Thinking Different

[davidw]

> Now almost every digital device I own is made by Apple, not because its perfect or the best on the market, but because it represents the virtues of craftsmanship in a world of mediocre, mass-produced products.

Err... their products are mostly mass-produced (not crafted) in the same places most of the other products are mass-produced.

[skyfex]

Well, of course they are mass-produced. You, him, and everybode else here knows that.

But there's craftmanship in design: Read something about how Jobs/Apple goes about designing a product. There's an intense passion to get the look, feel and functionality about a product just right. Down to having several iterations of design on the packaging alone.

There's also craftmanship in production. There was an article about how Apple was buying up high powered lasers to puncture microscopic holes in the macbook casings, so you have lights that are invisible when they're not on.

I wish more companies would care as much about the whole experience of a product, rather than just getting more dots on the feature list.

[raganwald]

"Production" refers to design as well as the assembly of atoms. In that context, a company that produces a few models of thngs is craftsmanlike when contrasted with companies that put out dozens of slight variations on the same thing, almost as if shipping twelve handsets is a/b testing...

[trotsky]

It really is a testament to their marketing prowess when people un-ironically title their brand love letters with the brand's marketing slogan.

[tdavis]

Especially when that slogan is grammatically incorrect.

[cinquemb]

marketing at its best, last time i checked apple wasn't the first company to "think different" and soon another company will be disruptive and force apple to move in a new direction or new markets, thats just how the world works.

[coob]

This is inevitable of course. However, Apple has a strong history of continually disrupting itself.

[da5e]

Apple...Gandhi? Really? I thought the article was being ironic. The thing about a big fail like Mike Daisey's is that it shuts down valid debate. Apple ends, great. Means? Iffy.

[farinasa]

I'm sorry, but apple hasn't done anything innovative since the creation of the iPhone. That was huge, don't get me wrong, but every one of their devices has simply been a rehash of their previous model. That is also fine, business as usual, safe, effective, and decent quality, but it isn't "thinking different."

Physical attractiveness is nice, but I want a tool that works for me, not that I sit and stare at because it's pretty. I'll take an ugly thinkpad over the sleek macs any day.

[gducharme]

I was hoping at least one comment would point out how the message and the form of the web site are integrated.

[icode]

> We believe that people with passion can change the world for the better

Like putting nets in front of their manufacturing buildings so workers don't resort to suicide:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357833/Apple-respon...

[raganwald]

You may not mean to, but this is a perfect example of a trolling comment. It has high emotional leverage, but is not actually on-topic for this particular post about Apple. Think of it this way: Is there something about this comment that can only make sense to this post? Or could it really be made on practically any post abaout Apple?

I suspect you could say this whenever Apple comes up. iPad 3 retina display? "Amazing because you can clearly see the individual ropes in the nets on buildings..."

This comment could easily end up generating 50% of the comments here, while adding nothing new that hasn't been said before, just the same old accusations and defences. Would that really be signal? Or noise?

There could be something here, perhaps instead of trotting out a sound bite, you could present a theory of how ideals become corrupted by money, or how idealism is blind to consequences. I'm still waiting for someone to unify the way Google and Apple behave with a common narrative.

[icebraining]

Look, I don't have a single Apple device, and I'm closer to a GNU fundie than an Apple lover, but:

1. Foxconn is not Apple

2. The suicide rate at Foxconn is lower than both the average in China and the average in the US: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-05-26/tech/30097107...

[huxley]

Is it equally cynical when municipalities put safety nets on bridges?

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/07/29/iconic-golden-gate-bridge-...

That people might have been driven to choose suicide due to overwork or abuse is the problem, not the safety nets.

[rmc]

Just for the record, the Daily Mail is not a credible newspaper.

[Raphael]

That's a perfectly practical solution. Grim as it is, it's better to have nets than people splattered on the pavement.

[twelvechairs]

sorry for the grammar nitpick, but its a 'foreword' not a 'forward'

[jonsen]

Maybe he's referring to the last line: We hope this book helps carry that spirit forward.

[irrationalfab]

I love the recursion!