Just came across this in Luke Wroblewski’s “Mobile First,” a handy little Book Apart booklet on how mobile is the new standard we all need to design for—Nokia user experience (UX) designer Rachel Hinman saying the desktop experience is like scuba diving and mobile is like snorkeling’s “partial attention and interruption.”
I disagree with her about snorkeling! I’ve had some of the most full-attention, uninterrupted, sublime encounters I’ve ever had with any sea creature while snorkeling (I’m thinking about a young hawksbill turtle I followed along the shoreline in less than 10 feet of water at the southern tip of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe for more than 20 minutes last July…). Snorkeling lets you float silently (no bubbles), motionless, on the surface and watch marine life going about their business below you, thinking you’re flotsam—nothing threatening, no worries (you just need to avoid flapping your flippers on the surface, snorting through your snorkel, any sudden movements)
