is apple losing their 'innovative' quality?

[BrianKonarsMac]

so the last few products from apple...while revolutionary in terms of the companies stand point on them (they are useless nobody wants them, when everyone in fact does) are complete and total duds/failures.

Mighty Mouse: HOLY ****! Apple is moving beyond the one button mouse and joining the sane computing community? Never! O wait, this product is a complete piece of ****. Give you a right click when you go for a left click 3/5 of the time, has no tactile feel, the scroll 'ball' doesn't move and keeps clicking when i try to scroll and scrolling when i try to click. The side 'buttons' don't squeeze and you have to actually lift the mouse to use them. Bullet in the head: not wireless.

Motorola Rokr: I heard there is an iTunes capable phone, but i've never seen it or seen anyone with one. What the hell is this piece of crap and how could you ruin a cell phone that was supposed to change everything? Fat, ugly, unintuitive, slow, and pathetically low memory. Apple should stop working with Motorola if they are just going to produce steaming piles of crap (but the G4 and it's bottlenecked frontside bus are the best thing since sliced bread!...).

iPod video: no fast forward, no rewind, quality BELOW divx, limited library which is grossly overpriced. playback is a joke, video controls non existent basically, disgustingly low resolution on both ipod and videos, terrible form factor for a video ipod (its just a regular ipod with a distorted screen).

apple: form is greater than function (and even this is becoming less true as hype becomes the selling point).

looking for others opinions on the topic, do you think apple is losing their touch? on top of the game? best company because your a blind goober? discuss.

 

[eva01]

yep front row and photobooth and a desktop with a built in camera are all non innovative.

and the iPod video ridiculously overpriced library, now thats a first seeing as i would pay over 5 dollars an episode for anime on an iPod video, and H264 is amazing quality.

I love how the iPod has been out for 1 day and people are complaining about the video, while i bet that in 6 months when more stations jump in people will reverse their ideas.

This thread would do just as much good if it said Nintendo wasn't innovative anymore (which is a joke)

 

[Peter Griffin]

so the last few products from apple...while revolutionary in terms of the companies stand point on them (they are useless nobody wants them, when everyone in fact does) are complete and total duds/failures.

Mighty Mouse: HOLY ****! Apple is moving beyond the one button mouse and joining the sane computing community? Never! O wait, this product is a complete piece of ****. Give you a right click when you go for a left click 3/5 of the time, has no tactile feel, the scroll 'ball' doesn't move and keeps clicking when i try to scroll and scrolling when i try to click. The side 'buttons' don't squeeze and you have to actually lift the mouse to use them. Bullet in the head: not wireless.

Motorola Rokr: I heard there is an iTunes capable phone, but i've never seen it or seen anyone with one. What the hell is this piece of crap and how could you ruin a cell phone that was supposed to change everything? Fat, ugly, unintuitive, slow, and pathetically low memory. Apple should stop working with Motorola if they are just going to produce steaming piles of crap (but the G4 and it's bottlenecked frontside bus are the best thing since sliced bread!...).

iPod video: no fast forward, no rewind, quality BELOW divx, limited library which is grossly overpriced. playback is a joke, video controls non existent basically, disgustingly low resolution on both ipod and videos, terrible form factor for a video ipod (its just a regular ipod with a distorted screen).

apple: form is greater than function (and even this is becoming less true as hype becomes the selling point).

looking for others opinions on the topic, do you think apple is losing their touch? on top of the game? best company because your a blind goober? discuss.

No, they're just milking the cash cow (iPod) for all it's worth because people will still continue to purchase no matter how miniscule the updates are. Apple is form over function in many respects but who can argue when you have the best UI/OS.

 

[EJBasile]

In some cases I agree.

The video iPod is cool, but not AMAZING

None of the product lines have changed greatly lately. The iMac's new camera built in is not innovative, cameras have been built into laptops for years.

But you cannot forget the iPod nano and the Mac Mini. Those are two incredible products.

I think you guys are just a little upset that apple has not done a major redesign of a product in a while except from the iPod.

 

[dan-o-mac]

1. Mighty Mouse is a 2 button mouse with a 1 button look and feel, is that not innovation? You might not like it but many users are satisfied with it. I've yet to use one myself so I can't pass judgement.

2. Rokr is a Motorola product.

3. I haven't heard anything about the iPod video not being able to rewind or fast forward, Is this a fact? Of course it's low resolution, you don't need high resolution for a 2.5" screen. As far as price I think $1.99 for a TV show is cheap. I don't buy music from iTunes, but if a few shows that I enjoy watching start selling on iTunes I would jump on it in a heartbeat, it saves me the trouble of downloading/recording/converting/compressing. One thing I think the should do is offer an option of 2 different quality resolutions, 1 for your iPod and 1 for your computer.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Truly ground-breaking and innovative products are extremely rare and may not even necessarily have a market to start with.

I'm glad that Apple are not the DeLorean of the computing world.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I've learned to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, especially w/Jobs at the helm. People griped when the first iPod came out. People griped iTMS and it's "small" catalog at launch. People griped about about the Mini. People griped about the shuffle. Major industry players scoffed at Apple and FCP. Many people panned both the original and the flat screen iMacs. Home movies have had a huge resurgence in the past few years because of MiniDV cameras and the increasing power of computers. How long have iMovie and iDVD been around?

Yeah, no company is perfect and not every product can be the greatest thing since sliced bread so if Apple missteps once in a while I've got no problems w/that considering the successes they typically have.


Lethal

 

[Don't panic]

not every product can be the greatest thing since sliced bread

I hate sliced bread.

 

[3rdpath]

i think apple is doing extremely well in developing products that grasp the coming convergence of computers and home entertainment.

i think any company that truly wishes to compete in this arena ( or any other) is going to have to release products that are part of the evolutionary process. The products won't be the apex of innovation because a company can't stay out of the market while refining their product, otherwise someone else will capture the initial marketshare....and also maybe the proprietary platforms of delivery.

 

[TheMonarch]

Mighty Mouse: HOLY ****! Apple is moving beyond the one button mouse and joining the sane computing community? Never! O wait, this product is a complete piece of ****. Give you a right click when you go for a left click 3/5 of the time, has no tactile feel, the scroll 'ball' doesn't move and keeps clicking when i try to scroll and scrolling when i try to click. The side 'buttons' don't squeeze and you have to actually lift the mouse to use them. Bullet in the head: not wireless.

Partly agreed. Its seems apple put more effort than its worth here. Just put the two damn buttons already. I do love the scroll sphere though. Awesome idea, I haven't seen this anywhere before, just a scroll wheel with "side tilting action" . What I really don't like about it is that It looks and feels cheaper than their previous mice. I'm not kidding, its really, really light (which I guess to some is a good thing) and its not translucent, just plain white... Dull. And of course, no wireless

Motorola Rokr: I heard there is an iTunes capable phone, but i've never seen it or seen anyone with one. What the hell is this piece of crap and how could you ruin a cell phone that was supposed to change everything? Fat, ugly, unintuitive, slow, and pathetically low memory. Apple should stop working with Motorola if they are just going to produce steaming piles of crap (but the G4 and it's bottlenecked frontside bus are the best thing since sliced bread!...).

Meh, I'm done with non-flip phones. Plus its fugly. Then again, I'm on a contract with Verizon (Fugly phones, awesome [albeit expensive] service.)

iPod video: no fast forward, no rewind, quality BELOW divx, limited library which is grossly overpriced. playback is a joke, video controls non existent basically, disgustingly low resolution on both ipod and videos, terrible form factor for a video ipod (its just a regular ipod with a distorted screen).

If true, I thank you for pointing that out. As I really, really wanted a video capable ipod, but not like this. I don't want the video capabilities to be half-assed just so they could be added to the specs list/marketing. I'm not going to lie, I still want it. But I'm not dying for now.

I'm a little unsatisfied with the new ipod dock and front row remote design-wise. I don't like the black plastic ruining the whole white look on both of them. The dock's black infared receiver could have been shaped like the apple logo or something. Instead it looks like a drilled hole. The front row remote could have used bluetooth.

My 2 cents.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

i suppose im just upset that they didn't do a better job with the opportunity. the video ipod could be so much more. the mighty mouse could be far better designed (not saying it doesn't look nice, i mean tactile-wise). the motorola rokr could have been far more than the monumental dud.

the imac is cool as a multimedia center (small display for real use but like they say...it'd make a nice dorm room cpu), its exclusivity to those two apps is disappointing (i'd like to use front row on my tv when i have people over), and the camera is more of a novelty since it's unadjustable...unless it can be adjusted via software controls. i'd prefer them just including the iSight as a bundle personally, although it wouldn't look as nice.

photobooth and frontrow are both nice apps...if you decide to buy a new imac. hopefully these become available to all mac users eventually, preferably those who would really take advantage of these multimedia features (those with a larger display than 17/20" or a high quality audio/video system). i'm sure this is just the first step in that process however.

a video ipod without video controls is just upsetting though. hopefully in a firmware update.

i really do think apple is delaying innovation, in order to 'milk the cash cow' as stated earlier, but these enhancements do lead to a promising future of apple products (media center, remote control, portable multimedia...the digital hub is slowly filling in...tv integration i can feel it!).

 

[dejo]

a video ipod without video controls is just upsetting though. hopefully in a firmware update.

Are you sure the new iPod has no video controls? Or is this this just a big pile of shhhh....peculation?

 

[dan-o-mac]

Are you sure the new iPod has no video controls? Or is this this just a big pile of shhhh....peculation?

from engadget: You can’t fast forward, but you can scroll back and forth on a progress bar—just as you do with music—to jump forward and back in the video.

 

[Phat_Pat]

Are you sure the new iPod has no video controls? Or is this this just a big pile of shhhh....peculation?

its a possibly false assumption

judging by this picture though i'm assuming that its treated just like how music is in terms of playback

rocker=moterolla... apple just did the iTunes

mighty mouse= good but not the best.... but its a step forward and the design is truly awesome (the sensor idea.... cool)

iPod Video.... nice, but its currently just a selling point

videos to pricey? = who says you need to buy them from iTunes How to make your own videos.

HandBrake => Quicktime file => convert to iPod formatt => DVD on iPod

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

Are you sure the new iPod has no video controls? Or is this this just a big pile of shhhh....peculation?

i have not played with one yet so i'm going off of what people who have been given test units are saying.

the quote from engadget below (above this) seems to contradict that sort of. it says there is no fast forward, but you can scroll along a progress bar...isn't that basically the same thing?

 

[LethalWolfe]

i have not played with one yet so i'm going off of what people who have been given test units are saying.

the quote from engadget below (above this) seems to contradict that sort of. it says there is no fast forward, but you can scroll along a progress bar...isn't that basically the same thing?

I guess the only downside is the scrolling might be more inconvenient than simply pushing "fast forward" if you want to go from the beginning to near the end of an hour long video.

But, saying there's no "fast forward" even though you can "scroll forward" is a bit misleading. It makes people think there is no way to navigate around the video.


Lethal

 

[PharmD]

HandBrake => Quicktime file => convert to iPod formatt => DVD on iPod

The man speaks the truth! I've been doing that with some simpsons eps I have. Anime works too but the subtitles are really tiny so you have to squint to read them.

 

[Xtremehkr]

I think Apple is doing a good job. The iPod itself may have been the latest truly innovative idea, to date, but if ideas like that came along all the time, they would be commonplace.

I think that the move to Intel will produce some results.

 

[Counterfit]

are complete and total duds/failures.

Tell that to Apple Marketing

iPod video: no fast forward, no rewind, quality BELOW divx, limited library which is grossly overpriced. playback is a joke, video controls non existent basically, disgustingly low resolution on both ipod and videos, terrible form factor for a video ipod (its just a regular ipod with a distorted screen).

From what I've seen with H.264 stuff, it looks so ridiculously better than DivX 5, it's not even funny. The videos are there for the iPod, and as such, there's really no need for there to be more than one level of quality, much like the songs.

looking for others opinions on the topic, do you think apple is losing their touch? on top of the game? best company because your a blind goober? discuss.

Generally, if you want someone's dissenting opinion, it's not a good idea to call them a blind goober.