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Interview With iMac designer, Jonathan Ive
rleyton writes "The Independent has an interesting interview with Jonathan Ive, the designer of the new imac (and the iBook, the iPod and original iMac...)" It's actually a pretty interesting
even if you think the new iMac is repulsive. Personally I dig it.
Ive is a neat guy -- his work is pretty darned innovative -- more, I think, than people give Apple credit for. There are a lot of breakthrough aspects of most of their recent products.
Even if you don't like the stuff, it isn't the same derivative crap that has flooded the rest of the market.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
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that's cool. i really like the design of the new iMac and think most folks complaining about it will be using a clone of it in 6 months. my question is why won't iMac treat audio with a little more repsect, and only service the visual (why didn't anyone ask the designer about that)? i'd like to see an iMac system that didn't require the user to buy external speakers just to hear anything remotely close to reaching the low end sounds we've come to love in our hip-hop, funk and satanic bible thumper rally music.
great comedy company.
The article says the new iMac weighs 20 pounds. That seems rather heavy to me.
Has anyone picked one up yet? Does it actually weigh that much?
...toward having computers that you don't notice anymore. I would love to have a computer that wasn't subject any manifestation of 'beige box syndrome'. Unforunately, what I think of as beige box syndrome includes connecting cables from mouse (keyboard, monitor, scanner, network hub, etc) to computer, not just visual astetics. One look behind my desk at home (or the office) shows just what I worry about. Sure, you can bundle the cables together, but even then they make an auful mess.
My dream computer is one that stands out while I activly interact with it, but when I'm not using it seamlessly blends right into the background. Kindof the way the computer works on Star Trek. While we're still years away from having this concept being actively sold to the consumer (though all the pieces seem to be falling into place), in the past few years I have considered Macs ever more seriously when thinking about new computers (and know that now, with WinXP, if&when I succumb to the lure of a laptop, it will be an iBook- unless Linux has become the dominant x86 OS in the interim).
Do you like Japanese imports?
OK, so I borrowed the 'Lump - Stick - Rectangle' from somewhere else. :-)
:-)
I don't understand how people can be so critical of this. It is truly innovative, with a 700-800MHz G4 packed into the small package (as well as 128MB of RAM and a GeForce2 card.) The only things I don't like are the price, and the screen size. Still, it's a marvelous piece of engineering and design. If you need something else to like about it, take a gander at all the ports in the back. Definitely impressive.
Don't like it? don't buy it. But at least acknowledge the craftsmanship and vision.
(No, I am not affected by the reality distortion field... otherwise I would have put down the money and bought one, and not seen any shortcomings.
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Re: the guy that had the sketches of a similar iMac last summer.
If he even remotely claims Apple 'stole' his ideas, he should be laughed off the face of the planet.
Consider the incredible number of conceptual drawings and sketches about possible new iMac designs that have made the rounds in the last two years. Combine that with the fact that every computer needs a spot for ports, a display, and something to contain the cpu/drives/ram/etc. Now, combine that with the industrial design directions Apple set by announcing the death of the CRT [last may @ WWDC, I believe] and the icebook/tibook look and feel.
All told, it is no surprise that *one* of the myriad concept sketches that appeared on the net look similar! As innovative as Apple is, they have yet to be able to entirely break the bonds of reality (i.e. say, a completely detached floating display).
As well, the guy *sent* his concept sketches to Apple-- including to Steve Jobs. Apple's policy on such matters is quite clear; anything submitted becomes the property of Apple and they can do whatever they bloody well please with it-- including giving it to a competitor, if they saw fit to do so.
i think the point is that truly well designed functionality has intrinsic aesthetic appeal.
i mean, there are often many solutions to a problem - but the one that has the most thought and work applied to it is usually the most elegant.
A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master merely stays out of the way.
What could be more simple than the same connector used on 99% of the world's personal computers?
How about not using any connector at all, and simply sticking with the flat panel display that comes with the iMac and iBook?
There's no good reason for Apple to waste space on a computer designed to be as small as possible to hook a second monitor up to what's supposed to be, and this is important, a consumer PC. Pros and developers need second monitors. Consumers almost never do.
These flats includes a new technology from Philips, and Philips gives you a 3 year warranty that it will not happen, a good deal.
I would realy like to know why there are people in the world like you that HATE Apple. Apple sells a product, if you don't like their product for whatever reason, don't buy it....but before you criticize, research....rather than say "no software"(which is a total lie since 1998) look at what you can do then decide if you dislike them....this new compter is priced higher because of what it incoperates....try to find one with all the same capabilities at dell, and you will find the apple is very competative.....just not in your price range.
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Observing the public reaction, it is clear that like its predecessor it is destined to invade and fully occupy the public imagination for the next couple of years. Bully for Apple, and for Ive. And it will be perfect for my parents.
But what I've realized I'd personally like most is just the detached hub. I'll buy my own flat-screen thank you (maybe an Apple Cinema display). I don't need more than one viewing angle and I'd rather put the hub itself off towards the back of the desk. Just need the LCD, keyboard, mouse/trackball and speakers up front.
I hope they're planning on releasing this iHub on its own, some time soon. It would be a sweet machine - short on expandability, but as this NYT article points out, at a better price point (and a helluva lot more aesthetic) than the G4 towers.
-Renard
My mother is a couple of years over 50. Up until a few months ago, her computer at work was still DOS based. So I tried giving her a couple of different computers that ran Windows 95. I spent more time talking her through things than she actually spent using it herself. Everyday something new confused her. So, in a desprete attempt, I decided to give her my old Performa. It was a basterdly slow machine. Once I showed her how to connect to the internet, her only complaint/issue came 3 weeks later.
"Son, I have to reset the clock everytime it turns on." So I started explaining how to do that on a Mac... She interrupted me and said "No Son, I know how to do that. I don't know how to fix it. It says something about its battery." Realizing she had jumped in useability, I decided for Christmas this year (she had the other one for 1 or 2) to get her a used iMac. She's very happy with how much faster it is. Of course, now that it doesn't run slow, I'm being bombarded with Instant Messages, Emails, and pretty looking weekly Cookbooks from her. Maybe for mother's day I'll look into the new iMac. Then I can play with it for a while too.
I beg of the programmers and techs out there try to move beyond it.
First, let all the people who write apps swear an oath that they will forevermore document what they create to a high standard. If this is a start, then the cooler boxes may follow, perhaps in the next generation.
That new internet coputer based on Mozilla is a glimpse of what this "next generation" could look like.
No one is compelled to put up with "bland boxes" and "difficult" software like the notorius Mplayer, or any of the other "break it to find out how it works" stuff. There are other options. If you have the time/brains/cash.
Undocumented software, wires everywhere, bespoke systems. This is part of the culture. If one cant live with this, then one can to go to the places where everything is made beautifuly and beautifully easy.
I loved the part of the article about Gateway being on the ropes. The solution for them is clear; get a world class deigner in house to revamp and vitalize the product range, and then customize one of the advanced Linux distributions, brand it, and ship every product with it without exception.
They would then have something to offer the public, something to fire the imagination... and it might even be cheaper in the stores since they dont have to pay royalties for the OS.
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I think the insides of this iMac must look really cool, so it makes me wonder why the shell is opaque and white. Maybe they could make future models candy-colored and translucent? You probably wouldn't see too deep into the thing because it's so cramped, but it would be cool anyway. Well, just an idea...
Henry Ford said the same thing about the first car. Basically it was a Tractor high-bread that will allow people to drive the store in the same vehicle after plowing the fields.
I happen to appreciate the elegance of something like OSX. It's out of my face so I can get the work I need done, done quicker.
The rumors about it being slow or buggy are just plain fud. They have fixed almost all of the anoying problems after version 10.1 and it's just getting better.
I find that I am actually able to do the things using the tools I am used to (Unix/GNU tools that I am used to such as VIM, wget, Lynx, php/apache, etc.) I can also play games (Wolfenstein) that I love, and co-habitate with my co-workers that are a MS Office establishment.
I don't know how you can say that interface improvments are regressive. The UNIX/Linux world would still be using TWM if we all kept that mentality.
Gelernter's "Machine Beauty" is another great book about combining beauty and function.
When did science and art separate? Socrates and Divinci would not be happy with the PC beige box.
Oliver's army is here to stay Oliver's army are on their way And I would rather be anywhere else But here today
The new iMac design isn't just about a new case or the next wierd look from Apple. It's all part of apple's new strategy. Apple lost the "big market-share and superfast speeds" race long ago, way back in 1996. That isn't where Apple is focused anymore.
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Instead, Apple has come up with this concept of the "Digital Hub". Admittedly, the concept is not new, but Apple is marketing it, and sucesfully I might add. No longer is Apple selling a computer, they're selling a lifestyle. Think about what they provide. A series of softwares which touch on almost every aspect of life.
1) OS X- For the computer geek in the house, a *NIX underpinning, with plenty of built in power and a ton of open source aspects, and a fast and worthy GUI on top of it. Combinned with the support of comercial software backers, Apple is bringing *NIX to consumers.
2) iMovie- For the parents, finaly those really dull home movies can be livened up, even if they still won't ever be watched.
3) iPhoto- Steve was right, every family has a photo buff, and this product makes things unbelievably easy.
4) iTunes+iPod- Say what you will about it's price, the iPod is still one of the best MP3 players arround, and I can boot my comp with it. iTunes has a lot of power behind it, and while there may be other more feature packed products out there, almost none of them have such seamless support with so many MP3 players. Plus, it burns CDs for you. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Apple believes in being able to use music you own (and if you ask Steve off the books, probobly even some you don't) in any way you like.
5) iDVD- a new concept, burning your own DVDs. And while DVD burners aren't anything new, I don't see anyone else promoting the idea.Not only that, but someone mentioned to me, that even though Apple doesn't support it, the drives in the high end products are apperently not only DVD-R, but actualy RWs. (Unconfirmed, I guess you would have to find out what drive exactly is being used and find a market version somewhere
6) New iMac design- The look is more than just shock value. The concept behind the digital hub is that it is the center of your technological needs. The new design is something you could put in the center of your house. Where most computers have traditionaly enjoyed a spot against the wall, under a desk, or in a back room, this computer could sit comfortably in your living room, and it wouldn't look all that out of place.
7) Expandable- Not in terms of conventional PCI slots or drive bays, but in terms of versitility. The power of UNIX, combined with the imagination and wierdness of Apple developers and the OpenSource compuntiy you suddenly have a computer capable of being more than just a worprocessor and graphics station. This thing could actualy be the brain of a computerized home. It has the look and feel of being part of the future and has the potential to be part of it.
This is not to say the PC's don't have the ability to do this, but if you ask me, the only real innovation I see is from Sony, and Sony costs about as much as Apple.
Apple lost the power race years ago, as well as the OS race. Now Apple is running a new race, one of style, class and usefulness, and so far, the contenders are way behind.
For a superior explination of what I'm saying here go to:
http://www.macslash.com/articles/02/01/10/22492
T Money
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