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The iPhone's OS is feature-poor and anemic, hence the lack of controls. It has a very, very limited set of things that it needs to perform when you compare it t
by ax0n 17y ago
The iPhone's OS is feature-poor and anemic, hence the lack of controls. It has a very, very limited set of things that it needs to perform when you compare it to a real computer. "math is hard, let's go shopping!"
- wmf 17y agoThis is true, but if most people don't use all the features of a real OS anyway then you're better off removing them in favor of a really good implementation of the few features people do use. And then you're right back to iPhone OS: it does little, but it does that really well.
- ax0n 17y agoI guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Heck, even Ubuntu isn't too bad, if you only want to do three things with any of them: mail, word processing, web surfing, for example. I've taught numerous seniors how to do these things on a computer. I don't get questions until they want to know how to do more with their computer than they already knew. Using the iPwn model, I'd have to say "you're shit out of luck, that's all this system can do." and I really don't see how that's good for anyone.
- orangecat 17y agoI guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Exactly. Apple fanboys have gone from "Macs are easy to use", which is largely true, to "all existing computers are unusable unless you're a total loser geek", which is rather less so. And to the extent that the iPad is easier to use, that's not because it denies control to advanced users. Mac OS X wouldn't be easier for novices if Terminal.app were removed and Apple prevented all other access to the Unix shell.
- jasonlbaptiste 17y agoyou dont see the point because you're an outlier. most people are retarded when it comes to computers. most people actually want to do THOSE three things with a computer: mail, word processing, and web. (throw in media watching/playing games somewhere there too). what % of computer owners you think fire up emacs and terminal? a small amount. Geeks != mass market.
- ax0n 17y agoNo, the author is saying that it's hard to use a modern computer. It's not. In fact, with shakes, gestures, and other non-obvious input methods, I'd say the iPhone is anything BUT a perfect UI for "retards"
- jasonlbaptiste 17y agogot any evidence on that one?
- ax0n 17y agoEvidence that shake, pinch, spread and multi-touch are non-obvious UI features that average folks would not discover quickly on their own and likely need help understanding? Please. At the very least, they'd need a short video clip or a getting started guide to explain these features. They're cool and valuable, but not intuitive. I'm a relatively smart guy, and the first time I picked up a new iPod shuffle (with the controls on the headphones) it took me quite a while to figure out that: 1) The area between the volume up/down buttons was a separate button 2) How to use that center button. Apple has gotten very good at forcing people to learn new, unfamiliar interfaces. To say that these interfaces are better is a matter of opinion, and to say they're easier than a mouse puck on the desk with a corresponding screen cursor and a "start" menu or icons on a dock is laughable.
- netcan 17y agoI really think this kind of approach, 'I've shown them how to send an email and they can manage it,' is missing most of the point. They don't have a grasp of what they're doing. They know this. It intimidates them. They're afraid of breaking something and need to ask for help all the time. They hate it. It's disempowering. These are not some small minority. These are a lot of people. An iphone can be picked up, used, and give a larger number of people a feeling that they can understand how it works. They are in control. They don't need any help. If they can keep that and replace more of the the desktop, they'll want it.
- ugh 17y agoExactly. I see this all the time. This constant fear of breaking something, the lack of confidence. Good iPhone apps can feel as though you can understand them completely, even to non-technical users. (It’s not automatic, though. Everyone who has ever used Stanza knows that.) The Browser (especially ones like Chrome and Safari) is pretty much the only desktop app which can feel that way, too – at the moment.
- Niten 17y agoI have to wonder how much of this is due to the limited capabilities of the iPhone, and how much is just the psychology of "physically" interacting with your apps.
- netcan 17y agoI don't think it is primarily about the touch screen. It's probably a combination of things many of them related to limited capabilities. For example, the app store. Sure, they could allow some other channel for installing apps that isn't restricted. Some apps would be available only for this alternative channel because it's easier or freeier or better somehow. They give instructions on how to install it. It's complicated. A user might try to get something running on her iphone and fail. She might get her daughter to help. The app has some quirks (that's why it isn't allowed in the app store) When she uses someone else' iphone it's complicated and difficult because it belongs to a"power user". This adds up to the feeling that the iphone is complicated and hard and breakable and you need to know what you're doing with it. It's naive to say "don't install unapproved apps" or stay in the non-power user world. If it exists, people will be exposed to it. Think of the early days of GUI. Lots of non computer people where shown how to do something until it stopped working for whatever reason. At that point they asked for help. The helper immediately opens up the command line and demonstrates how you really need to know a little bit about the command line to get some things done.
- Niten 17y agoEven the most computer-illiterate people I know need, on a daily basis, the ability to switch between multiple running applications.