Code / Appnel Solutions 

On iMT and a Lightweight MT Interface for the Desktop

This is a bit of a thought piece I've been meaning to write up for some time, that brings together two different seemingly different events -- that is until Anil Dash posed an interesting idea.

Back in September, not long after MT4 and the iPhone shipped, Six Apart announced the release of iMT, a plugin specially designed user interface for Movable Type 4.0 users to access their installation via their iPhone or iPod Touch.

About the same time, over on the ProNet mailing list, a somewhat heated discussion of the merits and demerits (mostly the demerits) regarding the new interface unveiled in MT4. The complaints where varied and at times conflicting (go figure), but for the most part I categorize them as the new interface being:

• Too heavy -- the MT4 uses is too much CSS and JavaScript files.
• Too busy -- the MT4 interface is too colorful, hard on the eyes, over done, gradients suck, icons not clear etc. etc.

There is a lot of good in the new interface, but there is some credence to the gripes that were aired. I admit to contributing some of them.

Long into the conversation, Anil Dash asked if anyone had tried using iMT as a basic lightweight interface for everyday authors.

An interesting thought! I had not tried and though my wife owns an iPod Touch chances are I'd have to peel it from her dead fingers to use it. (I jest, but you get the idea.)

Things is if you try to use iMT from your desktop browser -- well you can't. Not without some hacking. While an intriguing idea with some potential, in practice it's tricky and requires some hacking to even try. For most developers this is a non-starter unless they have developer skills.

While I have the kills, I just haven't gotten around to even skimming over it until recently. The rest of this post is a summary of my observations and notes during this experiment.

The biggest problem in testing iMT 1.0 without an iPod Touch or iPhone it that iMT loads itself into MT itself, rather then as a separate script, and filters requests based on the browser user agent being MobileSafari. Install iMT and point FireFox or IE or even Safari at MT and nothing happens. Everything is the same. You need to hack the code a bit to remove the browser detection code that override the rich "fat client" interface.

The hack is pretty simple really as long as you are bit careful. You comment out (add the # symbol to the start of the line) of three lines in the init_request method of mt/plugins/iMT/iMT.pl as follows:

#    if ((( $ua =~ m!AppleWebKit/! ) && ( $ua =~ m!Mobile/! )) ||
#         ( $ua =~ m!Opera Mini/!)) {
        $enabled = 1;

        # Redirect 'dashboard' or 'default' modes to iphone_main
        $app->mode('iphone_main')
            if ($app->mode eq 'default') || ($app->mode eq 'dashboard');

        $app->config('AltTemplatePath', $plugin->path . '/tmpl');
#    }

IMPORTANT NOTE: Doing this will temporarily mess-up the standard MT interface for ALL users. You'll want to try this out on a sandbox -- preferably one that you are only going to use.

With that you can run the stripped down mobile browser interface. While I was able to mostly see and work with the interface using any browser you really should try and stick to Safari. (Why in a bit.)

With that in place, I gave using iMT a try. I worked though I wouldn't recommend using it for everyday use in its current state. What follows are my observations and notes.

• Running in the average size desktop browser window the proportion is all off. It would be comical if it didn't look so off. Creating bookmarklet to launch the iMT interface in a pop-up size window like MT uses for publishing would help.

• Safari only. Some buttons such as the entry delete button vanishes in Firefox 2. Didn't look too good in Safari 2. Fields don't have border either.

• iMT can't handle assets aka uploading a file. Not sure this is a big deal (agreed?), but its work noting.

• The rest of MT gets "hosed." As mentioned earlier, with the browser detection code removed all other screens will appear broken to ALL users. iMT replaces the MT system styles. Since iMT uses mostly different CSS identifiers leaving the standard interface mostly unstyled and unusable. Personally I would have designed iMT as a separate script so the Apple mobile device interface had a separate URL from the desktop browser interface. Browser detecting is "too cute" for my tastes and creates the potential break overtime, besides a companies like Google and Yahoo have established the convention of using a different URL to access the mobile interface to their apps.

While numerous questions remain and there are many issues to sort out for the iMT plugin to be used as a lightweight/basic interface to MT, there clearly in potential. The interface actually makes its look further off then it is.

Looking at the code and considering what in my experience such an interface would need, iMT wouldn't be a wouldn't be a radical departure. I'm not sure if the needs of both uses (Apple Mobile and MT simple interface) can be and should be addressed in one plugin though I hesitate to suggest a fork wither.

Is there a demand for a lightweight MT browser interface for basics that only addresses the most common everyday function of weblog author? What is missing from the iMT functionality? Is anything not needed?

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Interesting analysis, and I agree that hacking at the browser detection probably isn't the way to go. Did you try to use something like the User Agent Switcher extension (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59) for Firefox?

While it may not be the preferred method, it would definitely get around the need to break the interface for everyone...

A good model for this might be the plugin directory, which (and I may be wrong) Arvind built on top of MT4, and it works as a very stripped-down model of getting at entries.

Perhaps Mark Carey's EntryPost plugin would be another good starting point. Obviously there are some other areas that need attention (category and comment management come to mind, as does user maintenance), but there is certainly some evidence to indicate that it's possible.

It's a shame that the presentation is now so tightly integrated with the code, or we could just plop down the MT3 templates on MT4, but unfortunately that doesn't work - you can't even log in (and yes, I've tried :).

I love the power and features of MT, and I like most of the changes in version 4.

That said, I was exposed to both Twitter.com and Tumblr.com before I updated my blog to MT4, and I find the stripped-down approach of both of these services refreshing.

The issue for me is not the complexity (real or perceived) of the MT interface, but rather that the point of the tool is to write and publish. Perhaps the default install should have an admin page and an author page, so procrastinators such as myself are not tempted to configure when we should be writing.

The application WriteRoom is a good example of what I'm talking about. It strips away all the toolbars and distractions of Microsoft Word and focuses the mind on writing (not layout, not fonts, not footnotes or columns, etc.).

So, yes, I think there is at least a FELT need for a stripped down UI for posting in MT. It's probably already there -- I may just need to make a new user who can't access admin features in MT.

I agree with Sandy McMurray above. One senses that MT is a Swiss Army knife of publishing tools when what you really need sometimes is the podcast optimized tool or the writing basic posts tool.

There's too much in that sense.

I'd like to see a podcast optimized application.

I'd like to see a forum-like application.

I think the mobile interface to either might be different from iMT.

BTW, I have a typepad account also and tried out the iMT interface on it. There was a separate URL for that interface and no autodetect. I'm finding that Google Reader is a a better interface for what I would do with an ipod touch: monitor new posts, comments, and trackbacks.

Just a follow-up note: this issue reminds me of the current fuss about Bento -- the new personal database product from FileMaker.

Bento is less powerful, less feature-rich, less able than FileMaker. Anyone who has used a "real" database will be underwhelmed by Bento's feature set, and will notice its limitations.

But you know what? Bento is easier to understand and will be FAR easier to sell, because it does some very useful things in a very user-friendly way.

I once heard a really good communicator talk about communicating for change. He noted that many people start by offering solutions before people understand the problem. You have to explain the problem, then explain why the problem matters and needs to be solved -- a key step many people leave out -- before you can interest anyone in your solution.

Even then, they may not want your solution, but they *will* be interested in solving the problem, with or without you.

MT4 is a great solution to a problem many people don't have, or don't know they have.

I'm babbling now, so I'll stop. Must remember not to post comments before having my morning coffee.

yes, yes, YES! Please consider those of us who use Blackberrys. I'd love to use a lightweight MT interface but I can't use iMT, obviously.

You make an interesting point Lola. The Blackberry is a very capable device and certainly not one to ignore.

Any key resources for developing pages for the browser the more modern Blackberry devices use would be appreciated by this developer.