This is one of the most annoying things about the Apple ecosystem. People have heard that Steve Jobs was proven to know better than everyone most of the time. They've heard that Jobs didn't care what was popular, he just knew what people would like before they even realized it. Apple fanboys like to fancy themselves similarly.
I don't think the myth was true for Jobs and I definitely don't think it's true for Random Apple Fanboy #2,764,241 (and yes, John Gruber is included in this, though his number may be slightly lower).
It's really irritating when developers approach their audience as sheep to be led rather than customers to be pleased.
I wouldn't say that Gruber et. al treat their users as sheep, I think Jobs was infamous for taking it 'too far'. I think it's just that the level of thinking about design that Apple puts into things is neither necessary nor sufficient for a successful product, but it is treated as such by the old-school Apple developer community.
I don't think the myth was true for Jobs and I definitely don't think it's true for Random Apple Fanboy #2,764,241 (and yes, John Gruber is included in this, though his number may be slightly lower).
It's really irritating when developers approach their audience as sheep to be led rather than customers to be pleased.