The Intriguing Design of The Steve Jobs Theater Explained
The Particle Debris article of the week comes from Neil Cybart at Above Avalon.
Author Cybart had a close-up look at the Steve Jobs Theater when he attended Apple’s September 12 event. His very detailed and revealing article includes photos from Apple and himself as well as a side-view schematic of the underground layout.
Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. Image credit: Apple
More importantly, the author analyzes the art, the function and the psychology of the theater on the inside and even the surroundings leading into the theater that reminded him of the aesthetics of a theme park.
The entire experience is reminiscent of Disney World as it becomes clear that someone has created this specific experience to be consumed at this particular location. The lobby, the only part of Steve Jobs Theater that is above ground, is massive, intriguing, and even magical.
One may question whether so much money and effort went in to the construction of this theater, designed to showcase Apple products. But it’s immediately clear that there is much more at stake here than an attractive theater. Namely, it’s not, anymore, exclusively about Apple products but rather Apple as a product. From the article:
Apple is no longer a company that just ships consumer hardware powered by differentiated software. The unveiling of Steve Jobs Theater is the latest sign of this reality. The theater is an Apple product, in the same vein as Apple’s redesigned Retail stores. Apple approached Steve Jobs Theater and the broader Apple Park headquarters in the same way that it would any other product.
Understanding that is key to understanding the company itself as a brand and a product, and that leads to a better understanding of what Apple is all about. This is an excellent article, full of insights.
That’s not to say that everything is perfect. Author Cybart as well as John Gruber made some critical observations. I have no doubt these tactile observations of the restrooms, hands-on area, and rain soaked pathways will be addressed in time. That’s the easy part.
What’s really important about the essay by author Cybart is the analysis of the facility’s design, comparisons to the competition and Apple’s state of mind. These are all part of the legacy of Steve Jobs, and nowhere has that been more poignant than in the opening video and site dedication to Mr. Jobs at the beginning of the September 12 event.
Next Page: The News Debris For The Week Of September 18th. A magnificent review of the Apple TV 4K.
Page 2 – News Debris For The Week Of September 18th
A Magnificent Review of the Apple TV 4K
There are reviews, and there are reviews. Some are a rehash of the press release. Some are simply product descriptions that are labelled a review and are basically phoned in.
But every once in awhile, I see a review that’s superior in every respect. Not only is the product analyzed and terms of features, price and performance, but it’s also tested in prospective operational surroundings. That way, design decisions are unmasked, properly critiqued and put into intelligent context for the customer.
Image credit: Apple
The review I’m so pleased with is this one from CNET’s David Katzmaier
This is no doubt the best review ever of an Apple TV product. And so if you’re in the hunt for a new 4K/UHD TV system and you’re contemplating the purchased of an Apple TV 4K to go along with it, this is essential reading.
By the way, David Katzmaier has been my guest on Background Mode. His expertise in all things video was also punctuated in that podcast, and it’s a great supplement to his review above.
More Debris
• There is a persistent story in the Apple community. It’s that macOS Snow Leopard was the greatest version of macOS of all time. Indeed of any UNIX-based operating system. That’s because, after years of refinement, Apple reached the pinnacle of an amazing GUI on top of BSD Unix. Everything after that, it could be argued, was simply adding features and gaining better integration with iOS. (APFS and a few other features excepted.)
Related
Of course, we were also more naive at the time, particularly with respect to security. One would likely pause first before exposing the original version of Snow Leopard to the internet today. But some still do, I have heard, and with success. (Not that I endorse the idea.)
In any case, Snow Leopard is remembered fondly by many. And so I present this gem that recounts the cool things about this amazing version of macOS (then called Mac OS X) from 2009. “Reliving that Snow Leopard Magic” by Stephen Hackett.
• Forbes has made a living out of criticizing Apple in ways that I don’t agree with. Here’s an article you should be aware of despite its questionable thesis. “Apple TV 4K Falls Victim To Video Streaming Format War.” The argument is that the Apple TV 4K should have provided support for the VP9 video codec and that its omission is some how grievous and detracts from the product. The article concludes:
If the lack of VP9 streaming support really is down to politics rather than technical oversight, I guess all we can do is hope that Apple’s eventual rapprochement with Amazon can soon be repeated with Google too.
I disagree. H.265/HEVC is going to be the streaming 4K/UHD video codec going forward. The fact that Google has decided to come up with its own format for YouTube, for its own purposes, doesn’t compel Apple to bend over to Google’s initiatives. If you want to watch YouTube videos that use VP9, there are other avenues (Chrome). Hats off to Apple for understanding the future of streaming 4K/UHD video to set top boxes.
Particle Debris is a generally a mix of John Martellaro’s observations and opinions about a standout event or article of the week (preamble on page one) followed on page two by a discussion of articles that didn’t make the TMO headlines, the technical news debris. The column is published most every Friday except for holiday weekends.
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