I in contrast highly doubt that Apple would release a potentially super popular product that doesn't create a profit. My personal assumption is that the profit margin for the MB Neo is quite low, but it still exists.
Their advantage is that they have long running, very tight contracts with their suppliers, and extremely high vertical integration. They don't have to share a part of the profit margin with Intel or Microsoft. Also, they have a simple product range with comparatively few SKUs, and produce an extremely high volume of units, taking advantage of the economies of scale.
Japanese overdesign is not only about removing inconveniences, it's also about bringing a bit (or even a lot) of joy into using seemingly mundane products - just like this highlighter. Just knowing that a lot of thought went into the product to make it as good as it can be without making it a luxury item is something that elates me whenever I use something like this.
Another good example is Japanese cling wrap, which is just so much better than everything I've seen in western supermarkets.
Careful with this one. As I understand it, most consumer cling wrap in western markets is polyethylene film, which is made without plasticizers. But Japanese cling wrap (and the stuff at Costco) is plasticized PVC film, and those plasticizers may well be soluble in your food. The market is supposedly shifting toward safer plasticizers, but I personally would rather not place soft, plasticized plastics in prolonged, direct contact with my food.
I watched a video about Japanese cling wrap, and it showed the box has a plastic lip on the part of the lid that's used to cut the film at the desired length. Here in Europe all the rolls I've ever bought came in a paper box which just had a serrated paper edge that gets dull after using it three times (which is not surprising because paper bends easily). I think that probably makes a bigger difference than the material itself. Eventually I got a plastic case for the wraps and I just throw away the cardboard box, but I know most people here use the paper box and would probably be amazed if they tried the Japanese one.
Odd, I’ve had the opposite experience… back home in Australia the boxes came with metal edges, but here in the UK (Scotland) they all seem to be plain cardboard. If the metal ones are sold somewhere I’d be very interested to know where I could find them!
From what I've seen, the Japanese have a very different approach to design. The beauty is always so understated. It's not announced, but discovered by discerning eyes. You see it in their pottery, joinery, clothing, paper, architecture, etc. A lot of their stuff looks really bland, but when it's stuff you care about, you really feel the thought and craftsmanship that went into it.
It also brings me memories of Japanese calligraphic art and the careful use of various sizes, shapes and textures for brushes, where even the smudges and splatters are deliberate.
My day job doesn't require using Jira or similar tools any more, so from a perspective of genuine curiosity: what's the consensus among entire project teams (not just the nerds) for a better alternative?
The task tracking features you actually use, it’s fast, you don’t waste a billion years playing “who knows how to do this and has the permissions hell” that you would with Jira. The integrations work properly.
The layout and UX makes sense, and all the nontechnical people I’ve used it with liked it and had no issues with it.
Ekso - https://ekso.app with docs at https://ekso.dev. Docker installed with PostgreSQL or SQL Server, your choice of where to host it, with a Render install. 103 MCP Tools with manual or AI-assisted resource planning. Oh, and a CLI that effortlessly migrates projects from Jira.
Another vote for Linear. The absolute craft that has gone into building this product and company I truly believe is second to none. Once you start using Linear you start seeing how strong their design and UX influence is on so many other companies. This has certainly been the case for us.
Linear is quite seriously one of the best products (in any category) I’ve ever used.
They have a first class MCP server, and you can basically run a project from your agent. Implementing something, and you find out there's more to do later on in a separate issue? Agent creates the issue for you and off you go. It works very nicely, and also has a great UI but I mostly using it from my agent.
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