ShopaList

ShopaList is an iPhone app I originally created for a university project two years ago. After getting fed up with looking for a decent shopping list app (most were far more complicated than I wanted) I decided to revive ShopaList, tidy it up, remove some of the more pointless features (looking at you, BlueTooth sharing) and make it into the app I really wanted.

At the moment this is a very simple app. You make a list, and that list has some items. You can place these into your basket as you go round the shops, and if you want to track how much you're spending, you can say how much the item costs.

I make a damn good French toast.

I make a damn good French toast.

But the simplicity was a big reason for making the app - press one button to add to your list, and remove with a swipe, all from the main list screen. No need to stand in the middle of the aisle and enter a ton of information that isn't strictly necessary.

There are a lot of features missing at present - like the ability to have a currency other than Her Majesty's Pound. There will be plenty of updates over the next few months, but it's already at the point where I'm happy using it whenever I head out for a loaf of bread and box of Coco Pops.

If you're in the UK, check it out (completely free) on the App Store. I'll bring it worldwide when I add support for other currencies! I'll also be adding iPad and (hopefully) sync support soon. Let me know what you think on Twitter, or by email: neil at this domain.

Interface of the Future

I came across this interview on BBC News the other day. Apparently this is the interface of the future, not a character from a sitcom from the '80s/'90s.

All joking aside, I would love for this to be a future interface for computing. Siri is a tiny step in this direction, and the thing that frustrates me most about it is the fact that it pretends to be something it's not - a real person who can get things done for you.

Siri

The iPhone 5 is the first phone I've owned that had Siri installed, and when I got it, I found myself wanting to use it all the time. But the more I tried to use Siri, the more I found myself getting frustrated. It felt slow and highly inaccurate. I wanted to use it, but it just wasn't good enough, and this is a decidedly un-Apple-like experience. Compare this with the Google Voice Search app on the iPhone, the same device, which shows you what you're saying as you say it - no wait necessary. This is more Apple-ish - instant response, you can 'feel' what's happening as it happens, rather than just see the result after a period of waiting.

But people like personal connections. We're social creatures, and part of the initial appeal of Siri was the idea that you could talk to someone who would respond like a real person, that's why it has a voice, and even a personality. Even the sitcom The Big Bang Theory played on this idea, making Raj fall in love with 'her'. So long as artificial intelligence evolves to a point where we can actually have a conversation with the computer, a real face is the perfect interface (it's in the name) for a digital assistant.

I just got this email from Squarespace, who host this site.

These guys are absolutely amazing. Squarespace, everyone at the Peer1 data center in New York, and in my personal and professional experience everyone in New York, New Jersey and the whole surrounding affected region has coped with the after-effects of Sandy incredibly. I've heard stories of people camping out in Starbucks or even their cars just to get the electricity to do their jobs.

These people are incredible, they've gone so far beyond the call of duty, and for what it's worth I just want to say thank you.

Hurricane Sandy Update
A little over a week ago, I sent out one of the most difficult emails that Squarespace has ever delivered to our customers.
Peer1, our data center in downtown Manhattan, was so severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy that it suffered a total loss of power despite multiple levels of redundant systems. At the time, there was no resolution in sight. Our backup fuel reserves and building infrastructure had been destroyed by Sandy's storm surge, which flooded many buildings downtown. As you may be aware, this was a historic and unprecedented storm for the entire tri-state region, bringing about the largest storm-related power outage ever in Con Edison's history.
I am proud to announce that throughout this event, Squarespace customers experienced absolutely no downtime related to the power outage. This is an amazing outcome considering the extraordinary circumstances we faced last week. What remains is an incredible story. For those of you that haven't been following our updates, employees from Squarespace, Fog Creek, and Peer1 manually carried fuel up 17 flights of stairs for three days to save our generator while an interim fuel supply and pump could be installed. These efforts to provide uninterrupted service for our customers were chronicled by numerous publications including All Things D, BetaBeat, Computerworld, Fast Company, TechCrunch, The New York Times, Pando Daily, and The Verge.
We now have a working pump system delivering fuel to the roof generator, more than enough fuel on site, and a redundant street-level generator connected and tested as of last night. These systems will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Our building has still not been able to connect to Manhattan's power grid, as the building's two sub-basements were submerged in 30 feet of water that took four days to pump out. We will continue to post updates on status.squarespace.com as we resume normal operations.
Of course, such heroics should not be necessary to keep operations running smoothly. We initiated a plan to build a geographically redundant operation this past summer and expect to have it online in early 2013. This gives us the ability to route around areas affected by natural disasters much more effectively. We take the responsibility of running the hundreds of thousands of sites on Squarespace very seriously . Our homepage states that our scalable, reliable cloud infrastructure eliminates downtime, and our customers all over the world count on us to keep their websites online no matter what. Wanting to keep that promise is what propelled us forward and helped us persevere during this most challenging of times. Thank you all for being Squarespace customers - it is with your continued support that we can continue to fight for great design, amazing products, and exceptional service. We know that there are many in our area that were impacted far beyond what we experienced - if you can, please take a moment and contribute to hurricane relief efforts. A little goes a long way.
Thank you.
Anthony
Squarespace, Inc. 459 Broadway New York, NY, 10013, USA