I was recently searching the iTunes store and got this error message:
It bothered me more than most error messages do. I knew my network settings were correct and my connection was active. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t have been able to get to the iTunes store homepage where I initiated the search.
The message smelled of arrogance. The programmer who wrote this expected the problem to be with my inability to setup my network connection, not with their inability to keep the server running.
Where does that culture of arrogance come from? Or, if I’m just overreacting, where does my distorted perception of reality come from?
Maybe it’s statements like this from the Apple CEO:
And if for some reason you’ve missed this side of Steve Jobs, take a couple hours to watch Pirates of Silicon Valley and read Woz’ claim that it’s all pretty much true. Sure, he’s brilliant, and an exceptional businesman. But that’s not all that matters.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Douglas Karr // Jun 4, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I can’t wait for the first iPhone movie to hit YouTube where they try to re-enact the actual commercial.
2 rcb // Jun 4, 2007 at 11:07 pm
i am a little confused…
how does the linux lover get a windows message on his computer?
if ( ! using windows( $ade ) ) {
return ( $end of world );
3 Ian // Jun 5, 2007 at 8:41 am
To rcb… now that’s good comedy
As a designer the one thing that has ALWAYS bothered me about the Mac and most things Apple is the arrogance. OSX treats me like I’m a moron.
As for the iPhone, I’m not an embracer of bleeding edge tech, but I find myself coincidentally in the market for a smartphone. I wonder if the iPhone would treat me like a moron.
4 chrisp // Jun 5, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I’ve had the opportunity to talk to several people at Apple recently and my impression is that, internally, the company reeks of arrogance. I still enjoy the products, but I found it very concerning and I wonder how well it will impact the long-term health of the company. I know some people that worked at Apple in the past, and this is definitely a recent shift in culture.
5 ade // Jun 5, 2007 at 7:58 pm
@doug: yeah, I’m skeptical about the iPhone, but am optimistic. I’ll let people like Ian try it out first though
@rcb: LOL. I … um … I was on my “friend’s” computer.
6 ade // Jun 5, 2007 at 10:10 pm
@chrisp: that’s interesting to hear. Some arrogance is healthy, and I certainly don’t think Apple would be as successful as they are without some arrogance. But it can’t be good for the long term, especially as they get bigger and more powerful.
7 Ian // Jun 6, 2007 at 12:27 am
OK, fine, make me the guinea a pig!
As for arrogance, all designers have an (acknowledged) “ego.” It’s part of what causes us to strive to better ourselves. It can’t be all bad… they have done a bunch of things right and should be proud of that.
8 chrisp // Jun 6, 2007 at 9:35 am
I definitely agree that some arrogance is healthy and that many developer and designers have a certain amount of arrogance. I’ve worked with this a lot and don’t have a problem with it - I admit to having some myself. What I’m referring to is a more dangerous arrogance. The blinding kind. The type of arrogance that distorts reality into a sugar-coated version of the real thing. There is a feeling of extreme superiority. That no matter what these individuals do (I can’t speak for everyone), they will crush all competition. It’s a very dangerous and complacent attitude. It almost seems to be a natural progression of extreme success though.
I still think the iphone is going to redefine awesomeness though.
9 Douglas Karr // Jun 6, 2007 at 3:23 pm
A while ago, I wrote this…
http://www.douglaskarr.com/2007/02/05/hello-im-a-mac-and-im-a-pc/
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