Nothing is perfect, let's make that clear from the start. Everything can be criticised. And although I think Apple's interfaces generally are the best, that doesn't mean they aren't flawed. (Just a lot less flawed than the alternatives.)
I'm writing this because my last post on this subject kicked off some interesting comments in some usability circles. And let's face it, it's a battle that's been fought since the Mac and PC tribes first squared off.
In my view, for too long the value of the Apple approach to interfaces has been obscured in the fog of this war. Negative perceptions about the Apple brand among some more hardcore tech users, get confused with the value of the interface itself.
So let's look at what the mistakes commonly are:
1. Failure to ask why Apple gets it right so often when others don't
This is the biggest. It goes far beyond quibbling about the detail of whether some minor aspects of Windows XP are more intuitive than some minor aspects of OS X, for example the placement of the 'close window' button.
Whether you like Apple or loathe them, the fact is they set the agenda. Users and rivals are influenced. Why?
My view is that for Apple, the interface is central. It is not an add on, or something that is considered after other aspects of the product have been decided. The interface, in a key sense, IS the product. And sure, in some instances, benefits will be weighed and trade offs made.
The iPhone could not make this clearer: the approach of multi-touch, in terms of delivering the massive benefit of phone simplification, requires a certain type of screen, which, to be sure, impacts on the usability of the keyboard. But even there, haptics point to how this issue can be addressed in time.
2. Confusing intuitiveness for what people are used to
If you have spent your entire life using PCs, then there's every chance you will be confused by a Mac when you first use it. But that's not the same as being able to achieve things more quickly when you are up and running.
For those who claim Windows might be more intuitive in some regards, I have four words for you: "the Registry" and "Windows Networking". Intuitiveness is something that should be stamped right though an OS, not just put in the convenient bits.
3. Thinking that pleasure implies a lack of seriousness on the part of the user
This is a stick that critics have been beating Apple with since the original Mac, the idea that making computing fun somehow trivialises it. It's a false dichotomy, and in a world where computers increasingly live in pockets and handbags, it's stupid as well.
Besides, it's been obvious that a pleasurable journey can have serious ends since BMW started making company cars. Let's move on.
4. Thinking Apple puts idealism over pragmatism
Perhaps a criticism of Apple of yore, but less so these days. This is probably the most pragmatic Apple there's ever been, from big stuff like embracing Intel, to small stuff like dropping the Smiley Mac start up screen.
One could argue that OS X's slightly more complex UI is as much a result of Apple compromising its singular approach, to make Macs less off-putting to a wider range of users, than the inherent complexity of OS X's Unix underpinnings.
5. Confusing the Apple image with the Apple interface
At the end of the day, it just a machine that either does or doesn't do what you want. Get over it.
6. Confusing aesthetics with design
This is a classic misunderstanding of what design is. Steve Jobs is right: design is about how the whole thing works. Aesthetics, which can be a part of design, is about what it looks like.
Windows approaches aesthetics as a means of covering over what has for years, been a manifestly inferior design. Whereas Apple sees the aesthetic as a coherent part of the overall design, one an expression of the other.
To be fair, this is an advantage Apple, with total control over its platform, has, that Microsoft hasn't.
Apple doesn't get it 100 per cent right all the time. But what it gets wrong, it gets wrong for the right reasons.
Your comments (11) Click to add a new comment
tfawcett
December 8th 2008
11. What do you people do your PCs to make them slow down? I use a MAC and several Windows machines, but due to the range of software available I have to side with Windows. I use Bootcamp to make my iMAC more capable, using Vista Ultimate as my OS of choice.
My wife prefers the MAC OS, but she only really uses the machine for web browsing. When she needs to do some work she fires up her ancient, but still capable of running Vista, Windows PC.
You can't reject cost as an arguement. You are just paying for the veneer. I knew that when I bought my iMAC, simply to dual-boot with Vista. I wanted something that looked nice in the corner of my living space. I paid for it with the money I earned using software installed on Windows.
Networking isn't easy. Try getting a HP printer to work on an iMAC when it's connected to a PC. I had to research the drivers, look for a couple of pieces of software and then spend an hour getting it to work. I'm one of the Windows IT people, so I don't know how the creative types get on with these sorts of jobs! Maybe they can afford to bin the Windows hardware and buy MAC components instead, but not all of us can.
Both systems have issues. It's not Apple products that wind me up, it's their fans believing the products are superior. They're not, they're just different.
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andymac1966
December 6th 2008
10. The article has certainly started something !
For me, the fact that using a Mac is simple & fast is enough. I've used Win for years (and still do at work) but it tends to be too much bother what with spyware & virus concerns & constant driver updates etc. These days, at home I want a computer that simply works with the minimal fuss, and that's what my Mac does. I also must disagree with the comment that networking is difficult with OSX - I've always found it pretty easy, and works great when you're out & about with a laptop. Also the adverse comments about price are becoming outdated - sure a top spec MacBook Pro or Mac Pro are expensive, but the cheaper models compare more than favourably with machines from Sony & Asus. At the end of the day you get what you pay for.
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tmhale13
December 6th 2008
9. tech89 - You are not simply paying more because the system looks nice. Like the author said, Apple is not simply about aesthetics. It is the total package. The interface is clean, the subsystem is logical and uncluttered, the hardware is sturdy and well made, and then the whole thing IS nice to look at. Not to mention that my Windows systems require a total wipe and rebuild every year to clean out all the artifacts that bog it down. I have a PowerBook G4 that I have had for nearly 4 years. Not one rebuild required! It runs just as fast/smooth as the day I bought it. I have moved up to an Intel MacBook Pro simply because I wanted the latest hardware and the functionality that the Intel move brought. But I kept my PB as is and still use it as a media server.
I started as a Windows guy. OS 9 was junk to me. People tried to get me to embrace it, but it was NOT easy to use. It was NOT easy to learn. And it was NOT a true competitor to Windows at that time. OS X changed all that. The first time I sat down and poked around a friends iMac with OS X I felt at home. It was simple to use, easy to learn and looked outstanding to boot. This was what computing should be like for the vast majority (Linux geeks and Microsoft employees excluded). Grandmothers could sit down and be as comfortable with this interface as the hipster blogger in the coffee shop. It just works! And that is a huge plus in a world that requires me (and many others) to do so much administration on our Windows boxes.
And as for the iPhone, it IS flawed. It should have MMS. It should have cut-n-paste. It should have stereo Bluetooth. It should have Flash! But it is still better than the alternatives. The things it does right (full iPod functionality, awesome photo interface, superb mail client organization, etc.) more than make up for the few items it lacks. These few missteps can/will be corrected in time. Adobe is already working with Apple on the Flash issue, stereo Bluetooth causes battery consumption issues and cut-n-paste could be in any update in the near future. Name the smartphone that truly out performs the iPhone and offers as nice an interface. Is it the end all, beat all? No. Could Samsung, Nokia or RIM release a better phone any day? Yes. But have they...
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kellyfl
December 6th 2008
8. I agree with your points. A fellow employee is a Windows fan boy and is truly very good with the Windows operating system, knowing everything there is to know about it. He has fallen in love with my MacBook Pro and the company eventually got him one. He uses the creative programs Apple has but can't seem to become comfortable with OSX after more than a year. This supports my theory that someone touched on in a letter. How your brain is wired is the primary factor determining if you will prefer Windows to Apple. But there is more. I know over 100 IT people very well. Some of them are also very creative people and others are, well, IT guys. Those who are creative have MacBooks while those who are not range from "I like my Dell" to "I'll kill anyone who criticizes Windows." It's your brain! Apple is for the rest of us. It has nothing to do with creativity. Don't get me wrong. There are many creative Windows users. But it has to do with how these people think and is perhaps not so much what they know but what they don't know. I am truly dismal in math skills or in music. I can't learn a foreign language. My co-worker programs in several computer languages, can do complex math in his head and uses AutoCAD, a program I can't seem to master. But when it comes to artistic layout he can't master the concept of white space or why font mixing often screws up a page layout. We simply think differently. I don't care if we are the majority or the minority as long as I can have my Mac. Even though I learned on a PC and used one for years, it is illogical and non-intuitive. My biggest criticism of Mac is that it is getting more Windows-like. I understand this as a business decision to sell machines to corporations but it is also unfortunate. I also can't understand why Microsoft and people who think like them never realized this and resisted for so long embracing a graphical interface. It was though Microsoft had to be dragged kicking and screaming to Windows from DOS which they obviously thought was quite adequate and logical. Microsoft could own the world today had they not been so bloody insistent that the rest of us have to be forced to do it their way.
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ablebobby
December 6th 2008
7. In all honesty, I have criticized Apple for the last 20 years. that was until one month ago when I bought my IPhone 3G. Since, I have dumped Dell and Windows and bought a Mac Book! Apple totally ROCKS. Once you try it, youll never go back!
Jess
www.privacy.de.tc
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shouldbworking
December 5th 2008
6. RE: mrstillwater "3. Wow, what a pointless article."
I almost completely agree with you. This article is next to pointless only because most people are too lazy to do homework after reading this sub par article.
More content please.
I was delighted when I read the title, and hugely disappointed when I read the content.
Also, #5 should be the exclamation point, not #6.
This is a nice start to a could-be-useful article.
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