And we’re back! The good folks at the Apple store have returned my iMac to me in the same pristine condition I dropped it off, potentially faulty hard drive swapped out. It’s a happy day; I love my iPad but there’s too much computerwise I want to do to confine myself to just iOS devices.
Now that the latest round of Apple device refreshes are out and the dust is beginning to settle; some quick observations: am I alone in feeling the creeping notion of update fatigue? It seems that almost every other month now we’ve had a new product launch from Apple, not to mention all of their competitors. I am almost afraid to covet the new razor-thin iMacs; if the current pattern holds up in a year they may release some new device that blows it out of the water. Take the iPad, for instance: the third generation slate (dubbed simply the New iPad) has already been upgraded with a more powerful processor and a swap out of the old 30 pin connector for a Lightning input. Some resale outlets are allowing customers that purchased their iPad within the last 30 days to swap it out for the newer, slightly more powerful model (I’m opting not to upgrade due to the breadth of accessories I have that would no longer work sans adaptor). While new products are always fun, Apple is firing them out at an almost dizzying pace.
As for the marginally updated NEW new iPad, it marks another quickly approaching point in Apple’s lineup- the absolute retirement of the original data cable. The only device in Apple’s lineup that still uses it is the venerable iPod Classic (not counting the pre-refresh third generation iPads and iPad 2 models still being sold). It is amazing to realize that Apple is the only company I can think of that innovates, then works tirelessly to make that innovation obsolete. The only new Mac that offers Firewire (once a mainstay of Macs) is the new Mac Mini (not counting the not-so-new Mac Pro). The click wheel, once another hallmark of Apple innovation, has also been quietly escorted out of the limelight thanks to touchscreen controls (although the current iPod Shuffle does pay homage to the once cutting edge input with the layout of it’s button controls). Even the mouse is a bit of an afterthought in Apple’s Mac lineup; the multitouch controls are more widespread and far easier to implement via Magic Touchpad.
So here’s to innovation, and to the devastating impact it has on both my checking account and innovation past.
