Stale Apples

The Thrill is Gone - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

Let me preface today’s blog by saying that I’m an Apple fan – I’m offering some constructive criticism as a person who many would describe as a rabid Mac Head. You might ask what problem I have; there are a couple of areas of concern..

STALENESS

If you walk through the Apple Store today, you’ll be impressed by the clean, modern, minimalist store. You’ll like the birch wood display tables tempting you with all the newest offerings. If you haven’t hovered for too long around Planet Apple you might be downright excited by what you see. All the retina displays, the bright visuals and smooth lines will be mesmerizing to a newcomer. As a veteran Apple follower for decades, the spell is lost on me. I have to say that I find myself …rather bored. Yes, I think it’s a yawn-fest.

Let’s take a stroll down Apple Lane and maybe you’ll see what I mean ..

Mac OS X – This UNIX-based operating system was revolutionary when it came out in Spring 2001. It was remarkable at the time and highly imitated. There have been several iterations to improve on it, but the basic experience is the same as 2001. New and improved are not synonyms so I’m not suggesting meaningless changes. But the excitement wanes, as competitors offer things like a highly configurable Windows 8.1 display or a highly extendable Chrome/Android interface.

MacBook – Esthetically speaking, the 2006 MacBook was really an extension of the 2001 PowerBook G4. The metallic square offering of 2014 is virtually the same look as the 2001 PowerBook. If we came back in 10 years, I’m thinking we’d be greeted with another square, aluminum box. Of course, the insides are different across 13 years. But the look stays the same.

iMac -- This device has gone through several nice iterations but reached its current clean “all-in-one” style in 2007. In 7 years since, it’s barely changed at all – you’d be challenged to say what year model you were looking at. The insides have been modernized, the outside is 2007. Computers don’t have to visually fly like a car, and yet the thrill is gone if the same outside greets you all the time.

Is MacBook a 1963 Porsche 911?

The Porsche 911 has barely changed its look since 1963 – the car’s maker considers it perfection reached 50 years ago. Is MacBook a Porsche 911? To some enthusiasts the answer would be an emphatic yes. Why tamper with perfection? Porsche is a small, luxury niche in the car market – Ford, GM and Toyota would probably not want to swap places with the tiny footprint of Porsche. I think Apple may start to get the snobby crowd and little else. It’ll be the Porsche of computers. If you dare go downscale and venture to Best Buy, you’ll see the enticements of a $199 Chromebook or a Windows convertible tablet. Surprise! The computer isn’t finished either on the inside or the outside… Apple’s competitors have not (and never will) just twiddle their thumbs in boredom or acquiescence. There are new things to see.

RECENT MISSTEPS

iOS7 - As a middle aged man with poor eyesight, iOS7 is a challenge. It has a faint, small font and even the desktop icons are drawn with faint lines. There are some (inadequate) accessibility options that might mitigate some of this but – iOS7 is best used by a young person with 20/20 eyesight. Why would a whole OS be designed around such an exclusionary esthetic? I don’t know, but it was.

2013 Mac Pro – This newest device is purely bizarre. It looks like a bedroom humidifier and nothing at all like a computer. If you were going to make it look like an appliance, wouldn’t you choose something more attractive? Maybe a Michael Graves vacuum cleaner? I realize my earlier comment is that they haven’t changed enough and here I complain because they stuck their necks out and did something new. New and improved are not synonyms but they can (and should) be simultaneously in effect.

CONCLUSION

In a recent press announcement, Tim Cook announced some “amazing new products” coming down the Apple pike. I’m looking forward to whatever they have to offer. Let me visit the Apple Store and not feel like I’m in an Ambien-induced technology haze. Let’s be invigorating and shake things up a little bit.

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