It is an anomaly among artists and designers to use anything but a Mac. And yet, I have somehow resisted. I own and enjoy the standard-issue iPhone and iPod, but no Apple computer has yet to gently (but forcibly) grace the contents of my wallet.

I happily work in Windows XP and Windows 7, the former augmented with a number of extensions but largely intact. It’s not that I don’t acknowledge that Mac OS X is more usable and elegant in most respects (especially in comparison to XP), it’s just that I know Windows well enough to anticipate and circumnavigate its quirks without precognition. When I’m knee-deep in my zen-like state of creative flow, designing with amazing tools like Adobe’s Creative Suite or programming in capable editors like Notepad++ or Textmate, the operating system is strangely incidental. Truth be told, application compatibility is really the only thing keeping me from ditching commercial experiences altogether and embracing Ubuntu one hundred percent.

There exists one caveat in my previous statement. While certain projects have required that I use a Mac for small stretches of time, I had never been given the opportunity to experience one as my primary machine. This changed when I started at McAfee, where each talented designer is equipped with a shiny Macbook Pro.

The emotional attachment Apple fosters between their products and consumers is fascinating. Never have I seen so many otherwise frugal individuals gratefully fork over piles of cash for what are, with the exception of the top-tier Mac and Macbook Pro, modestly powered machines. It is a testament to their brand that even after paying a hefty premium for their devices (and doubtlessly for adapters, peripherals and AppleCare plans), these consumers defend the company with a level of fervor typically reserved for political and religious discussion. Merely expressing curiosity as to the pros and cons of the Zune experience on Twitter resulted in no less than five individuals mocking the competing device without owning one themselves.

To those of us who use (and largely enjoy) Windows and Linux, this relationship appears undeniably parasitic. The only explanation is that the Apple experience is so overwhelmingly amazing, so above-and-beyond anything competitors could possibly attempt, that it manages to counterbalance the money and energy we shower it with.

While I will never understand complete and total brand zealots (especially designers, who without objectivity will predictably mimic their idols), after three months with the device I’m finally beginning to see what sets Apple apart. Simply put, my Macbook Pro is a joy to use.

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Competition is awesome. I applaud the innovations evident in the Palm Pre despite owning an iPhone because I know that the Pre’s existence will challenge Apple to make better products.

Google is a bit scary, not simply for how big they’ve become, but for how many of their products are simply the best solution available. There are a number of very worthy competitors that I’ve attempted to stick with through thick and thin, but slowly they’ve fallen from my bookmarks toolbar like some sort of Web 2.0 natural selection.

The latest casualty: Netvibes. I’ve been using the service for roughly 2 years, during which time I recommended the service to many. The single biggest caveat of the service is simple yet overwhelmingly irritating; it rarely remembers which items in a feed I have or haven’t read. When navigating dozens of feeds, this feature isn’t just useful; it’s essential!

As of Tuesday, I’ve switched on over to Google Reader. I had some problems with the UI, but many of those were solved by installing an excellent OSX-inspired theme. I’m also quite smitten with Reader’s snappy iPhone interface which is both easier to navigate and faster than Netvibes.

To make matters more alarming, Google Calendar and Contacts have finally invaded my iPhone. It’s all explained in this ginchy video:

I’ve heard a few users have had problems with syncing, but mine went off without a hitch. And with that, I’ve surrendered to Google even more of my personal information.

Why do we let this happen? I think there are a few key ingredients to Google’s success in owning our brainspace:

• Reputation for simplicity. Google is synonymous with simple and easy search, and has delivered that so consistently that we expect the same easy-of-use from all their products.
• Shared login. Even though we constantly absolve ourselves of more and more information, the obstacle of creating an account is only encountered once. Want to try out Google Reader? Just use your Gmail credentials.
• One big platform. Google services look like each other and often talk with each other. As such, we trust Google like we do an operating system to organize our information and present it to us in as unified a way as possible. Signing up for Google Calendar is less like buying OS X as it is firing up iCal for the first time.
• Exit signs are clearly marked. Google products typically come with multiple solutions for exporting your data, which makes them appear trustworthy. With the ability to pack up and hit the road any time you want, it feels more like lending your information than giving it up.
• Conforming to our needs. Google does an amazing job at growing with meeting the needs of power users while catering to beginners. IMAP in Gmail allows someone like me to use my beloved Thunderbird and custom domains on my iPhone; typical users won’t even see the option, hidden deep in their settings menu.

Ultimately, all of these observations boil down to a simple, overarching theme: no obstacles. As I said in my Google favicon post, the company excels at making every process, whether it be finding an email, making an appointment or searching out an image online, as painless as humanly possible (hence the lack of shiny, pretty things to distract you).

So listen up, competing services (I’m lookin’ at you, Netvibes and Zenbe): I want to like you. Please alleviate obstacles. And while you’re at it, make it look pretty, too. Thanks.

“Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” - Paul Rand

…but that doesn’t mean that news is.

Monday’s episode of The Daily Show featured an interview with Walter Isaacson, the managing editor of TIME magazine and president of the Aspen Institute. He talked about his recent cover story for TIME and, specifically, what print has to offer that the internet doesn’t. I’d cite the original article, but I don’t subscribe to magazines anymore. Have a look:

Authors and editors in traditional media seem to possess a habitual dearth of perspective when it comes to the Internet. Isaacson seems like an extremely intelligent and qualified guy, but he’s fallen pray to that same lack of objectivity.

Newspapers are really a type of content delivery. Many people buy these publications for only one or two items therein (“Hand me the Sports section.”). The reason circulation is dropping is because, as a method of content delivery, any one newspaper is essentially competing with the entire Internet. Why buy a large stack of dirty newsprint for a few pages of classified ads when you can browse all of Craigslist for free?

Without auxiliary content like classified ads and comics to support it, news has to prove its worth on its own. Opinion and investigatory pieces do a fairly good job of this; it’s obvious to many consumers that the execution of the work is unique to the content creator and, as a result, of value. More expository, journalistic reporting is less quantifiable because, when executed correctly, it is the mere expression of facts. I would guess that most Americans feel we have an innate right to hear the truth. Ergo, we regard factual statements, without direct ownership owed to any one content creator, as a public service.

Isaacson defends the value of news by comparing it to music on the iTunes store. If songs cost 99¢, why not news articles? This argument rings of absurdity. The world didn’t join hands one day and decide in perfect unison that music was worth money, they were given a reason to buy. Here’s how Apple did that:

• They solved the problem of how the audience enjoys music. Instead of chaining users to their PCs, they created the iPod.
• They established the iTunes store and closely integrated it with the device, making the process of purchasing music for the iPod easier and quicker than buying a CD.

Saying that print media can spontaneously convince the public of its innate value is like saying Apple would have been just as successful skinning Napster and adding a shopping cart. Isaacson bemoans the experience of reading publications on a computer monitor versus “in the backyard” as if portability is an experience unique to print. Apple had to overcome that hurdle; why shouldn’t everyone else be forced to do the same?

You know that scene in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens her monochromatic door to a world of vivid color? That’s the feeling I had the first day I ditched my non-descript, run-of-the-mill cell phone for a shiny, happy iPhone. (That being said, I do believe the hoard of singing dwarves that followed me home was a wholly unrelated occurrence. The monkeys could be connected, though.)

Before you begin either praising or cursing my seemingly gargantuan amount of Apple fanaticism, bare in mind that I could have experienced the same feeling had I chosen a Blackberry Storm, Android G1 or Palm Treo Pro; it is the connectivity above all else that has made me such a happy camper. So why did I choose the iPhone, specifically?

• The interface appealed to me, an obvious extension of lessons learned on the Palm OS, Mac OS X and, of course, the iPod. Plus, it is hawt.
• iTunes integration. As flawed as the application may be, it’s been my go-to media library for almost 5 years.
• As a designer/developer, I can’t ignore the rich, vibrant community of like-minded creators populating the vast App Store with thousands of mobile tools, games and experiments. I wanted to experience that, and possibly become a part of it.

After about a week and a half of use, I’m still enamored with this little device. The ability to have constant access to one’s email, task list, Twitter feed and general online presence is infectious. Case-in-point: This entire post was written on the iPhone using the excellent (and delightfully free) WordPress application.

That being said, there are just a few minor annoyances I’ve encountered:

• There’s built-in Gmail, Google Search and Google Maps, syncing with Google Contacts, but no Google Calendar? Seriously?
• Mobile Safari appears to have set a new standard for portable browsing, but since it’s the only app that has crashed on me, I’d love to give alternatives (Opera Mini) a try. Loosen the leash a bit, Apple.
• Dropbox and Air Sharing are excellent 3rd-party file management tools, but it seems silly that I can’t store things on the iPhone’s filesystem like I can an iPod Classic. Is it just to discourage hacking?

I’m sure I’ll have plenty more positive and negative comments with continued use, or until a product of equal or greater polish (Palm Pre?) comes along for comparison. Until then, it appears my luddite days are over as I finally drink the Apple kool-aid.

“I want to go home,” I said as I tapped my home button (unnecessarily) four times.

(The WordPress app appends attached images to the bottom of the article. I’ve included screenshots of my wallpaper, featuring one of my mother’s Yellowstone photographs, and the 2nd page of my applications menu, simply because it’s less defaulty than the first..)

I find myself in awe of the staggering potential of mobile devices. A little over a week ago, Palm introduced us to the upcoming WebOS, and yesterday I finally ditched my crappy cell phone for an iPhone.

Compared to my previous phone, the iPhone is a revelation. The ability to access my phone, email, contacts, calendar, task manager and more in a handheld device is a uniquely fuzzy feeling. The unity and polish of the UI has, aside from a couple minor complaints, been an absolute joy to set up and use.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, owning and using the iPhone has only amplified my anticipation and excitement for the Palm Pre. If you haven’t seen it yet, treat yourself to a look:

Many have been calling the WebOS a spiritual successor to the iPhone interface, and I can see why. It takes the polish, minimalism and versatility of Apple’s design and adds a cohesiveness wherein applications co-exist in some fashion beyond the home screen.

Seeing as the iPhone ditched a traditional keypad in favor of an entirely touch-based approach, Palm’s addition of a slide-out keyboard and “gesture area” may seem like a step backward. I disagree, as I’m reminded of a similar decision made with the original Treo and described by industrial designer Dennis Boyle in Bill Moggridge’s book Designing Interactions. Therein, he explains the incentive for ditching the innovative, gesture-based “Graffiti” method of entering text:

I remember that Handspring decided to put the Treo out with both a keyboard and Graffiti, because they didn’t know which one people would choose; they decided to let them vote. The result was quite clear; a large majority went for the small keyboard. [...] [The] little QWERTY keyboard, bad as it is, is such a standard that it requires no guesswork, and that attracts more users.

While the comparison isn’t perfect (the only real difference between a touch and traditional keyboard is tactility), the lesson is clear: designers shouldn’t dismiss ubiquitous methods of text entry any more than they should ignore canonical visual language in iconography design.

I still believe we may be surprised by the future impact of Google’s Android (in terms of sheer number of potential applications) , but the iPhone and, potentially, the Palm Pre will assuredly establish a level of polish and immediacy that other vendors will continue to reach for and, hopefully, surpass.

If you find yourself losing your passion for interaction design or The Web, try out one of these devices. The realization that a versatile, dynamic connection to ourselves and the world will rest attractively in the palms of our hands will ignite your enthusiasm faster than almost anything.