John Gruber of Daring Fireball writes today about the iPhone and how the complexity of the device has evolved from the simplicity of the initial vision. In “Complex“, he states,
If there’s a formula to Apple’s success over the past 10 years, that’s it. Start with something simple and build it, grow it, improve it, steadily over time. Evolve it.
John makes several good points, the best of which is that background processing is available on the iPhone (ever listen to your iPod while playing a game?), but Apple will not allow third party developers to use it until the hardware technology has evolved to a point where it can be supported well.
Rightfully so. As a consumer and an iPhone user, I want my experience to be excellent. If that means that Apple leaves video turned off for the sake of battery life, so be it. The fault does not fall on Apple here. They chose to design their device in a certain way and chose the best battery they could fit inside.
But I’m not trying to be an Apple apologist. There have been times when I have missed having features on the iPhone that I would otherwise have had on a personal computer. Yet, compared to my previous cellular phone, the iPhone is an absolute wonder to me. I use it more as a portable computer than I do as a phone. It turns out, that’s what Apple probably had in mind all along.
Sure ring tones are a lucrative market for cellular phone providers and other third parties, but application sales are where the real money can be made. Not only is the App Store proof of that, but the fact that the iPhone OS 3.0 will support micro-transactions within the applications is a testament to the market of users clamoring to have their credit cards charged even more than they are now.
Getting back to that original point about simplicity, as you can tell if you are on the site reading this, I have changed the design to a simpler look. I hinted at moving toward a one column layout a couple months ago and have finally found some time to make the change. From this point, the site will evolve to include features and design elements that are more worthwhile and functional as well as elegant.
First stop? The CMS backend will be changing. I am moving from WordPress to another CMS. If all goes well, the transition will occur in the next three weeks — vacation is stealing me for two of those weeks. Until then, please continue to stop by and do not hesitate to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.
Be well.
{ 6 comments }
The site looks so clean it sparkles, Ian.
You can be an Apple apologist all you want. They kind of deserve it. They’ve made me happy since I started typing.
WD,
Thanks for the compliment on the site.
I, for one, am glad that you got a MacBook and began writing online. I’m looking forward to your return, but I am enjoying the week of Writer Mom’s perspective. She’s passionate about education, and I believe we need more people like you and her in the United States to make our education system better.
Never put down your pen (or your Mac). Be well.
I enjoyed your post today with your thoughts on Apple. Simplicity is always key in most ventures. But what I’m really interested to read is your decision to make a CMS move; releasing the name of what CMS you’ll be moving to and why?
Take care!
Josh,
Thanks for stopping by. I am back from vacation and will be posting soon. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that I am still making the switch from WordPress to Textpattern for my CMS. One reason is that I want to be a bit closer to the code and handle more complex tasks on the back end. Not that WP is not capable, quite the opposite. Also, I want to escape plug-in glut. If there are less plug-in options, I will be forced to write them myself, or go without the features. I’ve noticed that plug-in overload really crushes the performance of my site, so I wanted to address that as part of the move.
Another reason is the content handling and publishing. I’m just more at home in Textpattern. Always have been. Textile just works for me. More on the CMS thing in a bit.
Positively Present,
Thanks for the compliment and thank you for visiting.
Sal,
Thank you. I may well take you up on that offer very soon.
Be well.
Starting out simple is so true. Too often people get caught up in the complex and forget that, really, everything starts out with a simple idea. Great post!
Ian,
I really like the clean and simple layout. It suites you well, for the time being. I can’t wait to see what else you have in mind to make it more functional. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
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