Launching Aqua Taskforce for Mac OS X users

One of the first requests I received after launching the Windows UX Taskforce was “when can you make one for Mac OS X”. This came at a surprise to me because I didn’t know OS X had user experience flaws, but apparently it did and still do. Having said that today I’m proud to launch Aqua Taskforce, a taskforce site for Apple users to submit, vote and comment on OS X user experience quirks.

Windows UX Taskforce has also been renamed to Aero Taskforce for consistency. One login will work on both sites.

On the front-end you’ll probably notice that the site is visually different with a distinct Apple styling – which looks amazing I should add. Special credits to my friend Oscar for the hard work and more ahead of him. Don’t worry Windows users, Aero Taskforce is next in line to receive a visual makeover.

However what I’m more proud of is the changes on the back-end which some might have noticed via the different URLs. The new back-end has been re-engineered to support multiple (taskforce) sites with one codebase and a shared login system. Now I can deploy multiple Taskforces in just a matter of minutes. If you run a business and are interested in setting up a hosted but customized taskforce site for your products or services, please contact me.

35 insightful thoughts

  1. It is a great idea but I doubt that there will be a lot of error “reports” because Apple fanboys have to protect their software. I bet by September there will be only about 40 reports. Anyone else bets?

  2. I love the fact that you have been able to merge the login system and have the little switch-taskforce bar on top. Congratulations, hoping it receives the same response Aero Taskforce enjoys. I havealso notified one of MacUser’s author.

  3. The massive, almost satirically large drop shadow around the active window in leopard is easily the most most embarrassing and overwrought UI blunder in any major OS right now. If nothing else let’s get that changed. Only a completely braindead, or blind, fanboi could defend it.

  4. Is that dovella I see the same one from the Windows Vista Team Blog? What not make a Linux Taskforce or a KDE Tasksforce or a Ubuntu Taskforce or a…..

  5. @fiji
    Yes im dovella in the world AKA AntiMac 😉
    Linux is nice but the my first OS is WIndows and i love it!

  6. Not cool, the Mac Taskforce site gets a nice Aqua theme, but the Win Taskforce site doesn’t get an Aero theme! Not fair!

  7. How about an XP one?

    I know a lot of the content will be similar to the Vista one. I know XP is “dead” and we shouldn’t try to improve it as it’s a lost cause.

    But I use XP. I want to have documented all the quirks of XP. I want Microsoft to look at the XP quirk list, fix all the top ones, add modern drivers, and release XP the ultimate. Hey, I can dream. I think it would be valuable.

    Tom.

  8. Isn’t Mac OSX the perfect OS? That’s what I’ve heard. So effectively you’ve wasted your time. There’s nothing to write in it.

    I’d be more interested in a Linux taskforce…

  9. who mac fanboy is seriously reading this blog? they’re probably hating this blog. As much as I hate them. I don’t hate apple, I just hate their die hard fans.

  10. A separate taskforce website for Microsoft Office would be awesome. It’s a fully-featured enough program to justify it, in my opinion.

    Also, super double thumbs up for this. I hope companies take advantage of what you’re doing here.

  11. These taskforce websites are a brilliant idea. I really hope both Microsoft and Apple pay attention to them.

    There’s certainly scope for other taskforces – in particular I’d love to see an iPhone one. It’s a rather hot platform at the moment, and we certainly need to make it clear to Apple where its shortcomings are (even the minor ones as these taskforces are good at pointing out).

    Keep up the good work.

  12. Right on! Hopefully this all works, and they take notice. If they do, you’ll have been instrumental in worldwide GUI change.

  13. This Taskforce idea is definitely great, keep the work going !

    By the way, I think you heard about the new “Engineering Windows 7” blog by Steven Sinofsky and Jon DeVaan. There are already plenty of suggestions for Windows 7 in the first post (which is just a presentation of the blog) and the thing is when you read all the comments you notice that a lot of the suggestions are actually the same. So a Windows 7 Taskforce would be awesome !

  14. Enough fan boy comments! I hate the term fanboy. if you dont like that long created a apple one then dont go there. simple as that.

    How about a Windows Live one.. I agree with windows 7, but it seems the vista one has parlt become a windows 7 one with the feature requests. no problem with that because its part of the user experience quarks..

    I see microsoft buying the task force site someday…. i can just see it..

  15. Great execution. Curious to know which software do you use for the taskforce site? is it something you wrote yourself or is it available out there opensource / commercially?

    thanks in advance

  16. Great. Any thoughts of making it available through open source (preferred) or selling it as a downloadable product?

  17. Thanks for your great sites.
    It would be nice to have an iPhoneTaskforce : as much as I love my iPhone 3G, I have found a lot of user interface and user interaction inconsistencies with it, which I would like to express.

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