Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things, they push the human-race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
It’s impossible for you to think of Apple and not recite the poem by Rob Siltanen that was used as a part of the of the Apple advert in 1997. In my opinion, through Apple, Steve Jobs has taught the world about good design. Because of what’s available, the world sometimes doesn’t know what good design looks like. Jobs introduced electronics in a minimal perspective that made sense to the general public, even when they didn’t understand the design. My first encounter with Apple products was in my 1st year of college at Boston Media House (based in Wierda Valley in Sandton) back in 2003. I haven’t used any other electronics ever since, 80% of all the electronic products I’ve used since then have been Apple products. The other 20% is represented by the Apple TV and the Apple Watch.
I had always wanted the Apple TV but I never quite got to it and when the Apple Watch was launched, I was still taking in all the changes that were happening at Apple, and dealing with the ‘loss’ of Steve Jobs. I say loss, because before Apple became popular, for us creatives it was home. Steve Jobs was our leader and spokesperson. He did things that affirmed us, showed us that we were not crazy to dream big, he created an ecosystem that we could belong to where everything was okay. When someone like that passes on, it’s hard to stay hopeful… but anyways I could go on about Steve Jobs all day.
The Apple Watch.
I need this watch in my life. I have to have it. It reminds me that I am part of the ecosystem, the ecosystem that Jobs built. Besides the fact that it tells the time, it does other things as well that I found very useful; it changes tracks while I’m walking in a mall with my earphones on, this is a feature that I appreciate because I don’t have to take my phone out. During meetings, I can read my emails, messages and respond without being rude or disrespectful to my colleagues. I found it also perfect for my running, you have all the information you need right there without a hustle. My all-time favourite is taking calls with the iWatch, I take my showers around 9am because I’ve been up and working since 6am. I get most of my calls during that time, and since I am in the shower – I usually just let the phone ring, or I try to answer it, but even that is a struggle because I have to get my hands dry first before answering. With the Apple Watch; I answered one call while I was in the shower and my life was never the same again since the watch is waterproof. The iWatch makes sense to me; I can read and respond to my WhatsApp messages, even though I can’t make or answer WhatsApp calls yet, I am sure it will be sorted out with the new version. Having this watch is literally like having your phone on your wrist; where you can access Facebook, Instagram, or your e-mails with ease. For someone who is always busy and on the move this is a must have. I am hoping that the next Apple Watch is made with its own sim card capability, so that should you forget your phone at home, you can still take calls and read messages on the watch. You can get yourself a 42 mm Apple Watch for about R4 989, available from iStore, www.myistore.co.za.
The Apple TV.
My brother is an intense gamer, and so is my sister, so I was the last one to get introduced into the gaming world. I have a PlayStation, so I was glad to learn that I could connect to Netflix and YouTube from there, impressive capabilities which I really enjoyed.
So when I received the Apple TV from the Apple store to review the other day, I was wondering what new features this Apple TV had to offer in addition to those of the PlayStation. Firstly, its slicker to navigate than the PlayStation if you are not a gamer, the remote is very slick, and it’s light in weight, it also offers far more Apps than PlayStation does. These additional Apps include; Hulu, ShowMax, HBO etc. For people who love TV this is awesome because you get to access so much content that the rest of the world has to offer. Ahhh, I enjoyed messing around with the Airplay feature, it basically connects to your phone with ease and uses your TV as a projector as well. The Apple TV is cheaper than the PlayStation, and offers more content. The only thing that I didn’t like was having to rent/buy movies from the Apple store which is expensive. Why would anyone want to buy movies to begin with? The cost of buying one movie on the iStore is the same amount as a monthly Netflix subscription. Besides the rental prices, this is a good investment for one’s entertainment section at home. 32 GB Apple Tv will cost you about R2 399, available from iStore, www.myistore.co.za.