Having just got a MacBook last week, I thought I'd share my thoughts on Apple Inc.
I got an iPod nano a while ago, having used one or two other mp3 players, I was struck by the iPod's good build quality and intuitive interface. I used a cheap USB stick sized mp3 player at first, I think it only had 32Mb RAM and a bad scrolling digital style screen. Also a mp4 player thing which was cheaper than the ipod and seems on paper superior but in reality unpleasant to use. Can't put my finger on it (the reason it was bad rather than any sort of touchscreen). Initial iPod worries about accidentally deleting songs were unmerited as a design decision had been taken to only allow iPod users to delete songs from their computer. The clickwheel is extremely good combining attractive design with usability (though I think the SanDisk Sansa is the only other device to have one). It is said that the iPod was designed with as few buttons as possible. There were restrictive elements too, the inability of the iPod to play certain audio (ogg and flac), the lock slider substituting for an off button, non-removable battery (though these two could be an advantage) and the high price premium. If the rumours are true I think it will be a shame if Apple retire the iPod in favour of the iPod Touch.
The last month or so saw me in the market for a new phone. Traditionally I'd been a Nokia user, a great admirer of the massively popular at the time 3210. But times move on, and much more features are to be expected in modern phones. Like with Mp3 I bought cheap and got a Desay m888 with touchscreen superficially similar to the iPhone which lasted a while but I was never satisfied with the touchscreen which required jabbing. As soon as I got this, the speed of my texting slowed down. Disillusioned with touchscreen altogether I got a Nokia 2630 with keys but the intuitive interface of the 3210 was no more and I was more function buttons and more clicks away from sending a text. I think it was seeing a HTC Touch Pro and Blackberry in work that inspired me. These were clearly expensive phones, but what occurred to me was that many companies spend lots of money on developing consumer electronic devices (which is reflected in the retail price) but few take the right decisions to make interfaces efficient and consistent. Perhaps this is because they are decided by committee. The HTC Touch Pro used Windows Mobile which actually had a start button, which couldn't be less appropriate for a phone. I got the feeling this had been fudged in from the desktop as a kind of Windows exclusive thing when in fact it only made things harder to use. The Blackberry made possibly the best attempt at combining keyboard with touchscreen (and even a little mouse trackball) but it still looked fiddly. The iPhone is almost (most buttons are on the side) totally touchscreen so no wasted keyspace/screenspace and it uses a capacitive or resistive tech (I can't remember which or what the name is) so really responded to finger tip contact. Likewise the grid of apps means functions are only one-click away! Take note phone companies, less buttons and one-click away is what should be aimed at. The camera, although only two megapixel oozed quality pictures and the inclusion of GPS is a nice touch. And for a "smart" phone it didn't neglect phoning and texting people, like my Desay m888 had a keypad which eschewed the 1-3 row in favour of 1-4 row on the keypad, yes really! The design minimalism of Apple really came into play too, Windows mobile (and I think Blackberry) tried to shove everything in, whereas connecting to Wireless and navigating the net was a breeze on the iPhone. Basically, it deserves its position as the smartphone to beat. Downsides I suppose are its designed incompatibility with Linux (still unsolved), I suppose similar to the iPod (although that works with Linux) which is not just a storage device, rather music is transferred as a database. And I imagine iTunes and Apps Store could get very expensive. At least the iPod cable is still very compatible and universal.
So it was last week that I could no longer resist getting a MacBook, principally for trying iLife and iWork. These were two software suites I had tried in the Apple store. But I have been pleasantly surprised with other aspects. Its quiet in operation (one of my more stranger priorities perhaps) nice keyboard. The one click mouse and command button take getting used to, but kudos for being bold enough to make fundamentals different. A little disappointed with the absence of a numpad (missing end and home). The screen is great, vibrant (even in direct sunlight unlike my other laptops one of which is a Thinkpad T41) and glossy. The built-in webcams handy too, boot up is quick, magnetized power cable is handy too. There is much good creative content included, for spreadsheet geeks, iWork numbers uses a canvas onto which spreadsheets or charts can be put which is a novel approach different to Excel. Haven't used OSX extensively much but so far, so good. As with all Apple products there is a price premium but as macheads say, you will get much longer term use out of a mac. there is no CD tray so much as a CD slot which I think is a good decision.
As a company, perhaps the best thing that could be said about them is that they are what electronics look like if a great artist designed them. I keep in mind, that they are essentially a company after private profit like any other and can be ruthless and against consumer interests (though Henry Ford once said, if I asked what customers wanted they would have said a faster horse). They even make mistakes and make bad unpopular devices now and again (Apple TV could turn out to be one). I have never liked the iTunes software (though the range of the online store is great) and its keenness to organise my stuff and sync it (stop asking me to sync and let me do it myself and transfer what I want!), such a pain on 4gb and a 8Gb nano, iTunes I hate you! Safari's a bit pants aswell, well compared to Firefox or Opera anyway. I still remain committed to the ethics of free software (as in the principle that software should be distributed with certain freedoms) and still trust my main data with my Linux laptop but am currently enjoying using an iPod Nano, iPhone (rather than a free software Android phone) and MacBook with OS X. Would it sound too advertisement-y to say "computing feels fun again"?
I got an iPod nano a while ago, having used one or two other mp3 players, I was struck by the iPod's good build quality and intuitive interface. I used a cheap USB stick sized mp3 player at first, I think it only had 32Mb RAM and a bad scrolling digital style screen. Also a mp4 player thing which was cheaper than the ipod and seems on paper superior but in reality unpleasant to use. Can't put my finger on it (the reason it was bad rather than any sort of touchscreen). Initial iPod worries about accidentally deleting songs were unmerited as a design decision had been taken to only allow iPod users to delete songs from their computer. The clickwheel is extremely good combining attractive design with usability (though I think the SanDisk Sansa is the only other device to have one). It is said that the iPod was designed with as few buttons as possible. There were restrictive elements too, the inability of the iPod to play certain audio (ogg and flac), the lock slider substituting for an off button, non-removable battery (though these two could be an advantage) and the high price premium. If the rumours are true I think it will be a shame if Apple retire the iPod in favour of the iPod Touch.
The last month or so saw me in the market for a new phone. Traditionally I'd been a Nokia user, a great admirer of the massively popular at the time 3210. But times move on, and much more features are to be expected in modern phones. Like with Mp3 I bought cheap and got a Desay m888 with touchscreen superficially similar to the iPhone which lasted a while but I was never satisfied with the touchscreen which required jabbing. As soon as I got this, the speed of my texting slowed down. Disillusioned with touchscreen altogether I got a Nokia 2630 with keys but the intuitive interface of the 3210 was no more and I was more function buttons and more clicks away from sending a text. I think it was seeing a HTC Touch Pro and Blackberry in work that inspired me. These were clearly expensive phones, but what occurred to me was that many companies spend lots of money on developing consumer electronic devices (which is reflected in the retail price) but few take the right decisions to make interfaces efficient and consistent. Perhaps this is because they are decided by committee. The HTC Touch Pro used Windows Mobile which actually had a start button, which couldn't be less appropriate for a phone. I got the feeling this had been fudged in from the desktop as a kind of Windows exclusive thing when in fact it only made things harder to use. The Blackberry made possibly the best attempt at combining keyboard with touchscreen (and even a little mouse trackball) but it still looked fiddly. The iPhone is almost (most buttons are on the side) totally touchscreen so no wasted keyspace/screenspace and it uses a capacitive or resistive tech (I can't remember which or what the name is) so really responded to finger tip contact. Likewise the grid of apps means functions are only one-click away! Take note phone companies, less buttons and one-click away is what should be aimed at. The camera, although only two megapixel oozed quality pictures and the inclusion of GPS is a nice touch. And for a "smart" phone it didn't neglect phoning and texting people, like my Desay m888 had a keypad which eschewed the 1-3 row in favour of 1-4 row on the keypad, yes really! The design minimalism of Apple really came into play too, Windows mobile (and I think Blackberry) tried to shove everything in, whereas connecting to Wireless and navigating the net was a breeze on the iPhone. Basically, it deserves its position as the smartphone to beat. Downsides I suppose are its designed incompatibility with Linux (still unsolved), I suppose similar to the iPod (although that works with Linux) which is not just a storage device, rather music is transferred as a database. And I imagine iTunes and Apps Store could get very expensive. At least the iPod cable is still very compatible and universal.
So it was last week that I could no longer resist getting a MacBook, principally for trying iLife and iWork. These were two software suites I had tried in the Apple store. But I have been pleasantly surprised with other aspects. Its quiet in operation (one of my more stranger priorities perhaps) nice keyboard. The one click mouse and command button take getting used to, but kudos for being bold enough to make fundamentals different. A little disappointed with the absence of a numpad (missing end and home). The screen is great, vibrant (even in direct sunlight unlike my other laptops one of which is a Thinkpad T41) and glossy. The built-in webcams handy too, boot up is quick, magnetized power cable is handy too. There is much good creative content included, for spreadsheet geeks, iWork numbers uses a canvas onto which spreadsheets or charts can be put which is a novel approach different to Excel. Haven't used OSX extensively much but so far, so good. As with all Apple products there is a price premium but as macheads say, you will get much longer term use out of a mac. there is no CD tray so much as a CD slot which I think is a good decision.
As a company, perhaps the best thing that could be said about them is that they are what electronics look like if a great artist designed them. I keep in mind, that they are essentially a company after private profit like any other and can be ruthless and against consumer interests (though Henry Ford once said, if I asked what customers wanted they would have said a faster horse). They even make mistakes and make bad unpopular devices now and again (Apple TV could turn out to be one). I have never liked the iTunes software (though the range of the online store is great) and its keenness to organise my stuff and sync it (stop asking me to sync and let me do it myself and transfer what I want!), such a pain on 4gb and a 8Gb nano, iTunes I hate you! Safari's a bit pants aswell, well compared to Firefox or Opera anyway. I still remain committed to the ethics of free software (as in the principle that software should be distributed with certain freedoms) and still trust my main data with my Linux laptop but am currently enjoying using an iPod Nano, iPhone (rather than a free software Android phone) and MacBook with OS X. Would it sound too advertisement-y to say "computing feels fun again"?
