Snarky as it may be, "you're using your iPhone wrong" is a pretty myopic way to end that sentence.
There are several reasons a user might want to close an app without saving its state. One is to prevent the app from using background APIs. VoIP apps, GPS apps, etc can continue to access several APIs while their states are saved. In many instances, users might not want this.
Another reason is that many users make use of the app manager as an app switcher. This is one of its intended functions, of course. Switching between commonly used apps with a quick double-tap is far easier than swiping through home screens and digging through folders. It's also easier than using Spotlight.
In this scenario, when I open the app manager why should I have to swipe past the Settings app, the Phone app, the Weather app, the App Store, the Clock app, etc... just to get to the more commonly used app I'm looking for? (Why would I ever want my iPhone to save the Clock app's state in the first place?) The result, for someone who uses the app manager in this way, is a poor user experience.
And this poor user experience is easily avoidable: "How about a long-tap on the home button to close an app, fellas?"
That's only the case if you have certain international keyboards enabled, which is why many people don't know about it and why it wasn't mentioned in the article.
Terrific, heart-felt piece -- I hope writing and publishing it was therapeutic and helpful on the road to recovery. That road has no end, but the further you get, the closer you are to 'normalcy'.
Knowing how much respect and admiration I had for Dan from the dozen or so interactions I had with him, I can't imagine the impact he had on a life-long friend. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I doubt I'll ever encounter anyone as genuine and charismatic as Dan.
Best of luck to you Tom. Though we've never spoken, Dan held you in the highest regard. My thoughts continue to be with you and everyone else Dan left behind.
Terrific read, as unfortunate and common as the content may be.
As an aside that some may find of interest, and since the article mentions the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I forwarded it to a friend who works with the firm that does royalty audits for the Chili Peppers. His response (the auditor's name has been removed):
"The Chili Peppers use ____ to audit their royalty statements, which they pay ____ a lot of money for, and they always get checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars when ____ settles the audits with Warner Bros. Obviously, Too Much Joy can’t afford ____’s level of expertise. So the little guy gets screwed... No surprise there!"
You guys are awesome, can't thank you all enough. It looks like I definitely need to talk to a patent attorney (I've already had a preliminary conversation with one but this was prior to learning of the existing application).
My issue is that I am not independently wealthy and so to make this happen (technical design, schematics, sourcing, manufacturing, etc etc) I'm definitely going to need to secure funding. It is my understanding, and this may be way off, that a patent is a requirement of sorts when seeking funding. Of course a licensing agreement would circumvent the need to an extent but as was mentioned by noonespecial, you can never really be fully protected.
First off, I would lose the animated emoticon. Please.
It looks like your site aggregates and displays data - and plenty of it - but in the short while of checking around I'm unclear as to what features and benefits set you apart from the big boys (Yahoo, Google, Marketwatch, Motley, etc etc). If you're going to go up against big boys like Yahoo and Google, you need some distinguishing factors, among other things...
There are several reasons a user might want to close an app without saving its state. One is to prevent the app from using background APIs. VoIP apps, GPS apps, etc can continue to access several APIs while their states are saved. In many instances, users might not want this.
Another reason is that many users make use of the app manager as an app switcher. This is one of its intended functions, of course. Switching between commonly used apps with a quick double-tap is far easier than swiping through home screens and digging through folders. It's also easier than using Spotlight.
In this scenario, when I open the app manager why should I have to swipe past the Settings app, the Phone app, the Weather app, the App Store, the Clock app, etc... just to get to the more commonly used app I'm looking for? (Why would I ever want my iPhone to save the Clock app's state in the first place?) The result, for someone who uses the app manager in this way, is a poor user experience.
And this poor user experience is easily avoidable: "How about a long-tap on the home button to close an app, fellas?"