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In some ways, it reminds me of the Intel transition in that regular consumers might not have been aware that this move was coming until they saw it in front of
by chrisfinazzo 6y ago
In some ways, it reminds me of the Intel transition in that regular consumers might not have been aware that this move was coming until they saw it in front of their eyes.
I often see that transition dated to 2006 at MacWorld, but the reality is that it was previewed at WWDC the previous year and there was only a minor spec bump to - I think - one model before the iMacs appeared to kick things off.
On a related note, I was not surprised - but definitely disappointed - to hear them describe the iMac changes as "making the computer disappear." Such 'appliances' have always seemed cheap and purposefully limited (not in a good way), yet this is what the market seems to want.
Regular people continue to not understand how computers work and they probably never will.
- stetrain 6y agoRegular people also don't really understand much about how cars work, and they love that modern ones start with the push of a button and that they don't have to fiddle with the carburetor or the choke to get it going.
- chrisfinazzo 6y agoYes, however... The problem space is much smaller and with each big shift in hardware and software, we've missed the opportunity to do this well. A rough timeline: Desktops, the Internet, Laptops, and - for probably the last decade - Mobile. Is "Ambient" next?, I'm not sure, that seems like it carries other baggage along with it. It may look like an appliance, but it certainly doesn't work like one, and if users had just a bit more knowledge about it, I wouldn't feel like we're going back to square one with each step forward in technology.
- jaegerpicker 6y agoI understand how both work and I LOVE both push button starting modern cars and computing appliances. I'd rather have an iPad and all the extra time it saves me to learn new things than fuddle with a desktop PC. Just like owning a Tesla will save me time vs owning/repairing an older car.