
This is how Apple rolls - Hagelin
http://www.macworld.com/article/151235/2010/05/apple_rolls.html
======
pixelbath
I was reading this, thinking, "wow, this guy sure seems to love Apple."

Then I read this: "As a pundit, I'm supposed to explain how the truth lies
somewhere between these two extremes. But I can't. The iPad really is The Big
One: Apple's reconception of personal computing." To which I thought,
"translation: 'my fanboyism gets in the way of rational thought.'"

THEN, I hit the bottom of the article, and realized what I was reading. John
Gruber of Daring Fireball, Apple's unofficial mouthpiece, writing another
fluff piece for Apple.

This is how Apple fanboys roll.

~~~
ellyagg
Pretty defensive response. It's hard to see how you could interpret the
evolution of Apple's products since Jobs and OS X and the iPod and the iPhone
and now the iPad have taken root as anything but extraordinary. You kind of
sound like a hater.

~~~
pixelbath
Nah, I think the devices are great. Apple's got a solid OS platform on three
different types of devices.

I see how it changes personal computing, in that it turns users into pure
consumers of content. I mean, that's it. You can use a few apps to do this or
that, but the iPad is primarily about consumption. I don't know that this is a
"revolution," but it is certainly a step.

It doesn't change personal computing for me, but I don't passively consume
content all that often (being a designer and developer).

So, maybe John Gruber pinned me right on thinking it's a glorified iPod Touch,
and I'm not a hater; I just don't see what the big deal is. Maybe I've never
found a device that made me breathlessly extol its virtues?

~~~
stcredzero
_I see how it changes personal computing, in that it turns users into pure
consumers of content. I mean, that's it. You can use a few apps to do this or
that, but the iPad is primarily about consumption._

Depending on how you count it, it's the 2nd computing platform where "pure
consumption" is slick and worry free. The Web may have been the first. (Though
popups were no picnic at first.) There is no reason that content creation
isn't possible -- Apple's just not doing that right now.

Check out music related apps. There's a lot of possible use of the iPad for
content creation there.

I bet that the mobile device landscape will have a _lot_ of parallels to the
early web.

------
DannoHung
Summary: Apple is good at both innovation _and_ iteration. The iteration part
is undervalued in understanding their success.

------
CodeMage
I read the whole article and I just can't get rid of one big question: so
what?

Seriously, this is just saying how Apple designers and engineers are doing a
great job. Okay, but what's the point? Is that it?

~~~
jstevens85
I think the point he's making is that it's silly to make judgements on the
long-term viability of the iPad platform based on problems with the first
generation device. The iPad doesn't have to sell in huge numbers in the first
couple of years. Eventually the platform will develop and mature, and perhaps
in five years time or so, it might be powerful enough to replace a traditional
computer for most people.

~~~
jjs
_Eventually the platform will develop and mature, and perhaps in five years
time or so, it might be powerful enough to replace a traditional computer for
most people._

The frustrating thing is that it _is_ powerful enough to _be_ a computer for
most people, but for non-technical reasons, Apple insists on keeping it Not A
Computer.

~~~
catch23
probably because Apple realizes that the computer is still too hard for the
average joe to use. Macs might be easy, but my mom still has trouble getting
the thing to find the printer -- and she's a chemistry professor at a top 20
university.

~~~
vetinari
Well, she won't have problem finding the printer on the device, that can not
print.

------
Tichy
Yeah, we get it, Apple is god, Apple is the greatest, Apple can't fail, Apple
is soooo great and fantastic. Apple is simply the best ever, there is nothing
like it. Everything Apple does is absolutely perfect and magnificient. They'll
never fail because they rule so much.

------
buster
Oh, come on.. this site is becoming an Apple news site more and more.. does it
have to be another apple praising blog post?

I really wish to see more non-apple news on the site. It's ok to have a (read:
one) news link when apple releases new hardware. Last weeks have been links
from everyones oppinion on Steve's thoughts or Apples actions, almost
philosophical posts about where/when/why/if apple is great, yada yada yada...

~~~
commieneko
Unless I totally misunderstand how this site works, then the story is on the
first page because a bunch of people voted for it. That's the idea, to expose
stories people might be interested in. One thing you _can't_ say here is that
no one is interested in the topic.

If you don't want to read "another damn Apple story" then _don't click on the
link_...

~~~
buster
The key point is that the site is named "Hacker News" and not "Apple news". Of
course i understand how the site works, but if you can't see the total
disproportion of apple news vs. the rest of it world, then i don't know. In
general, if Steve Jobs farts, there will be more then one link on the "New"
page from which 1-2 are getting to the frontpage. The point is, that when Sony
releases a new notebook or MP3 player of mobile phone, no story will be here.
If it's from Apple, several stories will be here + Stories about the stories
and blog posts with one persons feelings about the story.

I already figured that the most people on Hacker News use Macs (from the photo
thread of peoples workplaces many had Macs).

When i compare the numbers of how much Apple is mentioned versus the rest...
look for yourself (taken from google search results):

    
    
      Apple: 8070
      Steve Jobs: 1030
      iPhone: 5880
      iPad: 2730
     
      Microsoft: 4280
      Steve Ballmer: 150
      Bill Gates: 347
      Microsoft Courier: 181
      Nexus One: 326
      Motorola Droid: 271
      Vaio: 313
      Xperia: 5
    

Now look at the market: Most Computers are PCs with Windows, most phones are
not iPhones. You don't see the disproportion, do you?

Also, if you take this story. This is not news, this is just one guy praising
Apple, why is this posted here!? Is this some blog aggregator? This is just
not news.

~~~
commieneko
As someone who has worked in and out of the news business for over 30 years I
can tell you that news is what people are interested in. Hacker News is news
that hackers are interested in. If it's getting posted by hackers and getting
upvoted by hackers then ...

If you are seeing a lot of Apple posts then maybe, just maybe, it's because
there are events and commentary about Apple that the readership of this site
are interested in. If Sony (or whatever) isn't getting enough upvotes then
maybe, just maybe, no one really cares about that story.

For what it's worth, there are plenty of stories on HN that I'm not especially
interested in. Rather than adding irrelevant discussion to a topic I'm not
interested in, I simply don't read those articles. I move on and find stories
that I _am_ interested in. If there's not enough news to catch my interest, or
more possibly to the point, too much news that disagree's with my outlook,
then I decide this site isn't for me and go looking for greener pastures...

------
joubert
mvp?

