I had a conversation with my mum-in-law over the
holidays. By her own admission, she doesn't know a lot about computers (yet,
she still has some rather strong opinions about them -- love you, Mum!) She asked
me what, specifically, made Apple products better than her PC.
After I spouted off some well-worn advantages of
Apple vs. PC (reliability, closed-system, easy to sync, user-friendly), she
came back with, "I don't have any problems with my PC. So why would I want
an Apple - and pay more for the same thing?"
The conversation took a few turns from there,
but the fact that I was not able to effectively communicate why I felt Apple
was a wonderful product was disconcerting. Sometimes, it’s the little things
that make a world of difference and lead you into appreciating all the work and
thought that goes into a well-designed product. A little thing like installing
a font…
Adding A Font: The 31+ PC Steps That Made Me Appreciate Apple.
Adding a font should be easy. I’ve done it
countless times on my Mac. I…
- download the font from the site, [click]
- the computer displays and allows you to open up the downloaded font zip file [another click]
- The computer asks you if you want it placed in the Fonts folder. I click Yes [a third click].
- Done.
That’s less than a minute, including download
time.
I have a PC as well. It is still running System
7 (but then most PC users are, thanks to a poorly timed, misunderstood, yet
well-intentioned Microsoft system 8 release). Now I’ll follow the path I took…
- I download a new font from a website. I wait. Nothing happens.
- Sooo… I guess I will look for the font file in the download folder of my browser. (How do I know enough to do this? I’ve been through much problem-solving in the past for my PC.)
- I locate it in Chrome’s download folder.
- I double-click and see two types of font formats: one TrueType, one OpenType font. Which do I use? I forget.
- I have no recommendations from the computer. I decided it’s safer to install both. I’ll let the computer sort it out.
[That’s multiple clicks, some searching and
pondering time.]
What next? Still no advice from the computer.
- I decide that I may have to drag the font file into the Font folder. This entails finding said folder.
- First I look in C://system. No font folder.
- Then I look in C://Program files/Adobe and find a font folder. But it’s not THE FONT folder, it’s for Adobe. Even though it’s for an Adobe program, I’m dubious.
- I look again and find a fonts folder under C://Windows. This should be the correct Fonts folder, right? [More clicks, more knowledge needed about where to look and which font folder is the right one.]
- I drag the fonts in the Fonts folder. Nothing happens. No confirmation.
- So I scroll through all the fonts in the huge Fonts folder – including the never-used Korean, Chinese and Cyrillic fonts. It’s not there. I try dragging again.
- After multiple tries, I decide I don’t want to be that guy that never asks for directions, so I decide a blog might help.
- I now return to my browser, and search Google for an answer.
- -16. After several questionable blogs, I find one that looks reputable. ‘How does a site look reputable?’, I wonder. Thoughts wander. OYI. Just shut up, brain and read.
- The blog says I am supposed to go through a font system utility in System Preferences.
- I go there and use the Font Installer.
It doesn’t even recognize my font as a font and
won’t add them. Why not?
19-24. More reading blogs…
- Suddenly… an idea. Not from a blog, but from experience. The files were downloaded as a ZIP file. Are they still Zipped? They don’t look Zipped. They’re not even looking particularly compressed. OK, again with the shut up, brain. I need to decompress the files… maybe?
- So I search on my computer for a decompression program. Again, I must have learned how to do this in the past at some point.
- I open the program and examine my files. Yep, they are still zipped.
- I unzip.
- I wait. Nothing else happens.
- Now I bet I have to go back to the Font Utility and add them.
- I have to add them twice because there is no confirmation other than the “You’ve already added this to your folder. Do you really want to do it again?” message. Fine. Make me feel stupid.
Finally, after 31+ separate actions, I have it figured
out. I should feel like a champion -- rounding
up the bad guys, using my experience and smarts to create my own law and order
amidst the chaos of the PC/Internet Wild West. Computers can give you that
buzz. I know it well.
Nope. This time I just felt mad. Mad at a
computer that which should have known that a ZIP file needs to be unzipped and should
have done it for me. And when unzipped, the computer should recognize the file
as a font and ask me if that’s where it should go.
That’s what an Apple computer does.
Being an open system, where anyone can build
programs means that Microsoft saves R&D costs upfront. That also means
cheaper price for the user. Apple took another approach and closed its system.
Programs that work on Apple products have to go through a rigorous testing,
design, and an application process to make sure that it will work smoothly on a
Mac/iPad/iPhone. If not, Apple simply doesn’t allow it. Apple took the extra
time and R&D to make the computer do the work for you so you can save 31+
actions in wondering, frustration, and even more time in writing this blog to
tell the story! Compound that frustration for more PC problems over the life of
your computer. How much is your time is worth? The price of an Apple?
This is not to say that Apple computers are
perfect. They're not, but they have a great philosophy. As Bud Tribble of Apple has said that Apple tries to adapt
the computer to the human being, rather than the other way around of creating
the computer and allowing the human to figure it out. By adapting to humans,
Apple provides good experiences.
Not everyone will have the appreciation for a
closed system. Some people love dissecting HOW to do things on computers. If
you love the thrill of figuring things out for yourself, go for a PC. But
sometimes it’s nice to remember that computers are just tools for work, fun and creativity. Not an end in themselves. And
sometimes the smallest of interactions can tell you so much about a product,
philosophy and the makings of a good experience.
Mum, hopefully this blog finds you well and not
struggling with your PC.
As always,
love you, Mum!
