Earlier quoted context omitted.
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Asking users what they want often doesn't give the best user experience.
Telling users what they want often doesn't give the best user experience.
Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
21–30 of 95 posts
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Flash comes preinstalled on OSX Snow Leopard.
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I think it makes sense but people may not agree with the logic.
Flash on OSX: An entrenched industry standard for keyboard/mice computers. As an open platform users can and will install Flash. Might as well bundle a stable version with the OS so users don't have to install it themselves. Good for end user experience.
Flash on mobile/touch: Not an industry standard. In fact it doesn't really exist yet other than Flash Lite or Nokia's custom version of Flash for the N900. There is an opportunity to move away form Flash here in favor of HTML5 on the web. For native apps obviously Apple would prefer people to use their proprietary platform instead of Adobe's proprietary platform. As a closed platform, and a popular one, Apple has leverage to prevent Flash from becoming a mobile industry standard.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#23I like the parody but it's not really a fair comparison. In many cases paved roads evolve out of country roads while nothing can ever evolve out of Flash.
Well, you could also say lots has evolved out of Flash. Quick casual games, fast playing video, micro vector and raster content, experimentation and lots of Flash developers use lots of mathematics (trig, calculus) to make excellent graphic and effects libraries. I think every technology has had something to add in our trial and error machine including Flash.
Flash developers are unique people as well because it is a unique tool that merges code and design. Try Neave out if you haven't: http://www.neave.com/ Flash Earth, planetarium, the rebirth of slick. This stuff won't be cross browser in html5 for years, especially webcam, mic projects.
This work is being reimplemented in html5/canvas/svg and it has added benefits.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#24I like the parody but it's not really a fair comparison. In many cases paved roads evolve out of country roads while nothing can ever evolve out of Flash.
This isn't about Flash; it's about homebrew applications, alternative programming languages, and the many other (technical) roads less travelled by.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#25I know the author's intent is to weaken Jobs' arguments, but to me he seems to strengthen them. The vast majority of people driving cars never need to drive on country roads. Anyone that needs to drive on country roads is by no means forced to drive an iCar - they are free to choose whatever car they want.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#26I know the author's intent is to weaken Jobs' arguments, but to me he seems to strengthen them. The vast majority of people driving cars never need to drive on country roads. Anyone that needs to drive on country roads is by no means forced to drive an iCar - they are free to choose whatever car they want.
"Vast majority" and "never" are extremely strong qualifiers. It must be nice living in a world where everything is constant and optimum. Granted, nobody is made to drive an iCar. But every so often, you are probably going to need a real car not designed for fantasyland.
Part of this is just a failing of the analogy; Apple has much tighter control over their platform than they ever could over roads networks.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#27So don't buy an iCar. But if the only driving I do is to work and back and I choose that the iCar is right for me, who cares?
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#28Very interesting, but I think most of the comments are missing the point that this isn't about the technology.
It is about telling the user where they can and cannot go.
We wouldn't accept that in a car for any reason.
Wanna go to Yosemite, great! But that parking lot isn't paved, so you can't stop there. You can drive by and see the rest of it from the highway though!
Oh, that highway is nice and paved, but it leads to google and some fancy voice technology they built. I'm sure as a driver you'd like to see it, but you'll just have to stick to our roads and roads that don't compete with us on any level.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#29I know the author's intent is to weaken Jobs' arguments, but to me he seems to strengthen them. The vast majority of people driving cars never need to drive on country roads. Anyone that needs to drive on country roads is by no means forced to drive an iCar - they are free to choose whatever car they want.
Which is why I choose not to buy an iPhone or an iPad. When someone complains about an inadequacy of a product and you replay that they should buy something else, you are missing the point. The ability to buy a real car, does not make an iCar useful.
Many, many people live in areas where they could get away with using public transit only, most of them still own cars because sometimes they still need or want them. Only I can know whether I need to drive on gravel roads, and even I won't know whether I will need to in the future.
If I think Flash is a nuisance, (and I do) I am free to avoid it. But I don't want Steve Jobs or any company making such decisions for me. Jobs is free to sell his phones with whatever policy he wants, and I'm free to think that he sucks for it.
Re: Steve Jobs, circa 2020: "Thoughts on country roads"
#30People made the same arguments when Jobs killed the floppy. And serial ports.
And OS 9.
And built-in modems.
Surprisingly, nobody misses them.
Yawn. More histrionic nerd-posturing. It will be forgotten soon enough.