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Why aren’t Apple’s error messages written by marketers?

12 points by aresant 14y ago

denzil_correa 14y ago
Interesting point. Apart from error messages what other features in Apple products are un-Apple like?
- nameiscarl 14y ago
  Bloated application : itunes. Clunky user experience : finder. Bug ridden OS updates : you know the ones. And best of all, offering two ways to run Windows on your Apple branded hardware : bootcamp and parallels :p Fortunately, there are also upsides. The ios app store (even if all the major mobile app stores launched in 2008) was a godsend and lifted from linux package managers. At least, that's how I see it. Black and white is boring. Shades of grey are more interesting. Unless there are 50 of them.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    How was the iOS app store lifted from Linux package managers? The main characteristic of Linux package managers, as I see it, is dependency management. Third-party iOS apps aren't allowed to have any external dependencies outside of the OS, so there is no dependency management. Installing an iOS app is just a matter of downloading it and unpacking it.
    - akldfgj 14y ago
      From dpkg to Ubuntu Software Center, update managers have provided a list of installable software that can be downloaded from a repository, similar in functionality to the App Store UI. (Ubuntu's UI is most like Apple's, but I don't know which came first.)
  - akldfgj 14y ago
    Weird to call the flagships products un-Apple-like. Do they not define Apple-like de facto?
Lagged2Death 14y ago
Apple's Windows apps have traditionally been less polished than their Mac counterparts. I don't suppose there's a team at Apple deliberately sabotaging the Windows versions, but Apple has every reason in the world to focus on the Mac versions at the expense of the Windows versions.
- mikeash 14y ago
  Error messages in iTunes Mac are just as bad.
- jrajav 14y ago
  I'm not convinced that allowing their Windows software to slip in quality - software they force you to use if you buy an iPhone - will improve their brand image or prompt consumers to go purchase an iMac instead.
JasonFruit 14y ago
Side note: I don't think error messages should ever start with "Whoops!" It sounds condescending and unprofessional, at least to me.
- jrajav 14y ago
  Agreed. I'm reminded of point 3 in the Android guide to good UI messages, a little gem of technical writing style: http://developer.android.com/design/style/writing.html http://developer.android.com/design/style/writing.html
  - akldfgj 14y ago
    ^ Left hand. Right hand: "Aw, snap" when the software fails: http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95669 http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ans...

12 points by aresant 14y ago

denzil_correa 14y ago

Interesting point. Apart from error messages what other features in Apple products are un-Apple like?

nameiscarl 14y ago
Bloated application : itunes. Clunky user experience : finder. Bug ridden OS updates : you know the ones. And best of all, offering two ways to run Windows on your Apple branded hardware : bootcamp and parallels :p Fortunately, there are also upsides. The ios app store (even if all the major mobile app stores launched in 2008) was a godsend and lifted from linux package managers. At least, that's how I see it. Black and white is boring. Shades of grey are more interesting. Unless there are 50 of them.
- mikeash 14y ago
  How was the iOS app store lifted from Linux package managers? The main characteristic of Linux package managers, as I see it, is dependency management. Third-party iOS apps aren't allowed to have any external dependencies outside of the OS, so there is no dependency management. Installing an iOS app is just a matter of downloading it and unpacking it.
  - akldfgj 14y ago
    From dpkg to Ubuntu Software Center, update managers have provided a list of installable software that can be downloaded from a repository, similar in functionality to the App Store UI. (Ubuntu's UI is most like Apple's, but I don't know which came first.)
- akldfgj 14y ago
  Weird to call the flagships products un-Apple-like. Do they not define Apple-like de facto?

Lagged2Death 14y ago

Apple's Windows apps have traditionally been less polished than their Mac counterparts. I don't suppose there's a team at Apple deliberately sabotaging the Windows versions, but Apple has every reason in the world to focus on the Mac versions at the expense of the Windows versions.

mikeash 14y ago
Error messages in iTunes Mac are just as bad.
jrajav 14y ago
I'm not convinced that allowing their Windows software to slip in quality - software they force you to use if you buy an iPhone - will improve their brand image or prompt consumers to go purchase an iMac instead.

JasonFruit 14y ago

Side note: I don't think error messages should ever start with "Whoops!" It sounds condescending and unprofessional, at least to me.

jrajav 14y ago
Agreed. I'm reminded of point 3 in the Android guide to good UI messages, a little gem of technical writing style: http://developer.android.com/design/style/writing.html http://developer.android.com/design/style/writing.html
- akldfgj 14y ago
  ^ Left hand. Right hand: "Aw, snap" when the software fails: http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95669 http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ans...