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by tempodox 1908 days ago
Steve Jobs isn't there any more to slap it in their face and tell 'em it sucks.
3 comments

Jobs wasn't immune from the occasional bad choice. (Before you ask, I have personal knowledge that this was his choice.)

http://hallofshame.gp.co.at/qtime.htm

Yes, plenty of it. But one of the gift I think Steve had was to completely change course once he acknowledge something as wrong. Whether that is persuaded by someone he trust or the market.

Now no one at Apple has that intuition.

The QuickTime Player wasn't that bad considering that all other media players like boxes and the best 2nd place looked like RealPlayer. Taste shifts over time and display technologies also add to our preference. It may be bad today but back then, we wanted the UI on computers to look like real electronics with a 'brushed aluminum' material finish.
Having been near the epicenter of it, this was more than just a "skeuomorphism was in" thing. It was a complete aesthetic and functional nightmare at the time. Apple employees, customers, developers, and press were horrified.

https://www.salon.com/1999/09/30/quicktime/

That being said, I understand that sometimes one needs to push boundaries of taste in order to make advances. I'm just sad that QuickTime Player had to be one of the sacrificial pikes upon which skeuomorphism died.

Product Person running the show vs a Logistics Person.
Steve Jobs would also have been a relatively old man, whose favourite artists are still recording music the same way the were in the '60s and '70s. His design choices are unlikely to resemble that of the average consumer today.