[demallien]

Wait, you can't claim that Gruber is never critical of Apple. For example, he was one of the first and most persistent critics of the iPhone App Store's submission guidelines until they were amended by Apple.

It's true that he rarely criticises Apple's design choices. But I don't think it's because of any sycophantic defence of Apple, but rather because his design aesthetic is very similar to that of the lead designers at Apple. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see him do a piece soon on the sub-par design of the Mac App Store, because it is sub-par (at least in some aspects).

[tjogin]

Here's a few links to Gruber criticizing the poor state of the HIG, and Apple's design decisions:

http://daringfireball.net/2007/07/hockenberry_hig

http://daringfireball.net/2004/10/brushed-metal

http://daringfireball.net/2003/05/much_ado_about_click-throu...

http://daringfireball.net/2006/08/highly_selective

http://daringfireball.net/2003/02/inconsistencies

http://daringfireball.net/2004/10/themes

http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/more_smart_cut_copy_paste

http://daringfireball.net/2003/02/when_in_rome

http://daringfireball.net/2004/10/does_brushed_metal_matter

That Gruber rarely criticizes Apple's design decisions is simply false. Apple's inconsistency in UI design and application of the HIG is a pet peeve of his, and it has been for many years.

[vamsee]

That's like 9 articles in as many years. How many did he write in support of them? Not that there's anything wrong with it - just that I don't think I can count his writing about Apple as "objective criticism".

[tjogin]

Articles I found mentioning HIG wherein Gruber praises Apple's design consistency: zero. Why don't you try finding some for yourself?

Like I said, this has been a pet peeve of his for years.

[vamsee]

Hmm, was I misunderstood? I didn't mean to ask you how many articles he did supporting Apple's HIG consistency. I was just pointing out that that it's a small minority among the total articles he writes about supporting everything Apple does. At least that's my understanding. Like I said, I wouldn't really go to Gruber's blog for objective analysis, though he does make some good points. I used to enjoy his writing about Apple quite a bit a few years back. Now the blatant fanboism kinda turns me off. FWIW.

[tjogin]

I've read Gruber since he began writing Daring Fireball, I don't think he's changed much at all. I don't see how he's turned from Apple pundit to Apple fanboy, a rather peculiar thing to happen to anyone with time, really.

What has changed is that Apple's success has accelerated, exposing Apple to more customers, press and analysis. Gruber has always covered these things, but with more of it there's more to cover, and with more clueless analysts claiming things about Apple, there's more of that to dispute and ridicule.

And let's just face it, he's usually right about the significant things. That's not fanboyism, that's insight.

Besides, I don't think Gruber very often writes articles just to "support" anything (what would be the point?), usually he's trying to understand where Apple's motivations come from — why they're doing what they're doing — which is the part where most other analysts are fumbling in the dark.

Sometimes he agrees with them, but really, a lot of the time he doesn't (that usually makes for more interesting articles as well). Just writing support for a decision or strategy makes for a really boring read, what he usually does is explain the underlying reasons for it, whether he agrees with it or not.