I believe it was Jobs who pushed for a perfect circle for that mouse.
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'After Steve' Examines the Tensions That Led to Jony Ive's Departure From Apple
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Record sales. Record Mac sales. New MacBook Pros, Mac Studio and Mac Studio Display backordered for months. Hugely positive reviews for Mac Studio and new MacBooks.
Just accept they aren't for you. You can sit around and wait for someone someday to report their Mac Studio cooling was inadequate. It will be a very long wait buddy.
The difference is that the 14" MacBook Pro has all the same SOC configurations as the 16". There is no longer a need to buy the largest MacBook Pro to get the "best" performance (yes, the 16" Max has the "high power mode" but that makes a difference only at the fringe). So even though it is 0.5 lbs. heavier than the 13" model it replaced, it is still smaller than the "most powerful MacBook Pro" that preceded it.
I think that is just his role. Literal Industrial Designer. It is comparable to a Music performer. The first album is amazing as it usually has nothing to do with marketing nonsense. The ones following never quite hit as hard minus and extremely small outlier.
I hated the puck mouse, but worked at an Apple specialty store throughout the late 90's and early 00's, so had to deal with it throughout its existence. What I found worked best with that mouse was to curl your fingers so that your thumb and fingertips were the only things touching it. This allows the fingers to feel the small notch on the mouse button to determine where to rest your index finger.
Who cares?
I use Mac Pro for work, do you think I might be interested in anything about the Mac mini?
They don’t even consider those business.
Sales record? Junk.
Thousands of junk lawsuits crumbling in the hands of shoppers, just to get us running Windows, more ****.
But on the other hand, who exalts Intel junk and insults Ive what is it but a Wintel fanboy? That’s the point. And that’s what Apple is, happy with shareholders, happy with you, happy with everyone.
I'm happy too when I see the authorities sanctioning Apple, he deserves it to the end. Everyone is as happy as you can see,buddy. ??
You can have beautiful design language while maintaining function. Ive's needed Jobs to balance that, and Cook needs someone to teach him what decent design it. The Mac Studio raves are a head scratcher to me. It's basically a taller Mac Mini with extra ports in design (aesthetically speaking). Apple has been recycling Ive's designs over and over while other companies are innovating design and form factors.
I think Ive's time was over, but Apple shouldn't lose sight of the fact it was iconic and sleek design that saved their asses. They really have lost their touch. Trash cans and cheese graters aside.
I think Ive's time was over, but Apple shouldn't lose sight of the fact it was iconic and sleek design that saved their asses. They really have lost their touch. Trash cans and cheese graters aside.
The same cpu/gpu compartment with fewer pixels to manage means it’s even better. The problem occurs when you have to dispose of the heat at full load and when you have to manage the battery at full load. It’s physical.
For the rest, a Mac without infamy and without praise, a form that takes up PowerBook stylistic features, old inputs.
YES.
Because in the GLORIOUS "old" apple days we had the titanium macbooks that disintegrated, or the 100°+ oven dongle machine that the previous macbook pro gen was.
The only thing I really miss of the old days is the stability of macOS.
It really "just worked".
Because in the GLORIOUS "old" apple days we had the titanium macbooks that disintegrated, or the 100°+ oven dongle machine that the previous macbook pro gen was.
The only thing I really miss of the old days is the stability of macOS.
It really "just worked".
What I miss most about Ive is his videos. He made the new products seem majestic. Objectively, his narration was laughably pretentious, but by suspending my disbelief and cynicism, he made me feel I was living in the future I hoped for in my youth. It's rare to get that feeling - a drone flying on Mars, a rocket stage falling to earth then landing. Overall, though, I feel Ive's designs don't age well. I can't bear to look at most of my old Apple products - except my 2012 MacBook Pro, which still looks fresher than my retro-cute 2021 16". Ive had a great run, though. That's undeniable.
I’d be curious to know more about why Angela Ahrendts left, considering how much Apple paid to lure her from Burberry. There was no obvious public tension between her and Tim Cook (he brought her in). Perhaps when the Watch pivoted from fashion-first to fitness-first, her Burberry connections were less valuable. Maybe she had CEO aspirations and realized that Tim Cook wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Considering he was there for 20 years, he saw quite a bit of change. When you have a close relationship with one CEO, when a new CEO comes along, things are bound to be different regardless of everyone’s intentions. He lasted a lot longer than Scott Forstall and left on amicable terms. Clearly Tim Cook tried to make it work, creating the Chief Design Officer role specifically for him, but by 2019 it was time to move on.
Apple seems to be re-establishing the delineation between consumer and pro Macs. The Mac Studio is clearly a “pro” device, and while it is not the most stylish PC on the market, it has a perfectly acceptable design. With the new MacBook Pros and the Mac Studio, Apple has made it clear that thermals will not be an issue in their pro Macs, and that they will directly support at least some older ports.
Let’s see what the new MacBook Air looks like before we pass judgment on Apple’s design philosophy. The Studio Display looks like something Jony Ive designed (particularly the height-adjustable model). Perhaps his organization was involved. As for innovative design and form factors, Apple has usually been a “smart follower” rather than a pioneer.
The TiBooks had problems with paint scratching and had flimsy keyboards that followed from the Pismo G3s. The Aluminum PowerBooks that followed the TiBooks though were really solid, and had excellent keyboards (better than the keyboards offered on today's Macbooks, IMHO).
You know there is this tiny little thing called a "Global Supply Chain Disruption" right?
It is much better than previous definitely, I never recommended the 13-inch machines over the 16-inch to anyone - however it's not quite the same. The M1 Max GPU is clocked lower on the 14-inch and in some cases it can be 25% slower. CPU tasks are identical however.
Of course they do and manufacturers still sell microUSB. To the people who don't care about tech and mindlessly buy random widgets online, that may be fine, but most of us are tech enthusiasts. I refuse to buy anything that still requires microUSB. For USB A gadgets, a dongle is fine. We've had to contend with MacBooks with USB-C only for 5+ years now. What does a sudden reversal actually do?
Jobs needed Ive and Ive needed Jobs. As a creative myself, I can feel Ive’s difficulty to suddenly have responsibility over lots of people. This just kills a creative mind - it is impossible to balance. Jobs on the other hand was made for pushing people. He was not the creative mind but knew one when it came along. And Ive got room to be creative and a very honest reviewer in Jobs.
The setup after Steve’s death was certainly wrong and Ive leaving a sad consequence.
But to all those who say “thank God” - be honest and realize that design at Apple has become stale. It is absolutely great to see a focus on functionality again, but everything design wise is a continuation or reiteration of the metal “design phase”. Maybe it is perfection found … but it is far from the sparkling design time between 1997 and 2010, where we went from translucent colorful plastic, to white plastic and brushed metal, to unibody and glass, the many takes on iMac shapes, the fast evolution of the iPod etc etc.
Tim and Co can be happy that Steve and Johnny arrived at such an elegant and simple design language before Cook took over.
I still don’t care what terrible, or wrong decisions Ive took or pushed for while overloaded. I am grateful for what he achieved before.
And there probably is some very important learning points to take away from that unfortunate setup after Steve’s demise. And it will not only apply to Apple but lots of companies. Use people for what they are good at. Not everyone needs promotion - but those who deserve it should have proper recognition.
The setup after Steve’s death was certainly wrong and Ive leaving a sad consequence.
But to all those who say “thank God” - be honest and realize that design at Apple has become stale. It is absolutely great to see a focus on functionality again, but everything design wise is a continuation or reiteration of the metal “design phase”. Maybe it is perfection found … but it is far from the sparkling design time between 1997 and 2010, where we went from translucent colorful plastic, to white plastic and brushed metal, to unibody and glass, the many takes on iMac shapes, the fast evolution of the iPod etc etc.
Tim and Co can be happy that Steve and Johnny arrived at such an elegant and simple design language before Cook took over.
I still don’t care what terrible, or wrong decisions Ive took or pushed for while overloaded. I am grateful for what he achieved before.
And there probably is some very important learning points to take away from that unfortunate setup after Steve’s demise. And it will not only apply to Apple but lots of companies. Use people for what they are good at. Not everyone needs promotion - but those who deserve it should have proper recognition.
Can't say that I stumbled upon this when using these horrible mice in an animation course in community college. It sounds clumsy and uncomfortable, though. Also, it's not knowing where the button is that was the issue. The issue was the direction the mouse is oriented. If I can feel the mouse is rotated, I can operate it without looking at it. The pointer goes where I need it to. The round puck mouse... did not allow for this.
Back then, when this mouse was released new, and I was forced to use them in a computer lab... I had not yet turned virulently hateful of Microsoft. These mice on the Macs... they made me hate working with Macs at the time. I included this issue when I filed for refund for the terrible animation class they offered at the time (GIF animations as the "high tech" for animation tools, and other issues). The guy who replaced the awful instructor of that class changed it to Lightwave. We still had the same computers, though.
No doubt. Steve was good for Apple, as a business, and good for us in a lot of things he did to the computer industry... but he was also wrong at times, and not exactly the kind of person I would ever want to have worked for or socialized with, especially in his earlier years.
Sounds like it's gonna be spicy ?
Tripp Mickle, a technology reporter who recently moved from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times, is releasing a new book on Apple this week, entitled "After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul," and an adapted excerpt of the book was shared today that provides a look at the tensions between Tim Cook and Jony Ive that ultimately led to Ive's departure.
The main anecdotes in the piece focus on the Apple Watch, which Ive wanted to be a fashionable accessory launched with all of the glitz of a runway show complete with a $25 million white tent. Apple's marketing team questioned the expense and the emphasis on fashion, preferring a more traditional introduction focused on the Apple Watch's capabilities.
While Cook ultimately sided with Ive on the fashion-oriented introduction, sources interviewed for the book suggest it was the beginning of the end for Ive's time at Apple.As the Apple Watch was pivoted to become a fitness-oriented device with broad retail distribution, Ive reportedly began to chafe at the "rise of operational leaders" within the company and an increasing emphasis on services rather than hardware, and ultimately he transitioned out of Apple to found his own design firm, Lovefrom.
The piece goes into more detail on Ive's early days at Apple, his relationship with Steve Jobs, and additional anecdotes on Ive's evolution following Jobs' death.Cook and Ive ultimately agreed on a new Chief Design Officer role for Ive that would see him turn over daily management of the design group and shift to a part-time role laser-focused on product development.
Ive's participation and presence waned with his new role, with Ive reportedly often going weeks without weighing in on work going on in the team. The report includes an anecdote from the iPhone X development process when Ive called an important product review meeting that he ended up being nearly three hours late for and ultimately concluded without making any final decisions.
In Ive's absence, Apple continued to pivot more toward services while Cook's eye for operational efficiency evolved the company even further. With Apple Park essentially finished in mid-2019, Ive decided it was time to move on.A review of After Steve by The New York Times praises it for Mickle's thorough efforts to interview over 200 former and current employees and advisors. It takes issue, however, with Mickle's epilogue that places blame on Cook for being "aloof and unknowable, a bad partner for Ive" and largely responsible for Apple's failure to launch another product on the scale of the iPhone. The review argues that the iPhone was a singular opportunity as evidenced by the fact that the Jobs–Ive partnership never yielded anything else on that scale, either before or after.
"After Steve" debuts this Tuesday, May 3 in the U.S. and is available from Amazon and other retailers.
Article Link: 'After Steve' Examines the Tensions That Led to Jony Ive's Departure From Apple
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