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How to: Hide Newsstand folder in iOS5
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Simplicity Wins
Usually when you hear a good idea, the first thing you do is think of necessary features in order for that idea to work. You probably jot down (or think) of all the things you want this project to do and have. Most of the time, you’ll over feature the project. It’s ok; we’ve all done it. Up until recently, when new ideas were thrown at me, I would write down everything I wanted the project to do and would spend hours and hours building it. Most of these projects ended up nowhere. As it turns out, when you add too many features, your to do list becomes bigger and bigger. When your to do list gets too big, you tend to get unmotivated and end up never finishing. Even if you do finish, you won’t be 100% satisfied with your end product. Had I been smart back then, I could’ve used my time for better things. It turns out that all I had to do was think in simpler, more realistic terms.
The first thing you have to realize is that your product is probably not going to make it. That’s depressing to hear and you probably hate me now, but let’s just think for a minute. If you spend all of your time working on these unnecessary features now, you’ll never know if your actual base concept works. Why not try it out first? Finding out whether or not people are interested in your core product should be your #1 priority. To see what you really need, just ask yourself “What do I need to have in order to see if this idea will take off?”. Look at it realistically - don’t dream of things. When you’re realistic about your idea, you’ll find your set of core features a lot faster.
When you have something out there that people are using and that you’re getting feedback on, you’ll know what you need to add. It’s always best to add things to your project when you know what people are actually using it for. Look at Twitter for example; when it came out, the @mention system wasn’t there, and I’m pretty sure trending topics weren’t even something they were thinking about when they were building it. However, as the platform got more and more popular and they saw first hand what people were using it for, they started expanding the concept and adding more features.
I strongly believe that if you start simple, you will win. You’ll be able to test out the waters before going too far and receive valuable feedback from the people who matter the most - your users. It’s always good to receive emails asking for something to be added, but you probably won’t be too happy when you receive a comment saying your product is too bloated and complicated to use.
Be motivated and passionate about your project; be realistic and cautious when adding things to it.Some personal experiences
ProjectSpot, my very first web app was pretty impressive. I started it back when Facebook Pages weren’t as popular as they are today. The basic concept was simple, a social network that allowed people to post up their projects and ideas so that others could become fans, comment and share with friends. I must have spent at least 2 months working on it; solely believing that everything I was adding was amazing. It ended up nowhere. It was extremely complicated to use and didn’t work properly most of the time. Had I only launched it with some core features and tested it out first, I would’ve realized that spending more time on it would’ve have been foolish. Oh well, you live and you learn; right?
Grip’d’s QR Scanner app started out extremely simple. It only recognized URL QR codes in the beginning. What a pain, right? It was probably the most under featured scanner in the App Store. However, people loved the fact that it worked as soon as it was launched, and we grew a huge user base off of that fact alone. We got emails nearly every day asking for more and more features, and once we reached a certain point, we released an update with support for more QR formats. We could’ve launched in the beginning with all the amazing features in the world, but if the app hadn’t caught on, we would’ve wasted valuable time.
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My Favorite Wire-framing Kits
The most exciting part of making an app is the beginning of it. Seriously, thinking of an idea and being able to start on it right away with all the excitement and rush you get is probably the best part. Unfortunately, if you act on the idea right away, you’re more likely to mess things up somewhere in the app. Why not visualize it first? Sure, thinking of it in your head works, but what if you need something a bit more than just thoughts? That’s where wire-framing can help you.
Wire-framing isn’t hard, it just takes a few extra hours at most. Wire-framing involves taking your idea and putting it down on paper (or screen). There is a huge variety on the software you can use to wire frame, but my favorite is Photoshop. You can find lots of resources online for wire-framing via Photoshop, and if you already know how to work with Photoshop, it only gets easier.
The following kits are the ones I use the most often. These are great to show a client what their project will end up looking like or just so that you can better visualize your personal projects.Mobile Development
iPhone GUI
This is super popular. They took every element available in the OS and put it down neatly on a PSD for you to use. It includes Retina Display support and is extremely well labeled. If you’re making an iPhone app, it’s foolish not to use this for wire-framing.
Android GUI
If you’re making an Android app, this is the one you’re looking for.
iPad GUI
If you’re making an iPad app, this is the kit you’re looking for. If you don’t find an element you’re looking for, you can still use the iPhone GUI. After all, it is the same OS.Web Development
Facebook GUI
Making a Facebook app? This one is absolutely awesome. It includes all of the popular Facebook elements.
Web Elements
Need to find radio buttons and form elements to draw out your web app? This kit includes all of the popular form elements both in Windows and OSX fashion.
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Hide Google’s navigation bar for a “full screen” background image
Just in case you didn’t know, Google now allows for you to add background images (just like Bing). What’s annoying though, is the fact that the white bar across the top stays visible and really destroys the awesome effect you get from the image. We can easily disable that with a quick style using the Stylish extension for Firefox.
Here’s what it looks like prior to enabling the userstyle -
Here’s what it looks like after the style has been enabled -
Once the extension is installed, all you have to do is install this Userstyle and enable it.
If you’re on Safari, just enable custom CSS stylesheet and add the following CSS rule -#ghead { display: none; }
