Category Archives for Culture

The Cost and Construction of Apple Products

This is what the Apple iPhone charger looks like with the iPhone 4SPeople get it in their heads that one way or another Apple is really out to over-price their products and rob people blind. No one stops to consider a world with cheap Apple products, like we saw throughout the 1990s till Steve returned to Apple.

One Apple tech geek chose to find out what was on the inside of Apple’s seemingly over-priced iPhone charger.

Shirriff found that there’s a reason for at least part of the premium price tag, and that’s the use of quality components. To quote Shirriff’s conclusions,

Apple’s power adapter is clearly a high-quality power supply designed to produce carefully filtered power. Apple has obviously gone to extra effort to reduce EMI interference, probably to keep the charger from interfering with the touchscreen. When I opened the charger up, I expected to find a standard design, but I’ve compared the charger to the Samsung charger and several other high-quality industry designs, and Apple goes beyond these designs in several ways… TUAW »

The truth is Apple aims to put this sort of high-quality manufactering ahead of making expendable and low-priced gadgets in all that they produce. Apple is about only the best they can afford to make available in their gadgets in mass quantities at this time—unlike many tech companies that are out to sell at bottom-dollar prices cheap and and poorly-engineered products.

As Jony Ive puts it:

“We’re keenly aware that when we develop and make something and bring it to market that it really does speak to a set of values. And what preoccupies us is that sense of care, and what our products will not speak to is a schedule, what our products will not speak to is trying to respond to some corporate or competitive agenda. We’re very genuinely designing the best products that we can for people.” Read more »

If Jony Ive said it, I believe it. There’s something so sincere about the man that what he said must be true. No kidding. The man is so real… I guess I believe in the quality of Apple’s products without seeing their metal and plastic guts ripped out.

Not to mention that in my nineteen years of experience using Apple products they have only been good to me (when they weren’t stolen). 

U.I. Design for The Avengers

Nick Fury by his computers - visual effects magic

Click Nick Fury’s eyepatch to see the gallery for The Avengers UI designs

Stills from The Avengers showcasing some of the User Interfaces that Jayse Hansen designed for the glass screens on the Helicarier and the visuals Tony Stark had in his new and upgraded Iron Man suit. Shawn Blanc »

Thanks, Shawn, for sharing these. Fabulous job, Jayse.

Designers, don’t drool too much. It is unbecoming. 

Jony Ive Goes In-depth About Apple’s Design Philosophy

Jonathan Ive portrait in suit jacket - black & whiteAhead of receiving his knighthood from the Queen, Jony gave an interview to the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph. Jony Ive’s own words:

“We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that’s the only possible solution that makes sense.”

“I think subconsciously people are remarkably discerning. I think that they can sense care. I think it’s a wonderful view that care was important – but I think you can make a one-off and not care and you can make a million of something and care. Whether you really care or not is not driven by how many of the products you’re going to make.”

“One of the concerns was that there would somehow be, inherent with mass production and industrialisation, a godlessness and a lack of care.

“We’re keenly aware that when we develop and make something and bring it to market that it really does speak to a set of values. And what preoccupies us is that sense of care, and what our products will not speak to is a schedule, what our products will not speak to is trying to respond to some corporate or competitive agenda. We’re very genuinely designing the best products that we can for people.” GigaOM »

You can watch the clip of Ive’s knighting here »

I have a lot of respect for the man. He is one of the coolest men roaming the earth today. I am impressed with him in the Apple product videos, in keynote presentations along with Steve Jobs, and in the stories related in some of Jobs biographies. Jony is a rare breed. He is the real deal even when he’s philosophizing about abstracts of design that most ordinary tech users do not understand, but sure do appreciate.

Pixar’s New Short Film, La Luna

La Luna promotional art by Pixar

I always look forward to the Pixar short films as much as their full-length feature film releases.

“La Luna” is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family’s most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions? Pixar »

It would seem based on Pixar’s description of La Luna that the story’s message echoes similar values presented in Brave. I don’t expect anything ‘epic’ out of their short films; rather, they are an antidote to overside films. It’s great to watch what they can do in a creative story in so little time on screen.

We can expect to see La Luna for the first time in theaters along with showings of Brave.

23 Rare Behind The Scenes Photos From ‘Back To The Future’

Getting the De Lorean to Fly

Filming the flying De Lorean

Great Scott! I’ve never seen these production photos before. Click the photo to see the rest of the production photos from the eighties on Bit Rebel.

One of my all-time favorite subjects: a flying time-travelling De Lorean. The photos got me ready to check the films out on my new HD television.

Chipper Jones Plans His Triumphant Retirement

Chipper Jones Topps rookie baseball card

Chipper’s rookie baseball card

For a team that dates to 1876, Jones ranks second to Hank Aaron in almost every offensive category. He needs just 12 runs batted in to pass George Brett as the career R.B.I. leader among players whose primary position was third base. Among switch-hitters, only Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray have more career homers than Jones’s 459, and only Murray has more hits than Jones’s 2,646.

“I just told him, ‘How stupid — you’re going to retire, and you could make another $20 million!’ ” Ozzie Guillen, the Miami Marlins’ manager and a former teammate, said Wednesday. “But Chipper’s very professional, goes about his business, fights through injuries the right way. You look at Chipper’s numbers, you go: ‘Wow, really? No way.’ He does it very quietly.” New York Times »

As all good ball players should. I will miss Chipper after the season. I grew up watching him, Smoltz, and the others, but the one constant is Chipper. Hopefully he will join the Braves as a manager, or something else like that.

Web Design Taking a Cue from Instapaper

Jeffrey Zeldman himself is a product wrought with an extra dose of quirkiness. All the same, I still see his objectivity. These are his own words about his recent significant redirection for the interface of his site.

Screen Shot of Jeffrey Zeldman's updated web interface

This is Zeldman.com’s new look; very accommodating for high pixel density displays.

This redesign is a response to ebooks, to web type, to mobile, and to wonderful applications like Instapaper and Readability that address the problem of most websites’ pointlessly cluttered interfaces and content-hostile text layouts by actually removing the designer from the equation. (That’s not all these apps do, but it’s one benefit of using them, and it indicates how pathetic much of our web design is when our visitors increasingly turn to third party applications simply to read our sites’ content. It also suggests that those who don’t design for readers might soon not be designing for anyone.)

It’s nice to see another designer come to grips with some of the web’s recently spawned realities. It’s also great to see him do whatever he so choses, and make the site his own.

It’s not that Zeldman disregards web standards, or what most consider ‘readable.’ He just doesn’t think it’s right for all situations; particularly his own brand. The site is a significant departure from what you typically see online today. The new Zeldman.com says, “I am what I am, and I don’t plan to be otherwise.” I like that. Individuality is hard to come by.

If this were a client site, I wouldn’t push the boundaries this far. If this were a client site, I’d worry that maybe a third of the initial responses to the redesign were negative. Hell, let’s get real: if this were a client site, I wouldn’t have removed as much secondary functionality and I certainly wouldn’t have set the type this big. But this is my personal site. There are many like it, but this one is mine. And on this one, I get to try designs that are idea-driven and make statements. On this one, I get to flounder and occasionally flop. If this design turns out to be a hideous mistake, I’ll probably eventually realize that and change it. (It’s going to change eventually, anyway. This is the web. No design is for the ages, not even Douglas Bowman’s great Minima.)

But for right now, I don’t think this design is a mistake. I think it is a harbinger. We can’t keep designing as we used to if we want people to engage with our content. We can’t keep charging for ads that our layouts train readers to ignore. We can’t focus so much on technology that we forget the web is often, and quite gloriously, a transaction between reader and writer. »

If you enjoyed this entry, and Zeldman’s thoughts in general, you may also appreciate his free e-book, Taking Your Talent to the Web.

How Apple Sees the iPad Impacting Healthcare

Apple Healthcare Video Screen Shot from Apple.com/Business

Click the picture to watch the video on Apple.com

Every now and then I hear that the iPad and iPhone are making a positive impact on the medical field. Apple has taken the time to report how one doctor uses it in the field, along with one of Apple’s beautiful trademark video demos to promote the use of iDevices in the hospital.

“It’s tremendously important that medical facilities have the latest technology,” says Dr. John Perlin, HCA’s Chief Medical Officer. “It makes all the difference between good care and not-so-good care. It may even be the difference between life and death. Apps on iPhone and iPad put the information needed for medical decisions into the hands of decision-makers.” »

This video and others like it are available at Apple’s Business Section on Apple.com. Perhaps you haven’t heard or seen this part of their website. You are not alone, because it is not obvious in the site’s navigation.

I visit there occasionally to see new content like this story on Apple technology in the hospital. The business section of Apple.com has been around for years, and is a great place to explore how Apple products used in a corporate environment—not just by doctors, but lawyers, small businesses, and other industries.

Dr. John Perlin’s story and others like it are a testament to Apple’s relevance not only to people looking for great media, music, and everyday “life” iDevices. An iPad has its place as a tool for professionals.