The day after the iPhone 4S was released, Jobs let go and left Apple, left us — on the day after the iPhone 4S was released. The world was divided on the iPhone 4S, and in our somewhat restless country in particular, its industrial design drew no shortage of criticism. So today some people joke that “the iPhone 4S is what killed Jobs.” Of course we all know that can’t be true — it’s as absurd as saying the old man took a boat ticket to go play Dou Dizhu with Gates and Buffett.
That said, there are two other theories: 1) “Jobs held on until today only to see the iPhone 4S launch”; 2) Jobs “was declared dead” today, having put it off for the sake of the iPhone 4S. Nobody in this vast world can rule out either possibility — but none of that matters now, because the departed are gone and all we can do is hold them in our hearts. As for the pressure Tim Cook was under when he took the stage yesterday, we only understood it today.
As Apple’s top leader now, Cook clearly knew about Jobs’s critical condition — and the other Apple VPs had no reason not to know either. At yesterday’s event there was no Jobs, no redesigned iPhone 5 to carry the show, and a matter as weighty as Jobs’s failing health pressing on everyone’s mind — yet at 50 years old, Cook gave a performance that betrayed nothing.
As Apple’s new CEO, appearing without Jobs, only he can truly understand how much pressure and how heavy a burden he carried through his debut keynote. Under those circumstances, Cook’s ease and composure really do deserve a fresh look from us. If iPhones are meant to be major generational updates in Apple’s roadmap, then we certainly can’t lay all our dissatisfaction at Cook’s feet. Here’s to Apple’s future — and to Cook and the Apple team.
-http://www.macx.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2021439&from=portal
Yesterday I was still at home watching the keynote, and today old Steve has “boarded the ship.” It’s really hard to believe this is real.
Apple and I really did meet too late
Ever since I left my hometown, my grandmother has been living alone, with a desktop computer in the house. She kept telling me she wanted to learn how to use it. Once when I went home I gave her a quick walkthrough, but I realized that everything — from turning the computer on and off, to using the mouse and keyboard, to reading what’s on screen — was a huge hurdle for her.
She always felt the text on screen was too small to make out, and reading it was a strain.
She could never figure out what the scrollbar was, or how to use the mouse wheel. She couldn’t aim the mouse at all, and when she clicked, the cursor would drift…
She couldn’t understand why a computer had so many menus and so many options. All she wanted was to go online and read a bit about medicine and culture lectures, or look up the definition of a word. That simple. Yet she had to deal with so many things she had no idea about…
Because of all those obstacles, we all gave up.
Last year Apple launched the iPad. I thought its simple UI would suit an elderly person, so I bought one on a whim to let my grandmother try. The result was excellent — even though there’s still plenty she doesn’t understand, she doesn’t need to. What she wants is very pure. Now she uses “iPad中文报刊” to read the newspaper every day, and apps like “蘑菇新闻” and “华尔街日报” to read aggregated forum news posts. She even knows some internet slang now. Of course, she also uses “iBooks” to read and “iPod” for music — but that’s extra.
I’ve long believed that so-called magic is just the mirror image of technology. The iPad is so magical that my grandmother has become a netizen too. This is Apple’s magic, and that’s when I fell in love with Apple. Ironically, a year ago I was still fuming in my blog, complaining about Apple blocking Flash. A year later, I was completely won over. Looking at it from outside the bubble, Flash really does have all kinds of flaws and isn’t suited to being plastered everywhere on the web. And because of all sorts of UX issues, tablets are better served by apps redesigned from scratch than by direct ports (I won’t get into the specifics on a personal blog).
Apple devices are like a set in a game
Of course, every company’s products are more compatible and integrate more tightly with its own other products — but because Apple controls both software and hardware and its product line is small and refined, that integration is tighter still, like a set with more hidden stat bonuses. Owning just one device already makes you a set — the perfect marriage of software and hardware embodies that old maxim: “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” And when you own several devices, the effect is even more striking. Starting from the iPad, within a year I followed the trail and picked up an iPhone, a MacBook Pro, a Time Capsule, an Airport Express, an Apple TV, and a Magic Mouse — every one of them impressive. With iCloud, everything becomes even more convenient. Technology is magic. Master magician Jobs is gone, just like when Dumbledore left — he had already foreseen what was to come, and calmly accepted his fate.
Jobs is gone, and his spirit shouldn’t be inherited by Apple alone
As for Apple’s future, I’m vaguely pessimistic. First, its soul has departed, so it will inevitably lose part of its character — though that could cut both ways, and might be a good sign for cracking the Chinese market. Second, the Chinese market: one look at the market data and Apple can be sure China is territory it must fight for — but I’m afraid it’ll end up like Google Search there: play nice, or get out. Third, history repeats itself: the grand chess game Microsoft has been playing is about to explode with Win8 — will the mobile market repeat the same mistakes all over again? Fourth, Apple’s core competitiveness lies in innovation, but how many times can a big company erupt? How many more “world-changing” innovations can Apple actually produce?
As a consumer, I’m not worried about Apple falling. I’m worried about Apple slipping again while other vendors remain so underwhelming. And even if Apple merely maintains the status quo, it’ll still be a long while before anyone overtakes it. Many of my needs can only be met by Apple.
Jobs is gone, and his spirit shouldn’t be inherited by Apple alone.
Stay hungry, stay foolish. A word of encouragement for us all.
On death
On the subject of death, who has ever put it better than the man himself:
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.