UX, as a whole, IS NOT a personal taste. I'm not talking so much about silly looks, like flat-design, though that can have an impact on UX. Apple spent much of their early years doing study after study on UX, and implementing that into the Mac OX (and producing guidelines for software devs). Now, Apple is one of the most prolific breakers of what they learned early on.
And, then careless, purposeful, buggy software and services don't make the above any better. I've got a whole folder full of poor UI choices and problems Apple has introduced over the last several years. If I ever get time, I'm going to start a series of blog posts on them.
For example, try changing the email address of an Apple ID sometime. Or, consider Spotlight from several years back to where it is now. Or, look at the UI and feature mis-match between the same app on iOS/macOS. Or, in going 'flat' the move from the use of color and meaningful icons/metaphors to nondescript icons and lack of color (which greatly slows recognition). Or, while I don't agree on everything, this article points out a number of good points and principals Apple is now breaking:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/16/9743996/apple-designer-interview-bruce-tog-tognazzini-don-norman
Quite possibly. And, for some fairly good percentage of people, it's quite possible they might switch to iPhone, iPad, etc. Still, I've met few of them who only use these devices, at least in North America. And, even those who personally do, often use a desktop/laptop at work (i.e.: they can get by in their personal lives watching Netflix, listening to some music, and maybe a bit of browsing, etc.).
Also, next big thing doesn't mean the end of the previous. The truck analogy is a good example there. And, there's the problem. Tim sees big pie slice, and determines to shift all effort to said big pie slice. That's dumb... it's an eco-system.
Yea, that thought was going through the back of my mind as I watched it. I'm guessing Job's 'off the top of head' stat there, was pretty far off... unless you live in SF & Bay area.
Well said, especially that last phrase. Wall Street is fundamentally at opposition with innovation and long-term well-being. One of the brilliant things about Jobs, was his ability to play them like a fiddle (and in so doing, be able to do things with Apple that a typical tech company can't get away with). Tim, on the other hand, seems to be doing just what they like... and that works great, until it doesn't.
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I'm not looking for that. Apple didn't even do that. That's why when Steve died, and Tim took over, I figured enough of Steve's ideals were baked into Apple. I was writing against this idea that Apple would be in trouble w/o Steve. Then, Apple started shifting away from core principals. And, trying too hard to 'innovate' and screwing up. And, making fools of themselves trying to market it.
I don't need rapid innovation, so much as stability and lack of rapid deterioration.
The Verge article has some good points, many of which I agree with. However, i don't find any of them as devastatingly destructive as they do. Certainly nothing that would cause me to consider using another OS.
I don't think PCs will disappear overnight. But, again, there's an unmistakable downtrend in the industry and mobile is the future. That being said, I do believe there will always be a place for full fledged desktop systems albeit smaller needs. It was great to see that in contrast to the rest of the industry, Mac sales returned to growth in the latest quarter.
Part of me really did like how Steve never catered to Wall Street and didn't give dividends. I would have loved to see Apple with $1T in cash. But that's unrealistic and Tim did what was right in starting to issue dividends. It's good that he did so without reducing liquidity. There's nothing Tim can do about multiples and stock price. That will take care of itself and we've been seeing a bit of a correction in recent weeks. This is a good thing and it helps attract talent since many are compensated with stock options.
I continue to believe that Steve's core values remain at Apple. I don't know which products have made them look foolish. But I am glad they never made a car.
Stability is also what I was hoping for after Steve's passing and I feel like we have that. Apple's not going anywhere any time soon. I don't see any rapid deterioration.
