Earlier quoted context omitted.
It shipped in 2009.
The 1st generation Magic Mouse took AA batteries, the 2nd gen had the charging port.
Ah nvm, 2nd gen was in 2015.
How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
101–110 of 327 posts
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought the reason (for the one-button mouse) was so that you'd never have to think about which button to click.
"Farag recalls a prototype presentation meeting with Jobs where he and the design team presented possibilities for what would be the next Apple mouse. The team had several versions to show Steve, some of which "were fully done, with all the parting lines cut in for buttons and different plastic parts, and all the colors just right," according to Farag. At the last moment the team decided to include a prototype that e…
I think you're misunderstanding the article you linked at least a bit here; it's not the origin story of Apple's original one-button mouse. It's describing the "no button" Pro Mouse circa 2000, which still functioned like a one-button mouse in practice. Macs had one-button mice since they first shipped in 1984.
> As far as not thinking about a button to click - that only works if the idea of 'right-click' doesn't exist.
Well, when you adjust your timeline back to when that first one-button mouse came out in 1984, one can argue whether the idea of right-click as we know it today really existed! There were multi-button mice already, but there wasn't any standardization as to what the buttons did, so Apple's insistence on "there is just one button and it does THE THING" was at least defensible. And IIRC early versions of Windows pretty much ignored anything but the left button, although applications could receive clicks from them. I'm pretty sure the "right-click for a context menu" idea that's become standard today actually started with OS/2.
> In the real world where it does now you just have to know to control-click, which seems strictly worse.
Or you could just right-click. :) Every mouse Apple has sold since 2005 supports right-clicking (and OS X actually supported right-clicking from the start if you plugged in somebody else's mouse!). Their trackpads lets you click with two fingers for a right-click effect.
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
Steve might have actually loved it if he'd see it. It is rumoured that Apple put the charging port in such an awkward place to force people to unplug the cable as soon as the mouse is charged. I can imagine customers using the wireless mouse with the cable attached is something that would grind Steve's gears as well. Preventing the situation with a flipped tortoise design is a Steve thing to do.
> It is rumoured that Apple put the charging port in such an awkward place to force people to unplug the cable as soon as the mouse is charged. You say this as if it's absolutely typical of Steve Jobs. I read it and think exactly the opposite. Jobs was certainly a stickler for aesthetics, but also for usability. I've read numerous accounts of him lashing out when he found a workflow noticeably frustrating. What decis…
We can talk about a Jobs diaster without even leaving the field of mice. The puck mouse was an absolute usability nightmare. It had a circular shape and would always end up twisting slightly so you could never consistently move the direction you expected.
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#104I, for one, hate the expanded product lineup. I'm looking to buy an iPad and I have no idea which one is best suited for my case. Air? Pro? Mini?
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
The impression I got was that Steve operated in a way that 'seemed' autonomous, but in terms of the results he was still letting folks around him do their thing, even if it went through him. Maybe it was the case of a strong personality / operational style that seemed more autonomous than it was? I find that people often seem to read strong personalities as sort of autocratic by default, even if they're not. Often wh…
That seems like a failure to express intent properly. You can have a strong personality and powerfully seek feedback or clarification. Not mutually exclusive.
I think it is different traditions and etc.
I'm from the midwest. When I worked my first 'real job' I worked with some folks from the east coast. They could be very blunt and harsh to my Midwestern ears.
Right until I realized that when they speak to you that way they're really engaging you and seeing if you'll respond in kind in order to demonstrate how certain you are about what you said.
The right words with the right emphasis and it was all "Well Tom seems to think..." and they're on board with you.
Took me like 12 months to figure that out, that and them kinda hassling me was a sign of respect ;)
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Steve might have actually loved it if he'd see it. It is rumoured that Apple put the charging port in such an awkward place to force people to unplug the cable as soon as the mouse is charged. I can imagine customers using the wireless mouse with the cable attached is something that would grind Steve's gears as well. Preventing the situation with a flipped tortoise design is a Steve thing to do.
> It is rumoured that Apple put the charging port in such an awkward place to force people to unplug the cable as soon as the mouse is charged. You say this as if it's absolutely typical of Steve Jobs. I read it and think exactly the opposite. Jobs was certainly a stickler for aesthetics, but also for usability. I've read numerous accounts of him lashing out when he found a workflow noticeably frustrating. What decis…
Yeah, I can't imagine him endorsing some sort of forced dark pattern behavior like that. His biography talked about going to great lengths to make his jet bathroom door toggle instead of using two separate lock and unlock buttons.
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#107Apple is the best company in the world at operations. I don't know how they do it but:
1) Ever year they manage to diligently upgrade iphones/ipads, macbooks and watches.
2) Every year they make some progress in their quest of removing suppliers by becoming vertically integrated. They don't only remove the supplier. They beat their former suppliers specs. (e.g: M1 chip).
3) Every year they make some progress in their quest of generating more revenue from services. They are managing to launch one or two services a year or create a new program that integrates services into attractive bundles.
All those things are incredibly hard operational challenges. Nothing there seems to be easy and some how they manage to always come ahead in delivering that operational excellence.
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#108Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#109I, for one, hate the expanded product lineup. I'm looking to buy an iPad and I have no idea which one is best suited for my case. Air? Pro? Mini?
Have you seen Apple's comparison page? It's useful for this sort of decision making:
Re: How Tim Cook transformed Apple after Steve Jobs
#110I worked in, and around OEM electronics since 2007. I've seen many guys like Tim Cook, most worse off ones. He squeezes suppliers, and know what he is doing. Others squeeze suppliers, and don't know what they are doing. On one of my first jobs, I've been witness to one such negotiations down to single cents, and microns of plastic for a few million units customized charger order. The order was such a whopper for a sm…
> On one of my first jobs, I've been witness to...
> ...years later I found out that the design of the first Kindle charger exactly matched...
So your employer's client was Amazon?