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  • Editorial: Jony Ive's departure opens up an opportunity for Apple to think differently

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    Like the 2013 Mac Pro, Ive's notable errors reflect a preoccupation with beauty that eclipses functionality. His worst work is in building mice that are refined down their most basic design elements until they are just really shitty to use. Perhaps a fresh approach would create an entirely new kind of pointer that worked exceptionally well, even if it didn't look like a beautiful mouse at all.


    Reductio ad absurdum
    I liked that mouse. No, not for the sake of saying something controversial but really it was a pleasure to use it provided that you are not "holding it wrong". The mouse moves mostly in circular paths on the table, this might be the reason of why the shape of the mouse matches its movement. It is relatively easier to move a circular mouse in circular movements than a rectangular mouse. One downside is that you may lose the orientation of the mouse during that movement, but no, this is not a totally free movement, it is controlled by the orientation of the cable, it was easier to reacquire orientation than losing it.

    But then enter  people's habits and muscle memory... Just like today's users stroking their keyboards to the extreme because mechanical typewriter keys had a long travel path, the users of that mouse were trying to "grab" or "catch" it to the extreme, because they were used to PCs' brick size mice. You don't grab that mouse, you don't hold it in the palm of your hand, it moves freely under your fingers. Your wrist rests on the table, then your fingers move to drive the mouse: a way to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome because your wrist is not elevated. It is one of Ive's most clever creations not appreciated by the "clients"... But, that's business, ingratitude is part of it.
    Dan_Dilgerp-dogberndogjonagoldmattinozFileMakerFellerpalominewatto_cobrajony0

  • Editorial: Apple is neither doomed nor saved now that Jony Ive has moved on

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    dysamoria said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    > “He's forming his own design firm, and Tim Cook is very clear on how he'll be contributing to Apple going forward. ‘Apple will continue to benefit from Jony's talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built’”

    2013: "Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple and will serve as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook in the interim.”

    Do you think Scott got more than a birthday card from Cook since leaving the company?

    I'm not saying there's bad blood, but this is just corporate-speak. Ive is out.
    Except when Forstall left he barely got a mention by Cook and was not quoted in Apple’s press release at all. Ive was plus gave an interview to discuss it. Of course that doesn’t mean this isn’t just an exit strategy. But the announcement is very different to what happened with Forstall.
    Well I would argue/speculate the difference is Forstall was fired, and Ives is just bored out of his mind and amicably departed.

    Anyway I hope you're right. I'm an Ives fanboy; I know the iOS 7 thing was controversial, but ultimately it had to happen. iOS 6 (and Bondi Blue era Mac OS) were embarrassingly garish, this shit had to grow up. Keyboard reliability aside, I love modern Macbooks. Ives brought us the future, full stop.
    If you’re an Ive fanboy, maybe you should learn to spell his name.

    Also, there was next to nothing wrong with iOS 6’s visual design. My iPhone 4 still runs it because I refused to cripple and uglify it with iOS 7. Every time I use it, I see how beautiful it is compared to today’s ugly iOS. Low contrast UI elements, flat Corel Draw-style oversimplified clipart icons, and borderless text as buttons isn’t the future. It’s a massive detour from the beauty, intuitiveness, and readability that put Apple on top with iOS and iPhone. We have pocket-sized print-level resolution displays with fantastic color capabilities, and the current over-simplistic UI skin barely takes advantage of this.

    By the way, that’s all it is: a skin. The only actual GUI change was the control center; everything else is the same UI elements, reskinned as harder to look at (and lacking any visual cues as to what the control is). Dark mode might help, marginally, but it too looks like a clumsy shift to mere tone/color opposites, not a mode made with curated design choices.
    iOS 7 was all about Tufte’s concept of non-data ink.  I’d bet every dollar I have that Ive is a student of Tufte. 
    I don’t know. What I know is that high resolution Retina display would require a lightweight interface in terms of processing. 3D effects, text shadows, natural textures were all beautiful, previous designers did nothing wrong. Meanwhile they had a price in the age of Retina displays and consequently they had to go away. Retina fits more data thanks to high resolution, why waste that very precious space for “skin”? And recall that that was Federighi who introduced the new interface, not Ive.
    rogifan_new

  • Jony Ive's departure reveals new details of Apple's car and TV plans

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    Interesting. I know what a self-driving car is. And I know what a human-driven car is. But what if a car was capable of self driving but required (and verified that there was) a driver to watch and give voice commands for all major decisions? For example, "move left one lane" would be pretty much the only time the car would change lanes. Other commands might be "pass this car," "slow down," or "take this exit". Would this be a self-driven car or a human-driven car? I really don't know. It's a tough call. And that's the impression I get from the phrase "predominantly voice controlled." 

    It's also possible that a car which lacks a steering wheel might have a joystick on the center console that would be used to give "inertial guidance" to the car's computer. A gentle tap forward could speed up the car (so you wouldn't need gas or brake pedals, as the joystick could apply pressure to brakes or acceleration based on your pressure on the joystick.) The joystick would essentially be the "optional steering wheel and brake", operating on a differential basis rather than an absolute basis. The center console, if properly designed, could easily be controlled by a driver on the right or left side. When switching to the other driver the human passenger would have to say "I'm driving now." That way the computer would know whom to watch.

    I don't really think this would be called an autonomous car. For example, this car would pull over and stop for a minimum of ten minutes if you closed your eyes (or otherwise weren't paying attention, such as using your phone) for more than two seconds. That means it requires a driver. I like this idea. What I don't know is whether consumers would like this idea. Do they prefer being able to fall asleep in a self-driving car, or are they willing to take full responsibility for its actions by their own actions and voice commands in the car?
    Putting voice commands as an alternative to steering wheel is obviously a misunderstanding and erroneous reporting of the original author. Human speech can never be as fast as human reflexes that command the wheel. A joystick can never be an alternative to steering wheel because incremental, granular movements would be impossible, or the joystick has to be as big as the steering wheel and in a circular shape. That Siri artist (and joystick, if any) were most probably added for fun to the demo.
    fastasleep

  • Apple's new Mac Pro is being manufactured in China

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    Considering the political circumstances under which the production is shifted to China, they probably have a big sales projection for that model. There should be an immediate demand, and that demand must be fulfilled right now for such a move. Army, NASA, government... You know, cyber warfare... ultimate security... T2 chip etc. etc. etc...
    ronn

  • Editorial: Apple is neither doomed nor saved now that Jony Ive has moved on

    macplusplusmacplusplus
    Eric_WVGG said:
    > “He's forming his own design firm, and Tim Cook is very clear on how he'll be contributing to Apple going forward. ‘Apple will continue to benefit from Jony's talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built’”

    2013: "Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple and will serve as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook in the interim.”

    Do you think Scott got more than a birthday card from Cook since leaving the company?

    I'm not saying there's bad blood, but this is just corporate-speak. Ive is out.
    Straight from Ive: https://www.ft.com/content/0b20032e-98cf-11e9-8cfb-30c211dcd229

    Time to try entrepreneurship. Most probably in 30 years he accumulated a shitload of capital. Consider how he will be backed by investors, given his personality assets. Besides, he wouldn’t jump into such an adventure without getting signals from some investors. I don’t think he will restrict himself to the one-man show retired business style. I imagine a large studio with around 50 designers or more, serving large companies all over the world. Not only industries, but also public institutions, banks, public events, everywhere where design makes a difference. He has a bright future...
    radarthekatfastasleep