TechCrunch: The Death Of The Spec

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

What if you get more hardware and worse experience? Some things cannot be so easily measured.

Worse by which standard?

I'm a Windows user through and through. I'm a PC gamer, and I am a hardware geek who likes to open the system and replace/repair part for part when I need to. I don't own a single apple product. The inevitable learning curve of starting on a new platform, the possible compatibility issues I might run into, not to mention the locked down OS and the apps it pushes me to use and the ones I won't be able to use--such as the Sony eReading app that last I looked wasn't available from Apple or the Kobo app that Apple also has crippled--means that the whole Apple experience may not be nearly as convenient for me as if I had gone with a less, eh, xenophobic, platform.

So if we're going by subjective standards, anything iOS is a negative to me. The fact that it has weaker hardware, in addition to being so locked into one specific echo system, just adds to it's many shortcomings.

But all of the above is one of the reasons that specs matter and will continue to matter. Because everything else is subjective. Apple fans love their computers because they "just work". I can barely stand using one (and believe me, I do on a daily basis) because it's so dumbed down and lacking in what it allows me to do beyond opening and using programs that I feel like I'm a passenger in the computer experience instead of the driver. As if Apple has deliberately done their best to keep me as powerless and ignorant as possible. Yeah, I know that it works. So what? My Windows computers work just as well, and I don't recall ever being plagued by all the horrific problems that the above mentioned Apple users mock my preferred platform for.

But the benchmark comparisons between a E8500 and an i7-720Q are objective numbers, and that makes it possible for us to compare them on a more objective level than "my experience", or "how I feel".

[Tess89]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

In comparing unlike systems, it doesn't tell you much, outside of potential longevity issues.

True. And when comparing two similar systems, it matters greatly. The iPad 1 had 256 MB of RAM. The iPad 2 doubled that and it made a huge difference performance wise. Nowadays no one is going to buy an ipad 1 unless they're willing to sacrifice improved performance to save some extra money. Why would it be any different with Android systems? More RAM is always better. I pay attention to RAM in an Android device when I'm comparing against other Androids. I pay attention to RAM in Ipad when I'm thinking about upgrading.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Worse by which standard?

I'm a Windows user through and through. I'm a PC gamer, and I am a hardware geek who likes to open the system and replace/repair part for part when I need to. I don't own a single apple product. The inevitable learning curve of starting on a new platform, the possible compatibility issues I might run into, not to mention the locked down OS and the apps it pushes me to use and the ones I won't be able to use--such as the Sony eReading app that last I looked wasn't available from Apple or the Kobo app that Apple also has crippled--means that the whole Apple experience may not be nearly as convenient for me as if I had gone with a less, eh, xenophobic, platform.

So if we're going by subjective standards, anything iOS is a negative to me. The fact that it has weaker hardware, in addition to being so locked into one specific echo system, just adds to it's many shortcomings.

But all of the above is one of the reasons that specs matter and will continue to matter. Because everything else is subjective. Apple fans love their computers because they "just work". I can barely stand using one (and believe me, I do on a daily basis) because it's so dumbed down and lacking in what it allows me to do beyond opening and using programs that I feel like I'm a passenger in the computer experience instead of the driver. As if Apple has deliberately done their best to keep me as powerless and ignorant as possible. Yeah, I know that it works. So what? My Windows computers work just as well, and I don't recall ever being plagued by all the horrific problems that the above mentioned Apple users mock my preferred platform for.

But the benchmark comparisons between a E855 and an i7-720Q are objective numbers, and that makes it possible for us to compare them on a more objective level than "my experience", or "how I feel".

Worse because slow, slow slow. Great 'spec' but not good performance. Disappointing and terrible. pcs phones tablets. Always happens. You need to use it to see if it really works well. The 'specs' can tell big lies.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Tess89

True. And when comparing two similar systems, it matters greatly. The iPad 1 had 256 MB of RAM. The iPad 2 doubled that and it made a huge difference performance wise. Nowadays no one is going to buy an ipad 1 unless they're willing to sacrifice improved performance to save some extra money. Why would it be any different with Android systems? More RAM is always better. I pay attention to RAM in an Android device when I'm comparing against other Androids. I pay attention to RAM in Ipad when I'm thinking about upgrading.

I don't think the argument is that newer, faster, better products aren't more desirable for some. It isn't arguing there shouldn't be improvement in every iteration either.

The issue is whether the actual technical details matter as much as they used to back in the PC days.

You happen to know that the iPad 1 had 256M, and the iPad 2 has 512M. But Apple has never marketed those specs as an added feature. They've never mentioned RAM at all in their iOS devices.

The article is about how technical specs are too focused on in reviews and marketing, and there isn't enough focus on what really matters-how well it works.

In a related article:

Of course, there will always be those who focus on hardware as the primary ingredient for a great technology experience. They’ll continue to fret and obsess over specs, but they’re no longer in the majority, not by a long shot – if they ever were.

And there is a call for a new metric:
http://drewb.org/post/12516915527/de...me-meaningless

Performance can no longer be measured with instruments, only with humans, which makes both engineering and reviews particularly tricky. Even Apple is not immune to awkwardness inherent in this shift, as the best critiques have noted. Specs have become meaningless; usage is everything.

No idea how this would be accomplished, but it's a noble goal. Much better than making judgements based on clock speeds and hardware specs between the Fire and the Nook without even trying either of them out first, anyways.

[Tess89]

The 'specs' can tell big lies.

So can your eyes. There are plenty of computing devices that work well right out the box but turn to crap a few months later. Would you buy a nice car based solely on a test drive?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Tess89

So can your eyes. There are plenty of computing devices that work well right out the box but turn to crap a few months later. Would you buy a nice car based solely on a test drive?

Would you buy a car without a test drive?

[kjk]

Good counterpoint on the use of specs by Josh Topolsky of The Verge ( a review on his site was what sparked the initial debate):

An informed consumer should understand the potential as well as the actualization of that potential. They are both significant.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Very good point -- if specs don't matter, why isn't everybody trying to get their hands on a cheaper Ipad1 rather than the more expensive Ipad2? Or why do they upgrade to the iphone 4S when they have the 4? Siri will work on the iphone 4.

Actually, Siri will NOT work on the iPhone 4. And I know physically challenged people who are very excited about Siri (or used it prior to being bought by Apple) who wouldn't want to live without it - thus either have or will purchase the iPhone 4S.

Originally Posted by xg4bx

because, to put it bluntly, people are status and trend whores who wouldnt be caught dead with last years model. its far more about fashion than the tech itself. all that matters is that its new and popular. you want to be cool dont you?

technology=penis size. theres no real reason to buy an 80" tv other than bragging rights: look what I have.


i hate to be so blunt but thats what it boils down to. peer pressure and fashion shape more purchases, especially in tech, than anyone cares to admit. theres no real reason to buy a kindle 4 if youve got a kindle 3 but plenty of people tripped over themselves to do so.

maybe 1 in 10 actually care about specs. personally i like to know what something can do now right out of the box rather than what the specs say it can theoretically do.

Ouch! So not always true. That's like saying every guy with a sports car is trying to compensate for his [small] penis. Not really the case at all.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Tess89

True. And when comparing two similar systems, it matters greatly. The iPad 1 had 256 MB of RAM. The iPad 2 doubled that and it made a huge difference performance wise. Nowadays no one is going to buy an ipad 1 unless they're willing to sacrifice improved performance to save some extra money. Why would it be any different with Android systems? More RAM is always better. I pay attention to RAM in an Android device when I'm comparing against other Androids. I pay attention to RAM in Ipad when I'm thinking about upgrading.

The ipad1 came out with specs on the level of laptops 5-6 years before. They weren't going to advertise that.

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

Worse because slow, slow slow. Great 'spec' but not good performance. Disappointing and terrible. pcs phones tablets. Always happens. You need to use it to see if it really works well. The 'specs' can tell big lies.

It never happened to me. What devices did you have this experience with?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Ouch! So not always true. That's like saying every guy with a sports car is trying to compensate for his [small] penis. Not really the case at all.

I wonder what it says about women who own sports cars?

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

So if we're going by subjective standards, anything iOS is a negative to me. The fact that it has weaker hardware, in addition to being so locked into one specific echo system, just adds to it's many shortcomings.

Except, of course, that it doesn't have weaker hardware. The fact that Apple has chosen, as a marketing strategy basically, to deemphasize specs doesn't mean that its products don't have good specs. The iDevices tend to have slightly less RAM than equivalent products, but much better GPUs and in general better processors (a lot of this has to do with the Tegra 2 chip, I think).


Which is part of the problem with specs now - there are so many *different* specs that it's hard to choose the ones that matter, even if you follow these things. Are you better off with less RAM or a latest generation gpu?

But all of the above is one of the reasons that specs matter and will continue to matter. Because everything else is subjective. Apple fans love their computers because they "just work". I can barely stand using one (and believe me, I do on a daily basis) because it's so dumbed down and lacking in what it allows me to do beyond opening and using programs that I feel like I'm a passenger in the computer experience instead of the driver. As if Apple has deliberately done their best to keep me as powerless and ignorant as possible. Yeah, I know that it works. So what? My Windows computers work just as well, and I don't recall ever being plagued by all the horrific problems that the above mentioned Apple users mock my preferred platform for.

But the benchmark comparisons between a E8500 and an i7-720Q are objective numbers, and that makes it possible for us to compare them on a more objective level than "my experience", or "how I feel".

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Are you better off with less RAM or a latest generation gpu?

That depends on what you plan to use it for, which is why detailed specs matter. So you can pick the device that will be best suited for your individual needs.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Except, of course, that it doesn't have weaker hardware.

Absolutely it has weaker hardware.

There is no SD Card reader. Not just a slower SD drive, but a missing SD drive. for a lot of people that isn't just weaker hardware...that is abysmal hardware.

And if we talk about ports apple is pretty weak there too.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Phogg

And if we talk about ports apple is pretty weak there too.

Especially after the firmware update that reduced power to the USB ports in order to save battery power. USB card readers that used to work fine on the iPad suddenly required a special adapter that could be bought only from Apple.

Underhanded as well as weak...

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

To resurrect Steve. He was well known for saying "it just works". It was not Apples advertising this concept that made it popular. People really do want something that just works. For a lot of us tech is a tool not a hobby.

Nothing against the late Mr. Total Stranger "Call Me Steve" Jobs, but I've always been irked by that particular marketing phrase. It makes sense for the average consumer to say that something "just works," but it's the last thing I want to hear from the company that actually created the device. If I'm buying a tower from some company and want to know how well it will perform in terms of latency when running 48 tracks of digital audio with DP7 and 34 processor-dependent flavors of DSP, I don't want to be told to relax because the tower is made of magic. I want specs, compatibility reports and a return policy.

Yes, specs have to be corroborated by the user's experience. But simply trying out a piece of kit won't negate the value of specs once you get into a situation in which seamless power and versatility are required.

That's why research, a test drive and fallout from early adopters are all crucial to one's ultimate choice in boutique tech (tablets, readers, smartphones and ultrabooks).