
What happens when it's all glass? - duck
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2588-what-happens-when-its-all-glass
======
ccc3
A few points:

\- Apple is pushing the boundaries of minimalism with their industrial design
(to absurd levels in cases like the control-free iPod Shuffle). This is not
necessarily better design, but it is the currently fashionable design. I would
argue that the single button interface on the iPhone/iPad is an example of
moving too far towards minimalism (from a purely functional perspective). The
same button now performs different functions depending on how many times you
press it and where you are when you press it, yet there is plenty of room for
a second button.

\- In my opinion, Apple's software is a mixed bag. I love the user experience
in iOS, and OSX is my favorite desktop operating system, but I think iTunes is
among the worst commonly used desktop applications available.

\- All of these devices will be judged on categories beyond hardware/software
in the future. For example, I expect a phone's ability to connect with
important services to become increasingly scrutinized. It seems like it will
only be a matter of time before we're all using something like Google Voice to
manage our phone numbers. A device's ability to interface with these types of
critical services could very easily become the killer app.

\- A small point, but I think the comparison between a MacBook Pro an a Lenovo
is a bit odd. ThinkPads are not far off from Apple in terms of build quality
and are certainly more durable.

~~~
Locke1689
_\- A small point, but I think the comparison between a MacBook Pro an a
Lenovo is a bit odd. ThinkPads are not far off from Apple in terms of build
quality and are certainly more durable._

You're going to have to justify that. A case made out of a solid piece of
aluminum is about as durable as I can think of in consumer-level products. I
beat the crap out of my MBP and it doesn't have so much as a scratch on it.

~~~
jrockway
Yeah, but the Thinkpads are even stronger. You can dump a glass of water on
the keyboard and it keeps working, because all the liquid is routed through
special drainage holes. You can drive a car over the screen because they put
reinforcements (magnesium, I believe) in just the right places. 100% Al is
limiting -- you can't use a stronger-but-heavier material _anywhere_.

They're also hard to take apart. Changing a dead hard drive is a 1 minute
operation with a Thinkpad. With a Macbook... well, you can't even change the
battery anymore...

~~~
DougBTX
A bunch of screws, but not overly difficult:
[http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-17-Inch-
Unibody-T...](http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-17-Inch-Unibody-
Teardown/618/1)

~~~
Groxx
The newer laptops are a lot easier, and they reflect it by labeling the HD as
user-serviceable without voiding the warranty.

Meanwhile, I have this: [http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-
MacBook-Pro-15...](http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-
Pro-15-Inch-Core-2-Duo-Models-A1226-and-A1260-Hard-Drive-Replacement/670/1)

Which _definitely_ qualifies as a PITA. Easy enough for me, though, as I've
had _far_ nastier, also from Apple (12" Powerbook):
[http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-
PowerBook-G4-A...](http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-
PowerBook-G4-Aluminum-12-Inch-867-MHz-Upper-Case/203/1) (they don't have a HD
guide, but that's all the screws). And _all those screws are different sizes_
(or close enough).

~~~
robin_reala
Old Thinkpads used to be awful as well though. Changing the keyboard on a 380D
required burrowing in from the back :(

------
grinich
I think Steve Jobs gets this.

 _"One of our biggest insights [years ago] was that we didn't want to get into
any business where we didn't own or control the primary technology because
you'll get your head handed to you._

 _"We realized that almost all - maybe all - of future consumer electronics,
the primary technology was going to be software. And we were pretty good at
software. We could do the operating system software. We could write
applications on the Mac or even PC, like iTunes. We could write the software
in the device, like you might put in an iPod or an iPhone or something. And we
could write the back-end software that runs on a cloud, like iTunes._

(ca. March 2008 via
[http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.job...](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.jobsqna.fortune/13.html)
)

------
tgriesser
_Everything is turning into a screen, from edge to edge. Once it’s all about
glass, it’s all about software._

This is assuming that once it's all about glass there isn't anywhere to go.
Apple has become a leader in UI design and glass happens to be the current
popular choice for devices. 10 years before the iPhone few people would have
predicted a phone with no buttons and a glass screen would become popular, and
a few years after its release everyone in the industry is imitating...same
goes for the iPod in relation to CD's or even cassette tapes. I would venture
a guess that few people now know types of devices that will become commonplace
in a few years.

As long as Apple is able to stay ahead of the curve and continue to stay a
leader in making new things that people want to use I don't think will have a
problem staying relevant. So to answer the question is that once it's all
glass Apple will probably be on to new and better things.

~~~
mdh
_This is assuming that once it's all about glass there isn't anywhere to
go..._

Agreed. Apple has a patent on multi-touch in three dimensions already[1] so
maybe the next i-device will move away from the screen and towards a more
touchy-feely :-) approach.

[1] -
[http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=FUOxAAAAEBAJ&dq=m...](http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=FUOxAAAAEBAJ&dq=multi-
touch+skins+spanning+three+dimensions)

~~~
stcredzero
_maybe the next i-device will move away from the screen and towards a more
touchy-feely :-) approach_

Once things get to the point where ubiquitous mobile haptics are just around
the corner, will Apple's "no porn" policy start to be a big disadvantage?

~~~
loewenskind
I think the "no porn" thing is mostly in the US. One of the more popular apps
where I live is a list of 70 sex positions. I haven't bought it myself, so
maybe it's all text or cartoons or something but that wouldn't explain why
it's so popular.

------
kloncks
_Android is solid, WebOS is solid, and Blackberry’s new OS/UI looks great too.
Nothing I’ve played with is better than Apple’s iOS, but a lot of the
alternatives are approaching “plenty damn good” status._

That's Apple's edge. No one in their right mind can call the technology that
RIM, Palm, or Google come out with as anything but outstanding...yet Apple
still has that edge and their products are always "great" while the others
will always be "plenty damn good".

Perhaps it's because they control all the process (sans manufacturing). Maybe
it's a different philosophy. But it really seems that no one cares about every
minute tiny detail like Apple does.

Apple has always cared about the small things. That's why I don't see their
perceived reputation going anywhere. As long as they keep doing that, they'll
still be different.

~~~
bad_user
The beauty in Android is that it doesn't have to be the best ... it just has
to be good enough + shipped on cheaper phones ... just like Windows did.

Also, I've got an iPhone 3GS, and I see lots of area for improvement ... the
biggest annoyance for me being that all these apps I have (Facebook, Twitter,
Skype, yahoo messenger) ... are not using the iPhone's contacts list for
storing people profiles ... so even Apple screws things up in the details
department.

~~~
msbarnett
> the biggest annoyance for me being that all these apps I have (Facebook,
> Twitter, Skype, yahoo messenger) ... are not using the iPhone's contacts
> list for storing people profiles ... so even Apple screws things up in the
> details department.

I'm not sure that's a screw-up so much as a philosophical view of the contact
list as being for actual contacts and not random twitter user names with no
associated addresses, phone-numbers, etc. I'd be pretty irritated if yahoo
messenger were able to clutter up my contact list, personally.

On another note entirely, overuse...of ellipses...is a terrible...habit.

~~~
adambyrtek
When it comes to Android you can choose to synchronize only those
Twitter/Facebook profiles that have an existing address book entry. Thanks to
that the list is not littered with useless contacts and you have all kinds of
information, like the recent status update or profile photo, integrated under
a single address book. Very handy.

------
JoachimSchipper
> The difference in build quality, materials, and tolerances between a MacBook
> Pro and a Lenovo are still obvious

Yes, ThinkPads are still some of the most sturdy laptops around while MacBooks
tend to need more support/repairs. Of course Apple's (repair) service is very
good, and MacBooks do look nice(r), but "build quality" means something else
to me.

~~~
Timothee
I agree with you, having had my share of back-and-forth with Apple Care.

But I think there's the build quality vs. the durability of the products. For
me, Apple products win in build quality in the sense that the pieces are
cleanly fabricated, properly aligned, don't wiggle, shake or bend, etc. I've
had a ThinkPad and was disappointed from that point of view. Certainly better
than many other brands (Dell, Toshiba), but still a bit under Apple.

But as I said, Apple does have some issues of durability. (e.g. MacBook's
plastic cases, iPod/iPhone earbuds...)

------
edw519
_Once it’s all about glass, it’s all about software._

This is a good thing!

This can dramatically lower the barriers to entry for great interface design
by exposing more of the end user experience to programmers. Just like the move
from desktop to browser, the cream will rise even faster. What a great time to
be a software hacker!

------
shadowsun7
There's nothing new here. The truth of the matter is that the UI experience
for computers is largely defined by what happens on the screen - be it laptop,
iPad or iPhone. There's this cool scene in Gary Hustwit's Objectified where
Bill Moggridge talks about designing one of the very first laptops, and the
conclusion he comes to is that it didn't matter how usable or how good his
physical design was, in the end the user's experience of the laptop came
largely from within the screen.

That surprised him, and got him thinking about what we now know as
'interaction design'. (Incidentally, Moggridge coined the term shortly after
his experience with the laptop).

He describes his experience as: 'being sucked into the screen.' Which is true,
if you pause to think about it: the design of the laptop only matters when
you're carrying it around with you - when you're working on it the screen
overrides almost everything else.

------
ramanujan
I think this post vastly underestimates the difficulty of rolling innovative
hardware into production.

Glass is not the end of history. Apple could include thermosensors,
audiosensors, or miniature holographic projectors. It could go towards
flexible screens or wearable computing.

But new hardware is buggy before it's commoditized. The reason Apple's touch
sensitivity is so good is in part because they control both the hardware and
software layers. Any kind of temporal or spatial variation in touch detection
at the hardware layer due to manufacturing issues can be corrected at the
software layer.

It's that vertical systems integration which lets them push the envelope on
technology. Others can easily copy, but they will only be followers unless
they play to their strengths (e.g. Android with search).

------
hop
They are hitting everything on all cylinders – industrial design, mechanical
engineering, material selection and finish, manufacturing, supply chain,
hardware, customer service, marketing, advertising, retail stores, their
website, company structure and internal product development processes. And the
software they make is deep and wide – OSX , iOS, respective dev platforms, all
the productivity utilities they make, iTunes (owning the music industry),
whatever cloud apps they are working on now…

All are benchmarks of the industry.

I'm not a blind fanboy, just impressed and happy to witness a company
constantly iterating and making themselves better.

------
danilocampos
It's interesting insight, but look at it like this...

Apple's dominance isn't from hardware alone. But they are exceptionally
talented at it. It isn't in software alone, but again, they know what they're
doing. They've got a lot of mature, battle tested code and an outstanding
developer community who knows how to wield it. It's not in digital
distribution alone, but yet again, they got there very early, have a lot of
practice and many deep relationships with the rogue states (thanks, PG) who
bully would-be media companies.

Marketing isn't their top achievement, but they love the things they make and
the authenticity of their marketing works very well for them.

I could go on and on, but you probably get my point.

Apple's core strength isn't any one thing first, then something else second.
Their strength is their ability to see the whole board and make every single
thing they do complement everything else in a very meaningful, very equal way.
It's an absurd game they play, a combo of three dimensional chess and hacky
sack, but their focus makes it work.

No one can compete with Apple by trying to crib any _one_ of their strengths.
To be successful, you need to be able to attack several of them at once, and
that's very challenging.

They've created an absurdly defensible position. The vision needed to get
there makes my brain hurt. No matter how you feel about Apple, you can't argue
that their organizational synergy is an incredible force.

~~~
mjfern
What you're describing here is the notion of activity systems! Michael Porter
describes the concept in detail in the article "What is Strategy," Harvard
Business Review. The crux of the idea is that the strategic position of a
product hinges on a system of activities across a range of areas, from
marketing, to product development, to distribution. Activity systems are a
source of sustainable competitive advantage because a competitor can imitate
one or two activities, but often not the entire system. In other words, a
competitor (e.g., RIM) can imitate Apple's hardware or its software, but this
is not sufficient. To really compete with Apple, a competitor would need to
imitate (and supersede) Apple on a number of fronts: hardware, software,
marketing/branding, distribution, logistics, etc. Needless to say, this is
quite a challenge!

One of the most stark examples is Southwest Airlines. Scheduled passenger air
transportation is a highly transparent industry due to the heavy regulation by
the U.S. DOT and the FAA. Despite the fact that competitors know the precise
activities that Southwest Airline's performs, they have been generally unable
to imitate and compete. And there have been a number of attempts by both
legacy and start-up carriers.

~~~
mjfern
I'm excited about the number of upvotes for this post about "activity
systems." There are a number of excellent concepts/tools in strategy that
could help founders assess and develop their start-ups. Anyone have any
thoughts on how to best convey these concepts/tools to generate interest and
understanding (e.g., book, blog, app, etc.)?

~~~
gbhn
Thanks for posting it. I think a blog on this would be interesting to the HN
audience.

------
chrisgoodrich
I think this post makes some very bold assumptions.

It assumes that there is no place for innovation in industrial design with
glass. Apple's dominance in industrial design has given them the advantage to
set the standards for industrial design.

Additionally, I think Jason assumes that industrial design and software design
are mutually exclusive. He ignores that part of the beauty of Apple's products
is the interaction and combination of software AND hardware and the quality of
interaction between them.

~~~
jasonfried
"Additionally, I think Jason assumes that industrial design and software
design are mutually exclusive. He ignores that part of the beauty of Apple's
products is the interaction and combination of software AND hardware and the
quality of interaction between them."

I'm not ignoring any of these things. I'm simply suggesting that one of
Apple's key first impression advantages - their unique hardware design - is a
bit less powerful as all the hardware designs in the industry trend towards a
slab of glass.

~~~
chrisgoodrich
Understood; however, I would argue that consumers (ignoring early adopters)
don't look at the parts individually.

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

IMO Apple won't cease to be the leader in hardware design. Even as things
trend toward being all glass, they will still find innovative ways to create
beautiful products that bring together all of their competitive advantages.
Example: iPhone 4

------
tjogin
I think Jason is wrong about industrial design being the singular primary
differentiator for Apple devices.

Sure, Lenovos look like shit next to a MacBook, but people buy Lenovos for
entirely different reasons and the rugged design plays in their favor.

Other competitors offer laptops with near Apple levels of hardware design —
certainly near enough to meet Jason's criteria of "immediately obvious".

I think software _is_ the primary differentiator between iPhone and some of
the better looking Android devices, between MacBook and some of the better
looking PC laptops. Software, and some of the, by Jason's definition, "less
obvious" hardware attributes, like screen quality, UI responsiveness,
precision, etc.

The simpler the hardware gets, the more important and immediate these
attributes become. This only plays in Apple's favor, and is in my opinion what
has already been so hard for Nokia to deal with; they're a hardware company
with poor software chops. Superficial industrial design is easy to emulate or
fake, to a certain point. After that, it becomes hard, and not many companies
other than Apple have the skills or the patience for it. Look at the _tragic_
excuse for a Windows tablet HP is releasing for another example.

~~~
cma
Compare the ratio of Mac Books to Thinkpads in a marketing class with the same
ratio in a sociology class.

(Note: I deliberately didn't choose, say, an Art class vs. an Engineering
class, because what I'm getting at is the conspicuous consumption angle, not
the ease of use/technical ability angle).

------
kqr2
Also, it's not just about the technology. Apple has created a very desirable
brand that people want. A lot of Apple's gadgets have become status symbols.

~~~
kloncks
Apple's marketing team alone (with Phil Schiller) has been a successful
revolution.

~~~
barrydahlberg
I recently purchased my first Mac in 15 years of programming. While browsing
around the reseller I was struck by just how sexy everything looked. I always
try to hide PC's under desks in my home, I'm happy to have the Mac on display.

~~~
amackera
My ex-girlfriend bought an iMac and _proudly_ displayed it to her friends. She
showed them travel pictures, watched movies, etc. The computer had, for her,
transitioned from a _computer_ to an attractive designer object that provided
utility. It didn't really feel like a computer so much as just a part of the
environment of our apartment.

That always struck me as Apple's greatest success. There are way fewer hackers
and hardware connoisseurs than there are normal people in the world. Apple has
been able to appeal to people who used to merely tolerate technology.

~~~
cubicle67
And it's silent!

Got an iMac (first Apple product ever, for us) for my wife back in early 2006,
and that's the thing that stood out to me the most. Compared to my pc at the
time, and every other one I'd ever owned, the iMac was as good as dead silent.
You never really appreciate silent computing until you have one (a quiet
computer, that is, not necessarily a Mac)

~~~
barrydahlberg
I have a Mac mini sitting on my desk and I have to keep checking the lights to
see if its own, I love it.

------
ynniv
The iPad can play HD video for an estimated 10 hours. That has nothing to do
with the glassy interface, but I would still call it great hardware design.

~~~
gamble
Absolutely. I don't think many people appreciate just how dedicated Apple is
to excellent power management. The iPad is a dramatic example, but Apple has
excellent power management across its product lines. Macs have had near-
perfect power management for years, whereas PCs _still_ struggle to get it
right. This is one area where controlling software and hardware is a huge win.

------
jrwoodruff
Wow. What a great post of nothing but idle speculation. Everything is going
'all glass' until it goes the other direction, and whatever that direction is
I'm sure Apple will be leading it.

------
dirkstoop
Software has always been their edge.

I worry more about shaking-to-undo on my iPad and faux leather buttons in my
Calendar app than about other companies figuring out there is more than
plastic to build with.

------
jasonlotito
If this article is any indication, Apple needs to seriously needs to improve
it's software. I love my Mac, I love the environment, but there are so many
lost and forgotten pieces to their software that it's highly frustrating.

Take iChat, for example. So limited, even the supposed features it has do not
work (Bonjour for iChat fails to work to let me and my wife chat via her MBP
and my iMac). Indeed, the entire Bonjour system and file sharing is so
annoying and cumbersome. Finder can see the other computer, but it can't
actually go there, even when they are sitting next to each other.

Then you have iTunes. iTunes loves to create duplicate music files. The best
part is, when I tell iTunes "Yes, control the management of my music" I
suddenly end up with three copies of every song. Then there is the
disappearing devices. Why, my iPhone/iPad/AppleTV where there a minute ago. My
iPad/iPhone are still plugged in. Why can't I access them anymore?

Then their is iPhoto. Which controls movies. And photos. Sort of. Movies!? In
iPhoto? iMovie uses iPhoto to import movies? And then outputting movies is so
confusing. So many different options, and then you can't just have iTunes pick
it up, you have to load up iTunes, tell it to import the movie, and going
through numerous other steps to get it onto your Apple TV.

But back to iPhoto. You ever create a slide show with iPhoto? I did. iPhoto is
the only application I know that showed me a preview of the movie it was going
to create, and then the output changed the complete order of the pictures. How
does this happen?

Let's not forget the harassment iPhoto inflicts on users by default whenever
you plug anything in. It snatches focus away, loads up, just to import. Oh,
sure, you can set your iPhone to import quietly, but even having done it, I
forget where the setting is buried.

And then there is the default way you install software. Now, I know, it's
simple enough, right? No, it's annoying. I have to drag an icon into a folder?
And then I have to dig through that folder and find a generic icon just to
find the application, and then launch it. Why not just let me click a button
to install, and then be like "Hey, you _just_ installed this app, which means,
you probably want to run it, well, do you?"

And that's just the beginning. Let's not forget Time Machine randomly barfing
because your Time Machine drive suddenly lost power, or not importing pictures
as events by default properly, or just countless other problems.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a Mac user. My house hold is filled with Apple
products (1 iMac, 1MBP, original AppleTV, iPhones, iPods, iPad). But if Apple
wants to compete on the software end, they need to up their game and really
focus on finishing their half-complete products.

Edit: To be fair, I think Apple can do it. They don't have to do everything,
but what they do, they have to do well. And that means not abandoning projects
simply because they lose interest.

~~~
cubicle67
_And then I have to dig through that folder and find a generic icon just to
find the application, and then launch it_

Spotlight is your friend. Cmd+Space, first few letters of the app name (first
is usually sufficient for new apps) then hit enter. Indexing in OSX is as good
as instant, and new apps seem to show up at the top of the results.

Agreed, auto launching with a confirmation dialog would be better, but I find
using spotlight preferable to digging about in Applications

~~~
jasonlotito
I agree. Spotlight is sweet. The problem is, to install the app, I have to use
the mouse. Then, I have to come back over and use the keyboard to open up
spotlight to load the app I just installed. I mean, it just seems like an
absurd number of steps to get to the most likely scenario.

Though, I find that often. I love creating a movie in iMovie for iTunes, and
then having to tell iTunes about it. You can't just save the media into the
appropriate folder and have iTunes pick it up. At least, it's never worked
that way for me.

------
code_duck
I don't know, what DOES happen when it's all glass? Is part metal, part glass
supposed to be particularly difficult relative to that? And who says hardware
is ever going to be 'all glass'? I don't understand.

My suggestion is that probably at that point, Apple will continue to have
sleek, advanced products that dominate the high end of the market.

------
davidedicillo
I'm sure somewhere somebody few years ago thought "what happens when all the
phones will have a qwerty keyboard?"

------
sachinag
I just saw a Microsoft recruiting video last night that perfectly illustrated
this point. (In true MSFT fashion, it's not available online.) It was pretty
awesome - splitting apart a "phone" into two panes to do a video call with one
screen in front of you, and one up to the ear to better hear/speak; moving a
document from a wall to a table to a phone; etc. etc.

I've had a dream that someday the White Sox would build a stadium where Meigs
Field once stood with the wall behind the bleachers being entirely made of
transparent glass. You could have a view of the most beautiful skyline in the
world during action, but it'd turn into the most amazing widescreen
scoreboard/video screen for replays and stats during breaks in the action.

------
devmonk
In response to the question of design:

\- Use the golden ratio whenever possible/practical.

\- Be careful with the rounding of the edges. (Sharp corners aren't good, but
rounded with unused potential screen real estate and subsequent violation of
golden ratio is bad too.)

\- Don't skimp on thickness. At least as thick as a Kindle 3.

\- Like the author said, the software UI and UE should be tailored to the
screen width and input method.

------
bhiggins
I think Jason doesn't have much of a clue what he's talking about. There's
still a lot of details just with the display itself, see this for example:
<http://www.displaymate.com/Smartphone_ShootOut_1.htm>

------
napierzaza
Yeah, where are the stickers that advertise the processor? Or an AT&T logo you
can't remove. By god, Apple is at a disadvantage aren't they? Do 37signals
really think people can't tell Apple products are good when they're made of
glass and aluminum? Apple products just feel more solid and reliable because
of those things.

But maybe people prefer the silver paint rubbing off under their palms because
their laptop is really made of cheap black plastic.

~~~
nkassis
Except my real metal MBP had a bend (I have no clue how it happened) over my
Ethernet jack the week I bough it. Everything has faults. There is equal built
quality competitors to every Apple products.

My HTC magic has been dropped about 50 times. I have yet to see a crack
anywhere. Same generation iPhone had a massive screen problem.

I like my MBP but it's not for the hardware or built quality that I bought it.

