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Apple’s 2016 in review

chuqui.com

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Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#21

Post by ktRolster »

quasse wrote: post #6

The day Apple makes a power cord that doesn't have a cable sheath with the consistency and durability of silly putty is the day I will recognize them as back on track. It's a small detail, but the power cord is the one part of the computer that users have no choice but to interact with every day and they've been ignoring the problems with them for the better part of half a decade. Every Mac at work either has detache…

The day Apple makes a power cord that doesn't have a cable sheath with the consistency and durability of silly putty is the day I will recognize them as back on track.

That's a really strange thing, because it's such a well-understood problem and the solution is known. I don't know why Apple makes such lousy power cables, even if they messed up a decade ago, you'd think they'd have fixed it by now.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#22

Post by tsujamin »

richardboegli wrote: post #7
adjkant wrote: post #4

If you're browsing this and say "Great, another developer article shitting on Apple after the Pro release who thinks they have figured out everything about the company", please do read this. I was truly surprised at the depth, fairness, and considerations in this article. I'm very curious to see how Apple plays out in the next few years and will likely look back at this article to compare, if I remember to. As a deve…

But the Macbook Pro was meant to be for Power Users?

Pretty sure the Pro stands for Profitable, Problematic or Prohibiting; could be all three

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#23

Post by nardi »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #12
panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

The typical way of addressing the 'users don't know what they want' sort of issue is to build some really high quality ideas or concepts and then talk with some of your users about them. See what they like see what they don't. This can be done poorly too, I attended a Lenovo tablet investigation which was sad from the perspective that the people who were putting it on for Lenovo were trying to insure that everyone sa…

I feel like it's less about coming up with good ideas/questions and more about having the "idealized user." A user with extremely good taste that can guide development. And put that user in charge of everything.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#24

Post by jeswin »

ams6110 wrote: post #10
panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

Henry Ford: "If I asked people what they want, they'd say 'faster horses'"

Actually, churning out better horses is what Apple does best. We are at a point where every other company has figured out how to make a good/great horse, and hence the Apple advantage is diminished.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#25

Post by lurkinggrue »

ekianjo wrote: post #14
ams6110 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Henry Ford: "If I asked people what they want, they'd say 'faster horses'"

So what? The key take out here is "faster", so asking questions is not necessarily irrelevant, instead of focusing on making one's horses shinier or more economical. You need to find out what problem to fix.

These days all apple will give you is a thinner horse with less features.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#26

Post by fnordsensei »

panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

Notice that the author doesn't say "do what your users tell you to do", but "find out what they need and what they experience as problematic".

Any user research will involve interacting with users, but it's not to gather their opinions, which is almost always irrelevant, but to document their behavior, needs and drives.

Users will offer solutions, because that comes naturally, but these need to be turned back into problems before being used. For example,

User: "I want a big button in the middle of the screen that says 'print' and then prints my stuff immediately!"

Researcher:"So you print a lot during your day?"

User: "Yeah, and each time I have to go down a long list of menus, and then I have to reselect the printer each time."

Apple has apparently been able to get by with user studies done on a target group of one (Jobs). However, he's not there any more, and the more time that passes, the more it seems that they haven't been able to fill his shoes.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#27

Post by loosescrews »

panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

Steve was a notoriously hard person to work with. Realistically, anyone who Steve was likely to name as his successor would be a follower, someone who went along with whatever Steve said and told him what he wanted to hear. What Apple needed was another person like Steve, but unfortunately, by letting Steve select that person, they ended up with someone completely unlike Steve.

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#28

Post by bubinubn »

ams6110 wrote: post #10
panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

Henry Ford: "If I asked people what they want, they'd say 'faster horses'"

It is unlikely, although possible, that this quote is correctly attributed.

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/07/28/ford-faster-horse/

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#29

Post by [deleted] »

ams6110 wrote: post #10
panic wrote: post #5

How do they fix this? They need to do more talking — and even more listening — with their users. Engage with the influencers. Sit down and find out what their developers need that the current products don’t offer. Find out what is making their users unhappy. Asking people what they want will give you predictable results: complaints about any kind of change and positive feedback about shiny-looking features that demo…

Henry Ford: "If I asked people what they want, they'd say 'faster horses'"

[deleted]

Re: Apple’s 2016 in review

#30

Post by Razengan »

hoodoof wrote: post #20

Apple has forgotten how to compete in the computer industry. In the old days there was a ruthless and relentless refresh cycle with manufacturers working hard and fast to trump each other with more advanced products. Apple appears to simply no longer have that cycle as part of its business DNA, and no longer seems to even understand that is what the computer industry is (or was) about. I am looking ever more favorabl…

The new MacBooks outsold all their competitors, so I glean that they still know how to compete:

https://intelligence.slice.com/apples-macbook-pro-launch/

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