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The following image is helpful when considering some of the negative, dismissive, and asinine iPad reactions seen in the tech press. It was used towards the end of Steve’s keynote, in one of those heartfelt - some would say corny - passages he doesn’t get enough credit for. Apple, he said, has always been at the intersection of technology and liberal arts. It’s a very liberal-artsy comment in itself, which is only appropriate since it was preceded by slides and slides of techie info.
This may be the single greatest factor differentiating Apple from its competitors. It’s the secret sauce, the thing that makes everything from iPods to Genius Bars to WWDC at least a little magical: they benefit from a broad, humanist perspective, and a focus on what resonates with actual humans. Chiat\Day, Apple’s advertising agency, is the proximate cause of all the ad awards the two take home; the ultimate reason is that Apple is full of people who care if their ads are clear, persuasive, and wonderful - minor pieces of art, if you will.
Then it is no surprise that some in the tech press don’t “get it”. They only have the experience in, taste for, and visibility of 50% of Apple’s output. Hence the reviews which wax on about cameras, accessories, screen technologies, etc. Those are all important concerns to be sure, since they help shape the “liberal arts” part of the experience, but they are, in the end, only half the story.
The best tech commentators - and I will even define that, all tech-like, as those most likely to be right - are the ones who couldn’t stop obsessing over art if they wanted to. So when John Gruber goes on about Stanley Kubrick or D.F. Wallace, feel free to tune out, but remember: this is why he sees beyond the spec sheet.
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