Users increasingly expect application experiences that take full advantage of their chosen platforms. That means developers and designers have to be as familiar with the devices they target as their users.
用户越来越期望能够充分利用他们所选平台的应用程序体验。 这意味着开发人员和设计人员必须像他们的用户一样熟悉他们所针对的设备。
This article explains why cross-platform literacy matters, and describes several techniques to make switching between platforms as easy as possible.
本文解释了为何跨平台读写很重要，并介绍了几种使平台之间的切换尽可能简单的技术。
When applications are created by designers and developers who aren't intimately familiar with their target platforms, it tends to show. I've spent most of my career working with cross-platform technologies, and one of the most important things I've learned is that details matter.
当应用程序由对目标平台不太熟悉的设计师和开发人员创建时，它往往会显示出来。 我一生的大部分时间都在跨平台技术方面工作，而我学到的最重要的事情之一就是细节至关重要。
End users might choose their platforms based on things like social trends, financial considerations, and ecosystem investment, but they often come to love the little shortcuts, conveniences, and idiosyncrasies that make up that platform's overall experience.
最终用户可能会根据社会趋势，财务考虑因素和生态系统投资等因素来选择其平台，但是他们常常喜欢构成该平台整体体验的小捷径，便利和特质。
An application doesn't have to take full advantage of every platform capability—especially early on; but since it's safe to assume your competition will eventually provide the best and most native-feeling user experience possible, your standards should be equally high.
应用程序不必充分利用每种平台功能，尤其是在早期阶段； 但是可以肯定的是，您的竞争最终将提供最佳和最原生的用户体验，因此您的标准应该同样高。
Designing and developing for multiple platforms is tricky. It's logistically difficult since it usually requires varying skill sets, and it's expensive since it sometimes requires investment in multiple sets of hardware.
为多个平台进行设计和开发非常棘手。 从逻辑上讲这很困难，因为它通常需要变化的技能，而它又很昂贵，因为有时需要投资多套硬件。
Additionally, designers and developers are every bit as passionate about their chosen platforms as their end users—frequently even more so—which can introduce both biases and blind spots into their work. But I believe that the best user experiences come from designers and developers who are completely fluent in the platforms for which they build, and that being fluent in a platform means going beyond just testing: it means spending time using that platform for real-world tasks, and genuinely learning to appreciate it despite personal preferences.
此外，设计人员和开发人员与最终用户一样对自己选择的平台充满热情-常常甚至更多，这会给他们的工作带来偏差和盲点。 但是我相信，最好的用户体验来自完全熟练于所构建平台的设计人员和开发人员，而流畅地使用平台意味着不仅要进行测试，还需要花时间在实际任务上使用该平台。 ，并根据个人喜好真正地学会欣赏它。
This article describes several ways in which you can make working with multiple desktop and mobile platforms on a regular basis much easier and much more efficient. While it's true that becoming intimately familiar with all the relevant platforms out there is a significant investment, it's also true that the easier you make it, the more likely you will be to maintain that experience over time—and most importantly, the more you'll learn to think like your users.
本文介绍了几种使您可以更轻松，更高效地定期使用多个桌面和移动平台的方法。 确实，对所有相关平台都非常熟悉，这确实是一笔巨大的投资，但是，您做得越容易，随着时间的流逝就越有可能保持这种体验，而且更重要的是，学会像用户一样思考。
Remaining digitally ambidextrous is not easy (or cheap), and in fact has proven to be a constant struggle for me over the years. That's the bad news. But the good news is that several factors have made moving back and forth between devices and operating systems easier than ever:
在数字上保持灵活性并不容易(或便宜)，事实上，多年来，事实证明这对我来说一直是不懈的努力。 那是坏消息。 但好消息是，以下几个因素使在设备和操作系统之间来回移动变得前所未有的容易：
Advances in emulation technology. 仿真技术的进步。 Extremely affordable cloud services. 负担得起的云服务。 Increasingly capable and popular web-based applications. 功能日益强大且流行的基于Web的应用程序。 And finally, the continued popularity of both iOS and Android—as well as the resurgence of Macs—requiring many software vendors to support multiple platforms in order to reach all their customers. 最后，iOS和Android的持续流行，以及Mac的兴起，要求许多软件供应商支持多个平台才能覆盖其所有客户。 Microsoft OneNote) Microsoft OneNote )To maintain technological fluency, it's essential to spend time with the various devices and operating systems. Not only should you use them for testing, but it's also important that you be familiar with the likely applications, tasks, and workflows of your end users.
为了保持技术水平，必须花时间在各种设备和操作系统上。 您不仅应该使用它们进行测试，而且熟悉最终用户可能的应用程序，任务和工作流程也很重要。
The rest of this article describes several ways you can organize and configure your digital life to this end. The aim is to incorporate as many different platforms, workflows, and design languages as possible into your applications. If you succeed, all your customers will be well served, regardless of their platform.
本文的其余部分描述了为此目的组织和配置数字生活的几种方法。 目的是将尽可能多的不同平台，工作流和设计语言整合到您的应用程序中。 如果您成功了，无论平台如何，所有客户都将得到良好的服务。
The first requirement for engaging with multiple platforms is either the hardware to run them, or software solutions that provide effective emulation. The following section describes several approaches to making both mobile and desktop platforms as accessible as your budget allows.
与多个平台进行交互的首要要求是运行它们的硬件或提供有效仿真的软件解决方案。 以下部分描述了几种使预算尽可能允许访问移动平台和桌面平台的方法。
Let's get this out of the way from the outset: the first thing you need is a Mac. There are plenty of options for accessing Windows (which I'll cover in more detail below), but unless you want to build a Hackintosh, there's really no way around buying an iMac, Mac mini, or a MacBook. Fortunately, as a developer or a designer, there's a very good chance you already own at least one Mac, and if not, Apple has plenty of affordable low-end (but still very capable) Macs available.
让我们从一开始就消除它：您需要的第一件事是Mac。 有很多访问Windows的选项(我将在下面详细介绍)，但是除非您要构建Hackintosh ，否则实际上没有办法购买iMac，Mac mini或MacBook。 幸运的是，作为开发人员或设计师，您很有可能已经拥有至少一台Mac；如果没有，则苹果拥有大量价格适中的低端(但功能仍然非常强大)的Mac。
Fortunately, accessing a Windows environment is much cheaper and easier. The simplest solution is to use a cloud service like Amazon WorkSpaces, Microsoft Azure RemoteApp, or VMware Horizon Air. But since performance is a critical component of a platform's overall experience, I've never been a big fan of the latency typically seen with remote desktop environments. Therefore, I would recommend running Windows as natively as possible.
幸运的是，访问Windows环境更加便宜和容易。 最简单的解决方案是使用Amazon WorkSpaces ， Microsoft Azure RemoteApp或VMware Horizon Air等云服务。 但是，由于性能是平台整体体验的关键组成部分，因此我从来都不是远程桌面环境中常见的延迟的忠实拥护者。 因此，我建议尽可能在本机上运行Windows。
It's been about a decade since Steve Jobs announced Apple's plans to migrate from PowerPC processors to Intel's x86 architecture, and not only have Macs gotten significantly faster, but running both OS X and Windows has also gotten much easier. The simplest way to have access to both operating systems is to install Windows on your Mac under emulation using tools like Parallels, VMWare's Fusion, or the freely available VirtualBox. In general, I've found that these tools have gotten easier to use, faster, and much more capable over the years.
自乔布斯宣布苹果计划从PowerPC处理器迁移到英特尔的x86架构以来，已经过去了大约十年时间，不仅Mac的运行速度大大提高，而且OS X和Windows的运行也变得更加容易。 访问这两个操作系统的最简单方法是使用Parallels ，VMWare的Fusion或免费提供的VirtualBox等工具在Windows上模拟安装Windows。 总的来说，我发现这些年来这些工具变得更易于使用，更快并且功能更加强大。
Running Windows on a Mac with Parallels. 在具有Parallels的Mac上运行Windows。For a more native experience, there's always Boot Camp, which enables you to install Windows—along with a set of Windows drivers for Apple hardware—directly on a separate partition of your Mac's hard drive. The advantage of Boot Camp is you typically get excellent performance, since Windows has access to all your Mac's resources (in fact, there was a time when MacBooks were considered by many to be the best Windows laptops). However, the disadvantage is that you have to reboot into Windows, which makes rapidly testing or experimenting across environments much more time consuming.
为了获得更原始的体验，始终有Boot Camp ，它使您可以将Windows以及用于Apple硬件的一组Windows驱动程序直接安装在Mac硬盘的单独分区上。 Boot Camp的优点是您通常可以获得出色的性能，因为Windows可以访问您所有Mac的资源(实际上，曾经有一段时间MacBook被许多人认为是最好的Windows笔记本电脑)。 但是，缺点是您必须重新启动进入Windows，这使得跨环境的快速测试或试验变得非常耗时。
My personal preference is to use two separate computers. In my opinion, Apple makes the best laptops, and I think the best Windows experiences are on desktop configurations. Therefore, I use a MacBook Pro for OS X, and a custom-built PC for Windows.
我个人的喜好是使用两台单独的计算机。 在我看来，Apple是最好的笔记本电脑，我认为最好的Windows体验是在台式机配置上。 因此，我将MacBook Pro用于OS X，并将定制的PC用于Windows。
Mobile is where things really start getting tricky. I've learned the hard way that the established system of manufacturers, retailers, carriers, and service providers is not optimized for customers who want to own and operate multiple devices simultaneously. But with a little work (and a few good tips) it is possible.
移动是真正开始变得棘手的地方。 我已经了解到很难为想要同时拥有和操作多个设备的客户优化制造商，零售商，运营商和服务提供商的已建立系统的方法。 但是，只需做一些工作(以及一些不错的技巧)，就可以实现。
My personal rule is to always buy my phones outright and never sign contracts or accept subsidies. Although it's very tempting to have to come up with less cash upfront, having the flexibility to swap phones or upgrade whenever you want (selling old phones to offset the cost) is critical to having access to the most recent and popular iOS and Android experiences.
我个人的原则是始终购买手机，切勿签订合同或接受补贴。 尽管必须先减少现金预付款是非常诱人的事，但拥有随时随地更换手机或进行升级的灵活性(出售旧手机以抵消成本)对于获得最新和最受欢迎的iOS和Android体验至关重要。
But the problem with having two phones is getting them both working at the same time. The easiest thing to do is to have a single phone plan that you use with one phone, and only use the second phone when Wi-Fi is available (which is almost everywhere now). If you want to make a more permanent switch, all you have to do is transfer the SIM card. Though somewhat inconvenient, it's better than paying for two separate phone plans and trying to manage multiple phone numbers.
但是拥有两部手机的问题在于使它们同时工作。 最简单的方法是为一部手机使用一个电话计划，并且只有在有Wi-Fi可用的情况下才使用第二部电话(现在几乎无处不在)。 如果您想进行更长时间的切换，则只需转移SIM卡即可。 尽管有些不便，但总比为两个单独的电话计划付费并尝试管理多个电话号码要好。
If you want both phones active on mobile networks at the same time, I would recommend some type of shared family plan. For example, I have an AT&T plan which allows me to share voice (which I seldom use) and data (which I use a lot) across as many devices as I want. Though I have to pay an additional $15 each month per device, it's much cheaper than having entirely separate mobile phone plans.
如果您希望两部手机同时在移动网络上运行，则建议使用某种类型的共享家庭计划。 例如，我有一个AT＆T计划，该计划允许我在任意数量的设备上共享语音(很少使用)和数据(经常使用)。 尽管我必须为每个设备每月额外支付15美元，但这比拥有完全独立的手机计划便宜得多。
The biggest problem with having multiple phones active at the same time is having multiple phone numbers. The best way around this problem that I've found is to use Google Voice (a technology that appears to be one of the underpinnings of Project Fi). Google Voice enables you to have a single phone number which forwards to as many different phone numbers as you want. Additionally, you can use Hangouts on iOS and Android (and in the browser) for texting and instant messaging. However, if you want to use native messaging services like Apple's Messages app, then you're probably better off just swapping SIM cards occasionally.
同时激活多个电话的最大问题是拥有多个电话号码。 解决该问题的最佳方法是使用Google语音 (这项技术似乎是Project Fi的基础之一)。 Google语音可以让您拥有一个电话号码，该电话号码可以根据需要转发到多个不同的电话号码。 此外，您可以在iOS和Android(以及浏览器)中使用环聊发送短信和即时消息。 但是，如果您想使用Apple的Messages应用程序之类的本机消息传递服务，则最好偶尔进行SIM卡交换。
Google Voice allows you to have one phone number associated with multiple phones. Google语音可让您将一个电话号码与多部电话关联。Having the hardware to support multiple platforms is just the beginning; the next step is getting it configured for use with real-world use cases and workflows. In order to experience platforms as much like your customers as possible, I find it's best to work with real data. And the easiest way to work with real data across multiple devices is to favor applications and services that make synchronizing your digital life seamless.
拥有支持多个平台的硬件仅仅是个开始。 下一步是将其配置为与实际用例和工作流一起使用。 为了尽可能地像您的客户一样体验平台，我发现最好使用真实数据。 跨多个设备处理真实数据的最简单方法是支持可无缝同步数字生活的应用程序和服务。
This section describes some basic software solutions that simplify not only the process of getting real-world data onto multiple platforms, but also keeping that data synchronized across your entire constellation of devices.
本节介绍一些基本的软件解决方案，这些解决方案不仅简化了将实际数据传输到多个平台上的过程，而且还使数据在整个设备群中保持同步。
In my opinion, email is the original killer app. Every email client is custom-designed for each device's unique capabilities; all the user's data lives on remote servers (now referred to as "the cloud"); and most of the protocols for interacting with that data are open, well understood, and fairly robust. Email is such a paragon of modern, multi-device computing that we take for granted the fact that we can easily read and send mail on just about anything that connects to the Internet.
我认为，电子邮件是原始的杀手级应用。 每个电子邮件客户端都是针对每种设备的独特功能进行定制设计的； 用户的所有数据都生活在远程服务器(现在称为“云”)上； 并且大多数与该数据进行交互的协议都是开放的，易于理解的并且相当健壮。 电子邮件是现代多设备计算的典范，我们理所当然地认为，我们可以轻松地在几乎连接到Internet的任何内容上阅读和发送邮件。
Whether you use a web-based email solution like Gmail, or an enterprise solution like Exchange, accessing your email from any modern device will probably be the easiest and best supported part of becoming more cross-platform literate. Therefore, let's look at other aspects of multi-device adoption that may not be quite as straightforward.
无论您使用的是基于Web的电子邮件解决方案(例如Gmail)还是企业解决方案(例如Exchange)，从任何现代设备访问您的电子邮件都可能成为跨平台知识的最简单，最受支持的部分。 因此，让我们看看采用多设备的其他方面可能并不那么简单。
It used to be that browsers were an impediment to using multiple devices, since data like settings, bookmarks, extensions, and history weren't easily shared. However, most major browsers now handle synchronization seamlessly, which makes it easy to switch between platforms and still access your configuration.
过去，浏览器是使用多种设备的障碍，因为设置，书签，扩展名和历史记录等数据不容易共享。 但是，大多数主流浏览器现在都可以无缝处理同步，这使得在平台之间切换和访问您的配置变得容易。
My personal preference is Google Chrome, because it synchronizes so much information, and because it runs well across all the devices I use. You can even see which tabs you have open on your other Chrome instances—regardless of device or OS—which really helps reduce the friction of jumping from device to device. Whether I'm setting up a new Mac, Windows PC, iPhone, or Android device, the first thing I download and/or configure is almost always Chrome.
我个人比较喜欢Google Chrome，因为它可以同步大量信息，并且可以在我使用的所有设备上正常运行。 您甚至可以查看在其他Chrome实例上打开了哪些标签(无论设备或操作系统如何)，这确实有助于减少从设备跳转到设备的麻烦。 无论是设置新的Mac，Windows PC，iPhone还是Android设备，下载和/或配置的第一件事几乎总是Chrome。
Large preview) 大型预览 )Like browser synchronization, sharing files across devices has gotten much easier and cheaper over the years. My favorite service is still Dropbox, because I've found it to be the most reliable and versatile, but Google Drive and Microsoft's OneDrive are good alternatives. (In fact, there's nothing stopping you from running more than one and getting a significant amount of combined storage for free.)
像浏览器同步一样，多年来，跨设备共享文件变得越来越容易和便宜。 我最喜欢的服务仍然是Dropbox，因为我发现它是最可靠和最通用的，但是Google Drive和Microsoft的OneDrive是不错的选择。 (实际上，没有什么可以阻止您运行多个服务器并免费获得大量的组合存储。)
Whichever service you choose, get to know both its capabilities and limitations. For instance, I've found that Google Drive doesn't work while I'm connected to my enterprise VPN, which is a serious limitation for me in some contexts, though it seamlessly synchronizes all the photos from my Android devices, which is extremely convenient. Similarly, having the latest version of the Dropbox desktop client installed gives both Mac and Windows enhanced screenshot sharing capabilities, which I frequently find useful when testing and experimenting across platforms.
无论选择哪种服务，都必须了解其功能和局限性。 例如，我发现当我连接到企业VPN时Google云端硬盘无法正常工作，这在某些情况下对我来说是一个严重的限制，尽管它可以无缝同步我的Android设备中的所有照片，这非常方便。 同样，安装最新版本的Dropbox桌面客户端可以为Mac和Windows提供增强的屏幕截图共享功能 ，在跨平台测试和试验时，我经常发现这很有用。
The one thing you want to be careful of when making extensive use of file synchronization is conflicts. Although Dropbox has some of the best synchronization technologies I've ever used, it's still possible to create conflicts when the same files are open and modified on different devices. Fortunately, Dropbox does a good job of recognizing those conflicts, which means you are very unlikely to ever lose work (I never have), but you still might find yourself with multiple versions of the same file which you then have to manually merge. The trick to avoiding conflicts is to always close documents on one device before switching to another.
广泛使用文件同步时，要注意的一件事是冲突。 尽管Dropbox拥有我曾经使用过的一些最佳同步技术，但是当在不同设备上打开和修改相同文件时，仍然可能会产生冲突。 幸运的是，Dropbox在识别这些冲突方面做得很好，这意味着您不太可能会丢失工作(我从未有过)，但是您仍然可能会发现自己拥有同一文件的多个版本，然后必须手动合并。 避免冲突的诀窍是始终先切换到一台设备上的文档，然后再切换到另一台设备。
If you're old enough to have owned a PDA, then you might be familiar with the term PIM, or Personal Information Management. It's not used all that much anymore, but I've decided to revive it here in order to refer to a superset of data encompassing calendars, contacts, notes, and passwords.
如果您的年龄足够大，可以拥有PDA，那么您可能会熟悉术语PIM或个人信息管理。 它已经不再使用了，但是我决定在这里重新使用它，以便引用包含日历，联系人，便笺和密码的数据超集。
For calendars and contacts, I use a combination of Google's tools and, when in an enterprise environment, Exchange. The one service I would avoid is Apple's iCloud. Although I really like Apple's native interfaces for accessing my calendar and contacts from Google and Exchange, I generally avoid relying on Apple's services, since they tend to be much less accessible from competing platforms.
对于日历和联系人，我使用了Google的工具以及在企业环境中使用Exchange的组合。 我会避免使用的一项服务是Apple的iCloud。 尽管我真的很喜欢Apple的本机界面来从Google和Exchange访问我的日历和联系人，但我通常避免依赖Apple的服务，因为它们往往无法从竞争平台访问。
Over the years, I've used a myriad of solutions for taking and synchronizing notes, including Microsoft ActiveSync (way back in the day); text files combined with version control systems like CVS, SVN, and more recently, Git; a combination of Dropbox and editors like TextMate, Notepad++, and Sublime Text; and finally, all kinds of online notebook applications like the now-defunct Google Notebook, Google Docs, and Google Keep. Fortunately, thanks to apps and services like Evernote, OneNote, and Simplenote, cloud-based notes have gotten infinitely easier. Although each has its own sets of capabilities and limitations, most modern note taking solutions are very powerful, either free or reasonably priced, and work reliably across all relevant platforms.
多年来，我已经使用了无数种解决方案来记录和同步笔记，包括Microsoft ActiveSync(回溯到今天)。 文本文件与版本控制系统(例如CVS，SVN和最近的Git)结合在一起； Dropbox和诸如TextMate，Notepad ++和Sublime Text之类的编辑器的组合； 最后，各种在线笔记本应用程序，例如现已停产的Google Notebook，Google Docs和Google Keep。 幸运的是，由于使用Evernote ， OneNote和Simplenote等应用程序和服务，基于云的笔记变得无比轻松。 尽管每种都有各自的功能和局限性，但大多数现代笔记记录解决方案都非常强大(免费或价格合理)，并且可以在所有相关平台上可靠地运行。
The final piece of PIM data is passwords. Although I love browser synchronization, it's been some time since I've relied on my browser for password management. Instead, I use a dedicated password manager. The three I hear about most frequently are LastPass, 1Password, and Dashlane—all of which allow you to securely access sensitive data like passwords, payment information, and encrypted notes from just about any modern device. If you're still using text files, spreadsheets, browser password management, sticky notes, or the same password everywhere, I highly recommend switching to a dedicated password manager as soon as possible. Not only are they far more secure, but they have the added benefit of making your passwords available to you no matter which operating system or device you're using.
PIM数据的最后一部分是密码。 尽管我喜欢浏览器同步，但是自从依靠浏览器进行密码管理以来已经有一段时间了。 相反，我使用专用的密码管理器。 我最常听到的三个是LastPass ， 1Password和Dashlane ，它们全部使您可以从任何现代设备上安全地访问敏感数据，如密码，付款信息和加密的便笺。 如果仍然在各处使用文本文件，电子表格，浏览器密码管理，便笺或相同的密码，我强烈建议尽快切换到专用密码管理器。 它们不仅更加安全，而且还具有额外的好处，无论您使用的是哪种操作系统或设备，您都可以使用密码。
LastPass.com) LastPass.com )I've been immersing myself in different ecosystems for several years now, and I've gained a lot of experience in techniques that make switching between platforms and operating systems relatively painless. But it also means that I've discovered plenty of problems.
几年来，我一直沉浸在不同的生态系统中，并且在使平台和操作系统之间切换相对轻松的技术方面，我获得了很多经验。 但这也意味着我发现了很多问题。
The primary objective of using multiple devices is to make sure we're able to see the world through the eyes of our users, and to encourage us to build empathy for customers whose tastes and expectations differ from our own. But just as the observer effect in scientific research states that the very act of observation changes the outcome, the process of making it as easy as possible to switch between operating systems and devices might, in some cases, mean missing the very platform-specific experiences we want to have.
使用多种设备的主要目的是确保我们能够通过用户的眼睛看到世界，并鼓励我们为口味和期望与我们自己不同的客户建立同理心。 但是，正如科学研究中的观察者效应指出观察的行为会改变结果一样，在某些情况下，尽可能容易地在操作系统和设备之间进行切换的过程可能意味着缺少特定于平台的体验我们想要。
For example, using Google Voice and Hangouts to make it easier to switch between iOS and Android phones means entirely avoiding Apple's messaging ecosystem—perhaps one of the most common features and workflows experienced by Apple users. Or by exclusively using Chrome, since it does such a good job of syncing settings across just about all modern devices, we might not be spending enough time in Safari, the browser of choice for many Mac users.
例如，使用Google语音和环聊可以更轻松地在iOS和Android手机之间切换，这意味着完全避免了Apple的消息传递生态系统，这也许是Apple用户最常使用的功能和工作流程之一。 或者通过专门使用Chrome，因为它在几乎所有现代设备上同步设置都做得很好，因此我们可能没有在Safari(许多Mac用户选择的浏览器)上花费足够的时间。
A good way to characterize the danger of a more platform-inclusive digital lifestyle is that of going wide at the expense of going deep. However, I've come to believe that such a risk is not only manageable, as long as we're fully aware of it, but that it's preferable to the alternative of not being platform-literate enough.
表征包含更多平台的数字生活方式的危险的一种好方法是，以扩大深度为代价，扩大范围。 但是，我已经相信，只要我们充分意识到这一风险，就不仅可以控制这种风险，而且它比不具备足够平台知识的替代方法更可取。
As developers and designers, there will always be a temptation to favor experiences, patterns, and workflows that we either enjoy most, or that are most convenient for us. But by remaining broadly familiar with others' tastes and expectations, we can focus more on what's best for our customers. After all, if we don't, it's only a matter of time before the competition will.
作为开发人员和设计师，总是会倾向于选择我们最喜欢或最方便的体验，模式和工作流程。 但是，通过保持对他人的品味和期望的广泛了解，我们可以将更多的精力放在最适合我们客户的方面。 毕竟，如果我们不这样做，那么竞争就只是时间问题了。
翻译自: https://www.sitepoint.com/cross-platform-literacy-matters/
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