Article Response

How Apple Is Giving Design A Bad Name by Don Norman and Bruce Tognazzini

In the article the authors continually, and a little repetitively, focus on the switch that has happened within the Apple culture that went from user friendly over aesthetics of the product to the inverse. I don't know how true that is necessarily. Personally, many of the issues that they raise regarding key features that are not easy to figure out with out a manual are quite bothering and annoying. It took me ages to figure out that different combinations of fingers and direction obtained very different results.
However, the authors mention the tradition that Apple had before Jobs' return in the mid 90's and before the advent of iPhones and they praise the ease of use of their products at the time. I do believe this is true and many of their earlier products allowed for a whole generation to learn how to relate to screens and computing, but I believe one of the main issues their are having with their design direction these days has more to do with the complexity of the tasks we are asking our devices to perform. Yes, maybe Apple is limiting itself too much by insisting on a single button (home buttom) to carry out to many different, and maybe not enough, tasks. Yes, Apple could get off it's high horse and write a manual (something else to beautifully design).
All of the points brought up in the article are valid and Apple should take note and try to improve them. In the never ending debate over Mac vs PC, we will continue to see these types of arguments coming from both sides. Mac and PC are both flawed and will always have room for improvement.
At times I find this duality to be childish, like fighting over favorite sports teams or favorite actors, but if the two sides can maintain a healthy competition, us as users will only benefit from quicker advancement in the technological wonders they have to offer.