@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@ Galen will cover the design, and Curtis will show up later to talk about infrast
29Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and things like that. Galen went to architecture school. He talks like it. We’ll be getting more specific about what this product will look like in future posts. For now, we recorded Galen secretly and came away with these notes:
29Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and things like that. Galen went to architecture school. He talks like it. We’ll be getting more specific about what this product will look like in future posts. For now, we recorded Galen secretly and came away with these notes:
31−### Notes on designing a system
31+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-1.png" class="full-width inline" />
33- *UX*? As a kid it was just *design* or maybe *web design*. At some point I remember people talking about *user interface* or *UI*. But I truly don't understand where the *X* came from. It's like Monster Energy got involved in the branding.
33- *UX*? As a kid it was just *design* or maybe *web design*. At some point I remember people talking about *user interface* or *UI*. But I truly don't understand where the *X* came from. It's like Monster Energy got involved in the branding.
35- An *experience* sounds like the kind of thing that's going to be littered with ads, or is going to manipulate me in some way. Something I passively consume. Not something I actively control. So I prefer *interface* to *experience*, and I think you should too.
35- An *experience* sounds like the kind of thing that's going to be littered with ads, or is going to manipulate me in some way. Something I passively consume. Not something I actively control. So I prefer *interface* to *experience*, and I think you should too.
37−#### Computing is simple
37+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-2.png" class="full-width inline" />
39- Urbit has to be just as usable as any widely used app in 2017. For a personal server, the usability bar can't be Unix. A Unix server is an industrial tool. An industrial tool isn’t a consumer product. You can attach a blade to the end of a drill and use it as a blender, but it’s not quite as nice as the Vitamix.
39- Urbit has to be just as usable as any widely used app in 2017. For a personal server, the usability bar can't be Unix. A Unix server is an industrial tool. An industrial tool isn’t a consumer product. You can attach a blade to the end of a drill and use it as a blender, but it’s not quite as nice as the Vitamix.
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and thing
57- But WeChat is just another giant shared-computing service. It's made out of the usual 2010s server stack mess. The visual and interaction design looks pretty dated. And the infrastructure is just the normal 2010s server stack mess. We can learn a lot from the idea of WeChat, but not from the implementation.
57- But WeChat is just another giant shared-computing service. It's made out of the usual 2010s server stack mess. The visual and interaction design looks pretty dated. And the infrastructure is just the normal 2010s server stack mess. We can learn a lot from the idea of WeChat, but not from the implementation.
59−#### Start with the whole system
59+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-3.png" class="full-width inline" />
61- Shared computing may have its problems, but at least it has an ethos. Almost anyone can copy and paste their way to an app on the app store.
61- Shared computing may have its problems, but at least it has an ethos. Almost anyone can copy and paste their way to an app on the app store.
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and thing
77- The most important bottleneck in achieving this goal is winning the trust of the user. The user can't get lost or break the system, nor can they be prevented from exploring its furthest reaches.
77- The most important bottleneck in achieving this goal is winning the trust of the user. The user can't get lost or break the system, nor can they be prevented from exploring its furthest reaches.
79−#### Reinventing the command line
79+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-4.png" class="full-width inline" />
81- As Neal Stephenson [tells us](http://cristal.inria.fr/~weis/info/commandline.html), the command line is the natural UI for any computer. It's especially the natural UI for a *network* computer, like a personal server. A command line scales way better than a GUI to a large selection of actions. And a network computer can do almost infinitely many things.
81- As Neal Stephenson [tells us](http://cristal.inria.fr/~weis/info/commandline.html), the command line is the natural UI for any computer. It's especially the natural UI for a *network* computer, like a personal server. A command line scales way better than a GUI to a large selection of actions. And a network computer can do almost infinitely many things.
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and thing
91- So what does a great command line look like? It's syntactic, not free-form. It can't be a constant test of your ability to memorize the phonebook. It's also not tethered to a piece of industrial equipment.
91- So what does a great command line look like? It's syntactic, not free-form. It can't be a constant test of your ability to memorize the phonebook. It's also not tethered to a piece of industrial equipment.
93−#### We're already headed in this direction
93+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-6.png" class="full-width inline" />
95- Urbit already has the beginnings of a great command line. We parse your input with an actual grammar and correct errors (or erase them, at least) as you type.
95- Urbit already has the beginnings of a great command line. We parse your input with an actual grammar and correct errors (or erase them, at least) as you type.
@@ -104,6 +104,8 @@ Galen is the person around here who thinks about design, ‘product’ and thing
105- It’s important to note that we’re not talking about ‘developers’ trying to tackle well known engineering problems. Urbit is meant to make building things on the web *fun* again. Welding a giant single-purpose app on top would me a mistake primarily because it’s inevitably kind of narrow and boring.
105- It’s important to note that we’re not talking about ‘developers’ trying to tackle well known engineering problems. Urbit is meant to make building things on the web *fun* again. Welding a giant single-purpose app on top would me a mistake primarily because it’s inevitably kind of narrow and boring.
107+<img src="https://media.urbit.org/site/sketch-5.png" class="full-width inline" />
107- The `:dojo` shell is built around the concept of a *generator*, a program that builds a noun. The idea is that how you build the noun is orthogonal to what you do with it. You could print it, send it as a command, etc. There are several kinds of generators -- simple scripts, prompting dialogs, HTTP scrapers, etc.
109- The `:dojo` shell is built around the concept of a *generator*, a program that builds a noun. The idea is that how you build the noun is orthogonal to what you do with it. You could print it, send it as a command, etc. There are several kinds of generators -- simple scripts, prompting dialogs, HTTP scrapers, etc.
109- A generator is initialized with command-line arguments and options, in the classic Unix style (except typed). In the classic Unix style, Urbit at present provides no help at all in constructing a command line. You just have to know.
111- A generator is initialized with command-line arguments and options, in the classic Unix style (except typed). In the classic Unix style, Urbit at present provides no help at all in constructing a command line. You just have to know.