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Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

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Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#11

Post by mrcwinn »

lazyjones wrote: post #8
mrcwinn wrote: post #2

Sooooooooo... "We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It’s tempting to think it’s because the people who use them don’t care — just like the people who make them." I am certainly a big believer in "giving a damn" about design and code. I completely believe that people "feel" the care that went into a product. I myself have agonized over a detail without any direct evidence that anyone, anywhere, would ev…

> Apple's communications are borderline dismissive to people who are less fortunate and less lucky I'd agree if we were in a 3rd world country somewhere, but we (probably both) aren't. People who need to save $200 on a tablet where we live very likely do not need said tablet at all. In the end we just often buy inferior products (in design, functionality and longevity) in order to be able to purchase a larger total n…

Fair point, but if you believe that tablets are a gateway to cheap education and interactive learning for children (I do), I wouldn't say that poor communicates don't need tablets. I know it might seem like a luxury, an excess, or something you _want_ but do not _need_, but I'm not sure that's the case. I think it's easy and more impactful to get a cheap tablet in the hands of someone in need to help them learn, than a big computer. Particularly in urban communities, there might be something pretty profound about getting more tablets in front of young kids. It's up to them what they search for and what they learn, and it's up to us to nudge them in the right direction in terms of pre-loaded apps and websites - but I do believe there's something there. I don't care ONE BIT if the aluminum bevel is more beautiful or less beautiful, in that case.

Anyway, I think you and I generally agree. I would just say you don't have to go to a third world country to find someone who wants to save $200 on a tablet. You can find communities right here in America where their children have limited access to quality education, or bad temptations outside of classroom hours, and I would argue a cheap tablet _with the right content and direction_ might have a real impact.

Not that we should be outsourcing parenting to computers............

:-)

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#13

Post by nmridul »

Zikes wrote: post #5
T-zex wrote: post #4

"We make and sell a very, very large number of (hopefully) beautiful, well-made things. our success is a victory for purity, integrity — for giving a damn." Surely he's not talking about the headphones supplied with iDevices.

Or the MacBook charge cables that consistently break and need replaced on nearly a yearly basis.

Or the Mac Pro with faulty GPUs experienced by users around the world....

http://www.mbp2011.com/

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577?start=0&tstart=...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4637833?start=0&tstart=...

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#14

Post by Bud »

Jtsummers wrote: post #10
Zikes wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the MacBook charge cables that consistently break and need replaced on nearly a yearly basis.

I've seen many complaints about the charge cables, but never had an issue myself. Are there just some bad batches running around, or is it a particular model that's had issues?

It's a problem with people who think they can wind a power cable tightly around something hundreds of times, pay no attention to strain on it or to abusing the weak point where it enters the charger, and then are mystified when it finally fails.

Apple's chargers are in fact much, much tougher than the competition's; this is obvious if you just look at the construction for five seconds and even more obvious if you go read a tear-down of them.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#15

Post by mrcwinn »

w1ntermute wrote: post #3
mrcwinn wrote: post #2

Sooooooooo... "We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It’s tempting to think it’s because the people who use them don’t care — just like the people who make them." I am certainly a big believer in "giving a damn" about design and code. I completely believe that people "feel" the care that went into a product. I myself have agonized over a detail without any direct evidence that anyone, anywhere, would ev…

Tesla is working its way from the top of the market because battery packs are very expensive right now and because general uncertainty (and particularly range anxiety) when it comes to electric cars makes owning a Tesla as your only vehicle an unpalatable proposition for the majority of people. It has absolutely nothing to do with design.

Oh, my point was not to criticize Tesla's strategy. They chose the correct strategy. Working from the top down is the right course when you need to preserve funds (high margins) and can't yet scale (general production, battery, limited demand at the time). My point was simply that it's a flawed argument to say you can maintain high margins, while still servicing the mass market with the absolute best design, materials, manufacturing.

If a car manufacturer could, it would be disruptive - but it's the exception, not the rule. That said, I think Tesla's the most likely candidate to do this! But it's worth noting they did it from the top moving downstream. It's more difficult to do this when you're starting at the position of a Kia or even a Toyota. It's not just about throwing money at the problem, and that, I believe, is contrary to Musk's argument.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#16

Post by Haul4ss »

mrcwinn wrote: post #2

Sooooooooo... "We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It’s tempting to think it’s because the people who use them don’t care — just like the people who make them." I am certainly a big believer in "giving a damn" about design and code. I completely believe that people "feel" the care that went into a product. I myself have agonized over a detail without any direct evidence that anyone, anywhere, would ev…

Ive is selling a Mercedes, not a Chevy. By that I mean there is a very carefully curated image of Apple and the products it sells and the people who buy them that he is working to maintain with his words.

I read the whole article, and it's a total fluff piece. It's a hit for Apple's PR machine. Their message is: we are trying to appeal to people who purport to care about quality. We come across as just a little arrogant, but not so arrogant as to be off-putting to the people who want to buy our stuff.

Honestly, if you want to buy a $199 Nexus 7 for your daughter, you should do so and not feel bad about it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with (1) buying a chair from Staples, or (2) being an employee of the company that makes the Staples office chair.

But if you're buying a Mercedes, you need a little affirmation that you shouldn't feel guilty that some people can only afford Chevy. And now you have an article in Time magazine that gives you that affirmation.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#17

Post by dilap »

T-zex wrote: post #4

"We make and sell a very, very large number of (hopefully) beautiful, well-made things. our success is a victory for purity, integrity — for giving a damn." Surely he's not talking about the headphones supplied with iDevices.

I actually really liked the previous-generation Apple earphones -- decent sound-quality, while also letting in lots of outside noise, which makes them safe-ish when used on the street. The latest generation sadly (and ironically) doesn't fit in my ear.

So far, when I see someone trashing Apple headphones, they go on to recommend something which forms a tight-seal in the ear -- without a doubt better sounding, but really a different category of product.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#18

Post by hahainternet »

T-zex wrote: post #4

"We make and sell a very, very large number of (hopefully) beautiful, well-made things. our success is a victory for purity, integrity — for giving a damn." Surely he's not talking about the headphones supplied with iDevices.

What's funny is he goes on to pretend that iPhones are expensive because they're made with space age technologies like DIAMOND TIPPED CUTTERS.

Shame that their margins are public knowledge and we know he's talking utter shit.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#19

Post by Springtime »

mrcwinn wrote: post #2

Sooooooooo... "We’re surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It’s tempting to think it’s because the people who use them don’t care — just like the people who make them." I am certainly a big believer in "giving a damn" about design and code. I completely believe that people "feel" the care that went into a product. I myself have agonized over a detail without any direct evidence that anyone, anywhere, would ev…

There are many things around us with an attention to detail and care that are often taken for granted or overlooked. They aren't always necessarily expensive things, either, yet the thought and attention behind them is clear.

The original Macintosh was a pretty small team, and there were other tech companies with more resources than Apple at the time, but they still managed to produce some outstanding products at affordable prices.

I didn't feel the sentiment Ive was making in the piece was dismissive, but rather he was quietly proud that the company's vision has always been to create well thought-out and well-designed products that people can appreciate the effort behind.

Re: Apple Designer Jonathan Ive Talks About Steve Jobs and New Products

#20

Post by jgmjgm »

Jtsummers wrote: post #10
Zikes wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the MacBook charge cables that consistently break and need replaced on nearly a yearly basis.

I've seen many complaints about the charge cables, but never had an issue myself. Are there just some bad batches running around, or is it a particular model that's had issues?

I think it's just the design. Where the cables exit the brick they are prone to strain -- the connection wire comes straight out. When you put the connector away, no matter how you do this, there will be some strain on the cable at this point.

To some extent all power bricks will have some problems like this. I just think that the apple power supplies are particularly poorly designed. I've had a Dell and a macbook pro. The bog standard power supply on the Dell lasted 5+ years of daily use. The apple connector -- which I cared for more than the Dell -- lasted just over a year.

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