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The hook of the article leaves unanswered the question of why Steve Jobs made a big deal out of the backs of cabinets. The answer is that Steve Jobs knew how to
by dkarl 2y ago
The hook of the article leaves unanswered the question of why Steve Jobs made a big deal out of the backs of cabinets. The answer is that Steve Jobs knew how to sell luxury items to people who identified themselves with the quality of their work, whether they were accomplished creative professionals or cube-dwelling (now coworking) "knowledge workers" or MBAs who take sommelier classes or aspiring writers grinding on their novels at Starbucks. It was partly about the experience of using an Apple product, but it was just as much, if not more, about vicariously identifying with the standards of craftsmanship. If it was only about the experience, and the craftsmanship was a means to the experience, then the backs of the cabinets would not have mattered. They mattered because the craftsmanship was not just a means but was fetishized for its own sake.
- kqr 2y agoCutting the right corners is known as job smarts in the research on expertise, and it's one of the markers of expertise. Perhaps Steve Jobs wasn't an expert in engineering so he didn't know which corners to cut and therefore avoided cutting any corners out of fear of cutting the wrong one?
- gofreddygo 2y agoArticle is spot about its topic - tradeoffs. The professionalism is in picking the right corners to cut. Steve's marketing was IMO a whole load of bollocks, like all other marketing. it gets attention now when Apple is a trillion $$$ company, and superficial minds wanting a simple answer attribute it to the most visible thing - Apple's marketing. no one bought Apple products for Apple's marketing or advertising. Its for the weirdos. Same theme as other Apple marketing e.g. the bicycle for the mind metaphor, the 1984 ad, etc. This article is good and its not about the backs of cabinets.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- plufz 2y ago> no one bought Apple products for Apple's marketing or advertising. That statement would require quite a source. Of course a lot of people bought Apple products because of the ads, like for any company that is a serious advertiser.
- gofreddygo 2y agoApple had been doing great ads since 1977 [1] Apple revenue not so great till 2000s [2] What changed ? [1]: https://www.macworld.com/article/670956/the-14-best-apple-ads-of-all-time.html https://www.macworld.com/article/670956/the-14-best-apple-ad... [2]: https://www.statista.com/chart/4574/apples-revenue-since-1977/ https://www.statista.com/chart/4574/apples-revenue-since-197...
- noisy_boy 2y agoSocial media and it's amplification of the desperation to show off. Apple products are cool/expensive and I am cool/above average/have buying power/<insert_your_wannabe_reason> to have them while I sip my pumpkin latte at Starbucks. They are also high quality machines but I don't think for everyone that buys them, the motivation is solely the software/hardware stack.
- plufz 2y agoYou usually need multiple things combined for a successful business. A good product, a good brand, good ads, pr, etc.
- rob74 2y agoI think the revenue chart is a bit misleading. Apple was very successful with the Apple II and the early Macintosh models (otherwise they would have gone the way of Commodore and Atari), it's just that the market was much smaller in the 1980s - also, I doubt that the graph is inflation adjusted.
- matusp 2y agoIt is not about the backs of cabinets. It is about telling your customers how big of a deal the backs of cabinets really are.
- nebula8804 2y agoThe back of Apple cabinets are are actually pretty good even in the Tim Cook era. [1]: https://www.cultofmac.com/320883/why-samsungs-design-sucks-in-a-single-image/ https://www.cultofmac.com/320883/why-samsungs-design-sucks-i... [2]: https://ioshacker.com/iphone/image-compares-ugly-samsung-beautiful-iphone-x-internals https://ioshacker.com/iphone/image-compares-ugly-samsung-bea...
- thfuran 2y agoI don't understand why someone would even want the ports to all be on the center line.
- golergka 2y agoIt's aesthetically pleasing.
- vundercind 2y agoHelps you find ports by feel, too.
- makeitdouble 2y agoOn the first, having the off-center hole helped with thicker plugs. The iPhone had less of these issues as cables were thinner (and more expensive) in general, while micro USB had a flurry of cheap cables in the while that could be much thicker. Apple never really cared for ports practicality, we've had the same discussion with the finewoven cases that wouldn't allow for regular thickness usb-c cables. Other makers made more of an effort on that front. The second would be a better point if iPhone's repairability was on par with Samsung's. Granted Samsung also became worse with time, but it was in no small part because of what the market leader could get away with. That said, I think your general point stabds: Apple cares about the back of the drawer. But not in the way I personally wish they cared.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- makeitdouble 2y agoIt's in the link on the relevant bit [0]. TLDR: his dad built stuff, including as a hobby, and he liked overengineering. He liked he dad very much and also got on board with overengineering. [0] http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-obsession-with-the-quality-of-the-things-unseen/ http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-obsession-...
- taneq 2y agoI’ve always found the term “overengineering” as used to mean “unnecessarily overspecc’d” a little odd. Engineering is all about appropriately selecting and sizing components. Overspeccing something is underengineering it, and usually happens because you don’t have time to accurately size things so you throw the kitchen sink at it.
- makeitdouble 2y agoGood point, overspeccing was the appropriate wording.