Good points. And the connector chaos is a thick thorn in the eye of Apple simplicity.
The thing is, design is always a question of compromise. In order to make something truly simple and minimal, you have to sacrifice some affordances. And in order to make something truly easy to use, you have to sacrifice minimalism (think of children's toys). It's a balancing act. If you get it right, people will love your products. If you tip just a little too much to the wrong side you fall, and you end up with Vista security prompts or Apple Keyboard USB extension nonsense.
JGC uses the example of the DVD-drive and the serial number as problem cases. But I'd argue that only the DVD-drive suffers. The serial number will not be relevant in 99,9% of daily computing for normal people. Non-hackers don't care about serial numbers. If something goes wrong they call Apple support (or do the Google routine). Of course it's a matter of focus. Do you want people to easily find the serial number, then by all means, make it easier to spot. Clearly Apple don't. The drawback is not just aesthetics but continuos reminding people that a serial number is important (which it isn't in normal use).
The DVD-drive, however, could be better. But think of your hard drives or SD-cards. None of my 5 USB hard drives have physical buttons to eject them. I still need to 'eject' it, which means I'll have to drag it to the bin! How's that for an affordance. It's a legacy UI behavior which is hopelessly misconstrued. Putting things in the bin DELETES them - that's the behavior we've taught generations of users. It's even worse than clicking "Start" to turn off your computer on Windows. If you have a HD full of pictures of your loved ones would you risk putting them in the bin if you didn't know any better...? Probably not.
Physical affordances have their place. Especially in a world of touch interfaces a button becomes a powerful switch (think the silent ringer on the iPhone). But they are like Tabasco sauces - add a little and it can make the dish, add a lot and it ruins it. It's a never-ending struggle.
The thing is, design is always a question of compromise. In order to make something truly simple and minimal, you have to sacrifice some affordances. And in order to make something truly easy to use, you have to sacrifice minimalism (think of children's toys). It's a balancing act. If you get it right, people will love your products. If you tip just a little too much to the wrong side you fall, and you end up with Vista security prompts or Apple Keyboard USB extension nonsense.
JGC uses the example of the DVD-drive and the serial number as problem cases. But I'd argue that only the DVD-drive suffers. The serial number will not be relevant in 99,9% of daily computing for normal people. Non-hackers don't care about serial numbers. If something goes wrong they call Apple support (or do the Google routine). Of course it's a matter of focus. Do you want people to easily find the serial number, then by all means, make it easier to spot. Clearly Apple don't. The drawback is not just aesthetics but continuos reminding people that a serial number is important (which it isn't in normal use).
The DVD-drive, however, could be better. But think of your hard drives or SD-cards. None of my 5 USB hard drives have physical buttons to eject them. I still need to 'eject' it, which means I'll have to drag it to the bin! How's that for an affordance. It's a legacy UI behavior which is hopelessly misconstrued. Putting things in the bin DELETES them - that's the behavior we've taught generations of users. It's even worse than clicking "Start" to turn off your computer on Windows. If you have a HD full of pictures of your loved ones would you risk putting them in the bin if you didn't know any better...? Probably not.
Physical affordances have their place. Especially in a world of touch interfaces a button becomes a powerful switch (think the silent ringer on the iPhone). But they are like Tabasco sauces - add a little and it can make the dish, add a lot and it ruins it. It's a never-ending struggle.