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218 Comments
- SAZ2800, on 11/17/2008, -6/+54"Absence of pain isn't the same as pleasure"
- imNotaCylon, on 11/17/2008, -8/+55A problem I have with Apple's software is that too often the designers dictate your experience rather than giving control to the user. While this is nice, it often feels demeaning as if the designers are saying " I know you want to do this, but you will like it much more if you do it the way we think you should do it." Unfortunately I often disagree.
Im not surprised though, as this attitude permeates through much of their software design. Some people call this 'great' I call it condescending. Different strokes for different folks though. - thedrue, on 11/17/2008, -11/+57wouldn't it be so nice if getting work done turned into a somewhat pleasurable activity? Maybe not the work necessarily but at least the process.
- Dalhectar, on 11/17/2008, -4/+23There are some misses in Apple's portfolio though...
Front Row comes to mind as a horridly lame interface. Myth, XMBC, SageTV, Windows Media Center, all have better and more functional 10 foot interfaces. Only info you get out of Front Row before playing any media is the title. - 0260, on 11/17/2008, -21/+40I never liked how apple goes about user interfaces
- CoreyTamas, on 11/17/2008, -6/+24The more you enjoy the interface, the more you'll stick with your work.
Or are you the type who takes aspirin without water? - intellimouse, on 11/17/2008, -4/+20Actually, it's funny that you mention the tree because many, many Mac users do not like the Finder and would much prefer something like Explorer.
Also, look around some time. Files and Folders are organized hierarchically in ever OS and the tree represents that hierarchy. - bjs3171, on 11/17/2008, -9/+23uh...Vista looks pretty. So yes, they "though of pleasure". It's just the actual usability that people complain about.
- aprocter, on 11/17/2008, -7/+21Mmm, pleasure.
- BradOFarrell, on 11/17/2008, -3/+17Using apple products is fun because you get to suspend disbelief and pretend you're living in a utopian scifi novel.
Whereas Linux and homebrew stuff makes you feel like you're living in a steampunk novel.
And Windows makes you feel like you're living in a textbook. - username7410, on 11/17/2008, -7/+20I can say when I first got my iPhone I couldn't stop touching it. It was certainly pleasurable using the touch screen.
- DoomMusic, on 11/17/2008, -39/+52I don't use a computer for pleasurable interfaces. I just want to get work done.
- CoreyTamas, on 11/17/2008, -1/+14That "browbeating an Apple into working right" thing is ridiculous.
Click the icon, get the program. Type on the keys, letters show up on the screen. That sure is a lot of browbeating.
What a drama queen. - ricksite, on 11/17/2008, -0/+12On the other end of the spectrum, Windows 98 plus allowed users to do all sorts of customizations to their desktop. It was a pain in the ass to provide support. You would have trouble finding "My Computer" because it would be disguised as something like a baseball diamond or a butterfly. The network neighborhood might be a dugout and the mouse, a baseball bat. It was pretty sickening.
- cthellis, on 11/17/2008, -0/+12Yes, you can turn off the security feature that was so annoying as to prompt everyone to turn it off, thereby removing the security feature.
Hallmark of good design, that. - HaloZero, on 11/17/2008, -0/+11What security nag? Most applications I install I just drag and drop. I only get the password prompt on certain Microsoft programs and programs that change the OS.
We overlook it becuase it happens so rarely. - ChunkerMunker, on 11/17/2008, -0/+11A great example of that is Bento.
At work I asked our assistant if she could help me organize some information, she was hesitant and gave in.
But as soon as I opened Bento and started using it, it became "fun" for her.
And that's just one example of a recent experience I've had. - xornor, on 11/17/2008, -5/+15Yeah because reading digg helps me get work done too... riiiight
- Zippo, on 11/17/2008, -4/+14We're talking about GUI's here... not peripherals. If you don't like the Mighty Mouse, then plug in any other USB mouse and get over it.
- Twinnie, on 11/17/2008, -0/+10There's actually a branch of ergonomics research that's about making ergonomics that are fun rather than useful, forget what it's called but Linux could use some of that.
- bbardlbradd, on 11/17/2008, -0/+10I think Apple's upper hand comes with the minimalist philosophy. I don't feel like I'm experiencing pleasure when I use a mac, I don't experience the pain of using anything else. Now, before all of the windows/linux fanboys, I use every OS, probably on a daily basis, and they are all great for their own reasons, but I always come back to OS X.
- mbarker2, on 11/17/2008, -16/+26*Yawn* boring old topic
- cslawren, on 11/17/2008, -7/+17I'm not an Apple hater per se, but I do find it highly hypocritical for Apple to slam UAC (which, true, it is annoying after a fresh install) when they have the same damn thing pop up every time you try to install a program, alter any system settings beyond screen resolution, or create a boot camp partition. What makes Apple's scheme even more annoying is that you don't just have to click OK, you have to type in your user password, and in some cases, that password is different from your user password. I service both PCs and Macs, and this is the one gripe I have when trying to fix Macs. A lot of people overlook this, and I'm not sure why.
- przemeklach, on 11/17/2008, -11/+20I think that Apple's approach to design is to base their their interfaces on how people actually do their work on a computer and not on how the comupter works. For example, the tree structure in windows, the structure has more to do with the OS architecture then how users think of files.
- diggosaurs, on 11/17/2008, -1/+10When I first heard of the "Apple Experience," I thought, please, what a crock of pick-your-own-color crap. I switched from Apple to PC to get a more powerful, capable system at a lower price and, tail tucked, came crawling back to the Mac.
I think the "absence of pain does not equal pleasure" quote about says it all. - deviouster, on 11/17/2008, -12/+21Great article. I love my iPod touch, it definitely beats my Axim sitting in my desk drawer.
I realize my Axim is two years younger, but it has somewhat comparable specs and such. Apple is just Apple. I'm no fanboy, all my computers are PCs - I've owned (and loved) Macs and I've had tons of iPods.. just saying, Apple is great at innovation and bringing it to the home user. - inactive, on 11/17/2008, -3/+12I'd say your statement that "OSX sucks" is a matter of opinion, too. And as far as "browbeat[ing] an Apple into working right" goes, please provide criteria for how a computer is SUPPOSED to work, and make no reference to other operating systems when doing so.
- Balanced, on 11/17/2008, -0/+9The main thing is that most reviewers felt that UAC popped up way too often when doing normal operations (like, say, joining a wireless network) while the Mac OS X equivalent only pupped up for stuff that really is a potential issue like changing critical system settings or installing a small segment of applications.
- inactive, on 11/17/2008, -3/+12Not really the best attitude for a Digg user....
- rubbers0ul, on 11/17/2008, -1/+10in case you forgot how to read, the article is about interfaces and ease of use, not technical capabilities
- yabos, on 11/17/2008, -0/+7I was just using a friend's BB Storm on the weekend and compared to the iPhone, the interface is still fairly primitive. It's not quite as apparent where everything is because there are still menus you have to go through. The "button pressing" is also not consistent. Some things you can select by touch, the others you have to press the screen down. It's a step in the right direction but definitely not as refined as the iPhone interface.
- LoungeActx, on 11/17/2008, -1/+7Man...you are on crack. What's awful about the dock? You see the app you want and click. Say I want it smaller, I make it smaller. Say I want it on the left or right, click and boom, it moves. Not much to go wrong there.
- slothlovechunk, on 11/17/2008, -12/+18I'm sorry, but apple does not do THE BEST interfaces.
They do good interfaces, but they always choose form over function. Look at their pseudo-2 button mouse, the real 2 button mouse has always been better. Look at their clickwheel on a nano, then pick up a Sansa clip, and you will appreciate the extra buttons, and the interface is actually easier to use. The click-wheel is clumsy. - jbond, on 11/17/2008, -1/+7This is all backwards isn't it? iTunes and Safari on Windows suck. Virgin Media+ works far better than Sky+
Or maybe that's just me. - secrity, on 11/17/2008, -1/+7That is a Good Thing for defaults, but it is not a good thing when things can't be changed to a meaningful degree.
- secrity, on 11/17/2008, -2/+8/s ?
- mbarker2, on 11/17/2008, -3/+9I believe that's exactly what the article said they do:
"Rather than survey a bunch of users on every decision, the Mac team decided each issue among themselves" - wheezy360, on 11/17/2008, -2/+7That's what she said.
- UltraMegaFilms, on 11/17/2008, -9/+14Sorry ender, in the Mac community, if you don't agree with the way the great one likes it, your just a infidel.
- dragossh, on 11/17/2008, -1/+6Their number one priority is usability WITH eye candy where it makes sense. Transitions on the iPhone, the minimize effect on OS X, the Dashboard ripple etc are not just eye-candy, they provide feedback to the user.
- inactive, on 11/17/2008, -9/+14Fanboy article. I don't find that Apple designs the best interfaces at all.
- revjustin2, on 11/17/2008, -2/+7I work on PC's all day, have owned many over the years, and honestly don't get too riled up about things like this. I bought a Macbook about 6 months ago and use it at home. When I first got it, I looked at that dock and was put off. However, now that I have it customized, I like it a bunch. Is it better than XP and/or Vista? No. Just different, but not bad.
- slothlovechunk, on 11/17/2008, -2/+7What about the ipod putting every control into 4 buttons and a click wheel?
It is workable, but it is not the most intuitive interface in the world, and at times it is very annoying. Like when you change tracks and your volume suddenly jumps up. - aolshove, on 11/17/2008, -7/+12Meh... buried for being an obviously bias article. Just as well could be a paid advertisement by Apple.
- stutimandal, on 11/17/2008, -5/+10Gmail, google earth, google search, live's image and video search, Microsoft office 2007, etc. are all examples of good interfaces.
Others do good things too. - inactive, on 11/17/2008, -5/+10Yep, cos it makes sense to have a modern processor so you can sit and watch System Idle Process at 99%
- moppsy, on 11/17/2008, -1/+6You need to authenticate to do root level administration on any Unix system.
I'm not familiar with how Vista handles this, but from your description it sounds like any user can authenticate just by clicking OK. Ouch! - boobsbr, on 11/17/2008, -2/+7> there is no maximize window button, but there's a let-the-window-manager-decide-a-random-size-best-suited-to-view-the-contents-of-this-app button.
> the buttons at the TOP-LEFT of the windows are very small too.
> the dock is very confusing, some apps get hidden under the main icon for that app, some get minimized somewhere else.
> can't mac(super)+tab through all the apps because the window manager thinks all the different windows of the app are the same and doesn't switch between them, and i don't want to move my hand to the mouse, that's my keyboard shortcuts exist.
> finder won't let me see the damned hidden folders or rename a folder to .something because that's a protected OS folder format
> terminal doesn't exit when you exit the bash shell, it sits there saying process terminated instead of closing the window.
> spaces is annoying because it moves my windows to a random space at the window manager's will
> i know the mighty mouse is not an OS interface but they designed it and it's interface is not good, sometimes it doesn't know which button i clicked because it needs to check which are of the main button a finger is touching. not good. - chesterjosiah, on 11/17/2008, -1/+5DoomMusic should be duggdown faster than any other comment in recent memory.
"I don't use a computer for pleasure, only for work." -Some guy on Digg.com
Seriously, WTF? - inactive, on 11/17/2008, -4/+8I suck apples
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