uh huh. nice logic come-back...i present reasons why apple's design for this product makes certain decisions based on the primary attributes and job of the device, in effect form following its function, and you basically say "WHY U MAD, BRO!"
riiight. let me know when you have a good counter-argument that supports the assertion made that apple is not designing w/ a form-follows-function mindset on the ipod touch. all ears.
Well, you did move the goal post by starting out with yapping about the iPod touch. He talked about Apple's "recent emphasis on form over function" which is a broader discussion about more than one product. This is about Apple's anorexia in general and the iMac in particular, since it's an iMac/Mac Mini thread.
The first Intel iMacs used laptop CPUs because Apple didn't manage to fit desktop grade processors in what's supposedly a desktop computer. They have since managed, but the iMac is still crippled in many ways and gets is butt utterly destroyed by any 3 year old Mac Pro in terms of performance. Performance is the whole point of a desktop computer -- it's tethered to a desk but makes up for it by doing stuff that a laptop can't muster, and it's (usually) easy to expand and upgrade.
If you make a desktop computer with laptop components you get the worst of both worlds -- the performance of a laptop on a non-mobile computer.
Yes, a case can be made for the functional advantages of a slick all-in-one that's barely thicker than a monitor. But to make it even thinner? I'd like to see anyone have a go at explaining how this is function over form in the iMac's case. Is the current one too fat for those new oh-so-popular IKEA desks that are 3 inches deep? Oh, wait, those don't exist. Making the iMac thinner than it already is requires yet more compromises in terms of cooling, performance, expandability, repairability... and for what? For making the crowd go 'ooooh'. That's all it does. You could accomplish the same by throwing those monkeys some bananas.
Then there's the Magic Mouse. A mouse that's flat like a stingray isn't function over form. Many people including myself find the Magic Mouse awkward to hold and some even get hand pain. It was just made that way to look stylish. Jony Ive wiped his butt with Ergonomics 101 and that was that.
Running a wireless desktop mouse on AA batteries is straight out of the 1990's, most mouse manufacturers moved on to rechargeable desktop mice ages ago. It requires a connector on the mouse (Logitech uses micro-USB) and the mere thought of such, er, revolting and vile "clutter" would have Jony ive bawling his eyes out and threatening to kill himself. His wet dream is probably a Magic Mouse 2 that's disposable, with two superglued alkaline AA batteries inside and no battery door. You have to throw the whole thing away when it runs out of juice. But the bottom which you never see would be perfectly flush... and I'm sure Ive would have something poetic and tearful to say about that in one of those white background videos.
Now, when Phil Schiller was asked why iPhones don't have wireless recharging, he rejected the idea because "Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated”. He went on to note that "the widely-adopted USB cord, meanwhile, can charge in wall outlets, computers and even on airplanes, he said".
Well, hate to break it to ya Phil, but the Apple battery charger for keyboards/trackpads/mice is precisely that -- another device that you have to plug into the wall, and you have to open the devices and remove the batteries first. Meanwhile, the widely-adopted USB cord that Logitech uses for recharging mice like the Performance MX, lets you plug it into a computer. All you need is that cord, and the mouse works while it's charging.
