| The way I see it, the problem stated by TFA is simply a mismatch between what wants to be represented vs. what is represented. Dividing the amount of milliseconds left / 1000 is too naive. If you want that the representation "0 seconds" actually matches the instant when there are actually 0 seconds left (i.e., no more time left), you should label these millisecond ranges as follows: * 5000 to 4001: "5 seconds" * 4000 to 3001: "4 seconds" * 3000 to 2001: "3 seconds" * 2000 to 1001: "2 seconds" * 1000 to 0001: "1 second" * 0: "0 seconds" (which usually the user doesn't read if the screen shows something else) Simple enough? The thing is, yes the iPhone timer does something in between, in order to show both the initial (5) and the final (0) numbers for a non-instantaneous amount of time, but (IMHO) that's the most confusing choice. |