Well, gosh… I'm no fanboi and have my own list of Apple gripes, but Mr. Thornton's strike me as poorly reasoned and over emotional - not unlike those on the app store.
- TextEdit is worth what I paid for it. So are BBEdit, TextMate, and Coda (and that other one people rave about). When it comes to the needs of programmers, there's an embarrassment of text editor riches. (And TextEdit is very handy for teaching AppleScript.)
- Ditto input devices. There's an add-on numeric keypad for the BlueTooth keyboard, but given that mine never leaves my desk, I'm fine with the USB keyboard that includes it by default. When buying a new computer, either is available at no extra cost. Whether or not I agree with Apple's aesthetic choices, I like the fact that they consider such considerations crucial. And given that input devices are ubiquitous, various, and cheap, I have trouble taking "I hate this mouse!" seriously.
- By definition, all user reviews are unprofessional, emotional, biased toward extremes, and involve an absurdly narrow range of subjective experience. The anonymity of the environments alone guarantees the low quality of the posts. The agonizing mediocrity of the lowest common denominator is a human phenomenon that can be found in any area of endeavor, and any environment that offers freedom of _expression_ without personal responsibility becomes a sewer at the speed of dysentery. I can't see how Apple is responsible for any of that.
- The fact that Apple places restrictions on developers that they don't place on themselves hardly strikes me as unreasonable. An operation system isn't an application and comparing the two is a category error. Given that I hold them responsible for delivering a reliable OS, suggesting that they give up all authority over how it's used strikes me as unreasonable - the equivalent of demanding that I keep an immaculate house but never enforce rules on the kids. Frankly, given the obscene interface violations committed by monopolies like Microsoft and Adobe, I'd like to see more, not fewer, restrictions placed on what developers can do. My only objection is that Apple picks the easy fights, but that too is the norm for corporations. The alternative is Microsoft, where they never met a feature they could resist and grotesque bloatware becomes an enforced industry norm.
Given that - like everyone's - my limbic brain screams "change is bad!" whenever its confronted with one, I always give myself a few weeks before evaluating major changes to my environment. I like Lion; I don't love it. It has some profoundly annoying bugs which I hope will be addressed in 10.7.2, and also exemplifies some design choices with which I disagree. In particular, most graphics have been streamlined to the point where they provide insufficient information, except in those cases where they've been exaggerated to the level of bad drag. On the one hand, there's the zen lobotomy of the Finder; on the other, the cloying overworked mall cuteness of Address Book and iCal.
But I approve of the willingness to take risks, keep few sacred cows, and throw tradition out the window (even one's own traditions) when they age badly. I'm curious to see if there'll be honest course corrections, or if Apple is headed toward the usual monstrousness of any dominant force in an industry or endeavor. Power and wealth corrupt, and sooner or later, supporting #1 becomes unconscionable. But then Apple didn't invent that either.
-Bryan
|