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Saying that iOS is derivative of Android is like saying that Pearl Jam is a rip off of Creed. It doesn’t matter if Eddy Vedder takes a vocal riff from Scott Stapp here and there, because the latter never would have existed without the former.

4 days ago on On The Verge: Khoi Vinh talks iOS 7, The Guardian's Spencer Ackerman talks PRISM 1 reply

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I don’t think Josh is biased. I just think he’s a douche with his head up his ass. iOS 7 looks fantastic, Apple delivered their best keynote in years, and the Verge can only bitch and whine like petulant children.

4 days ago on On The Verge: Khoi Vinh talks iOS 7, The Guardian's Spencer Ackerman talks PRISM 3 recommends

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Honestly, the Verge staff – Vlad, Nilay, and especially Josh – can go f themselves. Apple pulled off an incredible keynote, and they’ve done nothing but trash them since then. I can’t even tell if these guys mean it, or they’re just trolling for clicks. It’s fine to criticize Apple, but this is just an all out assault. Can’t you let the fans enjoy the high of great new products for a few minutes? I’ve had it with all the rehashed complaints and negativity. You guys have lost all credibility in my eyes. Ban me if you want, but that’s how I feel.

5 days ago on iOS 7 redesign: the beginning of the end for Apple exceptionalism 2 replies 6 recommends

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Oh look, it’s another article claiming the Apple is doomed because they are weak in web services. Why, here are two from Techrunch in just the last month:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/apples-problem-isnt-skeuomorphism-its-its-services/
http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/04/googles-cloud-is-eating-apples-lunch/

Nilay’s basically just parroting what has been said hundreds of times all over the blogosphere and bringing nothing new to the table. Like all the articles of its kind, this ignores the tremendous strides and investments Apple is making with iCloud and all its services. Tim Cook has said over and over, “We are focused on the intersection of hardware, software, and services”, while the bloggers keep screaming, “When will Apple recognize the importance of services?!” They have, folks, and they are getting better at it much faster than you think. iCloud has 300 million users, Apple is selling more iOS devices than ever, and iOS 7 looks incredible. I’m a Google fan, too, and I don’t know why we can’t celebrate cool new stuff instead of sh*ting all over it.

A better title for the article would be: “Verge’s incessant negativity clouds Apple’s real success.”

6 days ago on 'Can't innovate anymore, my ass': Apple's bravado clouds the company's real challenges 2 replies 7 recommends

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This “Apple is defensive” nonsense needs to end. Responding to your critics and competitors could be called going on the “offensive” just as well as being “defensive”. Neither one really fits. Steve Jobs took more shots at the competition than anyone. This is not new. It was his way of differentiating Apple from all the rest. Apple has shown incredible restraint in not responding to the 8,000,000 press stories that have raked them over the coals in the past 6 months. They waited until the keynote to SHOW what they could do with their products instead of TELLING people (or talking about FUTURE products like Google and Microsoft) that they are still innovative. There’s nothing wrong with throwing out some barbs against all the naysayers along the way.

7 days ago on 'Can't innovate anymore, my ass': Apple's bravado clouds the company's real challenges 5 recommends

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I have to say that I see far more hate from Android fans directed at Apple and Apple fans than the other way around. Apple fans tend to love their products, so their snark against Android is usually a defense against Android fans attacking them for being sheep or Apple for being Apple. There’s this sputtering rage that some people have against Apple, but I rarely see Apple fans going on the offensive. If you start bashing Apple in their presence though, watch out.

8 days ago on Tracing iOS 7's influences: Apple remixes almost everyone in the industry 4 recommends

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Where is the discussion of the use of distinct 3D layers, organized in a logical way to display different types of information? Underneath the playful colors and modernized graphics, the use of the Z-axis to create a conceptual framework is the most significant and fundamental design innovation of iOS 7. And it’s not even mentioned in this article, which seeks more than anything to show that Apple is not really “innovative” and rile up fans on both sides.

I’m sure there is some precedent for the layers idea, but it hasn’t been mainstream until now. You could write this same article about Android or Windows 8 and pick out all the good ideas that were taken from other places. This type of article makes for a nice trip down memory lane, or a flame-baiting game of “gotcha”, but I would much rather read about what is interesting and unique about any given OS. The Verge is quickly losing my interest, sacrificing thoughtful commentary for page views at every turn.

8 days ago on Tracing iOS 7's influences: Apple remixes almost everyone in the industry 1 reply 2 recommends

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So what you’re saying is that he lacks integrity as opposed to judgment.

9 days ago on The design of iOS 7: simply confusing 4 recommends

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I appreciate the Tool reference. But no one’s stopping you from building your own phone if you want to make all your own design decisions. As the video said, don’t mistake abundance (of settings, screen sizes, or launchers) for choice. Good design is the making the right choices, not forcing users to make them for you.

9 days ago on The design of iOS 7: simply confusing 1 reply

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Josh should really work for Apple. It’s incredible that after just a few minutes with iOS 7 Beta 1, he was able to spot all the confusions that Jony Ive and his team of world class designers could not after months of deep inspection and consideration. Even more so, Josh was not at all distracted by how the new design satisfied many of his previous criticisms, and proceeded directly to tell us everything wrong with the new version. Josh’s comments were in no way a knee jerk reaction that will look dumb in a few months as we come to appreciate the incredible amount of careful thought that Ive put into this design. Bravo, Josh! We look forward to your contributions to design and technology. Please let Apple know how to clean of Jony Ive’s mess, would you?

9 days ago on The design of iOS 7: simply confusing 10 replies 66 recommends

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First, innovation meant what is actually means – “new stuff that is better than the old stuff”. Then innovation meant radical hardware redesign. Now, innovation means completely new product category and we want one at least once a year. Soon, nothing will be considered innovative unless it involves teleportation and faster-than-light travel.

10 days ago on Apple previews radically redesigned Mac Pro: 'Can't innovate anymore, my ass' 1 reply 1 recommend

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I hope everyone has their hate goggles on and is ready to bash and complain about whatever Apple announces tomorrow. Now, on your marks, ready, set…hate!

10 days ago on iOS 7 said to feature a new look, new sharing features, and streaming music 1 recommend

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Yes, a nicer iOS 7 and some new services would be great. It seems like the purpose of this article is to tar and feather Apple’s efforts over the last year and set the bar impossibly high for WWDC. You know, given the radical innovations going from Galaxy S3 to S4 and Android 4.1 to 4.2.

13 days ago on WWDC 2013 preview: Apple prepares to unveil the future of iOS, OS X, and more 2 replies 2 recommends

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That’s also why I don’t use clear. To be fair, I admit that it’s not realistic to expect small developers to launch with an iPhone, iPad, and Web/Mac version on day one. However, for things like notes and reminders, I can’t use a service until it does sync everywhere like the stock apps for those things. Otherwise, I’m paying for a worse experience.

13 days ago on Vesper, a minimalist notes app from John Gruber and Brent Simmons (hands-on) 1 reply

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Ultimately, my take on Vesper is the same as the Magazine:
-I like the creators, the concept, and the simplicity. I want to like this app. I have no problem paying for quality.
-It has a fatal flaw that makes it a non-starter for me. In the Magazine’s case, it was lackluster content. In Vesper’s case, it’s lack of syncing. Having access to my notes on all devices is a fundamental feature to me, which trumps even the most elegant design. When asked why the app doesn’t have syncing, Gruber said that once they had a great iPhone app, they had a product worth shipping (implying that other versions might come later). I disagree. In this day and age, I don’t believe it’s worth shipping a notes app that doesn’t sync. It’s a fundamental part of the UX, and I can’t consider using Vesper without it.

13 days ago on Vesper, a minimalist notes app from John Gruber and Brent Simmons (hands-on) 1 reply 2 recommends

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The other infuriating thing is that the app displays the correct time stamps, but messages with earlier time stamps appear below ones with later time stamps. How is it not an easy fix to make the app sort the time stamps from earliest to latest? This. Is. Madness.

15 days ago on Apple releases OS X 10.8.4 with fix for out-of-order iMessages 2 recommends

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Except it’s not fixed. New messages are still displaying out of order since I updated. This is driving me crazy. They said it was fixed in 10.8.3 and it wasn’t. They said it was fixed in 10.8.4 and it wasn’t. Note the weasley wording:

“- A fix for an issue that may cause iMessages to display out of order in Messages” [In other words, they fixed ONE issue that causes this, but are not promising that they fixed ALL the issues that cause this.]

For all the BS complaints about Apple, it’s the little but annoying ones like this that really affect users and hurt their credibility in my eyes.

15 days ago on Apple releases OS X 10.8.4 with fix for out-of-order iMessages 1 reply 1 recommend

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After 12 months of people going on about how iOS desperately needs a visual refresh, and as soon credible rumors said that iOS 7 would include a visual refresh, people immediately changed their tune and started saying “The visuals don’t matter, it’s all about functionality!” I’m not saying that you personally are guilty of this, but this is the general trend. It doesn’t matter what Apple does, people on the blogs will just find a different argument that iOS is inferior.

16 days ago on iOS and OSX worst case senario: Ive's work doesn't impress. 1 reply 2 recommends