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Have you used the machine? The touchbar is delightful. Trying to find new ways of pleasing customers is not contempt.

overgard 10y ago
I have zero use for a touchbar. I dont have a vendetta against apple, if they come out with a machine that is usefull to me I'll happily buy it, but this current attempt is just a macbook air + a gimmick, when what I wanted was a useful work laptop.
Karunamon 10y ago
No, contempt is when you remove a ubiquitous audio jack and replace it with a de-facto proprietary connector that requires an extra adapter to do the same thing it did before. And then have the cheek to call this "brave" and good for the customer. Or when you release a machine with one USB port to be shared with charging and peripherals. Or (opinion alert) when you take progressive steps to lock down your system more and more and more at the expense of power users. Run whatever the user wants -> Run signed code only with an override -> Run signed only with an override that reverts back after a period of time -> (exercise for the reader) Or (2x opinion alert) when you compromise on battery life and muscle memory (and hence usability) for a misfeature that adds questionable value that nobody actually wanted in the first place. Apple's all about pleasing their customers perhaps, but at some point, their customer stopped being me and started being someone else. And this is sad, because OS X is the only nix-like out there that gives anything resembling the faintest hint of a shit about design and UX. The author of the article put it well: The relentless and opportunistic penny-pinching is intentional though, and leaves a sour taste.
- overgard 10y ago
  I totally agree. I was a happy apple customer and I'd like to be again, but the current direction is bad for me.
brandur 10y ago
Not OP, but as far as the direction many developers seem to leaning right now, your opinion might be the more unusual case. I did try the TouchBar, and not only did I find it not delightful, but it was so obviously going to be not a useful tool for me that I'd go out of my way to have a computer that didn't have one, even if there was no price difference. I don't think that this is just an anti-progress mentality either. My dynamic functions already had a home before the TouchBar: on my screen. That way, they're their at eye level and easily accessible via keyboard shortcut. Especially because it doesn't have anything like tactile feedback, the TouchBar really adds nothing to this equation (unless maybe you're a very heavy emoji user or want the equivalent of a dynamic nyancat sticker [1]). I realize that I feel more strongly about it than most, but other reactions I've read or heard are almost universally nonplussed. Even people who are normally absolute Apple apologists, like the cast of Accidental Tech Podcast [2], seem to be having trouble finding nice things to say about it. Not a good sign. [1] https://github.com/avatsaev/touchbar_nyancat https://github.com/avatsaev/touchbar_nyancat [2] http://atp.fm/episodes/195 http://atp.fm/episodes/195

I have zero use for a touchbar. I dont have a vendetta against apple, if they come out with a machine that is usefull to me I'll happily buy it, but this current attempt is just a macbook air + a gimmick, when what I wanted was a useful work laptop.

Karunamon 10y ago

No, contempt is when you remove a ubiquitous audio jack and replace it with a de-facto proprietary connector that requires an extra adapter to do the same thing it did before. And then have the cheek to call this "brave" and good for the customer. Or when you release a machine with one USB port to be shared with charging and peripherals. Or (opinion alert) when you take progressive steps to lock down your system more and more and more at the expense of power users. Run whatever the user wants -> Run signed code only with an override -> Run signed only with an override that reverts back after a period of time -> (exercise for the reader) Or (2x opinion alert) when you compromise on battery life and muscle memory (and hence usability) for a misfeature that adds questionable value that nobody actually wanted in the first place. Apple's all about pleasing their customers perhaps, but at some point, their customer stopped being me and started being someone else. And this is sad, because OS X is the only nix-like out there that gives anything resembling the faintest hint of a shit about design and UX. The author of the article put it well: The relentless and opportunistic penny-pinching is intentional though, and leaves a sour taste.

overgard 10y ago
I totally agree. I was a happy apple customer and I'd like to be again, but the current direction is bad for me.

brandur 10y ago

Not OP, but as far as the direction many developers seem to leaning right now, your opinion might be the more unusual case. I did try the TouchBar, and not only did I find it not delightful, but it was so obviously going to be not a useful tool for me that I'd go out of my way to have a computer that didn't have one, even if there was no price difference. I don't think that this is just an anti-progress mentality either. My dynamic functions already had a home before the TouchBar: on my screen. That way, they're their at eye level and easily accessible via keyboard shortcut. Especially because it doesn't have anything like tactile feedback, the TouchBar really adds nothing to this equation (unless maybe you're a very heavy emoji user or want the equivalent of a dynamic nyancat sticker [1]). I realize that I feel more strongly about it than most, but other reactions I've read or heard are almost universally nonplussed. Even people who are normally absolute Apple apologists, like the cast of Accidental Tech Podcast [2], seem to be having trouble finding nice things to say about it. Not a good sign. [1] https://github.com/avatsaev/touchbar_nyancat https://github.com/avatsaev/touchbar_nyancat [2] http://atp.fm/episodes/195 http://atp.fm/episodes/195