Re: Kick starting the Web App UX debate

Hi Scott,  
Below are some links to specs trying to address the points below… hope they help.  


On Friday, May 3, 2013 at 4:26 AM, Scott Jenson wrote:

>  
> 1.Striving for a clear definition of what is a 'web app' is politically charged and frankly not useful. Just don't go there...

 It's only useful when differentiating. See my "the fly" or "boxer shorts" diagram:
http://runtime.sysapps.org/   
> 2. However, it would be useful to approach the problem from the other end. Articulate a list of 'app-ish' behaviors that are needed (e.g. Games need to go full screen to create an immersive effect.)

I think Core Mob already did something like this:  
http://coremob.github.io/coremob-2012/FR-coremob-20130131.html

That is, the Core Mob document describes what features certain apps need to be realized (and specs that help provide those features).  

> 3. Web apps don't have to look exactly like their native platform cousins. This "I need a back button in the upper right for iPhone but something else for Android" will lead to madness. It's ok to not look native. Get over it...
sure. But if the platform doesn't provide those things (or does), it could be the user that suffers from confusion (if there are two of them) or lack of a back button. It's a tricky one.   
>  
> 4. Web apps need to exist outside of the browser user experience (e.g. running an app from an NFC launch event) This does not mean that the app exists outside the browser, just outside the experience (i.e. you can loose the URL bar). This, in effect, turns the browser into an underlying technology that can offer web technologies that don't feel at all like web pages.

The sysapps' "system messages" are trying to address this case (currently poorly specified):
http://runtime.sysapps.org/#system-messages  

Are supposed to wake up an app on an event (like NFC).  
> 5. Just as "<!DOCTYPE html>" declares the page as HTML5, so do we need a similar mechanism to declare to the browser that 1 (or more) of these web app behaviors are in force.

Currently working on this:
http://manifest.sysapps.org/#required_features-member  
> There needs to be a mechanism to turn off browser UX intrusions such as Android Chrome's edge dragging to next tab, and 'zoom in on ambiguous link tap'

This may be something that occurs when an app is "installed" (and launched from a home screen). But that's up to the UA/OS, IMHO.

Received on Friday, 3 May 2013 19:16:51 UTC