“The Jony Ive era is upon us,” Christina Bonnington reports for Wired.
“It has become increasingly clear since the ouster of Scott Forstall as Apple’s iOS chief, and the elevation of design wunderkind Ive to oversee both product industrial and user experience, that Apple is planning an iOS and OS X interface overhaul,” Bonnington reports. “‘I don’t think Apple will ever stop refining their OS’s and interfaces, and with Jony Ive at the helm we should expect to see improvements,’ Gartner analyst Brian Blau told Wired. While Apple issues yearly updates to its OS, and minor updates at other points during the year, Blau said the ‘timing is anyone’s guess.'”
Bonnington reports, “The latest sign that changes are afoot is a job listing seeking senior software engineers for Apple’s iLife suite. The posting calls for ‘an enthusiastic Cocoa engineer to help us re-imagine how user interfaces should be built and work.’ That doesn’t sound like a simple facelift. That sounds like the ground-up revamping of a core software suite — iLife, included in every new Mac, includes iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand.”
Read more in the full article here.
Facelifts are sometimes OK, just go easy with the Botox.
Skip the botox.
Love yourself.
Don’t kill yourself.
Well I hope they at least give the Finder a front end alignment.
It’s hard to do too much with the Finder, because it’s the familiar mode of interaction with OS X. Too much change and you alienate people (see Windows and its Metro interface) and cause confusion. Just look at the uproar caused by Apple removing the “Save As…” option.
I hate that if I don’t first Duplicate an item it will change the root item pretty much without permission. That stinks.
I’ve made that mistake as well and it can be frustrating. It still seems to me that Apple’s new approach is more logical, and I’m getting better at remembering it. I think it’s just those of us who became used to a certain workflow having to get used to a different one. Apple should probably include a (default) option in settings to automatic lock documents, which would trigger an interaction with the user at the first attempt to modify a document. It would have to be easy to get rid of this setting, though, because users would learn the new flow quickly and want to turn it off.
In Mountain Lion, there is the option for ‘Save As’ which has been brought back since the last update. You can open the file you’re working on, immediately perform ‘Save As’ to a different filename and save yourself a lot of grief.
The autosave feature will overwrite your original document if you do not take steps to save it to a different filename first before doing any work on it.
This only applies to Pages, TextEdit, Numbers, Keynote and any app that follows Apple’s autosave guidelines. In MS Word, Excel and PowerPower, the open document will not save until you click the save button or invoke the save command.
Just hold down the Option key when you go to the File menu; Save As is back.
THANKS! I did not know that – even though most here probably did! That will be my keystroke of choice from now on!
Double Thanks!
When making iOS, Apple seized it as an opportunity to dump Finder and everything Finder-like in the computer platform.
I think Apple realizes that the desktop, folder, and files metaphors, while groundbreaking decades ago, are far from the ideal or most intuitive way to interact with a computer. Ever try to teach a child how to use Finder? It seems easy to us because we already know how to do it, but it’s actually very confusing to anyone not familiar with it. Kids can’t take off in OS X the way they can on iOS specifically because Finder is confusing.
Make no mistake, Apple wants to dump Finder, and they are hard at work inventing the alternatives to Finder for OS X.
While you are right, IMO, on teaching kids to use Finder and Finder type of interactions, I find IOS to be VERY time consuming – having to quit one item to get to another app, back trace my steps to to get to different parts of the same app or settings. In the “Finder” set up one can go to System Prefs and no matter where they are, they can have one click and be back to the SP window. In IOS, everything has to logically be “backed out”. Contacts, phone, so many situations it takes 2, 3, 4 steps to get back to the beginning unless one just ‘closes’ and starts over. Very backwards to me.
OS is very simple but it is not an interface for the more complex roles (at this point) required for involved interactions of multiple apps or the detailed company specs. Simply put, the old work horse computer niche still needs a “gear shifter and clutch”!
There’s difference between ease-of-use and ease-of-learning. Apple could hypothetically remove the Finder and just have Launchpad, that would be very easy to learn, but very difficult to use.
iOS is easy-to-learn, but not as easy-to-use as the Finder as a sophisticated production system (it’s fine for consumption).
The point is, Apple will most likely develop ways to provide a simplified interface to the OS X file system, but will maintain several advanced methods as well (notably the UNIX terminal and Finder).
I agree Apple can’t just replace Finder with Launchpad. Whatever does replace Finder in OS X will have to be just as productive in most ways and better in several key ways. Otherwise, it’s not worth alienating current users.
Ease-of-use and ease-of-learning aren’t the same thing, but there is significant overlap. An unnecessarily complicated system tends to be both hard to learn and will require more cognitive energy to use. Remembering commands, managing files, moving windows, navigating menus – these tasks are never why someone uses a computer. It’s just extra work to get to whatever it is you are trying to accomplish. The more well designed a system is, the less of these kind of tasks a user ends up doing, the more people can focus on accomplishing their real goal. And that’s just as important for expert users as it is for novices.
I love the Unix terminal and there many things I do more effectively with it than in dedicated apps or Finder. In fact, I’d probably stop upgrading OS X if they ever got rid of the command line. But it takes a lot of specialized knowledge to use it, that took time to learn and takes effort to remember. I would not want the command line to be front & center in the operating system. I think in future versions of OS X, Finder will be like the command line – tucked and hidden away somewhere for when you need it, but not required for basic use, and not staring at you in the face on boot.
If you purchase a utility called Total Finder for $15, it pretty much does everything you’d want the Finder to do, including opening tabs within a window and dragging and dropping files and folders from one open tab to another that can be viewed side by side.
Please make iTunes and iPhoto slick and quick again – then I’ll be happy.
I can already hear the barrage of complaints. Everyone is used to the way is was and even though it might be better for them, they will scream (not complain) that they don’t like it.
The world will not improve if we don’t embrace change.
Yeah — “hey apple! Innovate! But don’t change anything!”
Change for the sake of change is ridiculous. Why should Apple have to follow everything some other manufacturer does because some pundits cry, “Apple no longer innovates.” Falling behind is just a matter of perspective. I’ve got computers running both Mountain Lion and Snow Leopard and I’m just as happy using Snow Leopard because I don’t require all the functions Mountain Lion offers and ML runs slower on my older computers. I don’t think the average consumer always needs to be on the cutting edge. There needs to be some balance, although I don’t know exactly where that point lies.
“Change for the sake of change” is the Android motto. Since inception, how many freaking times have we seen Android’s look-n-feel drastically alter already ??
These days Android’s “innovation” only comes from 2 things – really huge screens, and fluffy crap like wireless charging.
Spoken like a true conservative. Keep things the way they were. Let’s go back to a ‘happier’ place and time. Stop progress. Change is bad because you might try something that doesn’t work as well. Don’t experiment. Leave well enough alone.
Yeah, lets be progressive, embrace change as always good and put square wheels on cars.
Yeah, that will do it.
It is OK to make mistakes in an effort to improve things. If we are afraid to make mistakes, we will never try a single thing. Innovation is risky but rewarding.
Well said, I remember the story of the Rolling Stones coming to the Ed Sullivan show and they had to change their lyrics from “let’s spend the night together” to “let’s spend some time together.”
Then there is the cultish Permafrost song by Magazine that had the lyrics “I will drug you and fuck you, on the permafrost.” To think back then it had to be rerecorded and changed for the radio.
Now look at the music these days with explicit lyrics, musical artists are now to express themselves freely without the constraints of a repressive society.
The world just keeps getting better and better thanks to change.
Cheers.
Come on. Even you can tell when change in music lyrics are not something better for society.
Oppps, must have pushed the wrong button, my bad. I left a reply down below. Dang I feel bad messing up a thread like that.
Freedom is wonderful, but freedom doesn’t come without responsibility.
You don’t have a clue as to what you wish. Where there is no law, anarchy reigns. While it would be great to think that one is free just to write and say ANYTHING that one wants, There is the next person that thinks that they can act on and go one step further. Fast forward to countries where there is no law, and anyone bigger than you can do with you as they wish, or with your family, regardless of age. That is not an illusion in some places. That is where there are no laws or rather no enforcement of the law. We Americans are so shielded to the blind truth of the reality of life outside of constraints. Freedom without reponsibility becomes no freedom at all.
Occasional poster, I think your post is to me, so I will reply here. I certainly agree that there is a responsibility that is connected to freedom. For example it is one thing to say you don’t like a certain group, say polka dot people. It is entirely another thing to say that you will do harm. That indicates an action and a certain intent. Personally I’ve never had an issue with anyone expressing an opinion or an emotion. I may or may not agree with it.
You hit the nail on the head from my perspective later in your post. It is one thing to express an opinion, it is another to indicate an act, or express a falsehood (like saying there is a fire in the building when indeed there is none).
I certainly don’t have a clue as to what to wish. I keep it simple, being it kewl enough for me. I’ve looked at anarchistic systems, the non human world doesn’t work by rules, I think connections run the day.
I have been to places where there is a so called disregard for the law, corruption is rampant everywhere, but some places, egads, yes it is scary. I’ve relied on means beyond laws to survive those situations. It’s not very nice indeed.
Oh, and by the way I am not an American, but I agree many are blinded. I find that people, from anywhere who travel (as travelers, not tourists) tend to get their eyes opened.
I appreciate your sentiments, they make a lot of sense.
Please do something about Logic
You mean because most of the posters here dont have any grasp of it?
If nothing else, change the default color scheme… it just makes me sad to look at it.
As someone who uses Logic for a living, I’d like to know what you find needing something done about.
Apple is doomed as I’ve doesn’t wear glasses which means he is not an expert of redefining iOS . (Joke)
BRING IT ON JONY!
I sure hope that the whole desktop paradigm of the GUI (Graphic User Interface) is replaced with a multidimensional space paradigm of the OUI (Object User Interface). The world isn’t a flat desk with a map of the world on it, it’s a space of height width length and time to say the very least.
Make it flow.
That doesn’t sound like a simple facelift.
No, it sounds like the 3-D OS XI GUI is on-the-way.
Most excellent. 😀
On the contrary, change in musical lyrics are better for society and it is personal for me. I had to talk and deal about these sorts of lyrics and songs at one point with my child because I knew her friends at school were listening to them and that she would be as well. I now look at the quality and calibre of communication I have with my offspring and compare it with those of my parental generation many who still criticize and refuse to even listen to rock and roll. I know it’s an improvement, and a very personal one. You can say what you want about society in general, that’s your opinion and we can agree or disagree but what I’ve put here are my personal feelings towards change.
I am afraid to update anything now that Apple removed Cover Flow from iTunes, along with several features and search / view options I use. I don’t want to lose important features that make me love Apple.
I never used Cover Flow much on my Mac (maybe 1% of the time) and find it marginally useful on my iPhone/iPad.
Who cares about CoverFlow! It *might* be useful if you only ever download music, or only ever rip stuff that has artwork that can easily be located, and not much at that. If, on the other hand, you do as I do and rip large quantities of music from sampler cd’s given away with quality music magazines, then you’re left with hundreds of tracks showing a default box with a music note on it. With 144Gb of music, 14000+ tracks, CoverFlow has no significant place in the way I listen to music.
What I want Apple to re-introduce is multiple windows; quite why anyone thought removing that facility was a good idea is just way beyond my comprehension. It’s incredibly useful, for keeping tabs on which tracks you have on mobile devices or thumb drives when adding new music over time; having two windows open side by side makes it dead easy to see what’s already there when scrolling down the main music library.
Removing that facility has taken a simple process and made it horribly complicated, quite the reverse of what Apple maintains its software is all about.
Sort it out Apple. Now.
here’s a little tip: don’t imitate Microsoft Windows 8.
Under the hood
It has come to my attention that there is allot of frustration in default settings because the plist files having several overlapping plist files that override whatever setting you put in them. For instance the dock.plist is over written by the dock.fixup.plist and the mouse.plist is overwritten by the dashboard.plist and one other for mouse scroll direction, can’t remember right now. Also there are also preferences hidden (.generalpreferences) and setting up default templates in System/usertemplates/english.lproj sometimes also needs to be set in var/root/library like the dock. So what I am saying is Inconsistencies under the hood are more important to fix than the regular user interface roll outs. The last lot of Apple os rollouts where an abomination in my books.
Mouse scroll reversal: equates to Apple telling you that you have been writing with the wrong hand all your life or that first gear is now top right. But Apples head is so big now there is no way they will ever admit that this was the stupidest move since the mouse was invented. Also a bit like the wired mouse with the sharp hole that within 3 months stops functioning because of all the collected dead skin for your finger.
Hiding the Library folder:
I would us to curse Apple every time I had to work on a clients machine or try to help them over the phone. Now i just put a unhide applescript in the help folder.
Window Ui
Getting rid on the scroll bar and bottom status so you cannot see how many files are in a folder without scrolling first. This also does not give you size down the bottom, important when you are running on smaller ssd hard drives.
Mail Ui
I cannot believe the new Apple mail default setting, Icons only not icons+text. For first timers this makes the interface a very trial an error experience.
There are also inconsistencies between the Mac and the ios, where is the unified url in Safari on the ios. Why is the mac ahead in this area, its almost like they forgot it.
I embrace change and there are big touch screen changes coming the Apple mac soon but don’t change the default just to make a change when we cannot even use these features yet.
Saving the distance with Jony Ive, Miquelangelo claimed he was an sculptor not a painter, but what a painter he was.
On the other hand Jony Ive is not Miquelangelo and the why I am afraid he may have to much power at Apple today to envision an “sculptural”, industrial 2D interface. Clean, functional, extremely regulated or justified and without mobility. With less options every time to eliminate the unnecessary volume. I just hope Apple wont let anyone inside to treat the Finder as is it was a purist designer utopy. And this comes fron a graphic artist.