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It's pretty clear from the second-to-last paragraph that Gruber understands that Jobs was a fallible human being. The criticisms in this post revolve around Isa

It's pretty clear from the second-to-last paragraph that Gruber understands that Jobs was a fallible human being. The criticisms in this post revolve around Isaacson's handling of technical accuracy, and Isaacson's repeated implication that design and engineering are two adversarial ideas.

Volpe 15y ago
Gruber managed to do that without offering much evidence to the contrary. Do Apple engineers and Designers really work side by side? Or is it just that Apple prioritise design over engineering. So rather than the engineers throwing a brick over the fence and saying "Designers, make it look good" it's designers throwing a sleek brick over the fence and saying "Engineers, make it work." The antennae-gate was a REAL problem, that Apple changed it's design for (in the 4S)... Can we really accept there is no tension in Apple over these things (As Gruber is suggesting)?
- ugh 15y ago
  But it’s an engineering issue, not a design issue. The iPhone 4 had an external antenna to fit in a larger battery. That’s all engineering.
  - Volpe 15y ago
    Regardless whether it's a design or engineering problem. It is pretty clear evidence there is tension between the teams (design and engineering). Which is the opposite of what Gruber is arguing.
- jonhendry 15y ago
  "The antennae-gate was a REAL problem, that Apple changed it's design for (in the 4S)" Really? It looks the same.
  - Volpe 15y ago
    Mostly the same, Volume/Silent switch are a little bit higher. And the steel rim now has more breaks in it (which was apparently a cause of the reception problems, when your finger went over the only break)
huggyface 15y ago
It's pretty clear from the second-to-last paragraph that Gruber understands that Jobs was a fallible human being. Gruber concedes an inch to take a mile. It's a tactic as old as time and it's hardly surprising that he uses it here. However it is the volume of the book dedicated to humanizing Jobs that turned many of Jobs greatest fans against Isaacson. As Gruber says "Isaacson got the self-absorbed hypocritical asshole right, but the world is full of self-absorbed hypocritical assholes."

Volpe 15y ago

Gruber managed to do that without offering much evidence to the contrary. Do Apple engineers and Designers really work side by side? Or is it just that Apple prioritise design over engineering. So rather than the engineers throwing a brick over the fence and saying "Designers, make it look good" it's designers throwing a sleek brick over the fence and saying "Engineers, make it work." The antennae-gate was a REAL problem, that Apple changed it's design for (in the 4S)... Can we really accept there is no tension in Apple over these things (As Gruber is suggesting)?

ugh 15y ago
But it’s an engineering issue, not a design issue. The iPhone 4 had an external antenna to fit in a larger battery. That’s all engineering.
- Volpe 15y ago
  Regardless whether it's a design or engineering problem. It is pretty clear evidence there is tension between the teams (design and engineering). Which is the opposite of what Gruber is arguing.
jonhendry 15y ago
"The antennae-gate was a REAL problem, that Apple changed it's design for (in the 4S)" Really? It looks the same.
- Volpe 15y ago
  Mostly the same, Volume/Silent switch are a little bit higher. And the steel rim now has more breaks in it (which was apparently a cause of the reception problems, when your finger went over the only break)

huggyface 15y ago

It's pretty clear from the second-to-last paragraph that Gruber understands that Jobs was a fallible human being. Gruber concedes an inch to take a mile. It's a tactic as old as time and it's hardly surprising that he uses it here. However it is the volume of the book dedicated to humanizing Jobs that turned many of Jobs greatest fans against Isaacson. As Gruber says "Isaacson got the self-absorbed hypocritical asshole right, but the world is full of self-absorbed hypocritical assholes."