> There is way too much excitement over the simplest things ever.
Simple things done well are among the most delightful discoveries I can make in my human existence.
Have you ever had a perfect omelet? I mean, perfect? Fluffy, nice balance of tasty fillings, not overdone? I have. Maybe twice. Each time, it was wonderful. Wonderful for the fact that with just five ingredients, it created subtle, delicious flavors and enjoyable textures. Wonderful for the discipline and focus necessary not to overcomplicate it with unneeded flourish.
It's so simple, compared to some of the more elaborate meals I've eaten. And that's what made it so special.
Another parallel is tools. Have you ever hefted a really nice kitchen knife? Maybe one of those numbers where the blade and the shank are forged from a single piece of metal? Everything just swoops and melts together, and the blade feels like a comfortable extension of your arm. Just the right weight, perfect leverage, a tool that was agonized over by a craftsman desperate to make the best.
Simple, relative to a Swiss Army knife? Absolutely. And that's where its power comes from.
iOS has some things about it that reward simplicity and focus. It's really easy to make an overwrought, complex app on any platform, and iOS is no exception. With a lot of care and attention to detail, though, you can make something that's simple, not distracting, made from the barest components necessary and extremely good at solving a very specific problem with minimum fuss.
When that happens, it's so nice to see.
*nix rewards people who build their own stuff, which is fine, but the tradeoff in this is craftsmanship. It's easy enough to get system tools to the level of "good enough for you" without ever reaching good enough for everyone. That, I suspect, is the cultural difference you've detected here.
I suspect that the typical person needing to SSH into a box is already someone who knows how to operate in UNIX. Otherwise, you're using the wrong protocol.
This isn't a conversation about the simplicity (or not) of the SSH protocol, but rather a conversation on why it's exciting when good, simple tools like Prompt are created.
You're making a category error against SSH with examples like knives, which have a lot of variation. Let's see you write as much about having used a "really nice chopstick" or typing an especially round period at the end of a sentence.
There's a paradox here where ssh is already a good, simple tool, so how do you improve on that? Make it easier to type on an iPad? I don't think that's going to happen, so let's take a step back: putty, SecureCRT? Those can certainly have some improvements to their interfaces made. So, we move from ssh client to SSH Application.
Now, we get to the meat: given that you can hook an iPad to one of those keyboard docks, does this make a compelling thin client? Anybody?
> Let's see you write as much about having used a "really nice chopstick"..
Even though I think you're splitting hairs (I think the omelette and knife examples work well) I can write about a really nice pair of chopsticks: the ones I'm using right now to eat my pasta for dinner. They're not fancy, I think I bought the 5 (pair) pack for less than $10. But the weight of the metal is just perfect. Not too heavy, not too light... just slightly heavier than a wooden disposable pair of chopsticks. It's a very rounded square shape with small grooves on the tapered end to give you enough purchase to grab pretty much anything while not getting in your way and being difficult to manipulate because of edges or overall slipperiness. There's nothing ornate about this pair, which makes it easy to clean and to pair with random sets of my modernist spoons and forks. Unlike the stereotypical huge plastic pair of chopsticks at Chinese restaurants, the heavy flat metal ones that fatigue my hand at Korean restaurants, and the wooden pair that splinters that comes with my takeout, this is perfect.
Okay, so I went there. But I'm not kidding, I really do mean it about these chopsticks.
> Make it easier to type on an iPad? I don't think that's going to happen
Really, that is the only thing I compare when I'm shopping for an iOS ssh client. Ease of typing all the keys I need in an ssh client makes all the world of difference on a screen as small as an iPhone, while it may not be as big of a deal on iPad. Plus, Prompt works out-of-the-box just fine with my bluetooth keyboard that I've seen, unlike iSSH and some other alternatives, so that's already made the $5 well worth it to me.
Metal chopsticks are an abomination, gives a awful metallic taste. Should be made of bamboo! And don't paint them please.
You see, chopsticks have much more variation than ssh, which is just a protocol. It reminds me of a highly ranked recent post about a so-called magic color highlighting theme. Then at the end of the comment one poor guy said: "I'm I the only one to happily stick to the default?". Come on, there are most serious things to discuss in the world, and on HN, than a slick ssh iPhone app, or a color theme. For instance, we could discuss the next ssh protocols, those that will allow to solve the "where is my file" problem (listed in pg's list of ideas, can't find it right now).
I would normally agree, but for whatever reason these chopsticks don't give off any metallic taste. They're quite odd now that I think about it, and fairly difficult to find. I buy similar sets of them by randomly finding the utensil section at asian supermarkets and weighing all the chopstick pairs by hand.
Good bamboo chopsticks are useful too, but finding the right weight/size combination is usually the difficult part for me. Part of what I think makes my metal chopsticks so awesome is that they're not too light or too heavy, and bamboo usually end up being on the lighter end. I have small tremors in my hands most days and a little extra weight makes all the difference in ease of use.
> Come on, there are most serious things to discuss in the world, and on HN, than a slick ssh iPhone app, or a color theme.
Personally, I think discussions about usability and good design are worthwhile, even on HN. Your product or vision or what have you is not as good as it can be if you (or someone you work with) don't at least take those into consideration. Why do I care that an iOS ssh client is polished on top of technically 'just working'? It saves me time and effort I can then put into my own work, at the least. And maybe that work could be something to improve on ssh ;)
Simple things done well are among the most delightful discoveries I can make in my human existence.
Have you ever had a perfect omelet? I mean, perfect? Fluffy, nice balance of tasty fillings, not overdone? I have. Maybe twice. Each time, it was wonderful. Wonderful for the fact that with just five ingredients, it created subtle, delicious flavors and enjoyable textures. Wonderful for the discipline and focus necessary not to overcomplicate it with unneeded flourish.
It's so simple, compared to some of the more elaborate meals I've eaten. And that's what made it so special.
Another parallel is tools. Have you ever hefted a really nice kitchen knife? Maybe one of those numbers where the blade and the shank are forged from a single piece of metal? Everything just swoops and melts together, and the blade feels like a comfortable extension of your arm. Just the right weight, perfect leverage, a tool that was agonized over by a craftsman desperate to make the best.
Simple, relative to a Swiss Army knife? Absolutely. And that's where its power comes from.
iOS has some things about it that reward simplicity and focus. It's really easy to make an overwrought, complex app on any platform, and iOS is no exception. With a lot of care and attention to detail, though, you can make something that's simple, not distracting, made from the barest components necessary and extremely good at solving a very specific problem with minimum fuss.
When that happens, it's so nice to see.
*nix rewards people who build their own stuff, which is fine, but the tradeoff in this is craftsmanship. It's easy enough to get system tools to the level of "good enough for you" without ever reaching good enough for everyone. That, I suspect, is the cultural difference you've detected here.