here's an animated gif of the universe view:
Once you connect with twitter, you're in the center with a yellow border. As you explore around, you'll see different parts of the map -- you'll see people you know in a blue border. Those are people you follow on twitter. Beyond that part of the map, on the outer edges, the homescreens have grey borders. Those are people who you don't follow on Twitter.
built with @toby@dsturb@mxcl@borthwick and aaron morse.
I wanted to come up with a design that would convey the sheer number of apps and arrangements of apps on homescreens that exist on the millions of iPhones out there. For a few years the idea of an infinitely scrolling plane has interested me, especially because hardly anyone seems to implement it. It seemed a good fit for #Homescreen and I'm pleased with the result.
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Really cool! Been enjoying exploring my friends' home screens. Do you plan to also add access to info such as most popular apps overall, by category, trending apps etc?
@giordanobc we definitely do. We're exploring how much of that can fit in the app and still meet Apple's guidelines but we're also going to be putting a lot of what you mention on the web.
@mxcl came up with the idea. I still remember him sending over a picture he took of a sketch and thinking, we've gotta do this! He built a prototype and it felt great so we ran with it.
Now we're thinking about adding separate "nations" or areas of the universe that contain different types of users and homescreens. Celebs, app developers, taste makers, recommendations... We see this as being the basis for a lot of our further development. We also plan on exploring different visual treatments. Currently your own homescreen is bordered with yellow, people you follow on Twitter in blue, and new homescreens in grey. Lots more to do here.
The Twenty Minute VC
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