As a Systems Administrator in an art department, one of the key facets of my job, I realize more and more, is creating the best possible experience for our users. This is a goal I share with many people and companies, among them Apple Inc. So I find myself thinking about things like interface design, and how to continue refining and simplifying our systems and our facility, and I look to the industry for insight into that process. Apple's products have always been an inspiration to me in this regard. There is also the occasional pundit-supplied brilliant insight into this concept. This week there were two, and I wanted to point to them specifically.
The first article is from John Gruber/Daring Fireball and talks about why the iPhone lacks copy/paste functionality. It's great writing: clear, concise, the kind of analysis I wish I could write. It's spot-on too, and it highlights a great example of Apple leaving out functions at least partly for simplicity's sake. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in interface analysis:
Clipboard and Text Selection : iPhone :: Arrow Keys : Original Macintosh
The second article is by John Siracusa, over at Ars Technica, and is perhaps more related to the things I deal with on this blog. It's about why Apple largely ignores the enterprise market:
Stuck on the Enterpsise
Anyone interested in creating great end-user experience in software development, hardware development, systems administration, web design, lab administration, or, hell, anywhere else for that matter, should look at what Apple does. And anyone who wants to read really well written, thoughtful analysis of that endeavor should check out these writers. They're both really good.