7 ms·

>"artisanally crafted" (grammar) Did an artisan craft it? No, it looks to me mass-manufactured to spec by someone or something who doesn't have a say in its d

by diydsp 13y ago

>"artisanally crafted" (grammar) Did an artisan craft it? No, it looks to me mass-manufactured to spec by someone or something who doesn't have a say in its design or the ability to individualize it. You mean "made of wood," but that's the most you can squeeze out. Please don't try to steal the thunder of actual artisans. > "unique built-in eraser" > "unique sensor lets you flip Pencil to erase" Yeah, the crappy Wacom knockoff I bought in 1998 had the same thing. Wacoms have the same thing. If you are like all the other, most popular, long-existing things, you are not a unique thing. If they're delusional about this, what else are they delusional about? Why would I spend money to support hubris? Because I'll have some minor extension of my abilities within a double-walled garden? Aim higher.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- Tomdarkness 13y ago
  While I don't agree with the comment you've replied to, I equally don't agree with your comment. Why should someone not comment on HN if their opinion is not representative of the majority of users on HN? They should be free to express their opinion, even if the majority of people don't agree with it.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- danellis 13y ago
  So you're calling for the suppression of minority opinions?
- bananacurve 13y ago
  People seem to be under the misapprehension that Google Play is not a walled garden.
  - LukeShu 13y ago
    No, it's that it's easy/common to install apps from places other than Google Play. Sure there's a closed market, but the development platform is more-or-less open.
  - InclinedPlane 13y ago
    Huh? All you have to do is toggle a setting and you can install apps from anywhere on an android phone. They could be from some random website or even from a dirty usb flash drive you found in some back alley in Jakarta. This is monumentally different from the state of things with iOS.
- linker3000 13y ago
  So, a dissenting opinion is not to be allowed? That's dangerous. /just sayin'
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
dag11 13y ago
I think they're selling this as a product for tablets. I haven't seen a capacitive stylus for tablets that supports erasing from the other side. I believe they're taking the type of product that has existed with Wacom-type tablets for a while and bringing it to the portable capacitive tablet world, with a tablet many consumers -- including many artists -- already own.
- bane 13y ago
  The Samsung Note stylus supports an eraser if I'm not mistaken as does the Surface stylus. That being said, the carpenter pencil shape is not one I'm overly fond of. Those styluses are also about 1/2 the price of Pencil.
  - dag11 13y ago
    I mostly meant capacitive styli. Pencil is kind-of a hack in this way.
    - bane 13y ago
      Actually I went and did some searching and even found a few roundups of dozens of styli and didn't find any with an eraser for iPads/regular Android devices. So I think you're right.
- asadotzler 13y ago
  The Surface Pro has had this since its release.
- phaus 13y ago
  They aren't taking the type of product that has existed with Wacom type tablets and bringing it to the portable capacitive world. This is going to be terrible in comparison. Its impossible to make a capacitive stylus that isn't like drawing with a giant, cumbersome crayon.
  - slantyyz 13y ago
gkoberger 13y ago
Wait, what? It's a marketing page. They took an existing product, and (assuming it works, which is a safe assumption based on their other products) made it simple and beautiful. Most successful companies do this. You don't have to buy it. I use Paper, though, and I can't wait to get my Pencil in the mail.
- nawitus 13y ago
  Marketing is not an excuse for incorrect claims.
  - gkoberger 13y ago
    I don't think they lied. Like someone said below, "artisanal" is used for everything now. It's become more of a marketing term. It may not be right, but don't blame 53 for this.
    - k3n 13y ago
      > "artisanal" is used for everything now. It's become more of a marketing term. I don't think these 2 concepts are unrelated, nor do I believe one excuses the other. > It may not be right, but don't blame 53 for this. I disagree. I don't care if a million other companies are doing it, if it's incorrect then it is still incorrect, whether they were the first or the thousandth.
    - wmeredith 13y ago
      That's like saying don't hate the player, hate the game. Fuck that. Every person who writes marketing copy like this is partially responsible for creating the sea of cognitive bullshit we all have to wade through every day. It's gross.
      - jcromartie 13y ago
        See also: "welcome to adjective", or "where adjective happens" slogans.
    - 13y ago
sanoli 13y ago
>"Each Pencil has a unique character that will subtly change with years of use" > it's made of wood and wood has grains on it.
- aasarava 13y ago
  In the age of plastic, wood becomes unique and interesting. I'd love to see more components made with a beautiful wood casing rather than unfriendly plastic.
  - saraid216 13y ago
    Wood was pretty interesting before the age of plastic, too.
- chii 13y ago
  > it's made of wood and wood has grains on it. or that the wood will degrade over time too. I don't want wood. I want metal, unbreakable metal.
wnevets 13y ago
artisan is used to sale everything from string cheese to dunkin donuts sandwiches these days. Singling these guys out for using it seems kinda silly.
yapcguy 13y ago
The term for breathless marketing is "Modern Wank".
- chii 13y ago
  did you just coin that term? it's pretty apropos!
lambdasquirrel 13y ago
Sounds like what the Solaris folks were saying to the Linux people years ago.
millerm 13y ago
aren't you being just a bit... pendantic? Please get the joke, please get the joke.
- chii 13y ago
  now you're just rubbering it in...
avenger123 13y ago
It's marketing. They are going after the Apple iPad crowd. This type of marketing speaks to that crowd as its similar to Apple's. Most people that have an iPad and want to do writing on it, have likely gone through at least a couple of stylus's or even more to find one that works well for their needs. I would say I am one of these people so I find this product useful. Will I buy it? Don't know yet but the marketing is effective for their market.
pbhjpbhj 13y ago
Initially I thought it was a simple parody piece "pencil" "paper" ... har-har. Wasn't until I saw the component break down image that I realised it was for an actual product. Completely agree that "artisanally crafted" means that an actual person manually engaged with the item to create a unique form. If it was cut by a computer running a machine then it definitely doesn't count.
chii 13y ago
The video is a brilliant piece of marketing - they are selling not the product called 'pencil', but the life-style/idea of a genuis artisan. Buying the product will make you become what you've always wanted - creative, expressive, artsy. It uses the same tactics as apple marketing copywriting - don't sell the product, sell the life-style the product implies. I bet it's working, because i also felt great watching the video. Or perhaps i m now overly cynical about all marketing.

by diydsp 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

Tomdarkness 13y ago
While I don't agree with the comment you've replied to, I equally don't agree with your comment. Why should someone not comment on HN if their opinion is not representative of the majority of users on HN? They should be free to express their opinion, even if the majority of people don't agree with it.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
danellis 13y ago
So you're calling for the suppression of minority opinions?
bananacurve 13y ago
People seem to be under the misapprehension that Google Play is not a walled garden.
- LukeShu 13y ago
  No, it's that it's easy/common to install apps from places other than Google Play. Sure there's a closed market, but the development platform is more-or-less open.
- InclinedPlane 13y ago
  Huh? All you have to do is toggle a setting and you can install apps from anywhere on an android phone. They could be from some random website or even from a dirty usb flash drive you found in some back alley in Jakarta. This is monumentally different from the state of things with iOS.
linker3000 13y ago
So, a dissenting opinion is not to be allowed? That's dangerous. /just sayin'
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

dag11 13y ago

I think they're selling this as a product for tablets. I haven't seen a capacitive stylus for tablets that supports erasing from the other side. I believe they're taking the type of product that has existed with Wacom-type tablets for a while and bringing it to the portable capacitive tablet world, with a tablet many consumers -- including many artists -- already own.

bane 13y ago
The Samsung Note stylus supports an eraser if I'm not mistaken as does the Surface stylus. That being said, the carpenter pencil shape is not one I'm overly fond of. Those styluses are also about 1/2 the price of Pencil.
- dag11 13y ago
  I mostly meant capacitive styli. Pencil is kind-of a hack in this way.
  - bane 13y ago
    Actually I went and did some searching and even found a few roundups of dozens of styli and didn't find any with an eraser for iPads/regular Android devices. So I think you're right.
asadotzler 13y ago
The Surface Pro has had this since its release.
phaus 13y ago
They aren't taking the type of product that has existed with Wacom type tablets and bringing it to the portable capacitive world. This is going to be terrible in comparison. Its impossible to make a capacitive stylus that isn't like drawing with a giant, cumbersome crayon.
- slantyyz 13y ago

gkoberger 13y ago

Wait, what? It's a marketing page. They took an existing product, and (assuming it works, which is a safe assumption based on their other products) made it simple and beautiful. Most successful companies do this. You don't have to buy it. I use Paper, though, and I can't wait to get my Pencil in the mail.

nawitus 13y ago
Marketing is not an excuse for incorrect claims.
- gkoberger 13y ago
  I don't think they lied. Like someone said below, "artisanal" is used for everything now. It's become more of a marketing term. It may not be right, but don't blame 53 for this.
  - k3n 13y ago
    > "artisanal" is used for everything now. It's become more of a marketing term. I don't think these 2 concepts are unrelated, nor do I believe one excuses the other. > It may not be right, but don't blame 53 for this. I disagree. I don't care if a million other companies are doing it, if it's incorrect then it is still incorrect, whether they were the first or the thousandth.
  - wmeredith 13y ago
    That's like saying don't hate the player, hate the game. Fuck that. Every person who writes marketing copy like this is partially responsible for creating the sea of cognitive bullshit we all have to wade through every day. It's gross.
    - jcromartie 13y ago
      See also: "welcome to adjective", or "where adjective happens" slogans.
  - 13y ago

sanoli 13y ago

>"Each Pencil has a unique character that will subtly change with years of use" > it's made of wood and wood has grains on it.

aasarava 13y ago
In the age of plastic, wood becomes unique and interesting. I'd love to see more components made with a beautiful wood casing rather than unfriendly plastic.
- saraid216 13y ago
  Wood was pretty interesting before the age of plastic, too.
chii 13y ago
> it's made of wood and wood has grains on it. or that the wood will degrade over time too. I don't want wood. I want metal, unbreakable metal.

wnevets 13y ago

artisan is used to sale everything from string cheese to dunkin donuts sandwiches these days. Singling these guys out for using it seems kinda silly.

yapcguy 13y ago

The term for breathless marketing is "Modern Wank".

chii 13y ago
did you just coin that term? it's pretty apropos!

lambdasquirrel 13y ago

Sounds like what the Solaris folks were saying to the Linux people years ago.

millerm 13y ago

aren't you being just a bit... pendantic? Please get the joke, please get the joke.

chii 13y ago
now you're just rubbering it in...

avenger123 13y ago

It's marketing. They are going after the Apple iPad crowd. This type of marketing speaks to that crowd as its similar to Apple's. Most people that have an iPad and want to do writing on it, have likely gone through at least a couple of stylus's or even more to find one that works well for their needs. I would say I am one of these people so I find this product useful. Will I buy it? Don't know yet but the marketing is effective for their market.

pbhjpbhj 13y ago

Initially I thought it was a simple parody piece "pencil" "paper" ... har-har. Wasn't until I saw the component break down image that I realised it was for an actual product. Completely agree that "artisanally crafted" means that an actual person manually engaged with the item to create a unique form. If it was cut by a computer running a machine then it definitely doesn't count.

chii 13y ago

The video is a brilliant piece of marketing - they are selling not the product called 'pencil', but the life-style/idea of a genuis artisan. Buying the product will make you become what you've always wanted - creative, expressive, artsy. It uses the same tactics as apple marketing copywriting - don't sell the product, sell the life-style the product implies. I bet it's working, because i also felt great watching the video. Or perhaps i m now overly cynical about all marketing.