Arise SIR Jonathan Ive

mariocki writes "Steve Jobs' go-to design man Jonathan Ive, the creator of modern computer design classics such as the iMac, MacBook Pro and iPod/iPhone/iPad, has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list, taking him from plain old 'Mr' straight to 'Sir' in one fell swoop. This now puts him in the same league as Paul McCartney, Michael Caine, Bob Geldof and Bill Gates. Ive said 'I discovered at an early age that all I've ever wanted to do is design' and even for Apple haters his designs have done more for personal computer design than the mainstream PC manufacturers could imagine, taking the PC from the geek den into the living room of even the most painfully trendy fashionista."

Comments

Re:Proper use of "sir"

[drinkypoo]

Proper use of Sir: "The queen is a wrinkled old bag and you are all tools for listening to her, Sirrahs." Seriously, who cares about the proper use of Sir? Nobody in the USA, where we don't have kings, queens, knights... or heroes.

Re:Thanks Mr Ive, Nothanks Apple!

[GameboyRMH]

Apple computers have clearly gone straight from concept to production with no engineer input in between. Compare to concept cars: They look really good but they're completely impractical with huge rims, little or sometimes zero wheel travel, tiny slivers for headlights, rail-thin bucket seats, curvaceous fenders that are bad for aero, a center console that consists of either a single huge touchscreen or a single knob with a tiny 1-line LCD display, etc. and the engineers dull them down to make them practical before they go to production.

At Apple the engineers don't get any say, apparently, the designers rule them with an iron fist. They want a razor-thin tablet that's hard to hold, that's what comes out. They want a laptop that can cut a steak, that's what comes out. They want a phone with the antennas wrapped around it that loses the connection if you hold it wrong, that's what comes out. They want to keep the buttons to a minimum for a sleek look which sacrifices practicality, that's what comes out. Form trumps practicality every time. As pieces of art they're interesting but as computers the design isn't the best. Unskilled users praise them in the same way that a typical soccer mom driver might praise a horrible (but good-looking) car that just manages to get from A to B.