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Woz Dumps on MacBook Air, iPhone, AppleTV
AcidAUS writes "Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak heaped less than lavish praise on the company's iPhone, MacBook Air and Apple TV products when visiting Sydney this morning. Wozniak said he was puzzled by the lack of 3G support on the iPhone and that he didn't believe the MacBook Air would be a hit."
You know you want to.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
I am an Apple user and thus somewhat bias. I do however question the release of the iPhone without g3 support. I also believe that it needs a removable battery so that I could keep a spare.
On another note no one can say that the iPhone did not change the face of the cell phone market. I can't say if the new Air will do the same thing for the notebook market or not.
Well, Steve is just stating what everyone else is thinking! Everyone who isn't completely in love with apple, that is. Although apple has great products, they're not for everyone, and because of that, they lack certain features.
... respectable ... is saying it!
... so if they're a little bigger (because they're not manufatured with VERY tight tolerances, like the ipod nano), then I'm okay with that.
For example, the macbook air isn't very good as a main computer, and the lack of 3G iphones has to do with battery life - Apple has chosen to offer certain features which are mutually exclusive with other features - I'm glad someone
I know a girl who has apple everything. She wouldn't buy a music player if it didn't come from apple - and she has 4 ipods, and 3 apple computers. She likes things to WORK, and she likes them to look beautiful. So, she ** IS ** apple's target market.
Me, on the other hand, I prefer other options - I LIKE figuring out how my gadgets work, and I like repairing them at home
It's also just too bad he's not earning off these products. Heck, I'd go as far to say my old employer makes inferior products. They did fire me though, so maybe I'm just letting off steam.
All those comments could have come right from here. :)
Personally I think the Macbook Air may sell well, because Apple's proven they can get users to suffer through all kinds of hardware deficiencies to get their software.
While I definitely do miss the speed of 3G, all the other features of the iPhone made it worth it. I came from the Cingular 8525 and while it was an ok phone, all the apps on there seemed like they were made for a computer. Tiny buttons, slow response times and nothing worked well together.
The thing I like about the iPhone is while it does have a lot of apps, all of them were made for a phone. MMS is stupid not having, but I knew that when I purchased it. Hopefully it's just a firmware update.
Overall, it's a pretty good phone and I dont regret buying it.
The greatest experience we can have is the mysterious.
- Albert Einstein
Apple released a non-3G iPhone, to ensure that everyone who buys the first iPhone for $500, will buy the iPhone3G for $500, a year later.
Woz is, according to the article you obviously didn't read, still employed by and invested in Apple.
While I believe that the lack of 3G is kinda lame, I must admit that the device itself bests anything else available and certainly will become the innovative device to match. I would love to move to the Android platform (as I appreciate not being locked-in to AT&T) but the prototype devices are still the same old, same old. Give me the iPhone with a hidden full QWERTY along with the ability to plug into a LCD/wireless keyboard so I can do some real work with it when I'm able and then you'll have a sale.
The MacBook Air is also a sweet device. My wife drools over those commercials like I drool over the iPhone commercials. I know they aren't the fastest things on the planet but personally I've been using a P3-800 (after an upgrade from a P-133 -- yes, first generation Pentium) and it's just fine for surfing the web and writing code via SSH.
To each their own.
So just because Woz said it, it's news? His opinions are nothing new, at all, and have zero insight as an Apple "insider".
He didn't really dump on AppleTV as a product. He just didn't like the 24 hour rental feature for movies.
It's called the MacBook Pro. I'm sure he has a few. The Air isn't for him.
And of course everyone wants 3G on the iPhone. Judging from the sales, it's not a fatal flaw.
I can't say if the new Air will do the same thing for the notebook market or not.
Hopefully it will have as much effect on the market as the iMac and Mini. To wit: a sporadic scatter of me-too products every time a new version comes out, which don't sell very well because the bottom line is that these are not really very good designs and without OS X they just don't have much traction.
Woz also states in the same interview that he's tired of reporters taking his comments out of context and making him look like an Apple-hater.
Quote: "[Jobs] calls me and he says he doesn't like something that I was reputed to have said. But he gets it out of context. A reporter's seized on a comment and strung along with that. I'm very positive on Apple, but I'll also point out things that could be better, or aren't the way I'd like them to be."
When Google announced the availability of the Android SDK, Apple should have seen that as a shot across their bow. It's just not occurred to them that if Android really works out in the real world the way that their slimmed down OSX does, that they're going to run the serious risk of having to play catch up with Google.
Apple should have released an SDK for the iPod Touch that gives full access to the system on both the iPod Touch and iPhone when the iPhone is not on a cellular network. A certification process for the code that interacts with a cellular network is one thing, but all of this rumored crap about the restrictions should have been dispelled by Steve Jobs announcing it as a general SDK open to everyone.
All it's going to take to kick the iPhone squarely in the balls is for someone to make a very sleak Android-based phone that has no developer restrictions on it. People are going to write good software for Android, and then Apple is going to have to convince casual users why they should pay for a phone that doesn't have all of the cool features and add-ons that are free or cheap for Android.
If the Air was half the price, they would sell shed loads. It's the kind of device that Apple might expect to sell two or three to a household. But at the current price, there may not be much demand.
So, Woz is just speaking his mind. Freethinkers get to do that once in a while... at least in this day and age, they don't burn you at the stake like a witch. Well, at least not literally - that's what the slashdot comment threads are for.
I agree with him... Air is just hot air, and the iPhone without 3G data connectivity is reprehensible.
He'd be modded troll and flamebait for daring to impugn Apple's quality.
Les Miserables Volume 1 now up with my reading of
Woz thinks like an engineer. The majority of cellphone users don't know what 3G is and they don't care. What they do care about is a sexy, easy-to-use device that lets them easily play music, browse the web, make phone calls, and more. Other cellphones can also do this, but none is as sexy and easy-to-use as the iPhone.
Doooooooooooooooooooooooooomed!!
;-)
I like Woz, and it's unfortunate that some folk are going to pounce on his every statement to make some gratuitously negative acticle about Apple/Jobs, but life will go on.
The p-133's weren't first-gen by a long shot.
The 1st-gen Pentiums were P5 (Intel product 80501/ 80500) - 66 and 60 mhz (the 60mhz chips were those that couldn't pass QC at full speed). - .80 micron process. Your p5-133 is either a P54CS or (if its a lappy) a P55C. You skipped both the original P5 and the P54C.
Good thing too - the original P5 was expensive, and slowwwww compared to an AMD 486-120.
"Woz Takes Dump on iPhone" would have been much more funny as a subject line.
How to Download YouTube Videos
The MacBook Air needed to have a touch screen. Then I could finally use a laptop that's not a fucking giant block of electronics as a replacement for my clipboard.
They should call it the Breeze or something. And put a low power mode for writing notes. The battery needs to squeeze out 8 hours for the device. It can be slower, that doesn't matter, it just needs to be a replacement for a clipboard.
There needs to be a mode on it called "scribble" or something, where the screen fills with a blank, lined or graph paper-like background, colour selection bar at the top, maybe a clear-screen quick button, a snap-to function for making quick hand drawn graphs, and IM support so you can reply with handwritten IMs, send notes, etc. It makes IM more personalized, and reduces the easily intercept-able plain text messages.
Make a version that's reasonably cheaper, maybe a low-colour display, flash memory storage, slower processor... but again, it's designed for taking notes. Maybe some web surfing as well. The advantage needs to be long battery life to get through an entire day of work or school without having to recharge it or plug it in.
Now I've shared the angst I've had pent up over electronics for the past 5 years. Somebody do something with this. Otherwise I'm just going to make it myself.
or, to be clear: it spends more power, but during much less time, so the energy / byte ratio is lower than, for instance, EDGE. Most 3G phones I know don't load a page in the browser while you are reading another (the iPhone certainly don't), so, the battery would endure MORE if the iPhone was 3G.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
Apple gets heat because their products lack a few features that people want where as Microsoft releases two dogs, Vista and the new Office, and they largely get a pass. Yes there's some complaints but nothing like the venom Apple gets. The primary argument seems, "yes they're cool but they could be cooler so Apple sucks". Bizarre logic. The three biggest complaints on iPhone have been it's bundled to AT&T, no SDK at launch and no 3G. Well they addressed the SDK in under nine months which is reasonable, not sure on the 3G or unbundling but remember AT&T was the only one that would deal. They were releasing a very expensive product so they had to release it a bit differently than the other phones. A lot of people are blasting Macbook Air because gee there's a PC version that is thicker, heavier and a lot more expensive that has more features. Ah, dah, that shouldn't even require a response. Apple TV? Well name one system of that type that has succeeded? Microsoft isn't exactly burning up the market with their attempts either. It seems to be a device that no one has ever launched a decent product so it's hard to single them out. At least they are trying and no one is making you buy one. The biggest complaints seem to be people are frustrated because they WANT to buy the products but there are specific features they want and they're pissed Apple doesn't have them yet. Name one product that peaked at launch? Over all they release usable innovative products that have driven the market in new directions. If they piss you off don't buy them. I'm not an Apple or PC guy I'm a heretic but I have to say Apple hardware is sweet on average. It's more expensive but here's a 411, it always has been. There have been some defects but in general they release quality hardware. If there's a product that more suits your needs buy it. Some how I think Apple will soldier on. Set aside all religious preferences, which is more likely to release an innovative OS or product next, Apple or Microsoft? I'm waiting on the next gen iPhones but I'll probably grab a Touch soon. Macbook Air? I've got no interest because all I care about is power and if it has to weigh 20lbs I'll deal but I'm not their target audience and neither are devoted PC users. Apple TV? Not interested and I never was. Not all products will suit everyone. At least give them some credit for trying to break the mold. I can't stand Crackberries and most buttoned smart phones are just as bad to me. I'd have to find some one 18" tall to text for me. I have big fingers and don't even like Mac keyboards so I'd rather go with an iPhone where I have a fighting chance.
Although I saw several MacBook Air's at the local Apple store in my relatively (1M by the Census) small town, I also saw reports of it being intermittently being sold out in the larger markets. Hard not to call that a hit, unless they only built 5 of them.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
So, Wozniak tells it like it is, that Jobs has made some bad choices, and the world explodes?
Look, there are a few things that Apple should have done better (3G comes to mind, IM as well) but it's not Treason. If you want sycophantic yes men, go visit MS circa 1999.
"Teach a man to build a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."
I think your question really hits the nail on the head, actually. When people buy Apple products, they're almost *always* doing so specifically because they're willing to "pay more for a better UI". And yes, part of that inherently means "fewer features".
Did the iPod become a huge success because it had the "most features for the dollar"? Hardly! It didn't even have a lousy built-in FM radio tuner! The beauty of it, though, was the overall form factor and UI functionality. While China and Korea were cranking out cheap little generic MP3 players with tiny buttons and single line LCD displays, Apple came along with a player that was easy and actually *enjoyable* for people to manipulate. I remember when I first bought a 2nd. generation iPod, I'd hand it to reluctant people who said "I don't know how to use one of these things!" - and within seconds, they'd get a big grin on their face when they realized how that scroll-wheel let them move through the menus. The whole thing just had a "satisfying" feel to operating it, and even to simply holding it in your hand comfortably.
Mac OS X is much the same way. It's a visually satisfying OS, as well as one that most people find relatively "friendly" to use once they give it a chance. If your only (or main) concern is having the most possible options to tweak/modify, then OS X isn't for you. Many aspects of the UI are chosen for you by Apple's designers, and you'll have to buy 3rd. party tools (that often destabilize the system or fail when updates come along) just to force the changes. On the other hand, MOST of us just want an operating system that's stable, looks good out of the box, and does the things we need it to do. OS X seems to accomplish all of this quite well.
I see the iPhone as yet another device in this vein. Some phones really cram in too MANY features, and it just makes the menus hard to navigate. Most cellphone users can't even tell you what some of the options do, or at least how to get to them on their phones. The iPhone does a pretty darn impressive job of making it easy to access the things you really might want to use on your phone, while leaving out a lot of the confusion. (EG. If I want to call forward my number to another number, I don't have to to remember that my carrier uses * and some 2 digit code to turn forwarding on, and another such code to turn it back off. I simply tap the "Call forward" option on the iPhone menu and key in the destination number for it. I then slide the switch to either "On" or "Off" and it's done.) And obviously, the web browsing experience blows away most of the competition. It's the first of many "Smartphones" I've had where I can surf "normal" web sites and actually read the content properly.
People who rip on the iphone's lack of 3G make me laugh. We didn't buy the iphone for high speed internet, we bought it for the UI. I've owned several Windows Mobile 2005/2006 phone, my latest being a HTC Wizard and I hated them all. Windows Mobile is horriable. It freezes, it crashes it's the worst phone OS I've ever seen in my life. I've actually switched back to non-smartphones for a few weeks during my ownership of them because I just couldn't take the BS anymore. Who wants a phone that freezes when you go to answer a call? Or how about a phone that needs to be rebooted once a day? Not me. Thats why I bought an iphone.
To a nail, every person with a hammer looks like a problem.
Jobs knows he can abuse the bleeding edge style-cultists on first and occasionally second generation products. He can count on them for early press, excitement and sales to the point that some he might as well release products a bit early and have them beta test as well.
Well, Steve is just stating what everyone else is thinking!
And what only about a billion people on Slashdot have been saying as well.
But Woz is pure engineer, just like so many of the Slashdot crowd - and just as the pure checklist view of a product helped Slashdot as a community totally miss the iPod, so to does this checklist thinking miss why the Air is already a success, much less why it is set for greater success to come.
I know a girl who has apple everything. She wouldn't buy a music player if it didn't come from apple
Perhaps you should ponder the total disconnect between your view of the Air and many Apple products as non-functional, and the presence of consumers like that so deeply involved with a brand. Marketing alone cannot get you to a point where a consumer is that into a product or company.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
...the only voice of common sense in the whole apple organization, past or present.
#include <disclaimer.h>
#include <beer.h>
I want third party apps myself. But I find it striking that the two apps you mention are things the iPhone does well already. It has a very good implementation of Google Maps that even works well on EDGE (and I mean well, not just usable). As for photos, the iPhoto integration makes everything very easy indeed.
So while I'm looking forward to third party apps, I have yet to see a single description of a third party app that is a must-have for MOST people. That's why the phone has sold well despite lack of third party support, because all the ways people generally use third party products to try and improve other phones are already improved beyond that point in an iPhone. That's why something you see as a restriction - is really not.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You are actually the first user I've heard say that Edge is sufficient.
Read again. He was not saying EDGE is sufficient, he was saying it was necessary. And that is correct. Chipsets still use too much power ( a problem solved later this year) and 3G was not yet very widespread at launch (for instance, Denver had no 3G coverage - that is only in the last month or two starting to come online). That said...
Edge sucks. Every time I use it I have flashbacks to my dial up days.
EDGE is slow for browsing, but usable. For maps it's totally fine. If you really think EDGE is as slow as dialup I strongly urge you to connect your laptop to a modem someday and see just how absurd your statement really is. You are browsing the modern web on something that is like 5x faster than dialup, but pages are much heftier and more graphical these days. Some sites have tried to address this by presenting the iPhone with a more limited page but I despise this approach - I would rather wait a few seconds extra for the full functionality of a site I visit.
I'm with the other responder, in that an upgrade to 3G support alone (or even in combination with a few other trinkets like GPS support) is not enough to get me to upgrade my iPhone. I'll be fine on EDGE/WiFi for some time to come.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
they're going to run the serious risk of having to play catch up with Google.
They aren't even in the same class. Android (WHEN we even get a phone that supports it) will be great in bringing a better standardized platform to low-end phones. But the necessity to be adaptable for every possible kind of hardware hamstrings Android in comparison to a more focused phone that is free to pair hardware and software UI advancements, that will take place in higher end phones (not just the iPhone or phones from Apple either). There may be some kernel of Android embedded in more advanced phones but using applications built from Android on said platform will be like using web apps on an iPhone - a usable stopgap but hardly competitive with native apps that take full advantage of the native GUI and hardware.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Sure the N70 gets comparable talk time at twice the thickness to the iphone. I used to have an N70, the battery in it is huge in comparison to what is in the iPhone.
You may not agree with the reasons given and believe it is for marketing reasons, but this means you think Mr. Jobs is directly and purposefully trying to deceive the buying public when he said they were waiting for more efficient 3g chipsets. Why would he lie about such a thing if it were so easily disproved? He would risk his entire "believability capital" on such a silly thing? This is highly unlikely as it is such a trivial thing for one to risk their reputation on, yet your "feeling" over rides any attempt at being logical about the real reason.
BTW there have been a few new 3g chipsets "released" recently that are much more power efficient, hence the newest rumours of a 3g iphone coming soon. There wasn't really a push to lower power requirements in 3g chipsets until Apple made a stink about it, notice how they stayed pretty close in power requirements over the previous three years until this event.
--- I do not moderate.
As for Google Maps, the iPhone only got an implementation in the last firmware update. While I only installed it last night, the implementation for my phone has been around for a year or so. Will the next buzzwordy feature be able to add to the current iPhone in two years time? When I got my phone, no one was really thinking about using them for mapping.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
The idea of paying more for less is why I could and will never make the leap to mac fanboy. The idea that a phone can have 'too many' features is asinine and frankly, stupid to use as a justification for iPhone's shortcomings. A phone/fancy tech gadget that allows the end user to add functionality as needed is far more useful than a locked down phone with a pretty interface (and lots of fingerprint smudging). Call forwarding is usually in a menu option on most modern phones. I have a 4+ year old Nokia 3660 that has it on a menu. (It also has real player for media playing, bluetooth, and Java embedded, with Opera mini installed for better browsing, and i can get 3 days on a full charge with its small, old battery.)
Perhaps you haven't tried using the beefier Opera Mobile on a smartphone, but it kicks the crap out of Safari on the iphone for run of the mill web browsing.
What I really want is a Sharp Zaurus modeled phone, hell if my clunky old SL-5500 had a cell module (with its own battery) I'd use it in a heartbeat, nothing beats it one on it (cept maybe a later module japanese zaurus) for geek level usefulness.
Cheers.
This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
As someone who purchased 2-3 cellphones a year before the iphone I feel pretty confident in saying that it is a game changing device. Perhaps not in such an obvious way. Moving to the iphone meant giving up a number of features of some of my other phones so the process was somewhat wary and filled with being willing to give up a few things. However, that said, the interface on the iphone, from your basic interaction to the polish of the built in Applications and OS (not to mention the amazing 3rd party apps already) *is fundamentally game changing*.
How so? There's no other way to put this. The major cellphone makers had absolutely no idea how to make a decent UI on any of the more feature packed and modern phones. They are all clunky with non-intuitive features, configuration and usage sprinkled all over the place. Those who purchase high end phones for years have had to deal with this. Some even think their phone interfaces are pretty good, simply because they have become so used to the swill pushed out. The iphone has changed this completely. Now these companies understand they need to have someone other than Bob in accounting test their interfaces for usability. This is a good thing, even if you dislike the iphone. The old interfaces had no where to go but up (even though most of them just went sideways) and now they have a clear example in front of them to mimic to create a much better experience on a phone packed with features.
--- I do not moderate.
The iPhone is only a success in markets where mobile phones are treated as single-function devices. In the US market, this is the case. In the rest of the world, it isn't. The iPhone is like OS X: It does 70% of what I want it to do, and it does it very well. Unlike OS X, I can't add the remaining 30%. In contrast, the iPod does 100% of what I want it to do - it plays music. As someone who owns two Mac laptops and an iPod, I am not interested in the iPhone until it is available in an unlocked form.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Are you kidding? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak#Post-Apple_career
oo
please tag this nowirelesslessspacethananomadlame
"Why would he lie about such a thing if it were so easily disproved? He would risk his entire "believability capital" on such a silly thing?"
This is what is known as "the big lie". The idea is that people are more likely to believe a lie that is big than one that is small. It is like saying that I couldn't have murdered my wife. The garbage bags in my garage with large quantities of her blood proves it! After all, why would I keep her blood in my garage if it could so easily prove that I killed her. Why would I risk my entire "believability capital" on such a silly thing?
We saw a similar thing when Apple released the iPod. The claim that they could not have built the iPod with a consumer replaceable battery is simply absurd, but we hear it over and over again.
Hey, Kathy Griffin won an Emmy.
That's more than you've got, eh?
My wife and I listened to his book (oddly named iWoz) while traveling in Alaska. He's brilliant, and so is Jobs. They're brilliant in different ways, though. Steve Jobs has an innate ability to know in advance what the consumer will like (and he's right most of the time, and wrong sometimes. See 1st generation Apple TV, the G3 Cube, etc.). Woz had (and presumably, still has) an innate ability to make it work with what he's got.
Which is why I understand Woz not seeing where the Air will fit in today's market. It's not quite a part of his skillset. He's still a genius.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
Was anyone else hoping for a YouTube link?
...Just me? Okay.
Sex. Drugs, and Unix.
In another message I already noted that I thought it might sell better than Woz thinks.
The message you were replying to stated that I hoped it wouldn't start a long-term trend of similarly crippled laptops from other companies. Which is a whole different story.
Heh, Woz is like George Lucas, milking his one-hit-wonder for all eternity.
There's a reason these things are still niche products. The Macbook Air is just another anorexia laptop.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
According to Ars Technica, demand for the MacBook Air is strong and they're often sold out.
#DeleteChrome
Why do people want this feature so much? I've found it to be the most annoying feature of any phone. On phones with removable batteries, after a few months, or about a years use, the connections can become loose to the point that when you pick your phone up or set it down the battery shakes a little bit, causing the connection to break, causing the phone to lose power and shut down, requiring a restart. Now say you've had your phone for a little under two years and it has gotten really bad and it shuts off pretty much every time you even touch the phone, or think about touching it. This is what happened to my old phone, and two of my girlfriends phones, as well as the phones of friends of mine. Yes it would be nice to take off the empty battery and throw on a charged one and keep talking / surfing Safari, but to ensure the best functioning of the device it only seems logical that the battery should be like how it is on the iPhone. I charge mine every night and it works great. No complaints here.
I'd have started manufacturing these things 4 years ago if I didn't have piss poor credit, am negative in my bank account and went back to do more school. hehe It just pisses me off that this device hasn't been made yet we've got neural interface helmets now!!
Perhaps AT&T wanted the iPhone on Edge because they felt possible number of iphone users would cause bandwidth issues with their existing 3G network?
In other words, maybe AT&T said "look if this iphone thing is as huge as we think it will be, our 3G network is going to be hammered, but our edge network can handle the load..."
Just an idea.
I like my iPhone though. It could use a cut and paste feature. It could use other things... but in general its a very nice device. Hopefully Apple will continue to support the iphone by adding more software features rather than holding them back for each hardware revision.
The SDK should be out in the next few weeks... and that certainly is a step in the right direction. I still think Apple will control their mail and text messaging features, and the sdk wont be able to really add new txt messaging features etc... but we shall see.
EDGE is fine by me on the iPhone. T-Mobile in the US doesn't offer UMTS yet, and when they do it's going to be on the AWS band which almost no 3G phones actually support (and which the iPhone wouldn't support anyway, even if it had 3G).
I'm also on a college campus which is blanketed by WiFi, which is faster and has better latency than UMTS/HSDPA anyway.
The iPhone is absolutely an excellent device, with few exceptions. Now, I jailbroke/unlocked mine the first day out of the box, so I'm not getting the "normal experience". But as a hardware device it's excellent, and the software isn't half bad either.
As for the MBA, I have to agree with Woz. It looks like a very nice machine, but at the end of the day it's hard to ignore the fact that the Lenovo X300 is similar in size and weight yet packs:
- 3 USB ports
- Intel Gigabit Ethernet (with AMT which is actually really cool)
- WWAN (Verizon, if you want it)
- DVD burner
- Removable battery
- Kensington lock
It's hard to believe that the MBA doesn't have a Kensington lock, especially considering how small and easy to steal it is. It's policy where I work (and many other places) that notebooks have to be locked whenever you're not physically present, which would mean that I would have to take the MBA (or lock it up) whenever I went to get a drink of water.
WiFi is decent, but Gigabit Ethernet is dramatically faster for things like file copies; moreover, it's the only option in many places like hotel rooms. With the MBA it's another stupid dongle to remember.
I don't know what the charge time is on the X300, but my T61 charges from dead in around an hour. The MacBook my friend has takes more like 2-3 hours, which is a big deal if you only have 45 minutes of power while you wait for your flight.
Basically, the X300 is the ultimate road warrior notebook. It's got everything you need built in.
I've only used an iPod once, my brother's iPod Color.
I have to grade its UI as bad.
My biggest complaints were that I had to look up how to turn off a device, because there is no off button. Instead, you have to hold the play button down.
The same problem applies to navigating the menu. I figured that one out just because I had heard of the older clickwheel iPods. There is nothing on the front of an iPod Color that indicates the buttons set in a circle do anything but open the menu, play, and move between tracks.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
If Jobs is Jesus clearly Wozniak is God. He is in my mind and I am not even a Mac guy.
Besides it is clear who was the real brain at Apple during the early days.
So come one iPerson, come all. Bash your god.
Clearly he must be wrong speaking ill toward Apple.
------------------
Ever notice how Microsoft fans do not feel the need to bash Apple every chance they get? Think about it
I'll try anything once. Twice if it tastes good
Woz isn't Jewish.
3G just did not add enough to the product, at the time it was designed, to justify the extra weight, battery life etc. Technology is changing and likely future iphones will have 3G and other features.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
No, not kidding -- trolling.
The only hidden feature on an iPod I ever needed to look up was how to reset. I've had iPods for 4 years or so, and never needed to turn it off, they do it on their own after some period of idle time.
With all "different" technologies, you must use it in its own way, and now how you expect your previous technology to work. I don't use my OS X box like my Windows box, or either like my Linux box, they all are different, and I would have a hard time stating that any one of them is inferior on the surface level. Sure Windows might be the most "quirky" performance wise (though Linux would fall into that category for one unused to it), but it really does the same stuff as the OS X and Linux box, but in its own way. You just have to approach each on their own terms.
Coming back to the iPod, it doesn't have a noticeable off button because it doesn't need one. It isn't a design fault just because you come to it EXPECTING one.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
I didn't see it as much of a dump, as just some honest criticism. He had a few complaints with the iPhone, yet he carries one. He has a couple complaints with the Air (and he's a "one laptop guy"), so he doesn't use one. He said he likes AppleTV, but doesn't like the 24-hour restriction on the rentals.
It didn't sound to me like he was "dumping" on anything. Rather, he was just stating areas where he could see some improvements being made. Nothing major to see here.
This is a demand that I can't begin to understand. Don't you ever sleep? Can you not make it through a day on a single charge? Every cell phone I've ever had has had a removable battery, and not once have I ever felt the need to have an extra around.
So, the MacBook Air won't be a hit, the 3G iPhone is on its way, and he bitches about 24 hours not being enough time to watch a movie that you rented?
Seriously, not sure why people still listen to him...
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin
I know, I guess I'm the only person who thinks a battery powered device should have an off switch.
I also noticed you totally avoided the menu issue. A person with no prior knowledge or experience with iPods wouldn't have a clue how to navigate it.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Woz makes some good points about the MacBook Air, which are largely the reasons I have no interest in the product. Although I'm not sure whether it can be called a "hit" or a "miss," as we don't know Apple's sales expectations for that model. I think it's a fine idea for a relatively small sector -- presenters, salespeople, etc. being among them -- who value portability and battery life above all else. If it gets a high adoption rate among this demographic, you'd have to label it a "hit." Problem is, who knows how big this sect is or of whom it is comprised.
As for the iPhone, I personally don't care about lack of 3G, simply because there isn't a 3G network within 100 miles of my house yet. I would expect a 3G model of the iPhone to be released later this year, and I probably wouldn't find use for one until next year. That gives me around 2 years with my current iPhone, which is the typical lifespan for phones with me.
I agree with his sentiment on Apple TV. I, too, dislike the 24-hour rule. However, he's a bit out of touch with the paradigm set by the onDemand system. The rules set by iTunes are comparable, although Apple at least gives you 30 days to start watching the rented material. One would think Apple will adjust this policy somewhat. Even if they give you 36 or 48 hours to finish watching, that would make a huge difference without really costing them anything. As for the quality of the YouTube content, it's no worse than watching it on the site -- Garbage In, Garbage Out, after all. In general, I think the Apple TV is a fine device. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I had a couple hundred bucks in Apple Store credit I needed to burn, but I do like its form factor, the available outputs, and how intuitively it accesses the iTunes store and syncs with your computer.
I also noticed you totally avoided the menu issue. A person with no prior knowledge or experience with iPods wouldn't have a clue how to navigate it.
Maybe. Anecdotally, I didn't have a problem when I first got one, it seemed rather intuitive, which is, admittedly, completely subjective. I have a few gripes, some of the menus are buried in seemingly nonsensical places, the search feature on the newer ones is rather lame, and some features are just there as meaningless extras and don't add any values to its use as an MP3 player.
But then again all OSs are the same way, though there are learning curves, OS X is cake, Windows less easy but still simplistic, end user friendly distros come next (Ubuntu), CLI is dead last, but this isn't a good measure of the merit of the system, just what someone is familiar with. To me the iPod has the easiest GUI, but perhaps not the best, its at least better than the solid-state MP3 players I had before which only had back, forward, and pause/stop buttons.
All choice in interfaces is largely subjective, especially when the devices (operating systems, microwave ovens, whatnot) have almost the exact same functionality.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
Well, making the first personal computer is a much bigger accomplishment than typing a sentence saying that hes done nothing since.
Nokia fanboys. Always going on about how their phones are better.
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
Sure the N70 gets comparable talk time at twice the thickness to the iphone. I used to have an N70, the battery in it is huge in comparison to what is in the iPhone.
Physically, the N70's battery may be larger, but actually the iPhone's battery has about 50% more capacity than the N70, if you care to look up the actual specifications. The Nokia N70 battery is the BL-5C, which is a 3.6V 970mAh battery, while the iPhone sports a 3.7V 1400 mAh battery. Physical size differences are probably due to the iPhone's more advanced lithium polymer vs. the older lithium ion in the N70.
Maybe the people you meet - "cell phone users" - are retards. People do care about specs. They like to see x% faster, x%cheaper etc etc on products. They obviously don't care how the friggin thing works but they care enough to get the best. If you think a large percentage of the population is just going to dole out hundreds of dollars just because its shiny - without reading the specs - , you're nuts.
I'll bet you that 99.9% of iPhone buyers have no idea that it runs on EDGE.
The fact is that Wozniak is rightfully credited as having made some of the most significant engineering achievements in the history of computing is entirely justifiable. When it comes to electronics the man is a bona fide genius. But when it comes to his views on business, he's no more qualified to speak than anyone else. Apple isn't the same company it was when he was there. He might as well give his views on Walmart.
All that said, I actually agree with him on this one. The iPhone isn't 3G right now, because it means Apple will be able to sell the drones another one when they released it (planned obsolescence anyone?) and the Air is overpriced crap that stretches the limits of style over substance even by Apple's standards.
Apple delivers on features in spades with their OS and hardware. They are, more often than not, delivering features years before other hardware and software vendors. Take a look at the Mac Mini, released in July of 2005. It's now March 2008 and there is FINALLY a comparable PC and it still looks like something out of the 80s. I'm a hardcore Apple fan, but you are making excuses for a lousy, rushed product. A glass phone? WTF were they thinking? And we're STILL waiting on a real SDK even though that was due "by February."
If you're a frequent upgrader or tinkerer, then obviously iMacs aren't for you- by all means, go with Linux or something and Do It Yourself, but the 'all-in-one' strategy has strengths as well as the weakness of limited expandability. In any case, none of this is news. This touches on a much larger problem for Apple
I'm also not impressed by the iPhone SDK betas that I've seen. Why are they running a cut-down version of AppKit, when the QuantumSTEP guys have been running a full version of AppKit on less-powerful devices for years? An entirely new framework makes it much harder to port existing Cocoa/OpenStep applications.
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Actually, parent (literally!) said: "I don't understand why anyone feels that anything Woz says is important, meaningful, or relevant... [Dated an obscure comedian is] about the only accomplishment I can recall". So I'm not sure I get the "made no impact on the business world" meaning you're seeing... and even if I did get it, I sure don't agree with it.
If you think those aren't accomplishments that have impacted anything, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
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Yes, AND no. I've become a pretty hard-core Apple fan myself, but I also realize that Apple's success lies not so much in "packing our products full of features", but rather, in wisely making choices about what stays and what goes in a given product release.
They do offer lots of new, innovative things first. If they didn't, their product offering would be too "bland" to get people very excited about them.
Nonetheless, they leave a lot out in the interest of "ease of use" and "clarity", often gradually adding a few things in over time, once most of their userbase is comfortable using what they were given in earlier revisions.... Look at their (very successful) iLife suite, for one example. iPhoto started out not even having the ability to remove red-eye from a photograph! That's something you could do in just about ANY Windows package I ever saw that claimed to work with digital cameras and edit/store photos. They eventually did add it, but obviously, Apple's first concern was making a good tool for *downloading* the photos from a large variety of cameras, and storing them efficiently. They (probably correctly) realized if they got the "skeleton" of iPhoto right first, then all the editing tools could be added later. Approaching it the other way wouldn't really allow it to blossom into a "top choice" photo app for consumers.
Funny that you'd mention that, because personally all the iPods I've seen have been on TV celebrities, while *everyone* I've seen out in the street uses one of those cheap little generic MP3 players with tiny buttons and small LCD displays from China and Korea, or branded versions of such, myself included.
It seems that, outside the US, people in general aren't as ready to pay 10x the price just to avoid spending 15 minutes reading a short manual, so it's likely that the iPhone will follow it's predecessors' success (or lack thereof).
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
I bought a 1st gen iPod because it had Firewire, which as an MP3 player, was essential. All the other MP3 players out at the time had USB1 interfaces, which meant copying music took ages. The interface on the iPod was excellent, but adding MP3s to the device was terrible. As for the iPhone, its interface is fantastic. It's hands-down the best interface out there on a phone. The problem is it's an interface to an inferior product. I'd rather have a worse interface on a more-functioning product, especially when I can use it invisibly (such as sharing the 3G connection on my phone via wifi, where I don't even need to have the phone out of my pocket).