June 26, 2009 1:12 PM PDT
The cathedral plus the bazaar: Open source and Apple (design) envy

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10...=2547-1_3-0-20

"Why free software usability tends to suck."

Open-source advocates like good design as much as anyone, but the open-
source development process is often not the best way to achieve it.

Thomas now works for Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, which
arguably offers the industry's best Linux experience for personal
computers. I got a sneak peek at a future Ubuntu release while at
dinner with Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth Wednesday night, and
it was gorgeous. Mac freak I may be, but the day Canonical releases
that version of Ubuntu is the day my devotion to Apple will be
severely tested.

Yes, it's that good.

But it's "that good" because there's a company behind it, a company
dedicated to making Linux usable for average consumers.

.....


Once a product's basic performance is more than good enough,
competition forces firms to compete on convenience or customization.
In these situations, specialist firms emerge and the necessary locus
of integration typically shifts to the interface with the customer.

Hence, Apple reigns in smartphones because it's a comparatively new
market and Apple can control the complete design of the product.
Microsoft and Google, on the other hand, will struggle to compete
because they are only delivering software, and depend heavily on the
device manufacturer. (It's likely that Apple is also exercising
significant influence over AT&T and the other wireless carriers,
influence that Apple's competitors likely lack.)

.....


comments


I would emphasize that its not the smart phone market Apple is
beginning to dominate, its the "handheld, always-connected, mobile
device market". Apple has fundamentally changed the rules because it
recognizes that its platform is really a handheld computer that is
also a phone and general-purpose communication device (every mobile
phone manufacturer believes the platform is a phone with some data
capabilities). Huge difference and huge control necessary to make the
early customer experience delightful.

.....

another comment

When I first bought my iPod touch (1st generation) about eighteen
months ago, I thought of it as a music player with e-mail and a web
browser. The game completely changed when Apple opened the App Store.

While the iPod touch does require a WiFi connection, it does plenty of
things without a network. As I've mentioned here on Cnet before, ever
since the App Store went online, I think my MacBook has left the house
twice. It *is* a small handheld computer.

While Apple certainly has had its stumbles, the overall customer
experience with this little device has been completely superior to
that of any other electronics device I've ever used.

This class of devices is where the next decade's war will be fought:
not between desktop operating systems, not even in web browser apps
running on desktop PCs. It's all about getting your content and
services to a handheld device.

....

Macs are definitely consumer machines first and Apple markets to the
mainstream consumers. That's no surprise. I am a developer, but I am
also a consumer. I love Apple's iLife suite. I have yet to find
anything that can compete, either on Windows or Linux. The hodge-podge
of crappy applications on both Windows and Linux leave much to be
desired. While I spend most of my time in an IDE or vim, I also want
the ability to watch Netflix movies, or make DVDs out of my home
movies and photos. Have you ever tried doing that on Linux or BSD?
Without dual-booting into Windows, I mean? And I don't care if the
system is closed. I just don't care. It doesn't affect my workflow. I
don't want to look at the source. I have better things to do with my
time.

As for the UNIX tools, I have everything I need. OS X took the
majority of the useful stuff and left behind the decades of cruft that
have accumulated in BSD. And for what OS X doesn't provide, there's
MacPorts. I have yet to find any of my UNIX tools that don't run on OS
X. And, for the record, I'm glad that Apple changed the filesystem
hierarchy. The old FSH is cluttered and obsolete.
.................................................. ...........................

I agree with all the above points and consider them insightful in
understanding why the iPhone is such a difficult target for other
firms to take on. It actullay justifies my opinion of those who
complain the iPhone is not like their idea of a smart phone as being
complete idiots who miss the point. The iPhone is not being bought as
a smart phone, the smart phone ala windows mobile etc. is a failed
concept in the market place.

Vic