iPhone, HTML5 Video & AWS: Movie format unsupported

I've been working hard on a website that will have a video section using HTML5 video with a flash video fall back. It has taken way longer than I ever expected. What a mess this has become, trying to support every browser's own format, and then trying to support old browsers on top of that. Yikes.

One particularly troubling part has been the iPhone/iPod Touch support for video. Using multiple video encoders (Miro, QuickTime Pro, and even Sony Vegas HD) I was unable to post any video on the web that did not cause the iPhone to say "This movie format is unsupported." And it was crap, because I knew it WAS supported. And, even worse, the video would sometimes work... randomly.

Well, after lots of pain and banging my head against the wall, I found it out it was because I was using HTTPS on Cloudfront. For some reason, iOS occasionally rejects the Amazon Cloudfront SSL/TLS. Nice.

So, just take the S off of the HTTPS when playing HTML5 video served from Cloudfront.

Good Design

I've been thinking about good design for the past few months. Apple always seems like the best example of good design because of the simplicity, ease of use and rugged product designs.

I came across this article today about Dieter Rams, a product designer that has influenced many, including Apple.

Here are 10 principles of good design attributed to him:

• Good design is innovative.

  
• Good design makes a product useful.

  
• Good design is aesthetic.

  
• Good design helps us to understand a product.

  
• Good design is unobtrusive.

  
• Good design is honest.

  
• Good design is durable.

  
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.

  
• Good design is concerned with the environment.

  
• Good design is as little design as possible.
  

iPod Touch Battery Life Issue

I love my iPod touch. But it had a problem. After upgrading to the latest and greatest software (iOS 3), the battery life was awful, to say the least. I charged it, set it on the kitchen table in the evening and by morning it was completely dead. Something was very wrong.

The first thing I tried was to disable all push notifications and alerts. And, after charging it up, I left it plugged in for a few extra hours (just in case). Unfortunately, I saw no change in performance. The iPod would die, again, within 24 hours, even if I had not used it. This was getting ridiculous.

I found a blog post that suggested performing a restore. So, I gave this a try. I plugged in the iPod to my laptop, and clicked the restore button in iTunes. After a few warnings and some waiting, the iPod was back to its squeaky-clean state. And I can say that now, after 3 days, that the restore worked and the battery life is back to normal. I haven't charged it in days and it is still going strong.

Bottom line, if your iPod touch's battery life was cut dramatically short after upgrading to iOS 3, try a full restore. Worked for me.

Leave a comment if you've had similar experiences. I'd be interested to hear if it worked for others as well.

Good Design

I respect good design. Or maybe I should say that I love good design. Trained as an engineer I have always appreciated the extra effort that has been put into certain objects, products, services, etc. There is something about the well designed computer or cell phone or chair, that just seems to captivate me. It is a form of art that everyone can appreciate.

I just recently watched the movie Objectified by Gary Hustwit. The movie explores the concept of design and what it means. In one interview a designer in Europe comments that the one company in the world that takes design seriously right now is Apple. I agree with that. Their products exhibit a quality of design that far surpasses many others.

It has me thinking about good design in websites. What does a well designed web site look like? How can I make my websites function and work on a higher level? It is a fun thing to think about and has my head filled with new ideas and approaches. I hope to be able to put some of it to the test soon.