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The fact that yours is perfect is completely irrelevant. Have you not read the posts about the phones being damaged before use or how easily the coating is compromised? You may not have a bad back, can you comprehend others might?

The coating on the nano was much much more durable than the iPhone 5. The aluminum was much more dense also. I don't recall Nano's being damaged in the box either.

If an iPhone is being damaged in the box, the box will be damaged. What's happening is that a small number of units were damaged during assembly, and weren't noticed during the QC processes (which typically, and realistically, involve spot-checks rather than full visual inspections of each unit).

As well as the Nanos sold, they weren't produced in numbers so large (or quickly) as the iPhones are during the short pre-launch period. When you have to prep 5 million of something in a few months, there are, inevitably, going to be some failures in the QC process. It happens with *every* device ever made, including those which are much more expensive than a phone.

I still remember back with the release of the iPhone 4, when people complained loudly and constantly about how easily the glass scratched. Then came the videos of people showing off their damaged phones. Then came the videos of people trying (and failing) to replicate the damage in a manner consistent with the way people described their phones being damaged. (Scratching it with keys, etc.)

Now, just over two years later, we're back at the beginning of that cycle, and everyone is complaining about how easily scratched the aluminum is, even though there were no such complaints for the Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iPad. Or, as you pointed out, the iPod Nano. All of those have anodized aluminum shells (though in the majority of those cases the anodizing process isn't being used to add a color).

Face it, the iPhone 5 is significantly more scratch resistant than the vast majority of smart phones on the market, with their plastic shells. If they *hadn't* anodized the aluminum shell, it would actually be *SOFTER*, and more prone to scratches and dings.

Note: Personally, I'd prefer a black iPhone with an uncolored (silver) aluminum shell, but that's a purely visual preference and not due of any potential scratching issues.
 
It's interesting to read an Adobe executive's viewpoint on the OS X transition story, as this story was also in the Jobs bio, but from Steve's viewpoint. The Adobe guy makes it sound like Jobs was just being unreasonable for asking Adobe to move their products to OS X quickly, and tries to sugarcoat how it turned out. But Adobe refusing to do this for a long time, after the Macintosh put Adobe on the map, was basically a knife in the back as far as Jobs was concerned. It was personal (even though Jobs was very quick to knife his own friends). So much so that this is a major reason why he wanted to destroy Flash years later. It's clear that this Adobe guy still doesn't get it, or doesn't want to admit how completely they screwed up.

p.s. -- it's amazing how many grammatical errors are in that Forbes article. I mean this is Forbes, not some blog. Do they really have no editors? And how can a professional writer be that bad at spelling? I feel embarrassed for her and the company.
 
Sounds like Steve would have never approved of the new iPhone 5 casings.
Then how did the original ipods with their mirror finish backs get approved and then used for years? They scratched very easily.
 
They didn't lie, they simply distorted reality. It's called "business".

You clean your house before people come over and act like that's how you always live, right?

Thats not cleaning your house before a visitor comes. That is trying to deceive an investor into thinking you have no money so they will pump in more money. In the business word, SEC, that could get you fined or in a bunch of trouble. I mean come on Enron was just "cleaning house" before company came over right? MCI? Countrywide? Adelphia?
 
Funny how people think. H. Ross Perot once had a coral reef blown up in order to make anchorage for one of his yachts, so I don't think he would be put off by a couple of Porsches.

H. Ross Perot is notorious for this. When I was at E.D.S. I heard anecdotes that he chose not to invest in The Home Depot because the owners had Cadillacs. This is also documented in the book "Built from Scratch".
 
So exacly what grade of aluminum is being used in the iPhone 5?



Honestly it doesn't appear you know Steve , or how Apple operates that well either. Take a look at releases since 1997 (hardware and Software). Frankly Apple had many misses, often due to Design decisions.

7075 would be a good choice.
 
Usually when there's a public figure that some love and some hate each side fixates on different stories that either make the person look their best or their worst.

What I love most about Steve Jobs is that for both sides they're usually the same stories.

Truly the mark of a man who lived life on his own terms without giving one single rat's ass about what others thought.


Yeah, didn't give a "rat's ass" about what others thought. Especially Ross Perot...

----------

7075 would be a good choice.

I'm pretty sure it's a phone, not an airplane, that we're building here.
 
The first story is more proof that Steve had some serious psychological issues, a very strong case of OCD. It might have helped him in some cases but I'm sure it must have been somewhat problematic. Poor fella.

I think it was brilliant, particularly making the design team come in and scrub the floors. Make them deal with the results of their design choices.
Harsh but effective.
 
Thats not cleaning your house before a visitor comes. That is trying to deceive an investor into thinking you have no money so they will pump in more money. In the business word, SEC, that could get you fined or in a bunch of trouble. I mean come on Enron was just "cleaning house" before company came over right? MCI? Countrywide? Adelphia?

Hardly deception.
Perot was notorious for making snap decisions about people based on superficial criteria. This was completely sensible on Jobs' part.
 
Thats not cleaning your house before a visitor comes. That is trying to deceive an investor into thinking you have no money so they will pump in more money. In the business word, SEC, that could get you fined or in a bunch of trouble. I mean come on Enron was just "cleaning house" before company came over right? MCI? Countrywide? Adelphia?

It's not _illegal_ to park your cars where you want, to wear inexpensive watch, to suggest a cheap restaurant during a [potential] investor visit. They've done all the due diligence in advance, and unless you've cooked the books, they know exactly what they need to in terms of the financials.

This is more about subjective impressions of how you might choose to spend your money, which might reflect your business perspective (and by association, how you might use an investors money).

A new Porsche (or other pricey/showy vehicle) might suggest certain psychological traits that aren't in line with the investor.
...and just to back up my post, these two insightful contributions :)

H. Ross Perot is notorious for this. When I was at E.D.S. I heard anecdotes that he chose not to invest in The Home Depot because the owners had Cadillacs. This is also documented in the book "Built from Scratch".

Hardly deception.
Perot was notorious for making snap decisions about people based on superficial criteria. This was completely sensible on Jobs' part.
 
Controversy? really?

"iPhone 5 Scuffing & scratching controversy". This is hilarious. Not a lot of science in that headline. Aluminum is a "3" at best on Mohs scale of hardness. People seem to confuse the anodized aluminum of the iPhone with Aluminum Oxide, a "9" on the scale. While anodized aluminium surfaces are harder than aluminium they are still considered to have low to moderate wear resistance. The iPhone and its aluminum body has never been marketed as resistant to scratches. And the scratches in no way affect its operation. Aluminum in the iPhone, as with aircraft and other structures, provides structural strength and rigidity while saving greatly in weight (a characteristic Apple does market). Learn some science for those who are shocked that a metal with a hardness of 3 can be scratched by a car key with a harness of 6 or higher. Maybe there should also be a controversy about its not being waterproof either, even though Apple does not make that claim either.
 
Thats one thing Jobs did very well.

He understood that things had to perform and appear right in the real world. the Floor tile example just emphasizes that. (as many pointed out and I do agre, he wasn't perfect either, didnt meant o imply I thought he was)

(this is something i would like to emphasize in my post, not glowing love for the corpse of Jobs)
Sometimes what looks the best, isn't always the right choice for the real world for other reasons.

I think this current 'scuffgate' is an example of that. Yes, the black ionodized aluminium looks amazing, But if it's inable to cope with everyday "scuffing and dings" well, it's clearly not the best choice. Choosing something purely for looks over function was something even Jobs didnt do. it was an all together package.

Something that I'm not sure the current top brass seem to understand just yet.

So let's see - the iPhone 4/4S wouldn't scratch but would crack pretty easily. The iPhone 5 is practically unbreakable in the real world but can scratch the paint. Does this sound like they chose looks over functionality to you? It's the complete opposite.
 
Thats not cleaning your house before a visitor comes. That is trying to deceive an investor into thinking you have no money so they will pump in more money. In the business word, SEC, that could get you fined or in a bunch of trouble. I mean come on Enron was just "cleaning house" before company came over right? MCI? Countrywide? Adelphia?

MNN... you're really reaching here...

You used to make high- (okay... medium-) quality comments on MR. What happened?
 
Wouldn't that chip and peel eventually?

Yes and it wouldn't slip into your pocket at all. Any finish over time will show scratches, but it should be of a material that can hold up for more than a few months as well as longer than making it out of the factory.

My vote is a higher grade of aluminum, powder coated.
 
exactly what does the author prove to accomplish by perpetuating the "*blank*gate" stupidity?

how bout we stop that nonsense.

Amen. I thought I was the only one who was 'irrationally' annoyed by adding the "gate" suffix to every insignificant Apple blunder.
 
I can't believe the beta phones were not inspected for scuffs and worn off anodizing. A huge miss by engineers.
I'm sure they were, considering that normal use won't scuff or wear off the coating.
 
The more interesting story was the day Steve has his Porsche towed before he announced to the NeXT Hardware Team that we were stopping Black Hardware. There were a few irrational minds who went looking for his Porsche only to find an empty parking spot.
 
I'm confused; I thought all Apple Stores have used floors made from the same expensive stone coming from a single Italian supplier (as mentioned in Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs). So what was different about this floor that it scuffed so much?

The floor was an odd concrete mixed with a glass type material and appeared very white, smooth, and slightly glassy when clean, but of course picked up crazy amounts of scuffing from shoes and dirt/etc.
It also was incredibly hard for the flooring guys to make completely level, so there was some slight warping. This was only noticeable because it reflected light so well.

So, to recap it was:
1) Easy to scuff and get dirty, and very hard to clean or keep cleaned
2) Slightly warped and irregular and had to be re-poured many times during construction.
3) Very hard surface -- concrete, so it hurt your feet when you were standing all day on it.

The design of the store at the time had very white floors and ceilings, and very smooth metallic walls, and wood furnishings. It looked nice, but was definitely a pain to keep clean.
 
Thats not cleaning your house before a visitor comes. That is trying to deceive an investor into thinking you have no money so they will pump in more money. In the business word, SEC, that could get you fined or in a bunch of trouble. I mean come on Enron was just "cleaning house" before company came over right? MCI? Countrywide? Adelphia?

Just because he has a Porche doesn't mean the company is making billions and doesn't need investment. He was simply trying to avoid a situation where the investor misconstrued their need for investment due to a luxury car in the parking lot.

Comparing Jobs asking a co-worker to move his car to avoid an image discrepancy is a far cry from the injustices committed by the other companies you've mentioned.

Seriously, people need to lighten up.
 
The floor was an odd concrete mixed with a glass type material and appeared very white, smooth, and slightly glassy when clean, but of course picked up crazy amounts of scuffing from shoes and dirt/etc.
It also was incredibly hard for the flooring guys to make completely level, so there was some slight warping. This was only noticeable because it reflected light so well.

So, to recap it was:
1) Easy to scuff and get dirty, and very hard to clean or keep cleaned
2) Slightly warped and irregular and had to be re-poured many times during construction.
3) Very hard surface -- concrete, so it hurt your feet when you were standing all day on it.

The design of the store at the time had very white floors and ceilings, and very smooth metallic walls, and wood furnishings. It looked nice, but was definitely a pain to keep clean.
Great info. I hadn't realized that the Apple Stores didn't always have the current stone floors they do now.
 
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