Just got my copy of Develop3D magazine delivered today, and found an interesting article to continue the Apple post in the "off-topic" thread http://www.mechanicaldesignforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=676. Incidentaly, Develop3D is a free magazine in the UK which "tracks all the essential technologies used throughout the entire product development process". And one which I would highly recomend for a good read and upto date industry technology.
Actually, I am of the opinion that if I am conscious of the "design" aspect of a product I am using, it most likely is "over-designed" to the point of interference with functionality. "Design", in my opinion, should compliment functionality, not drive functionality- although there are exceptions to this, like the original Jaguar automobiles (pre-Ford days). A sexy Italian sports car may win all the accolades from the design mavens, but can not hold a candle to an original Jaguar from the standpoint of transporting my body from point A to point B in a comfortable fashion. By the way- I do not use a MAC because I can not run the software I use most often on a MAC. I do not use Windows because the security issues interfere with the functionality I am after. Although I would never again buy a Hewlett Packard computer, my all time favorite computer was a Hewlett-Packard Integral, which was about the size of the original Compaq transportable, but included a built-in dot matrix printer, running the HPUX version of Unix. Now THAT was a well-designed machine!
