New York Daily Photo Analytics

Friday, September 03, 2010

Picnic Anyone?


In the early days of the Windows operating system, when it was making heavy inroads into the graphical interface market, Apple devotees began to find themselves in a very defensive posture. A typical response was that Windows was built over MS-DOS and that the Windows user experience and computing suffered for it.

I recall an Apple Computer salesman once arguing for the superiority of the Macintosh interface over Windows by saying that you can dress a gorilla in a tuxedo, but underneath, you still had a gorilla. Salesmen love these clever little general quips - they sound good, avoid the specifics, and minimize arguments.

During that same time, I was evaluating Apple vs PC/Windows and was discussing this with an acquaintance who was very experienced in both platforms. I suggested something which I had heard in defense of the economy of a PC running Windows over the premium charged by Apple: anything you can do with an Apple computer you can do on a PC. He immediately retorted: Yes, and you can also do it with pencil and paper.

Although his response was an exaggeration, he did make a good point for the value of aesthetics/design over utility. This debate still rages on, with many seeing the purchase of Apple computers as foolishly overpaying for an unnecessary luxury and Apple users more than happy to pay a premium for what they feel is a superior user experience and industrial design.

I can't imagine a much better example of utility over aesthetic than what I saw recently on Muldoon Street in Staten Island: a metal table with chairs, unshaded, roadside, in the blistering heat in front of a NYC Department of Sanitation garage near the Fresh Kills landfill. The immediate surroundings are shown in the lower two photos. A online map street view shows this lawn as empty, so it appears this is a recent addition. Perfect for Labor Day weekend. Picnic, anyone?

7 comments:

Mary P. said...

I guess it was put out for the garbage and they couldn't bear to throw it away. Good for lunch hour on a nice day.

Mary P. said...

Definitely more PC than Apple, though.

Brian Dubé said...

Mary - Didn't want to start a PC vs Apple war, but it might be reasonable to assume that the design idea and implementation was not done by an Apple enthusiast :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, it may be an interesting idea! :)

Joseph Dames said...

Hi, if you ever have the time, or if it doesn't interrupt with what you were intending to write, would it be possible for you to write about gentrification. Possibly NYC gentrification. What do you think about it? Is it good, bad? Were you yourself ever apart of it? Is it inevitable? All I know for sure about gentrification, is that it never seems to stay put in one place. Greenwich Village was the hipster/bohemian conclave of the 60s. Following East Village of the 90s. And now Williamsburg. It seems to take any small history of anyplace and completely destroy and create a new history, until the people are done with it,then leaving said place with no desirable history. What's your take?

Jack said...

I am going to need to find a more philosophical moment to reflect on your Apple-PC commentary, but I have to tell you, I laughed out loud when I saw this nice picnic are at the dump.

annie said...

nothing like trying to improve your workplace...a small start. Perhaps it might be slightly better eating lunch outside than inside! At least there is some grass to look at!