Great Moments by Design - 37Signals
It’s not much of a secret that I love good software. I like to use it. I like to talk about it. And I’ve been learning to enjoy writing about it.
So starting today, I’d like to kick off a regular feature here at The Weekly Review.
Great Moments by Design - I’ll talk about those ‘ah hah’ moments I’ve experienced. Those instances I’ve had when using an application and realized it does something I was not aware of. Or I come across a feature for the first time. The ones that make me slap my head and think, “Why haven’t I ever used that before?” or “What a great way to provide that function.”
For me, those moments bring me pleasure and endear me to the application. And I’d like to share those discoveries with others. The focus will be mostly on OS X and the great software available for that platform. But web applications will be included, and perhaps from time to time, Microsoft products will come up.
And if you have a favorite feature of your own, let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
37Signals
I’m kicking off this feature with a discovery I had today. It involves the great web applications from 37Signals. I know - 37Signals is a company, not an application. But the ‘ah hah’ moment today was an integration point across their multiple products.
I’ve been slowly moving towards using OpenID for some of my web applications. Two web apps I’ve set it up for are Highrise and Backpack. The guys at 37Signals have done a great job incorporating OpenID into their applications (3 of the big 4 anyways - they say Campfire support is coming). Here is a screen of how they have integrated your OpenID login across multiple products using what they have coined the Open Bar:
You can see here that I can switch between my Highrise and Backpack accounts with one click. Even better, if you have multiple accounts in one of their applications, Open Bar adapts as seen below:
You now get a drop down with the different accounts under the specific application.
This is a small detail - but the difference is made in the details. I’ve said before that 37Signals is the Apple of the web app world, and it’s because of the little touches like this one.
So that’s the first installment of Great Moments by Design. More to come.
