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Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

9to5mac.com

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Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#5

Post by thehodge »

davidcann wrote: post #4

The Apple TV seems to be moving toward an app based approach, so perhaps this UI simply makes more sense in the current ecosystem.

When the Apple TV gets apps I think we will start to see the beginning of the end for Nintendo... thats the iPod for on the move and the Apple TV for the home casual gaming..

You can buy a wii game for £40 or almost 80 59p silly games on the Apple tv... and using iphones / ipod touches as an additional controller...

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#7

Post by garyrichardson »

adamjernst wrote: post #3

I found the new Apple TV UI to be a significant improvement, for what it's worth.

And yet, I find it annoying to look at compared to the old UI. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but for the size of the display and the amount of info that can be displayed on it I feel like text is better than huge icons.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#8

Post by jws »

adamjernst wrote: post #3

I found the new Apple TV UI to be a significant improvement, for what it's worth.

I find it a mixed bag. I think I navigate it faster, but it is a grid of random technicolor barf.

They should take the next step, let me exile the stuff I never use and bump up the size of the stuff I do use, or open an App ecosystem and let me add more stuff that I do want to use.

Unrelated speculation: The Apple TV has been repeatedly characterized as a "hobby" by Apple. I'm sure they'd love to distribute all major TV and movie content, but they can't get the content owners in line. But what happens now if they do get the content owners to agree to the business model of being paid by happy consumers? The Apple brand is so aglow, and the cost of the AppleTV unit so low, that the demand could go from near zero to internet crushing levels in a matter of weeks. They may have lost the luxury of a controlled ramp up.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#9

Post by padobson »

I haven't used the latest iteration of the AppleTV UI, but I did use the last version, and I found it to be pretty terrible. Any time text input was needed, it was a nightmare.

I don't know if the new UI took care of that problem, but coupled with the remote (clearly a case of aesthetics chosen of utility), I found the entire experience to be decidedly less enjoyable than any other living room interface - XBox360, PS3, or any cable set top box.

Re: Ex Apple TV Engineer: New Apple TV UI is actually one Jobs threw away years ago

#10

Post by protomyth »

I get the feeling we are going to get these type of stories for the next several years. "Steve Jobs wouldn't have done that" or "Steve Jobs didn't like that" will be a pretty good link-baited headline.

He assembled a good crew of people who are going to do some things different (e.g. charity contributions). Some of the things might have been left as "notes / advise" by Steve Jobs in his last days and some might be new thinking. We won't really know the whole story.

Apple changes every day is the only constant.

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