Disappointed with Apple OS innovation Jan02 '08

I finally installed OS X Leopard, after a lot of waiting. I hadn't felt the upgrade was worth installing immediately, as it doesn't offer me anything new or useful. Still, I went ahead and upgraded, mainly so I could be using the "latest and greatest."

I am pleasantly surprised by some of the new features, but overall I'm disappointed with the idea of Leopard. I'm no longer going to nit-pick at every little feature that I don't need. Rather, I want to assert that I had higher expectations for the next Apple OS, and Leopard falls short of my expectations, innovation-wise.

Here are a couple of reasons:

Finder needs to go away

For example, why is the Finder still there? I had thought Spotlight would eventually fade the Finder out. Granted, it can't happen over night, but I don't see any earth-shattering progress being made with the Finder, other than gaudy visual improvements, like Cover Flow and Quick Look.

I want the Finder to go away. I'm tired of browsing through files in a hierarchical manner. Spotlight already lets me find anything by simply typing out search criteria. This is the future of file management. Who cares what folder the file is nested in? As long as I can pull the file up immediately, that's all I care about.

Come on Apple. Where's the innovation? Create something visually astounding that combines Spotlight and Finder, instead of making them two separate apps.

The Finder also looks more like iTunes. It's too bad, because iTunes is already bloated beyond repair, so I don't see how modeling another application after it could be effective.

iTunes re-branding

iTunes needs to be re-branded. What started out as a simple application for ripping your CD's has become the hub for digital entertainment. The name itself is deprecated. iTunes is much more than just tunes. For starters, there's movies, books, podcasts, TV shows - all things that the term "tunes" doesn't encompass.

This is an example of Apple creating a brand that was too specific. For example, if they had initially branded iTunes as iEnjoy (bad yes, but illustrates my point), they could more easily fit additional products and offerings beneath it, without ever having to change the name.

Look at Best Buy. What do you think of when you hear "Best Buy?" Probably electronics, right? Sure, but the name doesn't invoke that. Best Buy could easily start selling fast food, and they would never have to change the name. They've intentionally left the brand name vague, so they can more easily expand their offerings.

Other than the name, even the logo for iTunes is inaccurate:

iTunes 7 logo

It's a music note on top of a CD! I guess the CD could still apply, since we still use disc media to export our digital files, but the music note? That clearly doesn't encompass iTunes other offerings. And even the CD is a stretch, since most avid iTunes users have iPods or an iPhone to transfer their media and listen elsewhere.

And don't get me started on brands.

Missing Apple innovation

It seems the latest Apple OS is all about visual improvements, and not anything new or innovative. Sure, it's nice when things look pretty, but unless they change the world, they are useless.

Categories: Apple , Branding , Innovation , iTunes , Operating System

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Wow, that was a huuuuuuuuge rant. You now need to balance it out with an excessively positive post about some other product. :) ... Read more.

matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.