Noting more Mac Mini excitement, Mathowie writes:
…the challenge of working in a limited medium and constantly finding clever innovation as you bang into the walls of constraint is an attractive place to work for many engineers and designers.
How true. This is something I love and relish in my work. I've always been a zen minimalist when it comes to design and firmly believe that less is more, so his post really strikes a chord.
I always look to optimize the the balance between doing as much as I can with as little as possible. A solution is never quite complete until I do. Its a challenge that I think takes real skill and far more creativity then having an open canvas and virtually no bounds. The challenge is not the only factor though. There are persuasive practical reasons to it also. The most important is that the less you can put into a solution or system, the less risk there is to it failing to provide a return on the investment of time and resources. Conversely, it provides the potential for a higher margin
if it is indeed successful.
Limits can be taken to far though and understanding that balance in design is what requires skill and creativity. With the right balance of simplicity and features (cost) comes flexibility that can pay even larger dividends then a more full-featured one could ever achieve.
I think the Mac Mini will prove to be an excellent example of this balance. It is not only a great machine for those not sure about switching to the Mac, or whose computing needs are relatively modest, but with its cost, size and features (or more appropriately lack thereof), it can and will be applied in many different ways. Many ways which have yet to emerge and it is in this were the excitement lies. Apple has opened the door to a whole new realm of potential and opportunity for technology and invited us in by giving us less. For many of us who relish the challenge and benefits of limits, we all want in.
<p>Noting more <a href="http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0006HU2ZU/tima02-20">Mac Mini</a> excitement, Mathowie <a href="http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2005/01/please_fence_me.html">writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…the challenge of working in a limited medium and constantly finding clever innovation as you bang into the walls of constraint is an attractive place to work for many engineers and designers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>How true. This is something I love and relish in my work. I've always been a zen minimalist when it comes to design and firmly believe that less is more, so his post really strikes a chord.</p>
<p>I always look to optimize the the balance between doing as much as I can with as little as possible. A solution is never quite complete until I do. Its a challenge that I think takes real skill and far more creativity then having an open canvas and virtually no bounds. The challenge is not the only factor though. There are persuasive practical reasons to it also. The most important is that the less you can put into a solution or system, the less risk there is to it failing to provide a return on the investment of time and resources. Conversely, it provides the potential for a higher <q>margin</q> if it is indeed successful. </p>
<p>Limits can be taken to far though and understanding that balance in design is what requires skill and creativity. With the right balance of simplicity and features (cost) comes flexibility that can pay even larger dividends then a more full-featured one could ever achieve.</p>
<p>I think the Mac Mini will prove to be an excellent example of this balance. It is not only a great machine for those not sure about switching to the Mac, or whose computing needs are relatively modest, but with its cost, size and features (or more appropriately lack thereof), it can and will be applied in many different ways. Many ways which have yet to emerge and it is in this were the excitement lies. Apple has opened the door to a whole new realm of potential and opportunity for technology and invited us in by giving us less. For many of us who relish the challenge and benefits of limits, we all want in.</p>
