People are only criticising when stuff doesn't live up to the hype. "The most beautiful maps" bs, IOS6 being a downgrade for many people, "just works" not just working for many people. If Apple want to charge a premium price, they can expect people to want premium service and performance.
If you read the text of the Maps portion of the initial iPhone 5 page on the Apple web site, it said:
"may just be the most beautiful, powerful mapping solution ever..." - my formatting.
Note the "may just be" - it is conditional, not absolute. I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone else comment on this. It stuck out at the time (before the iOS6/maps release) and I wondered - at the time - why they put it like that. I don't think that it was coincidental: it does create an ambiguity and could be said to let Apple off the hook.
On the other hand, what the text might have implied on a less careful reading (people reading into it what they wanted to read into it) seems to have been a totally different bucket o' snakes (and quite venomous ones as it turns out). Caveat Lector.
On the subject of availability of stuff on the Apple online shop, I notice that the 27" iMac availability on the Oz site (http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac) currently (9 december '12) says "Shipping: January"...
If you read the text of the Maps portion of the initial iPhone 5 page on the Apple web site, it said:
"may just be the most beautiful, powerful mapping solution ever..." - my formatting.
Note the "may just be" - it is conditional, not absolute. I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone else comment on this. It stuck out at the time (before the iOS6/maps release) and I wondered - at the time - why they put it like that. I don't think that it was coincidental: it does create an ambiguity and could be said to let Apple off the hook.
On the other hand, what the text might have implied on a less careful reading (people reading into it what they wanted to read into it) seems to have been a totally different bucket o' snakes (and quite venomous ones as it turns out). Caveat Lector.
On the subject of availability of stuff on the Apple online shop, I notice that the 27" iMac availability on the Oz site (http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac) currently (9 december '12) says "Shipping: January"...
Sure, they use that a lot. Steve Jobs stated that "we think the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA." That not only makes it an opinion but makes it conditional to those 7" tablets, not all 7", or rather, non-9.7", tablets that may appear at some other time. Apple also had the Get A Mac ad where they said they don't suffer form any of the viruses that plague Windows. Even if there was malware that was present on all OSes that supported Flash and/or Java it's still not necessarily a virus and still not 'a' Windows virus (or malware).
That said, I think Apple oversold their Maps during the iOS 6 presentation. They had no choice but to release this year but I think they would have been better served by acknowledging that this is new and there will be some growing pains. In this case I think it would have been fine to acknowledge you competitor's product and why you can't continue to license from them because they won't allow TbT or vector mapping without an excessive violation of your personal data as compensation. I think it would have kept iOS 6 Maps from being an issue people simply didn't see coming if they would have gotten out in front of it.
That said, I think Apple oversold their Maps during the iOS 6 presentation. They had no choice but to release this year but I think they would have been better served by acknowledging that this is new and there will be some growing pains. In this case I think it would have been fine to acknowledge you competitor's product and why you can't continue to license from them because they won't allow TbT or vector mapping without an excessive violation of your personal data as compensation. I think it would have kept iOS 6 Maps from being an issue people simply didn't see coming if they would have gotten out in front of it.
I agree that Mr Forstall's presentation gave entirely wrong impression - especially for those who didn't/still don't even appear on the map! Forewarning would have been fore-arming and allowed people to cut them more slack, and to have explained the problems clearly upfront would have aided that in no small measure. But 'tis done.
I have to say from my own limited perspective in my own little corner of Sydney (and bits of Adelaide where the rest of the family are), however, that the new Maps has functioned without a hiccup since I installed the iOS6 update a few weeks ago.
That said, I think Apple oversold their Maps during the iOS 6 presentation. They had no choice but to release this year but I think they would have been better served by acknowledging that this is new and there will be some growing pains. In this case I think it would have been fine to acknowledge you competitor's product and why you can't continue to license from them because they won't allow TbT or vector mapping without an excessive violation of your personal data as compensation. I think it would have kept iOS 6 Maps from being an issue people simply didn't see coming if they would have gotten out in front of it.
To mention Google in that way would've been a disaster. Then you would've had Eric Schmidt or whoever and claim ignorance, that they have no idea what Apple is talking about. I mean heck, just last week Schmidt was out there saying he didn't know why Apple removed the native YouTube app from iOS 6. It would've been a whole he said/he said thing with the tech blogs siding with Google, the media still nailing Apple for inferior maps and the public still unhappy because all they want is a fully functional maps app - they don't care about the politics between Apple and Google.
Having said that, I do agree with Jean Louis Gassee that Forstall over promised and under delivered. His demo was absolutely flawless and the app isn't. Of course he's going to make sure what ever he demos woks and looks good. But he could have cautioned that this is their first attempt at mapping and there' still lots of work to do, etc. Most importantly though, when Cook decided they needed to apologize he should have manned up and signed his name to the letter. Mansfield has no problem doing so when they backtracked on EPEAT certification. Who knows, has Forstall done this he might still have a job.
Comments
If you read the text of the Maps portion of the initial iPhone 5 page on the Apple web site, it said:
"may just be the most beautiful, powerful mapping solution ever..." - my formatting.
Note the "may just be" - it is conditional, not absolute. I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone else comment on this. It stuck out at the time (before the iOS6/maps release) and I wondered - at the time - why they put it like that. I don't think that it was coincidental: it does create an ambiguity and could be said to let Apple off the hook.
On the other hand, what the text might have implied on a less careful reading (people reading into it what they wanted to read into it) seems to have been a totally different bucket o' snakes (and quite venomous ones as it turns out). Caveat Lector.
On the subject of availability of stuff on the Apple online shop, I notice that the 27" iMac availability on the Oz site (http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac) currently (9 december '12) says "Shipping: January"...
Sure, they use that a lot. Steve Jobs stated that "we think the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA." That not only makes it an opinion but makes it conditional to those 7" tablets, not all 7", or rather, non-9.7", tablets that may appear at some other time. Apple also had the Get A Mac ad where they said they don't suffer form any of the viruses that plague Windows. Even if there was malware that was present on all OSes that supported Flash and/or Java it's still not necessarily a virus and still not 'a' Windows virus (or malware).
That said, I think Apple oversold their Maps during the iOS 6 presentation. They had no choice but to release this year but I think they would have been better served by acknowledging that this is new and there will be some growing pains. In this case I think it would have been fine to acknowledge you competitor's product and why you can't continue to license from them because they won't allow TbT or vector mapping without an excessive violation of your personal data as compensation. I think it would have kept iOS 6 Maps from being an issue people simply didn't see coming if they would have gotten out in front of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur
It's the terror of the older obsolete species when confronted with the newly evolved next species that will leave them behind and irrelevant.
So all these iProducts should actually be X-Products?
That would go a long way to possibly explaining OS X!
I agree that Mr Forstall's presentation gave entirely wrong impression - especially for those who didn't/still don't even appear on the map! Forewarning would have been fore-arming and allowed people to cut them more slack, and to have explained the problems clearly upfront would have aided that in no small measure. But 'tis done.
I have to say from my own limited perspective in my own little corner of Sydney (and bits of Adelaide where the rest of the family are), however, that the new Maps has functioned without a hiccup since I installed the iOS6 update a few weeks ago.
Having said that, I do agree with Jean Louis Gassee that Forstall over promised and under delivered. His demo was absolutely flawless and the app isn't. Of course he's going to make sure what ever he demos woks and looks good. But he could have cautioned that this is their first attempt at mapping and there' still lots of work to do, etc. Most importantly though, when Cook decided they needed to apologize he should have manned up and signed his name to the letter. Mansfield has no problem doing so when they backtracked on EPEAT certification. Who knows, has Forstall done this he might still have a job.