“Oh Apple, what happened to the days when you were the interface of choice because you were easier to understand than any other tech product?” Francine Hardaway writes for The Phoenix Business Journal. “If you have experienced the company’s recent products you know that those days are far in the past, sacrificed to thinner, lighter, more beautiful hardware sold with any old software the company can push out.”
Hardaway writes, “I think the entire UX/UI team needs to be fired, and the company needs to start from the beginning on the software that accompanies Jony Ive’s stunning designs.”
MacDailyNews Take: Uh, but you just fired Jony, so…
(Francine, Jonathan Ive is Apple’s Chief Design Officer. Ive is responsible for all design at Apple, including the look and feel of Apple hardware, user interface, packaging, major architectural projects including Apple’s retail stores, as well as new ideas and future initiatives.)
“The Apple Watch was not a simple piece of consumer electronics to pick up and use. It took me quite a while to learn how to launch the apps, and I still don’t understand how to add complications to the watchfaces without reading forums,” Hardaway writes. “And the apps themselves? Almost to a one, Apple’s recent apps are awful on WatchOS, desktop and iOS — inferior in every way to third-party competitors.”
MacDailyNews Take: Take it easy on the hyperbole, Francine. You sound more than a bit nuts.
“But the Apple TV just threw me over the edge. I have spent the entire weekend setting it up. And that’s because the interface on the new Apple TV is the same as that of the old Apple TV: you have to type on the screen using the remote, in much the same way that you had to punch out letters to make a word on the old flip phone keyboards,” Hardaway writes. “And no, you can’t use the old iOS Remote app on the new Apple TV, although I can’t understand why.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: While Francine hyperventilates in her minivan on the way to driving her kid to today’s soccer game, we unfortunately cannot disagree with the general thrust of her article. As we wrote recently:
There is a pattern of botched/incomplete launches from Apple Inc. under Tim Cook that is rather glaring and worrisome.
Apple’s management team should really stop whatever they’re doing right now and take a long, hard, cold look in the mirror.
This is one time where Tim Cook & Co. really should be asking themselves, “What would Steve do?”
Because what Steve would do is push harder, not settle for less than the best and not be carelessly frittering away the brand equity that he (along with Jony Ive, Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue et al.) worked so incredibly hard to build.
Rest assured that we’ll shut up about this when it’s fixed.
Now, breathe, Francine, breathe.
SEE ALSO:
What Steve Jobs gave Apple that Tim Cook cannot – November 18, 2015
New Apple Pencil stock begins arriving at some U.S. Apple Retail Stores – November 17, 2015
Apple’s new iPad Pro debuts with forced reboots, missing Apple Pencils – November 16, 2015
Apple’s perplexingly incomplete launch of the iPad Pro – November 16, 2015
Apple’s major problem is Tim Cook – November 16, 2015
At Apple, it seems as if no one’s minding the store – November 13, 2015
Publishers underwhelmed with Apple News app – November 13, 2015
Apple’s joyless iPad Pro launch: WTF are the Apple Pencils and Smart Keyboards? (4-5 weeks away) – November 12, 2015
Apple’s best days are behind it or something – November 7, 2015
Apple TV 4 is a beta product and, if you bought one, you’re an unpaid beta tester – November 5, 2015
Apple Watch has arrived for just 22 percent of preorder customers – April 28, 2015
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
Tim Cook’s mea culpa: iMac launch should have been postponed – April 24, 2013
Tim Cook open letter: We fell short with new Maps app; we are extremely sorry – September 28, 2012
With obtuse iPad 2 launch, Apple fails to delight 49,000 customers per day – March 21, 2011
More great advice for the worlds most successful company! Keep those great armchair quarterback remarks coming!
We arent armchair quarterback, we are users who buy and rely on the product! A different universe.
Well as an Apple user, you must already know that not everything is for everyone – and furthermore, Apple makes what they want to make. You’re either along for the ride, or you’re not.
This is technology, it advances, it CHANGES. Someone’s inability to change with it, doesn’t make it broken. It makes your relationship with it broken. And in that case, you need to move onto something else. Apple (or any company) never promises that what they given you now will always be. That would be impossible. People expect more and more from these devices.
This whining happens all the time over every little thing, and yet Apple continues to grow. In fact, they’re growing at a pace they’ve never seen before. They are laying the ground work for that growth to continue. There will be bumps along the way. You don’t like it, go somewhere else. No one cares.
And I’d like to reiterate… When you bring Steve Jobs into these discussions about Tim Cook, you’ve lost all credibility. You’ve placed Steve on some pedestal and act as if none of these ever happened while he ran the company. YOU PEOPLE need a history lesson.
You don’t want to hear Steve Jobs’ name (nor do I) but what irks me about your post is that you say “Go somewhere else?” Is that really how you think Apple feels about its loyal customers? It actually costs FAR more to get a new customer than to keep existing customers coming back for more.
Now I happen to believe that Francine is a bit of an idiot if she can’t spend five minutes with an Apple Watch and know how to launch an app. Further, with a bit of a clue and maybe another ten minutes, I really believe she could have bested complications and glances.
But her point is that the software quality is noticeably diminishing. Hence, if Apple’s attitude toward its customers is a smidgeon like yours, any fool can see why. Customers can be led to that which they don’t know they need. But when you get them there, it really should be at least worth their effort if not a wow moment. I’ve had many of those moments with Apple. Unfortunately, over the past year, that hasn’t been the case.
So we look at the numbers and we see that the iPhone supports the entire company. Other products such as the Apple Watch are promising. But the numbers on other products are lackluster – Mac and iPad. Now sure, there are reasons for those numbers – refresh cycle, product lifespan, etc. But then there’s griping why Wall Street won’t get on the Apple bandwagon. Well, we have a natural boundary with Mac and iPad and an already record-breaking number on the iPhone so where do we grow? Services and new products and other in-the-middle products. And THERE is the problem since those products have issues. Apple Watch will likely have similar if not longer refresh cycles than the iPad. Apple Music? While its numbers are nice, could they substantially support the company should iPhone demand diminish (unlikely in the short term but we invest for the long term)? Could Apple TV step in with its interface issues? And those issues are only the ones from Apple customers – most of whom already owned one or more prior versions of the device and who still make up a minority of that market segment. So there’s some room to grow. Same with iPad pro. The problem? Apple may just have your attitude of “If you don’t like it, just go somewhere else?” If that’s the case, the only difference between today’s Apple and yesterday’s Microsoft was that the latter was saying “You have nowhere else to go.” As history shows, even if there isn’t somewhere else to go, there soon will be if you’re customers aren’t saying WOW.
At least one correction is needed to your post – the numbers for the Mac are not “lackluster.” The Mac continues to gain on the Windows PC in the world market.
IMO, the performance of the iPad is only lackluster to those who fail to realize: (1) The much longer iPad refresh cycle in comparison to the iPhone, and (2) The (intentional) cannibalization of the iPad by the larger iPhones. Furthermore, anyone with a realistic business perspective would perceive the sales of tens of millions of high-end electronic devices like the iPad annually to be a raging success.
Everything will be fine. There is too much Apple anxiety on this forum, and even more in the pundit/analyst arena. Of course, they are paid to create drama and churn stocks.
“Go somewhere else?”
No, I don’t believe that’s how Apple feels about its loyal customers. That’s my sentiment about the whiners. Apple probably feels that their loyal customers know how the company operates. And that changes are necessary in the evolution of a product. But as I stated, Apple has and always will do what they want. A perfect example of that is the changes made in iOS 7. Geezus, the whining and moaning from the internets made it seem as though the earth itself broke in half. Did Apple say, “Oh! We’re sorry oh loyal users. We’ll switch everything back.” No. They didn’t. Why, because as I also stated, they were laying the ground work for the future. The old UI/UX would simply not scale to larger and larger screened devices.
“So we look at the numbers and we see that the iPhone supports the entire company”
And before then the iPod supported the company. And before then it was just the Mac. Maybe Apple would be better off if their revenue from the iPhone more closely matched the Mac. Then everything would more balanced? Would that make Wall St. and investors happier?
The revenue from iPhones is more than most companies on this planet make from all their products and services combined. There is literally nothing else that will EVER match that amount of revenue/profits from a single product line (other than energy). Even if Apple expanded in to TV’s and cars and just about anything else, the iPhone will still eclipse all of that.
And iPhone sales continue to grow… from 170 million in 2014 to over 230 million this passed fiscal year. That’s a 35% YOY increase! 60 million more iPhones! And Apple has stated that the switcher rates this year are higher than they’ve ever seen at some 30% of sales. And that a huge chunk of their installed base is still due for an upgrade.
Software quality is noticeable diminishing because the complexity of the software has sky rocketed eons beyond what it was in the 90s or even in the earlier 21st century, add to this, the need for ever more sophisticated security, the billions of additional users from ever more diverse regions and the protracted time to market window, due to the voracious marketing competition and well….
Software quality is not noticeably diminishing, it’s perceptually diminishing.
The first release of OS X was the worst piece of software Apple ever released. It was literally unusable. I had to down grade my system back to Mac OS 9, just so I could do something with my computer again. It was AWFUL and painfully slow. The release of 10.1 fixed many of those issues but it was still a far cry from what is released today. Hell, today’s “Public Betas” are much more stable than either of those abominations.
Does it “seem” like there’s more issues? Of course it does. How can it not when you’re hearing about it on your local news? Not to mention the hundreds of times the same issue is regurgitated over websites, blogs and message boards?
Anyway, in the end, there will always be bugs and issues. Apple will continue to fix them. People will continue to whine and declare Apple is doomed. Meanwhile, my iMac (late 2009) runs El Capitan just fine. My iPhone 6 runs iOS 9 and is excellent. My original iPad runs iOS 5 as best it can. And my Mac SE runs System 6.0.8 with all its normal issues.
Michael, I like your refreshing take. We think alike.
One thing that all the whiners always miss: Apple software has always improved over time. The competitions software has stagnated and been mired in old school problems.
Example: The new Final Cut Pro, when it came out pro’s complained in droves, but now they praise the improved workflow and support for new technology 4k etc. Compared to Microsoft and Adobe who have held onto legacy code and their products suffer because of it.
That said, I would like to see Apple improve by not releasing follow on software until it has been developed to the point where feature parity is similar with the old product. And Apple has one severely bad app with legacy code that is dragging it down = iTunes. Apple please dump iTunes and rewrite the mess.
I quote you “t what irks me about your post is that you say “Go somewhere else?” Is that really how you think Apple feels about its loyal customers?”
I believe the key words are LOYAL CUSTOMERS. I feel most of such rants are not from Apple’s LOYAL customers…. if customers at all. loyal customers have developed a track record of Apple’s products and are very familiar with the pattern of the products they release, and understand that the products get better as they mature…. really, isn’t that the way it works in nature?
Top to bottom, from UI and UX, to QA and product development, Apple is in a negative flux, where the change is constantly increasing but always with poor results.
Tim Cook is SOLELY responsible for the reprehensible quagmire that Apple reliability is stuck in today.
As more and more people realize that quality at Apple is deteriorating to a point where it is almost non-existent in new and existing products, software, and services, the board will finally come to the conclusion that many of us have already reached YEARS ago… Tim Cook is incompetent and is woefully detrimental to the health, reputation and long-term viability of a once great company.
Maybe she should spend more time in the Console. Then she’d appreciate the Mac UI.
A false choice. The correct choice is between software that just gets by vs. software that could be the best possible.
I believe 3rd party apps are the saving grace right now.
If I were to log my app use every day, only two would be significant. Mail and Safari, but Firefox is faster and more compatible. Mail: works ok but looking at alternatives
Others used? and they make up the majority of the hours in my day? Well most of the apps that I use to make a living are names that the music and entertainment “consumers” have never heard of. And the ironic thing is: The products of those 3rd party apps are what is “consumed” by those same people, but they will never know or understand that fact. “After all, don’t the websites and graphics that I see just come out of the sky?” Uh, no, someone creates them using 98% 3rd party apps.
Apple designers: talk to the 3rd party developers for advice if you want your software to work well!
Let the flames begin!
No flames Kent…glad you got choices. A great developer ecosystem is as important for Apple as it is for users. For me, mail and safari work fine. I don’t like the direction of the UI appearance. If it bothers me enough someday, maybe I’ll change it.
“I don’t like the direction of the UI appearance.” It’s far more about what it does to workflow.
Apple has always supported third party developers from the start. Apple developed the hardware platforms, APIs, and ecosystem to enable and promote third party developers. And, with the App Store, Apple also supports the distribution and payment network for third party developers.
So, kentkd34, it is entirely appropriate that you find third party apps to be the focus of your experience on the Mac and iOS. I agree that Apple can do better, and I expect substantial improvement going forward. But this hailstorm of critiques is getting a bit nuts, IMO.
Thinking about it, I just realized that the reason why so many 3rd party apps are so well designed is that they use the original Apple Interface Guidelines.
My guess is that they have a lot more experience than the latest generation of Apple UI developers. They know what works and what doesn’t.
There is a valid point or two in that hit piece, but the flavor of it is so sensationalistic that it almost turns them into lies.
For instance: “If you have experienced the company’s recent products you know that those days are far in the past…”
That confuses me. If Apple’s good design days are “far in the past,” then why would it have to be a recent product? Shouldn’t you be able to go not-quite-as-far into the past to find evidence of this stunning design collapse on the part of Apple? I don’t deny that Apple has fallen short on some of its recent releases. But it seems like some of the writers have pent up angst that they have been suppressing for years, desperately hoping to find an opportunity to vent when the giant looked vulnerable.
I still believe that Apple’s best days are ahead of us. There is a trail of devastated naysayers and FUD mongers behind Apple that lend support to that belief. At the very least, Apple has a long, long way to go. Consider how Microsoft was able to maintain a semblance of market dominance for a couple of decades on just smoke and mirrors.
Despite Apple’s infuriating crimes, I can’t get as worked up over them as some of the angry commenters at MDN. Their rants are almost indistinguishable from those of blatant trolls. I’ve scratched my head wondering at the moral outrage, the sense of betrayal, and the intransigence that makes them lash out at those who dare to demur…
I presume it is because of either (1) their horror at abhorrent social values and misguided activism or (2) their dependence upon Apple gear for their livelihoods, lately threatened by abandonware, by change for change’s sake, by dawdling, doodling, and dandling.
I too get annoyed by some of (2), but my own livelihood involves working with Windows; and I must reserve my spleen for that, the real oppressor in my life–Apple’s just a nerdy goofball next to the deranged thug that was (and remains) Microsoft.
I agree that along with Tim Cook, the UI team at Apple NEEDS to be fired. There has to be a cost to this failure and it starts at the top.
Apple has shipped far too much poor quality software. This NEEDS to be changed. Apple is now known for horrible software, poor design, and broken features.
It didnt use to be this way.
Fire Tim Cook!
Anonymous and sensless take a hike you twit.
Then I’ll say (almost) the same thing.
The key strength of the Mac was its “ecosystem”. That means those productivity applications that facilitated your workflow.
Now look at just how poorly Apple has cultivated that ecosystem…
Final Cut X … wasn’t close and was a leadership failure
iWeb … still has no functional equivalent from third parties that ties into ecosystem media files.
Aperture … gone. And neglected before they finally pulled the plug.
iPhoto … perverted into Photos – – sure, it does retouching, but its utility as an image database management tool is effectively zilch.
iTunes … bloat city
App Store … ever notice that it FORCES you to the ‘Featured’ page first (and that it must load, no matter how slow your connection) and that there’s no user preference to change this?
And so on.
The bottom line to all of this is that when you don’t have tools which enhance your workflow productivity, all you have are pretty looking toys to stroke your ego with.
One can hold your nose on a lot of failings of Windows when there’s no longer any App-based productivity advantages to the Mac to offset the typically higher cost of that ‘pretty’ hardware.
For example, in my personal case, Adobe Lightroom is OS agnostic – which is the replacement for Apple’s eroded ecosystem. And for hardware, when my Mac Pro goes, the decision is a “trash can” new Mac Pro … or get a Windows Tower PC and pocket a $2000 cost savings. OS X is nice, but it isn’t $2000 per seat nice.
-hh
I totally agree with almost all the points you make, as an Aperture user and beyond, but the twit above me and my answer to him has nothing to do with your well stated points that certailnly don’t DEMAND in caps, the firing of the entire UI team or Tim Cook.
Wtf does an anonymous loudmouth know about the reasoning or administration of Apple???
People have opinions that differ from yours. Get a grip.
I agree with -hh 100%.
I’m stuck on freaking Lightroom because Apple decided it was a good idea to let Aperture wither and die **without one word to pro customers for better part of two years**.
I’m stuck being the last person amongst my peers to be on FCPX because Apple thought it was wise to shaft pros with a totally unusable ‘update’.
This in a field Apple should outright dominate.
As for UI, he’s right on too. Every time an update comes the usability goes down. The Hello Kitty colors are bad enough, but now all elements are tiny and unclear. The Music scrubber button is now a teeny vertical line on a thin grey indistinct horizontal line. I went from hitting things first time to repeatedly pressing, missing, swiping, missing, poking, missing.
I didn’t suddenly get old, the UI is terrible.
Please, tell me I’m wrong. Go on, convince me that Calendar is intuitive and lovely to use, tell me Podcasts is a usability tour de force. How about Reminders or Mail. All went from meh to dreadful, and I went from enjoying to enduring using my iPhone.
And what makes all of this all the more frustrating is to have a Windows 7 box at work, where stuff like MS-Outlook shows how email can be done well.
And it doesn’t BSOD every 20 minutes like the Fanboys like to claim – – overall, it isn’t all that painful at all.
The bottom line remains that Apple has utterly lost sight of the fact that for many of us, these are TOOLS, not TOYS.
Presently, after the fiasco of Yosemite disrupting my productive workflow, I have essentially ZERO plans to upgrade to El Capitan … because the downside risks of what disruptions it may bring to my work are unacceptable and from a feature enhancement standpoint, I see no meaningful upside: the RISK : BENEFIT analysis results in a big fat “No”.
And that, my friends, is how Apple has changed.
I agree with you too about the points you make that are substantiated with obvious first hand experience and valid articulated gripes.
My problem was with the extreme Apple hate rant and attitude of a spouting inarticulate know nothing, who has done nothing to address the issues and was chomping at the bit to just say Fire Tim Cook and the entire UI team. Another backseat idiot.
FWIW, I interpret the “fire the team!” as merely being literary hyperbola, not a literalism.
However, for whoever the Apple Senior Manager who has been in charge of pumping out this Dog Food(tm), they should hang their head in shame.
Or, if they’re in deep trying to fight the good fight to try to not put out such garbage, they should take the risk of leaking that out to the press … because otherwise, the public’s opinion of their career is that they were just another don’t-give-a-damn hack.
Is this hurtful upon whoever this individual is? Damn Straight it is. Tough: as a customer, I’m realistic enough to not expect to be constantly delighted, but in counterpoint, I shouldn’t be getting so fed up with lousy products to the point that after 30+ of customer loyalty that I really am voting with my wallet to set up the groundwork to leave…as it stands, the “photos” fiasco has cost me this Fiscal Quarter ~$3000 in lost labor hours, plus another $700 in capital expenses.
Have you writen Tim Cook?
t
I’ve seen this sort of “but have you written?” comment too many times before.
Yes, damn straight I’ve submitted feedback.
BUT …
When I also see that the likes of the author of the “We Want a New Mac Pro” Facebook page … with 20,000+ followers … basically can’t get the time of day from Tim Cook to be our common voice, the grim reality is that the entire Mac ‘Creatives’ segment is getting short shrift.
Nay, Mr. Tim is far too consumed in chasing after the iPhone sales, because it represents 80% of revenues … and now probably also a couple of $B on a bloody car too.
Just a quick note to all of the readers out there who are tired of irrational fanboys – – simply note the voting on these last two posts:
The “have you written Tim Cook?” post got strongly upvoted…
And the response “Yes, but there’s evidence that it won’t make a difference” got strongly downvoted.
Think about that, folks.
Hire Scott Forstall!
Before we simply fire the whole lot of them (which sounds oh so appealing in mid-vent but isn’t exactly compatible with actually RUNNING a company, let’s turn MDN’s screed from the other day into an actual action plan. Give someone the role that Jobs used to play himself: Take every new product in the pipeline and use it exhaustively in REAL WORLD situations. And empower this person with carte blanche power (and the responsibility) to push any piece of confusing, beta-like or simply broken product (software, hardware and/or services) back to the group that created it AS MANY TIMES AS NEEDED to get it right. If deadlines slip, that is entirely the fault of the maker. And if they cannot do so, THEN start firing. Maybe call the person the Chief A-Hole Officer 🙂
I like it, but I think that’s what they have now. Except the one person is allowing bad decisions. Give it back to the members of the original Mac team.
Maybe your recall of history is in error, but I remember the 1st iterations of the Mac… truly a revolutionary idea, but fraught with many issues… b&w small screen, then grey scale small screen, lack of software except the Mac?? installed software, very little available peripheral equipment, software anomalies & bugs, especially pre System7… remember that? Insufficient memory, inability to coexist on prevailing network structures… and the list continues, my point is Apple has always presented the IDEA of how things should work, and then gradually worked toward that goal until eventually reaching a reasonable plateau of that ideal. The assumption that Steve Jobs just miraculously pulled the optimum platform out of thin air simply ignores the history…. at least as I remember it, and this has not changed at all. Apple continues to present the IDEA of the optimum and then works to implement the optimum through progressive iterations of software and hardware.
I think many of the negative respondents here did not go through the development of Apple products and software as you and I experienced. Still, even in the development stages, it was far superior to the alternatives.
Right, occasional! I’ve been an exclusive Mac user since OS 3.xx, because it was the best I could buy. But I’ve also said many times that, yes, Apple does indeed make junk. Just the best junk available. I never liked Systems 3-9, they were much better than DOS, ‘Doze, etc. I have loved OS X, but Numbers, etc., needs some serious work. Photo, iTunes, oh me…
I have been here since 1981.
And what music (etc.) software do you use, btw. Just curious.
This is the point. Much of what Apple sells is no longer clearly better than the alternatives from an efficiency/workflow or a value standpoint. In many cases, Apple is now charging luxury fashion prices for hardware that doesn’t compete. Any hackintosh builder will blow the doors off the Mac Mini or Mac Pro and save you hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars.
The many disappointing reviews of GUI and software are accurate, too. Macs are no longer intuitive and fun to use, they are getting more like Windows all the time. Software apps have lost desktop functionality, period. Freebieware is just a stupid model for selling software. It’s Cook’s attempt at getting users hooked on iCloud subscriptions, and it’s not acceptable.
Some of the Apple hardware is so old or so limited in its flexibility. For example, what fool would pay $1000 for a 27″ Thunderbolt display that is completely obsolete by today’s performance standards? Or how about Airport? Desktop Macs? iPods? An Apple TV that is completely trounced by the Roku 4 by all objective comparison? Sorry, but Apple just isn’t providing the long term user value that it needs to in order to retain user loyalty. Instead it appears Cook is spending Apple engineering talent making rose gold accessories and courting overpriced European luxury companies to make more watch bands for a product that is clunky at best.
And to amplify on this, when we see a marketing video that talks about how Apple “Sweated the details” on a new wireless mouse to make it ‘click’ just right … hey, the Lithium battery upgrade was fine without blowing a couple of Man-Years on the bleeping SOUND of the click.
News Flash: the Apple mouse click isn’t some iconic & trademarked thing that’s been unchanged since 1984.
So then Apple Leaders – – how about reassigning that team to make them go “sweat the details” on getting the software to work?
What good is it to have a fabulous “click!” when there’s no software to click on? Oh right: “That’s Not Our Division’s Problem”. Well, it is your problem when we stop buying the hardware to keep your guys gainfully employed because there’s no quality software anymore to go run.
The *ecosystem* is sick: Application software is a good five years behind where it needs to be…and OS X is foolishly trying to do too much in its attempts (which aren’t succeeding) to collaborate with iOS.
Apple doesn’t care anymore.
Apple makes most of it’s money with disposable consumer products now.
I have been an Apple Evangelist since the Mac Color Classic. But I have been frustrated with the new “play school” removal of features, the UI, and slow performance. I am tired of basic things like Mail not working and that damn spinning beach ball.
And I have a shelf full of products that Apple has made unusable. FireWire drive, USB audio devices (PreSonus Audiobox and M-Audio fast track ultra) my video camera won’t connect, graphic tablet (two models) and the list goes on. Their new motto is “Apple, it’s just FUBAR”. They really do not want loyal customers. And don’t get me started on my old iPhone, which they bricked for me. Or my iPad gen 1, which can’t be used anymore. Say what you want about Samsung. But my old note 10 is still usable and works well, long after a newer iPad went to the recycle bin. This problem with app quality and continuity is an old problem.
It took me 10 minutes to set up a new Apple TV and explain it to a 74 year old client. I got worried when I couldn’t contact him for a couple of days, but he turned off his phone to binge 2 seasons of House of Cards.
Listening to him explain it to his wife made me realize how easy it is. He says to her “There’s stuff under each of those pictures. Exactly what it says is there. Some of it they think you’re supposed to pay more for. Computer boy showed me how to remove those. Other than that click on it, have a look, see what ya find.”
That is so charming it made me forget about all the fur flying around here! It also made me wonder howcome your bedside manner is so effective, and how you can afford to make house calls. 😀
Apple TV 4 is HELLA-EASIER than previous Apple TV setups. The horizontal keyboard is quicker… hold the button down to change case and funny letters for speed.
The point of the article is fair without the use of the long vital Remote App and limitations of voice. The new Apple TV is a total pain to setup, type and search. This needs fixing ASAP as the completion is now better.
Oh Gee! Will you idiots puleeze give it a break and take a respite from all this ridiculous jealous and spiteful seeding. Absolutely NOTHING IN EXISTENCE is perfect for everybody, if this surprises you then you really need help, but I suspect that this does not surprise you, and so believe that such articles are merely seeds sown by Apple detractors from the dark side to ferment general discontent among Apple users. NEWS FLASH!!!! Apple Inc. IS NOT PERFECT!!!! Has NEVER BEEN PERFECT, even under Stevie Wonder Jobs. I have been using Apple product since the Apple IIc and have yet to find a BETTER platform. True each platform offers some things that are better implemented, but as a whole, nothing available bests the overall usability, stability, beauty, and experience of Apple’s products. So if and when you find something better … Just Go! Else, recommend a better overall solution.
I too have beer using Apple product (hic)
I was blown away that the volume buttons on the AppleTV remote was able to change the volume on my Panasonic TV with zero setup. Then I moved it to a different TV (an LG) and it was able to turn it on, switch to the right HDMI port and control the volume with ZERO setup! I’ve never had an easier setup on any consumer device.
I wonder if the TV communicates its model number to the AppleTV via HDMI, and the AppleTV then configures the remote? That would make sense.
Apple was smart for using the HDMI port, there are standards for controlling TV’s, so any HDMI comparable TV will “Just Work” for simple turn on change port volume up/down, etc….
So what you’re saying is, it just works. Hmmmmm….
Perspective is a beautiful thing. Yes, hold Apple’s feet to the fire, but some people need to stop with the hyperbole. Growth is creating some (serious) growing pains, but there’s still great work being done.
MDN seems to have settled on highlighting articles critical of Apple, especially Tim Cook, Jony Ive, et al.
I think it’s time to move on to other sites.
I’ve had those very thoughts myself. I’ll see how this plays out through the end of the year. But if no change. Bye bye.
One only needs to look at the design of “modern” websites to see where the influence on OS X and iOS user interfaces comes from. Extremely conservative, low contrast, smaller type. Basically, Apple has abandoned its own user interface guidelines in favour of what’s trendy, and it’s a sad state of affairs.
Whereas YOU are a……what? A drooling hater, that’s what! You gotta hate I guess. Try not to. See you can’t.
What happened? this was meant to be a reply to someone who relied to T…Mac. His post disappeared and mine ended up here in limbo.
I bought my first Apple ][ in 1980. Then a ][e, a ][gs, Apple III, Mac 30…Quadra… Mini… MPB…MBA. About 15 computers or so over the years.
The early ones were so simple (seemingly), there were few problems, other than compatibility with 3rd party memory, video cards, floppy drives wandering, etc.
Then came the late ’80, early ’90s. The OS did’t do most if the things it does today, but there were issues with bugs, crashes and instabilites. Not life threatening, just a few hassles.
Then came the switch to Intel, which was pretty seamless and stable. I guess that was because they spent so many years getting it ready they had more time than ususal to debug it.
As peripheral devices began to appear; the iPod, iPhone, iPad; the OS and UI functions began to fragment between divisions, and new product schedules were announced, causing more rushing to the market and more bugs and stablilty problems.
It was not business as usual because OS/UI development began to have a tremendous increase in functions, not just graphics, file storage, printing, and internet, but iCloud, Facetime, Messaging, App Store, iTunes, handoffs between devices, etc. And now the AWatch and software that works across OSX and IOS (Numbers, Pages, Keynote, Garage Band…..).
I won’t deny the bugs that pop up, but they are no more severe than in times past (I am a power user that sees most bugs). Given the tremendous development across so many fronts, it is surprising that there are not more problems than there are.
Imaging MS trying to develop so many different hardware and software items in the same period! Now that would be the definition of disaster! They can’t even get an OS right.
“Imaging MS trying to develop so many different hardware and software items in the same period! Now that would be the definition of disaster! They can’t even get an OS right.”
We know that is true, but we expect Apple to be the best, not just better.
they are by far better, and by far the best, just not perfect, get over it….
“they are by far better, and by far the best, just not perfect”
no one expects that, but you always need to try to get better, especially if you consider yourself to be the best.
Many here are insinuating that Apple is not always trying to get better. I don’t understand that at all. Why is turning out imperfect material evidence of not trying? Some kind of balance between condemnation and understanding would be welcome and more conducive to my feeling of well-being.
I agree with Francine… The UI has gotten WORSE over the years.
When you read “dirty little secret” in the heading, you know you’re in for a barrage of cliched, overblown, gossip-rag trash.
I’m puzzled why MDN goes after the author of the linked article the way you have. Do you have a problem with moms, mini-vans and kids with soccer practice? Of is that short-hand for get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich? Why not just go after what she wrote? Instead you attempt to negate her with a pretty sexist portrait.
Part of this is that Apple is doing do much more than it once did something that is always difficult for a company to keep a handle on everything sadly. Also there have always been the odd dud in the Apple universe though mostly secondary products. The worry is that some are now front line products.
I also think that another problem may be that the management is a little concerned about trying hard to compete with others who they fear might steal a march on them and thus are trying to push things forward on so many fronts and getting timing and priorities wrong. Apple TV is typical of this, it has been on the back burner for years and yet as the opposition make strides you get the impression that Apple suddenly pushed hard on something that had been neglected even though the concept they wanted has been sitting there for 2 to 3 years at least on the shelf but under developed. There isn’t the clear fearless attitude that Jobs had and his occasional fault of neglect of obvious product developments to the company’s longer term cost is now something this management is desperate to avoid do again they are less focused and more scatter gun.
That said I have to say that iOS 9 is a wonderful product that is a massive advance in every way on its slow motion under performing predecessors so not all is lost. Most of my moans have been removed, it has rejuvenated a struggling iPad and new capabilities see vid overs without effort or research just as it should and used to be.
Hahahah…more nonsense, combining several myths.
One, we see the myth of nostalgia…the idea that the good ol’ days were so good. Of course that’s not true, but we tend to gloss over the bad of the past.
Two, we see the myth of the superhero…in this case, Steve Jobs, where one person is given superhero status, again, looking back nostalgically. So no mention of all of the problems that Apple had under Steve, or any of his mistakes. Even though he was always being criticized when he was alive, similar to the way that Apple is being criticized now, all of sudden he was infallible when alive. Remember antenna gate, MobileMe, the Cube, etc.?
Then we just have this myth of Apple bashing…where some people just love to criticize Apple, for whatever reason.
It is stunningly awful that Apple hasn’t figured out a better way to type in letters and numbers into the TV. Bleh.
That Apple hasn’t updated its iOS Remote app to work with TV is just plain LAZY.
It’s times like this that I think about the usefulness of the cattle prod in software development teams. Hmm.
Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall were the cattle prods. Now one is in the sky and the other in Timbuktu. No help there.
Nowadays Apple’s too big and too corporate to nurture (as it once appeared to do) a cadre of passionate, angelic devotees of the mantra and the cause, despite the lingering remnants of the old culture in Apple University.
I think the whole thing was a fiction all along but only now ugly clues are bursting out from the seams of a bloated organisation that show Apple as it always was, a business selling ice cubes to Eskimos.
I sorta keep hoping Scott Forstall is simply on his personal life journey and will return to Apple and get prodding again.
It’s possible to reorganize a too-big company into ‘pods’ (to use an Apple term) that are self-contained entrepreneurial and management units. You define, engender and encourage a positive and efficient work culture within each. The scope of concern of employees is smaller and the head honcho of each pod is the only one who has to worry about the top executive management. I expect there are plenty of other models as well.
This is a new era for Apple. I hope they, as I say, jump on the sucker and tame it again. I worked for a vastly out-of-control company with blundering far worse than Apple’s current dilemma. They went bankrupt. They were Kodak.
As for your last paragraph, get back on your meds please. You lost coherence.
Not so fast. Your “pods” are just silos, like with Microsoft. Apple’s problems are not structural, they are growing pains.
“Selling ice cubes to Eskimos” is old-time marketing-speak for “Damn, their salesmen are super. They can sell anything!” and Apple has forever been accused of being more marketing fluff than substance. Steve Jobs was labeled a snake-oil salesman. Well, maybe that is an essential part of Apple’s true nature, is what I’m saying.
I’m also saying at the same time that Apple is cool, is perceived as cool, and nothing is more cool than ice and Eskimos. The same way that Three Dog Night is code for cool. Maybe you don’t remember Quinn the Eskimo, a Bob Dylan character considerably more cool than Mohair Sam.
If all that was incoherent, fine. I understand contemporary music is not for everyone. How about I go back to using metaphors derived from Shakespeare? Who was also cool, and still is after 350 years. Forsooth.
I agree regarding silos. But I used it as an example.
But again you go back to selling ice to Eskimos, which doesn’t fit the Apple scenario. You call their gear ‘fluff’? Why? You’re way off track.
I can certainly point to Apple pulling some dirty tricks on customers that I cannot appreciate. Their price gouging on RAM has been infamous for decades. Today I have been reading about their new Watch wireless charger that they somehow rigged to only mate with their watch and nothing else, despite it using an OPEN hardware standard. That’s a chilly déjà vu of the endless wired charger connector warz. That’s a gouge.
I do understand the cringe inspiring ‘Apple is cool’ ethos, whereby the point of having and showing off is social status in nature. My personality could not care less. I’m naturally utilitarian. But that’s certainly an Apple culture factor. I just don’t see the relevant gear being ‘fluff’ from my perspective. I USE the stuff and put it to work in what I do all day.
If you’re going to go into music: I grew up on classical, plainsong on up to ‘modern’ classical. I can also be fiercely modern in my pop tastes as well where I define ‘modern’ as inventive, creative, breaking new ground in sound.
Anyway, we have a fun chat going. I know I was harsh with the ‘meds’ comment and apologize. Thanks for pursuing your point anyway.
I did not call their gear fluff. I attributed that to the naysayers, who are essentially several Tribes each with its own Credo and who oppose Tribe Apple.
The desire to be ‘cool’ is a common name for the social instinct to seek herd inclusion or dominance. I’m saying that ‘cool’ adverts and products are symbols of inclusion in a desired Tribe. It may be thought of as courtship behaviour at the group level. Once attachment occurs, one’s choice must be defended and thus warfare threatens, as one armed camp’s Walled Garden appears as a Gulag to the other, and vice versa.
… OIC. I entirely agree about the herding instinct. It has benefits and detriments. Where I run up against it most is in my pursuit of becoming my best self. That path is guaranteed to upset the tribes(wo)men who have their own idea of what’s best.
Keep writing! You’ve got some terrific concepts to express. I wish the ‘tribe’ of us who enjoy thoughtful expression could get together, meet and chatter, share courtship and simply enjoy each other’s company. I’m lucky to know and have met several such people, but they’re scattered all over the world. Having the Internet does greatly help in our sharing. Within this ‘tribe’, we all think, and think for ourselves as individuals. We also care, encouraging our humanity, our spirit. I like that.
Please stay in touch!
“my pursuit of becoming my best self”, I must remember that wonderful phrase when I behave badly around others, it may get me out of a scrape!
I forget all the time, depending upon how tired I am. Merely human are we all.
Let me sum this up with something my boss said ( my boss has 20+ years experience in IT )
“I never needed help using my Apple products prior to IOS6 and Mavericks”
IVE is the problem. Stuff started going downhill after Forstall was forced out. Jon Ive believes that the best feature is one that has been REMOVED. When people say that OSX has been dumbed down to a toy level… TOYS are offended by that statement. Seriously, i think at some point they will remove Terminal and FS access from OSX.
I used to count down the days to a new OS or important update. Now i FEAR them, as i know some important thing i need will be removed by Mr Ive ( in El Capitan it was the new stupidified Disk Utility, neutered and now useless )
You hint was when they changed the name from “Apple Computer”, to “Apple”. OSX is the LEAST important product to Apple by a VAST margin. Phones, iPads, Watches, cars, headphones, music steaming services… i truly believe there is nobody left at Apple that cares about OSX or computers. And therefore, i agree the whole lot should be fired. And there is ZERO chance that will ever happen.
Apple WITH Steve Jobs… insanely Great!!
Apple withOUT Steve Jobs…. just insane.
oh, i should add. I’ve only been using Apple computers since 1987… and Final Cut Pro since version 1. So what do i know about their OS history or features that have gone by the wayside.
Exactly as it happens with wetware (child development), software development goes through awkward stages of growth—infancy, puberty—that infuriates those who mentally inhabit the mythic world of the ancient Greeks…preferring their miracle products to be born fully formed and perfect, like Athena, from the head of Zeus.
From my perspective, the author makes some small glimmers of reason…. Not about the Apple TV, but some of the other products like photos, iCloud, etc.
Here’s my question’ why did it take you an entire weekend to set up the Apple TV? Perhaps you should have read the quick start guide because the Apple TV set up copies 99% of its setup needs from your iPhone simply by bringing the iPhone in close proximity to the Apple TV during setup. My setup took about 2 minutes soup to nuts and I thought it was pretty slick.
many program in my apple not wrking proverly in my country..lol