tdeffen

More Apple Punditry

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:43:45 -0500

I wrote this e-mail back in the middle of April 2010 to John Gruber of Daring Fireball after pondering the situation with iPods for a bit. The subject was titled “The War on Bloat”, which in retrospect is really stupid. But I believe the gist of the message is right, and on Wednesday we’ll have a very interesting new iPod lineup.

I wanted to have a conversation about the future of traditional iPods. I know the Mac has been put on the back burner in favor of iPhone OS, but I’m curious about what happens to Apple’s third leg of the stool. (And please forgive me if this sounds like a Gizmodian rant; it would be my greatest shame.)

Recently you linked to a 2003 NYT story in your post about iPads being used as an e-reader for blind people, (http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/04/12/ipad-ereader-blind) called “Guts of the Machine”. The author interviewed Jony Ive, in which he recalled that Steve Jobs was “very focused and not trying to do too much with the device” during development. The whole article is about Apple not just slapping components together, but stripping away features down to a well-designed, straightforward, ultra-useable object. In fact, this could be said about every product they work on: getting rid of unnecessary elements and features (bloat) and instead focusing on doing a few things very well.
Recall the first model of the iPod, the default main menus contained:

Playlists
Artists
Songs
Contacts
Settings

The lack of photos and videos makes sense since the device had a low-resolution monochrome screen, but with three of the five menu options pertaining to music, it is clear what purpose this thing was meant to serve.
When I went to the Apple store to pick up an iPad, I played around with some of the iPods. Now on the iPod nano default menu, there is:

Music
Videos
Photos
Podcasts
Radio
Video Camera
Extras
Settings
Shuffle Songs

And extending to the bottom of the screen, an album art showcase. It’s a very good example of the feature-creep that affects many multi-generational devices.
Of course one could say that with a nice screen, displaying pictures and videos are now necessary features, and thus not bloat. To me this seems to devalue the primary purpose of the device (for me, at least): to play audio. iPods are most associated with music, after all. One could also say that if I wanted to return to the simplicity of the early iPods, I could simply remove those features from the main menu. These are quibbles, I know, but the iPod no longer has the minimalistic, almost zen-like attitude it used to embody.*
My whole reason for this email is to set up the question: Do you think, with Apple’s focus on simplicity, ease-of-use, and excellent user experience, that Apple will discontinue Click Wheel iPods in favor of iPhone OS devices? If not that, do you think we will see a smaller, streamlined version of the iPhone OS, perhaps without third-party apps, that is meant primarily for the consumption of music, photos, and videos? Or do you think none of this is even a problem, and Apple will continue producing Click Wheel-based iPods, priced below the iPod touches? Or with all the recent iPad/iPhone OS excitement, have you thought about where the iPod is headed?

*With any of the iPhone OS devices, I don’t get the feeling of complexity and bloat, even though it is more of a general purpose computer device. Maybe that’s because almost every function is grouped together and hidden away.

I think Apple is going to merge the iPod nano and shuffle into a single device, with a small touchscreen, and whose sole purpose is the playback of music. And hey, look at this article which supports what I’m saying based on other evidence!
I can’t wait for Wednesday because I’ve needed a new iPod for a while.

schnauzers: Aww he/she is a fresh one! (via...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:02:43 -0500

schnauzers:

Aww he/she is a fresh one!

(via fuckyeahadorablepuppies)

Okay, you win, puppy. You are the cutest thing in the universe.

(via topherchris) WOOF

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:26:44 -0500

(via topherchris)

WOOF

The person you once planned your future with now only...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:40:15 -0500

The person you once planned your future with now only communicates with you about utility bills.

dvvg: (via extrememakeunder)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:04:55 -0500

dvvg:

(via extrememakeunder)

laughingsquid: Expendable, A Tribute To Star Trek’s Red...

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:44:29 -0500

laughingsquid:

Expendable, A Tribute To Star Trek’s Red Shirts

I would totally buy a print of this.

schnauzers: “Hi! What’s going on? Sure you don’t want to...

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:20:07 -0500

schnauzers:

“Hi! What’s going on? Sure you don’t want to play?”

(via ellapong)

(via topherchris)

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:11:25 -0500

(via topherchris)

laughingsquid: How To Make A Daft Punk Helmet In 17 Months

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:56:45 -0500

laughingsquid:

How To Make A Daft Punk Helmet In 17 Months

marco: Dan Savage’s thoughts on the moral outrage about...

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:01:01 -0500

marco:

Dan Savage’s thoughts on the moral outrage about ‘sexting’ (via inky, mappeal)

Fair warning: This contains a lot of profanity. If that offends you or if you are in an environment where that could get you in trouble, keep scrolling.

It’s a generational paranoia because young people are doing something that old people didn’t, because they couldn’t, and now can’t, because no one wants to see them naked.

He makes some very good points about what each generation considers acceptable and how the outrage over “sexting” is itself so often rooted in sexism and the control and perceived ownership of women.

jimray: Remember this HILARIOUS jab from Jim DeMint back in...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:05:19 -0500

jimray:

Remember this HILARIOUS jab from Jim DeMint back in January? He and a bunch of other conservatives were beside themselves over who could crow loudest about the freak snowstorm that was blanketing DC while Congress was trying to pass climate change legislation. Funny thing, while the Republican party was busy ignoring science, it turns out the first six months of 2010 are the warmest on record ever. I’m sure Senator DeMint will be putting his stand up routine on hold any minute now to offer an apology to Mr. Gore.

ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:23:36 -0500

ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police:

marco:

To summarize:

A photographer took these photos of a BP oil refinery while standing on the grass median of a public road. (With very few exceptions, it’s perfectly legal to take pictures of anything visible from a public place, even if the subject is privately owned.)

BP’s security noticed, called the city police, and followed him by car to a gas station.

The police forcefully detained, harassed, and threatened him for more than 20 minutes for something that is not a crime and that they did not witness.

The police disclosed all of his personal information, including his Social Security number, to a BP security guard.

The police effectively forced him to reveal the photos he had taken and continued to detain, harass, and threaten him even after an officer had evaluated them and decided that they were not a threat to Homeland “Security”.

He was further detained, harassed, and threatened by a Homeland Security agent who arrived at the scene and forced him to reveal the publication he was working for.

There’s a good chance that a crime was committed there, but not by the photographer.

Is there any doubt who’s running our country?

venomous porridge: What if Apple made an iPad with the same pixel density as the iPhone 4?

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:31:47 -0500

venomous porridge: What if Apple made an iPad with the same pixel density as the iPhone 4?:

I’ve had my iPhone 4 for two weeks now, and I’m still not used to the Retina Display. It’s so much sharper and clearer than any display I’ve ever used that just reading text on it is an amazing experience. The difference is so striking that I almost can’t stand to use my iPad anymore: what the…

I guess I’ll have to get used to blurriness for a few years.

winandtonic: Some guy, as Ian McKellen. Reciting Duck...

Fri, 14 May 2010 10:16:15 -0500

winandtonic:

Some guy, as Ian McKellen.

Reciting Duck Tales.

Pretty sure this is incredible.

(via seoulbrother, eccentrictomboy)

Your instincts are correct.

fuckyeahportland: mercurypdx: yousoldtheworld: neverforgets: ...

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:32:15 -0500

fuckyeahportland:

mercurypdx:

yousoldtheworld:

neverforgets:

WHAT?!?!?! Someone needs a RAISE!!!!

(via shoesonwrong)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m trying to limit the non-portland posts but this was just too important

I wish I had seen this.

dwineman: “You ever think about how in, like, a Tom Hanks...

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:14:07 -0500

dwineman:

“You ever think about how in, like, a Tom Hanks movie, everyone lives in a reality in which there’s no such person as Tom Hanks? Because otherwise, people would be mistaking the main character for Tom Hanks all the time? So either Tom Hanks doesn’t exist in the world the movie takes place in, or he does exist but he looks like someone else? I mean, you could have a character break the fourth wall and go ‘Aren’t you the guy from Cast Away? Hey, sign my volleyball!’ or whatever but you can’t really do that in a serious screenplay, so you’re pretty much stuck with that bare minimum level of willing-suspension-of-disbelief before you even get started, unless it’s a period drama or something. And the funny thing is the more famous your star is, the bigger the leap of faith you’re asking the viewer to take when no one in your narrative universe recognizes him, so in a way, paradoxically, great actors undermine their own credibility by their very presence—hey, are you even listening to me? What are you—oh, that’s just Bob. He’s made of bubbles.”

Bleh.

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:35:48 -0500

Bleh.

lonelysandwich: “Ironing techniques by professional craftsmen...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:02:06 -0600

lonelysandwich:

“Ironing techniques by professional craftsmen (shirt)” - プロの職人によるアイロンがけテクニック(ワイシャツ)

This short instructional film showcases unmatchably masterful ironing technique that we’d all do well to learn from, but it’s also one of the most absorbing, delicious demo videos I’ve ever seen.

via Joel Zimmer, from a series of similarly beautiful instructional videos at Garra.jp (WARNING: ALL-FLASH and Japanese)

saltandfat: Jamie Oliver has been doing some great work trying...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:51:55 -0600

saltandfat:

Jamie Oliver has been doing some great work trying to educate people about food to combat the Western epidemic of obesity. He won the 2010 TEDPrize and wants to teach every child about food.

mrgan: Patrick Stewart on modern technology (2 minutes total)....

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:20:07 -0600

mrgan:

Patrick Stewart on modern technology (2 minutes total). Spoiler: he’s not big on Twitter, but don’t let that stop you from hearing his thoughts on the iPhone, email and the Internet, and gaming.