A Little Hazy on iCloud Setup
The holy grail and cardinal rule for making computer software easy to use is to never leave the user confused. Apple is generally the best at this, but we Windows users sometimes feel like the black sheep of the family when it comes to usability. This problem that I encountered today is also typical of turning the verbose dial down too far.
I am simply trying to begin using iCloud with my existing Apple ID, following the instructions on Apple’s site verbatim. But those instructions and this alert box are missing something important. How the devil do I get an iCloud account? I think I know what the problem is–I bet you have to create one on an iOS 5 device–which I don’t yet have.
Leaving out important information such as this may allow the designer to rejoice in the simplicity of the UI they created, but it confuses the user. The addition of just a few more words would eliminate much confusion. Never assume the user knows the fundamental reason behind your error message. The simple addition of “You can create an iCloud account only on iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch devices running iOS 5.” would instantly set users on the right path, one devoid of all confusion save for “why?”.
