[lit-ideas] Re: Could an academic discipline do this?

On Dec 30, 2007 11:30 AM, Teemu Pyyluoma <teme17@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>
> What we have here is two different perspectives. John
> looks at it from user point of view, Leopard allows
> him to get this and that done so it must be cool.
>


Teemu,
I respect your good intentions, but this statement is ridiculous. First of
all, you are talking about a guy who got his start in computing over thirty
years ago, keypunching Fortran statements into Hollerith cards that ran on
an IBM 360, learned computer science and LISP-hacking on a pre-Vax DEC
Tops-20 system, could once upon a time write machine code and assembler to
modify CPM. Hello, there! This is not someone who thinks that Leopard is
cool because he can get this or that done.

Second, you think this is a technical discussion. It isn't. The Apple thing
is all about ergonomics and aesthetics. To me, your "get this and that done"
reflects a brute, modernist bias. The car culture analog is the guy who gets
excited fiddling with carburetors and thinks a car is just a way to get from
here to there--maybe a little faster than the other guy. If he's got hay to
haul, he needs a truck. Design, with meticulous attention to details that
make hardware and software not only work but work so well together that
getting this or that done not only simpler, but delightful as well, he just
doesn't get that. I know that there can be visceral pleasures in well-done
technical hacks. Been there, done that.  I also applaud the community spirit
that drives so many Open Source and Linux enthusiasts. But, me, I like to
pamper myself. Nothing else I've tried comes close to the tactile and visual
pleasures of working with my Apple equipment and Mac OS.

But thank you for those good intentions. Best wishes for a happy, healthy
and prosperous New Year.

John

-- 
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/

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