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by pxc 1050 days ago
The true meaning of 'it just works' in Apple-speak is 'no configuration is required to start using it'. Once you realize this, you also realize the following:

In practice, 'it just works' often simply means 'you cannot configure it'.

It's not a claim about simplicity, robustness, compatibility, etc. It's about taking a stance against configuration.

This default mail app thing is just another case of it, on the less extreme side of the spectrum (you cannot configure it for now... first you have to do some stupid bullshit).
2 comments
atoav 1049 days ago
But it does not just work. I had a Blender Animation to render over night. On Linux or Windows this literally just means switching the energy profile to one where the computer stays on and hit render.

On MacOS you do that, but it will still interrupt the render. No, you have to install caffeine, a piece of software that tells the OS to stay awake because deactivating sleeping in the system preferences won't work.

Maybe it "just works" if you are using the machine exactly as intended, sure.

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CRConrad 1050 days ago
Just another example of how Apple's vaunted "ease of use" and (above all, blech!) "intuitive" is just fricking hype.
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pxc 1050 days ago
I do think that sometimes configurability can be a crutch or a hasty solution that developers resort to instead of thinking through their defaults or adding a bit of intelligence to their program's behavior. Apple definitely aims to avoid that pitfall with their 'just works' approach, and I think that's valid.

But they take it too far for my tastes. And the lack of configurability makes those times when the UX is disagreeable or just plain wrong feel like an insult as well as a defect.

> "intuitive" is just fricking hype

I think I remember my dad once saying that there's only one intuitive user interface for mammals: the nipple. After that, you're learning, whether you admit it or not!

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mrguyorama 1049 days ago
The only people who think iOS is intuitive are the ones that have been using iOS since it went to material design. As someone who has almost exclusively used Android, the interface is terrible, unpredictable, and undiscoverable. Gesture based navigation feels completely random if you have not been taught it.
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