Usability or looks?

Just looked at the new iMac out of idle curiosity. There is a slot for SDXC memory cards but it's at the back of the unit along with all the other connectors (headphone, USB, Thunderbolt, etc.) All this for £1,099 and upwards. Usability, my a***.

Same with the Mini. A right pain. You'd think at least the memory card slot would be on the front; I guess it would spoil the looks of it.

I suppose the solution is to have an SD extension cable hanging out of the back of the machine. I wonder if Apple sells them?

That's what I have to do with the cable for my iPad; it's a bit ugly having a cable permanently connected but it's the only way really. My PC has a trapdoor on top with a couple of USB sockets; ideal for casual connections and the ones round the back are used for fixed things like keyboard and mouse.

I suppose it depends how often you use the card reader. If its just once a week or even less on my case it's not so much a problem. But if I was using cards very regulary I would use a card reader in a USB cable, which are quite cheap and leave the reader in a convient place. The other advantage of using a reader is that all the wear and tear is on an easily replaceable reader rather than on the expensive computer.

Edited by stniuk (Sat 03-Nov-12 19:42:06)

However infrequently I use the reader it would be more convenient if I could actually reach it. Same with the power switch - why on earth put that on the back of the thing?

You only use the power switch once a day usually less. Once you get to know the position you can do it easily.

Not if the computer is surrounded by other equipment. What's wrong with putting it on the front where you can see it?

iMacs are even worse. Other than for cosmetic appearance, I can't say I understand why all the connections are at the bottom of the back panel, which is just about the most inaccessible place for most users. It's a fine place for fixed peripherals, ethernet, power cables and the like, but not for places to plug in portable peripherals and the latest model even puts the card slot ot the back, which for something that sells itself as a hub for digital media is utterly perverse.

Well sometimes you just have to accept the sands of time eh APE

In reply to a post by stniuk:

You only use the power switch once a day usually less. Once you get to know the position you can do it easily.

i always thought it would be an idea to turn that big ol useless apple logo (which lets face without that been there they could make the screen use all the front lol) into the power button,
My current monitor LG flatron has a light sensitive power button so instead of a physical button you just glider your finger over a sensor and it comes on they could turn the logo into one of them lol that way there vainnes the stick the apple logo everywhere visible would actually be useful lol

Ash

Clearly you need something with very big buttons, whereas most folk are quite happy with it the way it is.

Spoken like a true fanboi.

...if indeed you are an Apple user.

Edited by micksharpe (Sun 04-Nov-12 15:26:14)

One of those wannabes, me thinks.

<stirring mode>I'd rather spend all day sitting behind a Mac than in front of one anyway.<\stirring mode>

Would that be a Big Mac?

In reply to a post by stniuk:

You only use the power switch once a day usually less.

Why that often?

I'm thinking of a windows user.
I normally sleep my mac but if I'm going to be away I shut it down.

Yet this design feature harks back to the early IBM PC which had the power switch on the rear of the base unit at the right hand side.

It was said that switching on or off the PC meant that you had to wrap your right arm around the machine as if you were hugging it, And as you had to use both arms to prevent you from tipping over you were actually wrapping your arms around the beast.

The story goes (as told to me by a colleague from Boca Raton where the PC originated, perhaps with tongue in cheek) the apparent "hugging of the machine" was to increase the bond between the user and the machine.

I used to work on a series of mini-computers that had the reboot button on the front panel at exactly knee height. One had to be very careful where one placed one's knees.

Heh.

Reminds me of the nuclear power station where the back up control panel as opposite the main CP - and the mirror image of it.

Think about that...

I have never denied being a fanboi

Unfortunately you, like APE seem to be completely obsessed.

Yawn

In reply to a post by NaNook:

I have never denied being a fanboi

Unfortunately you, like APE seem to be completely obsessed.

I don't like bad design, especially when I'm invited to pay a premium for it. I'm interested enough in Apple products to look for both strengths and faults. I was impressed with the ease with which I could connect an iPad to an encrypted wireless network.

Agreed. Good design is not just a question of looks, or even whether a product is more "cool" than a competitor's, it is also about functionality. Putting a memory card slot, something that needs to be accessible, on the back of a computer is simple bad design. You might as well put a DVD drive there if you weren't too cool to use DVDs.

So the simple answer is do not buy Apple kit, rather than whine about it all the time

And another hater who is unable to reach around, well, maybe you can

Who's whining. I'm trying to educate you.

Ahem yeah right, ok lol

In reply to a post by AEP:

Putting a memory card slot, something that needs to be accessible, on the back of a computer is simple bad design. You might as well put a DVD drive there if you weren't too cool to use DVDs.

Not quite off-topic... unless I've missed something the new iMacs don't seem to have a DVD drive, you'd need to buy a SuperDrive or similar

I'll be happy if someone could show me the error of my ways

In reply to a post by billford:

I'll be happy if someone could show me the error of my ways

We'd all be happy to do that. Shall we form a queue?

No need for a queue, you're all free to discuss the matter at any time (though not here!).

Just don't expect me to take the slightest bit of notice

That was the subtext, Bill.

Ah, OK... it fits with Apple trying to force everything through the AppStore

Yes. I find this locking down of software rather worrying. Currently you can install "unapproved" applications in Mountain Lion if you really insist, but give it a few more iterations of the OS and I can see it ending up like iOS.

It will be interesting to see if Microsoft follow the same path with their Applications Store. Still, there's always Linux.

You are correct. I haven't used an optical drive for years so won't be missed by me.

In reply to a post by AEP:

give it a few more iterations of the OS and I can see it ending up like iOS.

And a few more after that, everything will be in the Cloud and we'll effectively be running dumb terminals...

It could happen

You mean with a single check of a checkbox? The is not "insisting" about and, having seen the scrapes many non-techies get into, the idea that the default security is 'high' is something only a retard would object to.

the idea that the default security is 'high' is something only a retard would object to.

Try to avoid the personal insults, Ian, or at least confine them to FC. It's really not necessary.

It wasn't a personal insult. It was an observation about the metal capacity of anyone who thinks low levels of security are a good thing.

Whatever you wish to pretend. It's still unnecessary.

So not insisting on security for the average user is a bad thing? Justify.

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by AEP:

Putting a memory card slot, something that needs to be accessible, on the back of a computer is simple bad design. You might as well put a DVD drive there if you weren't too cool to use DVDs.

Not quite off-topic... unless I've missed something the new iMacs don't seem to have a DVD drive, you'd need to buy a SuperDrive or similar

I'll be happy if someone could show me the error of my ways

The error of your ways is your obsession with physical media.

I'm more than happy to see the back of the floppy drive, CD, VHS, DVD, etc - they're fragile and easy to lose, and i couldn't tell you the last time I used an optical drive.

Information has to be stored on something. It's ironic that the most durable modern physical medium is still paper.

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

It's ironic that the most durable modern physical medium is still paper.

Only if you use pigment-based ink (or toner from a laser printer)- dye-based inks fade

Actually, I was thinking of fountain pens.

In reply to a post by xela:

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by AEP:

Putting a memory card slot, something that needs to be accessible, on the back of a computer is simple bad design. You might as well put a DVD drive there if you weren't too cool to use DVDs.

Not quite off-topic... unless I've missed something the new iMacs don't seem to have a DVD drive, you'd need to buy a SuperDrive or similar

I'll be happy if someone could show me the error of my ways

The error of your ways is your obsession with physical media.

I'm more than happy to see the back of the floppy drive, CD, VHS, DVD, etc - they're fragile and easy to lose, and i couldn't tell you the last time I used an optical drive.

Discs are a dying species, both optical and in hard drives.
Dvd's etc are a pita and I'll be glad to see them gone.
When SSD's drop to hd g/$ rates they will be gone also.

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

Actually, I was thinking of fountain pens.

FOUNTAIN PENS! We were too poor for fountain pens we had to make do with a feather.......

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

Actually, I was thinking of fountain pens.

No problem, provided you use a converter when you buy the proper ink

In reply to a post by xela:

The error of your ways is your obsession with physical media.

So what non-physical media are you going to use to store data etc?

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

Actually, I was thinking of fountain pens.

No problem, provided you use a converter when you buy the proper ink

Obviously you are entirely au fait with the subject.

If portable media is a must then USB drives are probably the least worst option but lots of file transfers can be achieved by email or dropbox (or whatever).

Films, music, etc can be streamed. Documents and photos could be stored in the cloud but, for now at least, such important things are probably best stored on local hard disks with suitable backup arrangements.

I don't like some of the restrictions the iTunes store imposes on users but I'm all for consigning the DVD and CD to history. And books, for that matter. It's so much easier, neater, and safer (in terms of backup arrangements) to use digital versions.

... and so much more convenient for Government agencies who want to access your data.

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

Obviously you are entirely au fait with the subject.

Not quite

When I had to register my mother's death a few years ago I got curious about the obviously special pen and ink (and the paper in the book) that the registrar used to enter the details.

He explained that it was because those documents have to last essentially forever, so they use basically the same materials as manuscripts written centuries ago, and when I got home I looked into it a bit further, just out of curiosity. Wiki article.

I think the "paper" was actually vellum for the same reason, but not sure about that.

In reply to a post by xela:

USB drives

email or dropbox (or whatever).

Films, music, etc can be streamed.

Documents and photos could be stored in the cloud

And what non-physical media does the host use to store all this data?

oh, we're just being pedantic

No, not really.

The storage media used on desktops etc is the same as that used by big companies and in the data centres, you're just accessing it remotely and relying on their more comprehensive facilities (ie more money) to keep it up to scratch.

As for DVDs etc, they're actually quite good for reliable long-term storage- their data will still be intact long after the drives to read them become outmoded and unavailable.

Not necessarily true of writeable DVDs. But I stll trust them more than "the cloud". What do you suppose happens when your supplier goes bust?

My preference for streaming/cloud services is about convenience. I'm not opposed to storing things locally - in fact, it makes a lot of sense when broadband connections aren't 100% reliable - but I hate the idea of a disc for each album/film.

There's a very real risk that you lose your data but with services like Spotify, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, etc that's not so much of an issue.

We're not at the stage when I would suggest using cloud services for everything (and I don't know if we'd ever get there) but I massively prefer digital downloads and streaming over conventional media.

To bring this back on topic: I'm all for Apple abandoning the optical drive. Its day has been and gone.

All down to taste I guess. I prefer high-quality discs that I can handle to sub-standard digital downloads with their DRM restrictions. I use my optical drives several times a day.

In reply to a post by xela:

but I hate the idea of a disc for each album/film.

Do what I do- rip the DVD into iTunes and keep the disc as back-up

I was hoping the iMac would have got a BluRay drive