Facebook almost seem to make a point of making their app worse & worse with each “update”. – curlydena

Just a regular user of Facebook (I assume) making a very relevant observation.  I don’t follow curlydena (but i think i’d like to drink with her); it was retweeted by Damian, an iOS developer I met over beers and pool at WWDC 2009.  I’m sure it resonated deeply with him as it does with me.

It’s a truism in software that the more time and incremental development goes into a project the more fragile and ill-designed it becomes.  There comes a point that it’s worth it to dump the entire code base (or the majority of it, if you have well defined, implemented, and maintained abstractions).  Use the current project as a functional prototype and redesign/implement the product from scratch.

It’s hard to get middle and upper management to understand this.  The further away they are from being computer scientists the worse the problem is.

Apple is the only major software vendor that seems to appreciate this truism.  Time and time again they’ve reimplemented stuff from scratch and we are the beneficiaries of that.

It’s a lesson we can all benefit by remembering.  And perhaps Facebook should find a few good iOS developers (within or without) and reimplement their app from scratch.  (And ritually burn Three20 while they’re at it.)

There is an annoyed citizen that has taken his grip to the newest town square: Facebook. He created a Facebook Group to help people voice their shared annoyance.

I joined the group on Wednesday as the 34th member. I suspect if the group gets traction it should be over 1000 people in no time. And if other media in town mention it, it could go well above that.  (Or, if it goes no further than here, it could peak at 35 some time next week.)

I think if it gets noisy enough, we could likely get the Houston City Council to do something about it.

In the City of Houston (and I suspect in most jurisdictions) you need a valid sign permit to have a sign. If you go into most businesses with a sign, their sign permit will be posted somewhere visible. These permits need to be renewed on a regular basis.

It seems to me that the city could issue a citation for a broken sign. If not fixed within a given amount of time (6-12 months?) the sign permit could be permanently revoked, and the sign removed. Fines to ensue.

There are, of course, many businesses that are not in use, and without valid sign permits. I think they should fall under general property rules. But operating businesses need to keep their signs maintained.

Even further, I think the McDonald’s signs are an eyesore when not in disrepair. I would remove the ability to build signs more than 20 feet above your building height. The towering Ms are an eyesore.

Many years ago (in my youth) McDonald’s was building a new store at the entrance to suburban subdivision Lakewood Forest northwest of town. The neighborhood circulated a highly-signed petition stating they would not eat there until the three-story pole sign was removed and replaced with one ground level. It worked.