mac laptops are a great machines to use - especially for guerrilla testing using Silverback, giving presentations using Keynote and general day to day work. However, I feel that Visio is a far more powerful tool for producing UX deliverables. I love Omnigraffle, but I feel that Visio has a broader set of features and stencils for IA/UX deliverables. Cheers! Alex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Dan, Thanks for your reply. The creative team all use macs hooked up to the network so incorporating it into our infrastructure isn't a problem. Only the UX team will use the Visio/Omnigraffle files, so whilst compatibility is important it's only really us opening previous revisions of wireframes. I also love being able to create clickable PDF's as quickly as Omnigraffle allows. Wireframes are often shown to the client and providing them with a PDF and a suggested journey very often perfectly illustrates the concept we're trying to get across. The other reason for going mac based is productivity; I've been using the Polypage jQuery plugin (http://code.new-bamboo.co.uk/polypage/) to create interactive wireframes that sometimes then continue as a foundation for the actual build templates (ex-developer!). I'd like to build these in TextMate (mac) as it's far quicker with textMate 'bundles'. I'd also like us to start using Silverback for quick user-testing sessions rather than setting up Morae. Whilst not as comprehensive as Morae it will allow us to quickly and simply get people in, run the session, then export and evaluate the results. Thanks, Nik From: Dan Brown [mailto:brownor...@gmail.com] Sent: 18 February 2009 12:03 To: Nik Lazell Cc: IXDA list Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac Nik, A couple thoughts: How much do you have to share files with other members of your team? Do your developers read the Visio files or can they work from PDFs? If collaboration is important, the latest version of Graffle does open Visio files nicely. For the documentation consulting side of our business, we usually recommend the Adobe suite. The learning curve is steeper, but you'll get more power in the long-run. Using CS4 to create reusable wireframing and design components, our company has saved our clients thousands of dollars just by being more efficient in producing deliverables. And CS4 is cross-platform. The tougher business case may not be the application you use for your artifacts, but instead for supporting the Mac and hooking it up to the existing infrastructure. (I don't need replies telling me this is easy. I know it's easy. I'm just saying it may be a tougher case to make to the Powers That Be.) -- Dan ___ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
On Feb 18, 2009, at 2:25 AM, Nik Lazell wrote: Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. There is no reason to switch to a Mac if your only goal is to use Omnigraffle. That's like asking your spouse that you' prefer to drive an M5 over a Toyota Corolla because you like where the way cup holders are positioned in the Beemer. The biggest reason to switch to a Mac for your design team is mostly because the development environment for web things is slightly easier to configure and setup over Windows for prototyping and build environments, and these days, even that's become less of an issue. Macs have become great for small businesses in that a lot of the apps you need (calendar, mail, browsers) come with the OS or can be bought and setup to work collaboratively on the cheap, while you also still have access to great production tools like Adobe CS. The machines are slightly more expensive, but are better integrated with their hardware and work together in small environments. If, however, you work in a large corporation where IT is still king and they prefer Windows, then there's no real cost difference you're going to be able to lay out there that makes your case. -- Andrei Herasimchuk Chief Design Officer, Involution Studios innovating the digital world e. and...@involutionstudios.com c. +1 408 306 6422 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Hi Jennifer, Thanks very much that kind of structure is fantastically helpful! -Nik From: jennifer.r.vign...@jpmorgan.com [mailto:jennifer.r.vign...@jpmorgan.com] Sent: 18 February 2009 15:08 To: Nik Lazell Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac Hi Nik: I would make sure to at least cover the following: 1. Any cost-effectiveness that would come from: * lessen the learning curve if the people who work there and are likely to be hired in the future would be Mac users more than PC users (my background was all Mac for year before I learned the PC) * Ability to work and network from home made easier if the home machine is a Mac and the work machine is a Mac * lessen the cost of software if you currently need to purchase something for each platform. * What does Omnigraffle provide that Visio does not? * If it had a cross-application ability (can open or edit in Visio, that seems to be a huge plus). * does it have reporting features or other valuable features that facilitate communicating with the business? * Which is more prevalent in the industry? Stats on this can be compelling. * Is there a preferences among the great minds' currently on the list for discussion? * Which one makes it possible for you to work faster? * Why? Always play devil's advocate with yourself. Jennifer Jennifer Vignone User Experience Design CIO Technology 245 Park Avenue, 10th Floor New York, NY 10167 212-648-0827 jennifer.r.vign...@jpmorgan.com Hi all, Currently our UX team are PC-based and use Visio. I would like to move back to Mac and start using Omnigraffle again. I have been asked to write a business case for switching. Does anyone have an suggestions or experience of writing such a case? Thanks, Nik Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
First of all I have no love for Microsoft. I once relied heavily on Visio but I find Graffle satisfies 95% of what I need to do. I also have an understanding that MS is the necessary bitter pill that comes with this business. So putting that aside... When we started up our business a couple of years ago we had that same conversation about where to invest our dollars figuring we were on a strict budget. We had to look at what apps we were going to use daily, and costs pertaining to hardware, networking, upgrades and ongoing support. We saw that the MAC with parallels gave us the best of both worlds (MAC OS XP) without additional hardware investment of buying PCs and MacBooks. In regards to apps and functionality there's very little difference between the two (putting the usability debate of the OS aside). I find the performance on the MAC (running Parallels) much more efficient than the PCs we tested. Running the dual platform gave us the ability to cross-browser/platform test our projects without additional machines. I also found that technical support for the MAC so much better than most of my experiences with PCs. And the learnability of the MAC was also very easy when compared to that of Vista. I've also found most of my contractors also using MACs. And rarely do I give documentation source files to my clients (I usually PDF everything). So compatibility isn't an issue. So we have now 7 MACS with XP and one token PC running VIsta (for dev testing purposes only). Right now we are looking at putting together our own MAC OS server to run our email etc internally. So far we've been fine. Charles Looking towards a 100% Microsoft free world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A business case for switching Mac
Our creative team likewise live in a Mac world, in a company dominated by PCs. The IAs have VMware to switch back forth and use Visio. Comparing VMware to Parallels, one of our top IAs reports preferring Parallels because it feels more like you're running a Windows app in an OS X environment, so the switch is less jarring. Personally, I move back and forth between separate Windows Mac environments, and prefer Mac for most things, but I don't think an either-or world is necessary. And a few years ago when I did network administration in a Mac + Windows + Unix environment, I did find Macs much easier to network and support than Windows. bests, Alex O'Neal UX manager -- The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is now. Patrick wrote: I recently worked for a company that was totally committed to the PC world, and the ENTIRE UX team were Macheads. Personally, I live in both worlds, and I don't see as much of a difference between Visio and Omnigraffle, and actually have work for clients stored in both formats (I run Parallels). I prefer to do work on the Mac, but it's not as much as a dealbreaker for me to work in Visio. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
