Did Steve Jobs Nix AppleTV’s New UI 5 years ago?…

The new user interface accompanying the latest Apple TV (AAPL) set-top box was actually “tossed out 5 years ago” by Steve Jobs, claims former Apple engineer Mike Margolis.

“Now there is nobody to say ‘no’ to bad design,” he laments.

Ex Apple engineer disses firm’s post-Steve Jobs design sense

Posted by Charles Cooper | 03/24/2012 | 09:47 AM on CNET

CNET Reviews: Apple TV 2012
Steve Jobs wouldn’t have cared much for the recent software redesign Apple rolled out to its Apple TV set-top box, according to a former engineer who once worked on the product.

Michael Margolis, listed on his LinkedIn profile as having worked as a “Professional Hobbyist, AppleTV” as well as a “Senior Software Engineer” at Apple, tweeted late Friday that the new interface designs for the box actually got “tossed out 5 years ago because [Steve Jobs] didn’t like them.”

Margolis also claimed that “now there is nobody to say ‘no’ to bad design” at Apple in the aftermath of Jobs’ death.

Alongside the third-generation iPad, Apple introduced a new version of its Apple TV set-top box and a software update that restyled some of its user interface. That interface bears resemblance to the grid of apps found on the home screens of the iPhone and the iPad, as well as Apple’s LaunchPad feature on Lion.

Corrected at 10:55 a.m. to note that Margolis was referring to Apple’s Apple TV set-top box, and not the much-rumored, but unannounced TV set….

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