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User Experience is a term that encompasses the visual appearance, interactive behavior, and assistive capabilities of software. From an application's graphical user interface to its use of additional technologies like Speech, a cohesive and professional user experience is what Mac users have come to expect. The good news: It's easy to leverage the power of Mac OS X and its user experience technologies to make great Mac software.
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The Mac OS X User Experience
Mac users want all their applications--whether they're spreadsheets, word processors, web browsers, or design tools--to have the consistency, elegance, and ease of use that are characteristic of great Macintosh software. Mac OS X users know when a product doesn't quite "feel right", and so do product reviewers. Carefully adopting the elements of the Mac OS X user experience, beginning with the Aqua look and feel, will help you deliver a product that is a good citizen in the world of Mac OS X, and will result in many real benefits, including increased user satisfaction and reduced technical support costs, among others.
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Save lots of development time by using the new Address Book Framework to manage contacts instead of writing your own contact management code. [Nov 12 2002] |
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View Selected WWDC 2002 Sessions for Free
Learn about the latest Mac OS X 10.2 development technologies including Rendezvous, Quartz Extreme, and QuickTime 6, with free access to six introductory sessions from this year's Worldwide Developer's Conference:
- Mac OS X: State of the Union
- User Experience: Adopting Aqua
- Introduction to Cocoa
- Graphics & Imaging Overview
- An Introduction to Building QuickTime Savvy Apps
- Zero Configuration Networking
Free ADC Online membership registration is required. To view the sessions, log in to the ADC Member Site and select "WWDC 2002 Sampler" under the "View ADC TV" menu. [Sep 17 2002]
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Aqua
The Aqua user interface is the simple, elegant, and rich interactive look and feel that allows users to effectively use Mac OS X. Investigate Aqua to learn more about how the interface is designed and works, including specific details about interface elements and their behavior.
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Help Technologies
Mac OS X contains two built-in help technologies that can be leveraged in order to provide assistance when users need it: Apple Help and Help Tags. Both technologies deliver context-sensitive help in very usable formats, and when used together, along with a great Aqua interface, contribute to Mac OS X applications' outstanding ease of learning and use.
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Speech Technologies
Mac OS X features excellent speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies that can recognize and speak U.S. English. Both technologies are available built-in to the Mac OS X interface, and as simple, powerful APIs.
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Aqua Human Interface Guidelines
Updated for Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar: The definitive guide to designing an application that will offer a great Mac OS X user experience, available in PDF and on the web. Apple strongly recommends that you follow these guidelines to create an intuitive interface for your application, enabling your users to accomplish their tasks and goals quickly and efficiently, and maintaining the consistency and ease of learning that is characteristic of Macintosh software.
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Interface Builder
Interface Builder (IB) is the easiest and most effective way to build Aqua-compliant interfaces. IB works in concert with Project Builder and CodeWarrior, for Cocoa, Carbon, or Java developers. As interface elements are created and manipulated, dynamic guides and snap-to functionality assist in the process of developing an Aqua-compliant interface.
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Apple Interface Design Assistance Program
Apple has identified a number of agencies and consultants to aid in the process of developing a great Aqua-compliant interface. In association with the Apple Developer Connection, these firms are offering their icon design, interaction design, and visual design services at very attractive discounts to all ADC Premier and Select members.
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Making the Most of Aqua
We've heard so many good things from developers who've adopted Aqua for their Mac OS X products that we decided to help them share their experiences with you. Read about the successes of Microtek, Meetingmaker, and Microsoft, and discover the tools and techniques that helped your peers make the most of Aqua.
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Switching from Windows to Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a modern operating system with a powerful and flexible user experience, largely provided by the advanced Aqua look and feel. Porting your Microsoft Windows application to Mac OS X makes sense, but for the best results, take note of these key user experience differences between Windows and Mac OS X.
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Address Book Framework Documentation
New in Mac OS X Jaguar is Address Book Framework, a technology that provides a centralized, flexible database and service system to manage users' contacts. Use it in your application to give users context-sensitive access to their address book, and to simplify the process of managing contacts in multiple applications.
Need technical assistance using the Address Book framework? Check out the detailed technical documentation available in Inside Mac OS X: Address Book and O'Reilly's A Look Inside Address Book article, or delve into the Cocoa sample code or Carbon sample code.
A broadcast of the AddressBook Framework session from WWDC 2002 also provides excellent in-depth coverage of the Address Book framework APIs and is available to ADC Premier members, WWDC 2002 attendees, and ADC members who have purchased access to ADC TV.
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DiscRecording API Documentation
New to Mac OS X Jaguar is a widely accessible API that provides applications with both an underlying mechanism and consistent user interface for burning CDs and DVDs. DiscRecording offers a consistent and elegant user experience for burning discs, which can help your application become a stronger, more integral part of users' digital lifestyles. Don't worry about creating your own disc burning mechanism; it's easy to adopt DiscRecording's powerful features. Preliminary technical documentation is available.
A broadcast of the DiscRecording APIs session from WWDC 2002 is available to ADC Premier members, WWDC 2002 attendees, and ADC members who have purchased access to ADC TV.
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