TOC: First thoughts
Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 5:50PM When you’re contracted to write a book, one of the first things the publisher is looking for is a TOC, or Table of Contents. This represents the structure of the book, generally divided into sections that are full of chapters, which are in turn each covering some set of topics. Getting to a final TOC is usually pretty painful. But you have to start somewhere.
One place to start is to look at the product in question, takes notes, and see where you end up. This is a bit difficult with Windows Phone 8, of course, because no one outside of Microsoft has a device. But based on various leaks, privately acquired information, and whatnot, I can (and did) construct a rough and incomplete feature list rundown. This will have little bearing on the final TOC, but it goes something like this:
Start screen/general user experience
Notifications
Apps, tiles, "deep" tiles
All apps list
Personalization
Lock screen - Like Windows 8 now, Background, Change Photo, Show artist when playing music on/off, Notifications, one app to show detailed status, choose apps to show quick status, screen times out (when), Password on/off, Change password
Ringtones
Themes - Accents, background
Battery saver
Phone storage
Backup - App list + settings, text messages, photos + videos (auto upload)
Auto upload photos/videos to SkyDrive - Don't, Good (data), Best (needs Wi-Fi)
Accounts
Microsoft account - Hotmail, Xbox, Messenger, Windows
Outlook - Outlook.com, Exchange, Office 365
Yahoo! Mail
Other accounts - POP and IMAP
Advanced setup
Phone app
Voicemail/Visual voicemail
People app
Messaging app
Threads/conversations
Facebook and Messenger integration
Internet Explorer app
Tabs
Recent
Favorites
Share Page
Pin to Start
Settings - display full/mobile versions, address bar button, delete history, advanced settings
Windows Store (hub)
Apps, Games, (Xbox) Music, and Podcasts
Panoramic experience
Categories in each section
Browsing
Search
Still no (Xbox) Video Store? (on-device access to TV shows and movies)
Personalized Suggestions - new Windows Phone 8 feature - connects Microsoft account or Facebook to Bing - suggests apps, recommends places, shows deals
Music + Videos (hub)
Collection - Music, Videos, Podcasts, Store
Music - Artists, Albums, Songs, Playlists, Genres
Videos - All (TV shows, Movies)
Podcasts - Audio, Video
Services...
Xbox Music service
Xbox Music Pass - replaces Zune Music Pass
Xbox Music cloud collection - aggregates content from SkyDrive with on-device content
Xbox Music Store
Xbox Games (hub)
Collection, Xbox LIVE (Avatar, etc.), Requests, Spotlight
4 "Try now" games, and then Get more games at bottom of Collection list
Office (hub)
Places, Recent
Places: Phone, Email, SkyDrive, Office 365
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote 2013
Add SharePoint site
Calendar app
Agenda, To-do, Day view pivots
Appointments
Calendars
Kid's Corner
Provides a Start screen and easy access to approved items for kids
Games, Music, Videos, Apps
Set a lock screen password to protect your phone and keep child from accessing Start screen
People (hub)
All (all contacts), What's new (social networking feed), Together (new, can add Rooms and Groups),
Room: Chat and share with family and friends (new to WP8) - has main (unnamed), Chat, Calendar, Photos, Notes pivots
Group: Stay current with folks you want to follow
Photos (hub)
main (unnamed, with Camera roll, Albums, Date links), Favorites, What's new
choose background for hub
shuffle background
Settings
Change lock screen
Camera settings (Photos + Camera still linked in Settings)
Auto Upload Apps (new) - SkyDrive preinstalled
Browsing photos - albums, etc.
Viewing pictures
Multi-select of pictures (new) - Select All, Save to SD card, Favorite, Delete, Share
Share: Tap + Send (NFC), OneNote, various accounts
Local Scout app (also part of Maps app)
Eat + Drink, See + Do, Shop, For You (new: Tied to new personal suggestions service)
Missing: Highlights (For You must replace it)
Alarms app
Calculator app
Camera app
Lenses, Flash, Front/Rear, Video
Photo settings, Video settings
Lenses - Bing Vision built-in (scans bar codes, etc.)
Help + Tips app
Maps app
Scout, Direction, Me (location), Search
Directions list, Search results, Clear map, Show traffic, Favorite places, Hide favorites, Aerial view on/off, Settings
My Places - Favorites, Recent
Settings: Use my location, Download maps (from Nokia), Check for updates, Delete history
Looks like Bing Maps UI over Nokia Maps backend
Data Aware
Previously called Data Sense
Set a cellular data limit
Compare to metered account in Windows 8
Wallet app
Get Started: Collect (store coupons, credit cards, memberships, more) - Link Apps - Protect (PIN protect wallet and purchases)
Pivots: All, Deals
Refresh, Settings + Pin, Learn more
Settings: Wallet PIN On/Off, Use Wallet PIN to protect music, app, and in-app purchases
Create PIN, Change PIN
Add to Wallet - Credit or debit, Other
Company apps
Policies for disabling SD card, encrypt internal storage, remotely delete all content and settings
Background tasks
But even in this rough state, some obvious topic areas emerge:
Accounts
General user experience
Personalization – Including personal suggestions service and Data Aware
Phone and People
Messaging
Calendar
Internet
Music, Videos, and Podcasts
Games
Office
Parental Controls
Photos and Camera
Maps and Local Scout
Utilities – Alarm, Calculator, etc.
Business Use – Side loading, policies
Many of these could be chapters, and of course I’d probably reorder things a bit. But you could also condense this down to some obvious sections—not that it necessarily needs to be structured that way—to help better organize the material. Maybe something like:
Getting Started: Accounts, General user experience, Personalization
Stay Connected: Phone and People, Messaging, Calendar
Fun: Music, Videos, and Podcasts, and Games, Photos and Camera
Work: Office and Business Use
And then these things …
Internet
Parental Controls
Maps and Local Scout
Utilities – Alarm, Calculator, etc.
OK, maybe that kind of organization doesn’t make sense. The other thing to remember is that there are themes that need to tie things together. In this case, one big theme with Windows Phone is integration: You get some of it by tying services to your (primary) Microsoft account in the cloud, and some by explicitly adding accounts from services like Facebook and Twitter. Or topics like auto-upload of photos. Is that a topic for personalization or the chapter about Pictures and Camera? Both?
And let’s not forget that this list isn’t complete: What you see above is not a complete picture of Windows Phone 8 at all. There’s more stuff in there, and any one thing I’ve missed—Xbox SmartGlass, off the top of my head—could throw off some presumed TOC pretty quickly. Spending some time with the documentation and information we do have will help. So the next thing I’ll do is go over Microsoft’s Windows Phone Summit video and see what pops out. And I’ll combine that with previously leaked information, like the infamous Joe B. video and my own previous Windows Phone 8 articles to arrive at a more complete view of Windows Phone 8, and of this book.
Reader Comments (14)
Looking over some of the comments from the previous posts, I can see I've forgotten:
Migrating to Windows Phone (from Android, iOS I guess)
Security/privacy as a potential area
There will be more. :)
A question regarding this table of contents...
Since I'm intimately unfamiliar with Windows Phone, though I'm crossing my fingers on a possible announcement from Verizon any day now, would these contents flow in a particular order that the new user could follow & get a full understanding of his or her new phone experience? I know when my wife & I moved to Android from iOS the learning was very steep. Trying to learn what app did what & what screen was for what took weeks. Or maybe there would be a different set of articles from the supersite that could be hyper linked or referenced for us newbies to get our feet wet. Just a thought to consider.
Yes, ideally after a few chapters of introductory material that is best read straight through, one could simply cherry pick chapter by chapter after that. But the beginning would be the intro stuff.
Ok thx for that reply Paul. I'm already hooked. And do consider that Tip Jar option that was mentioned. I got no problem whatsoever compensating you for your work on this.
Paul,
Is there anyway to add material unique to a specific phone brand? I have a Lumia 900 and would love to see a chapter devoted to the special Nokia apps such as Drive, Maps, City Lens and Transit. I'm sure owners of other phones would like to see their phones covered as well. I know this is difficult because you can't purchase every phone on the market. Maybe some crowd sourcing could help fill in the gaps. That would be a great way to get some collaboration.
And ditto to the tip jar idea. I mentioned it to you elsewhere (just not by that name) and would gladly donate in return for such a valuable asset.
Finally, is there any special Windows Phone - Windows 8 integration coming that needs to be covered?
Paul:
I would echo Rob's comment about the learning curve for new users. With so many new features, I'm thinking I'll be a new user as well when I upgrade my HD7 later this year. The tip jar or at least a 'tip of the hat' to new users in each of the chapters to get us up to speed on the miinimum of what we need to know would be very helpful.
Looking forward to the journey.
Best Regards,
Mark O'Dell
I'm embarrassed I didn't include a "Why Windows Phone?" type chapter right up front. This will of course happen. I agree that "selling" Windows Phone--making the case for it, more appropriately--is the right thing to do.
It may make sense to have tips throughout helping people understand how things are different compared to Android or iOS too. For example, you could have "Where did it go?" type tips, or simply notes that begin with something like, "In Android you would do XXX, but in Windows Phone things are better/different and work like this..."
I think a "Why WIndows Phone" section would be great especially if that section could give a quick overview of WP strongpoints.
I have seen in some stores people balking at the simple pronounciation of the "Windows" word and they are so very wrong, that a section highlighting why this is really different from other phone OSes for the better, in a quick, easy to digest view, would be very good.
On another note, could you add an rss feed to this site? Would make it easier to follow your stuff. Thanks and regards.
"When you’re contracted to write a book, one of the first things the publisher is looking for is a TOC, or Table of Contents ..."
Paul;
I would strongly suggest that you use the TOC concept as a way for you to gather your information and collect your thoughts and ideas, but I believe you have a chance to introduce a better way for the final product. Don't fall into the usual presentation ideas. -- Windows 8 doesn't.
For instance, the menu selection in OneNote MX is new, unique and effective. It also bases the menu on the immediate needs of the user and presents the key information first and foremost (live tiles is another example)..
That may be easy for an electronic book, but it will be harder for a more typical, printed book, of course.
This is where the writer has an obligation to surface (no pun intended) the more important, key, information first and relegate the other to the back chapters in a typical format.
But what if even your book was more modular? Independent sections that could reference another section but not be dependent on the other?
For instance, why not let a potential reader build their own book experience?
- Windows Phone 8 for Beginners - (Module order per-determined by you to move the reader through the Windows Phone 8 story)
- Windows Phone 8 For Android Users - (Again, this time put the "making the switch module" up front)
- Windows Phone 8 for Business - (You get the idea)
This way, you can later update a module or even add new ones (Windows Phone 8 Now that Blackberry is Gone) as needed and make it quickly available to the public.
Even new users will have a question about Windows Phone 8 specifically for them, and they could tailor their publication based on that issue and the (module) answer would be right up in front... Even if it is the general "why Windows Phone 8" question.
For those that are more comfortable with Windows Phone and follow your work, I would prefer reading a module called "Why Paul Thurrott Likes Windows Phone Ocho"
All the chapters or modules of the book would appear in every book, but the order and flow would be determined beforehand by you based on delivering the modules in the order that makes most sense... No single TOC needed, and just take the readers on a journey.. No need to reprint an entire book if someone says you left something out. Just introduce a new module and, possibly, a new book title like the Blackberry example.
Anyway, I'm not quite sure if this is making any sense, but I hope you consider the possibility. It would be different, unique and, I think, effective.
- Mike
Paul,
TOC looks good!
Suggestion:
I feel for many Windows Phone is still just .... "that phone with the big icons? Duh..."
Before going into the operation details maybe start of with some "What is Windows Phone" explaining the basic concepts of a Windows Phone?
- Theo.
Reading the comments on the "Why Windows Phone/ Windows Phone Concepts":
My wife switched from a basic Nokia Classic phone to the Lumia 900. She has a fair knowledge of Windows 7, Facebook, blogs and such. But she had quite a struggling at first. F.I. the logic behind the "Me" and the People Hub. How do I call home as "Me" does not know our phone number? Why do I get all these notifications over here and here also? Do I really need that Microsoft account?
I found that some things with Windows Phone I regard as obvious are not when I think about it.
How about a separate "Quickstarter" - sort of - chapter explaining basic usage as a "smartphone" leaving all the 'fancy' details, targeting the non-tech/enthusiast reader?
As a tech I found it quite a challenge explaining. Would be nice if I could say: Just go to Paul Thurrott's "www.windowsphonebook.com" :-)
- Theo.
Mike,
Must say I do like your idea for a modular approach for the book!
I think it may be an idea to open each chapter with a one or two page summary as a feature for people to dip in and out of. It may capture more readers if there is a way to "Glance and Go" with the book. And with it being an Ebook, its easy to jump to pages, so if you just want to read the summaries, with perhaps links to the more in depth pages, and just go from summary to summary - you can.
When you're writing the section for beginners, please keep in mind that this will be the first smartphone and/or the first cell phone for some of them and they will be in various stages of clueless as to what to do or how to do it.