Finally, a response that actually makes sense to me!
You are correct that I have above-average skills and all that. I’ve been doing the computer thing since for ~30 years and learned BASIC before I learned the multiplication tables, so I am definitely not the “normal” computer user. However, there is more to it.
In the early-90s, I was a big Mac-fan myself since Windows hadn’t really gained traction yet and thus Mac was superior in many regards. The main reason I lost my love for Apple was really the fact that, once I got older, I had to buy my own hardware. As much as I loved Macs, they were not superior enough to warrant paying 3–5 times what an equivalent PC would run, especially after Windows finally became usable. There is also the little matter of software availability, and emulators/VMs like MacBochs can only go so far. The situation is better now that Boot Camp exists, but it’s easier and cheaper to make a Hackintosh and go the other way if I wanted OS X and Windows.
There is something to be said for, “It just works, right out of the box!”. I am a big fan of stuff that works right out of the box. I am also a big fan of stuff that can be repaired without a pricey dealer visit when it stops working, and most of my friends (most of whom are not savvy enough to do their own work) agree.
At least Apple finally wised up and started doing things like designing cases that didn’t require special tools to open and using standard parts as opposed to proprietary everything, so they aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be there… as long as you own a “professional grade” Mac or certain models of Performa. Owners of other Apple products are still S.O.L.
I agree that removing layers of abstraction is a good thing for most people, and it makes day-to-day stuff easier even for us hardcore geeks. However, it can go too far, especially when you get so far into the whole PNAMBIC thing that you make life harder for everybody except for the “point and grunt” crowd that the system is less of a computing device and more of a child’s toy. Put another way, autopilot for cars may be nice, but so is at least having the option of using a steering wheel.
But as for Apple’s OSs, I remain unimpressed. OS X is really no improvement over WinXP, especially if you throw RocketDock into the mix. I’ve seen better and easier media managers than iTunes for both Windoze and Linux.
As for the interface of the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, I have to say that I’ve seen much better, more intuitive interfaces elsewhere for less. While plain-old Ubuntu may be too hard for people who can’t figure out Win7 or Mac OS X, the “Netbook Remix” has a simplicity to it that exceeds the deprecated “Mini Finder” or At Ease… or, if you have a touchscreen computer, even the iPod/iPad OS.
Apple really hasn’t done anything to dramatically improve the UI since last century. They’ve been netter at marketting a touchscreen GUI, but the PC side had those long ago, merely with less commercial success. Now, if you want to impress me with UI then try Pranav Minstry’s SixthSense which can be done for about $350 in hardware and using open source software.
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You are also correct that the hype does have my panties in a bunch. The iPad is evolutionary, not revolutionary. If Apple billed it more along the lines of “Tablet computing done right!”, I would’ve just shrugged, rolled my eyes, and left it alone. But advertising it as a high-MPG, low-fat cure for erectile dysfunction (as Steve Jobs tends to do) really gets to me, as you can probably tell. While I see the iPad probably doing better (commercially) than the Newton did, I don’t see it as being nearly as ground-breaking.
Another part of it is that I really just don’t get it. Seeing everybody go gaga over the latest gift from “Jesus of Cupertino” makes me feel like a freak of nature because not only am I not swept up in the hysteria, but I truly don’t understand, even in the slightest! It’s one thing to look at something and just dismiss it as nothing I am interested in, but another to miss the point entirely, especially when something is so asinine.
In the meantime, I guess I’ll just wait for my hip-mounted Linux box running SixthSense. Sure, it won’t have the designer logo or the blessing of Saint Jobs, but at least it will be technologically advanced enough to warrant a little excitement.