4 ms·

So I presume you have started a company based around your ideals? I think people don't realize that there is no magic fairy dust at 1 Infinite Loop. Apple's suc

So I presume you have started a company based around your ideals? I think people don't realize that there is no magic fairy dust at 1 Infinite Loop. Apple's success is really quite easy to reproduce. It only takes one thing: guts!

glhaynes 16y ago
Well... and talent and taste and opportunity.
- Kilimanjaro 16y ago
  Taste, above all.
  - IdeaHamster 16y ago
    Taste is nothing without the balls to follow through even when everyone thinks you're crazy.
potatolicious 16y ago
> "Apple's success is really quite easy to reproduce." I doubt this... They're not unbeatable, but let's be honest, a lot of money has been thrown at the "kill Apple" by some very large players with a lot of money and experience. No one has done it yet - I'm not convinced it's really simply a matter of determination.
- froo 16y ago
  I really think the reason why people haven't done it is they're trying to compete on Apple's terms. Palm trying to out-iPhone the iPhone, Microsoft trying to out-iPod the iPod, both of which weren't successful on the same level. You either need to transcend their technology (which is difficult given the positive brand experience that Apple has) or compete in different fields to truly beat them. This just hasn't happened yet.
  - josefresco 16y ago
    Or they could mount a full-frontal assault like Google is and attack the iPhone from every angle with an open platform. Palm was a small fish, Google, not so much.
- jimbokun 16y ago
  "Kill Apple" is a poor goal. One of the first things Steve Jobs said upon returning to Apple was "We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose." http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html Instead, try to make things people want.
  - jarek 16y ago
    > Instead, try to make things people want. Because, considering human nature, that is a much better defined and more static goal than "kill Apple."
    - jballanc 16y ago
      Are a human? Do you work on a product that you would want to buy from yourself? Seems like a pretty easy target if you ask me... (hint: you're not as unique as you think, and that's a good thing!)
  - crosvenir 16y ago
    A very interesting quote, seeing as I seem to always be told what I want and if I don't then buy/develop for something else.
- jballanc 16y ago
  Money != determination Look at Zune -- First generation was ugly (eh, that's a personal opinion), but it had some features the iPod didn't. Second generation cleaned up the design a bit, was at least competitive on price, and had a feature that iPod's still to this day don't have: the ability to sync wirelessly... ...but was Microsoft ever really that into Zune? I mean, they made one strong push at the start, but then what? Microsoft is such a schizophrenic company these days. If they were really determined, I think they could've beaten Apple. But, then, if they were really determined I think they'd have to do something radical...like change their name. I mean, come on! Microsoft? That's so...80s! Sure, changing their name would mean throwing away practically priceless brand identity, but I'll bet you it would improve their ability to compete with Apple in the consumer electronics market. What's that you say? They'd be stupid to toss the brand behind their Windows/Office monopoly just to compete in consumer electronics? Well, maybe...maybe they don't really want to kill the iPod...maybe the Zune was a half-hearted, ultimately misguided attempt... ...maybe they don't have the guts. I did hear about this one company that changed its name and abandoned the best selling personal music player so that they could introduce a new model with less capacity at a higher price because they believed that flash technology was better than mini-hardrives and then held their announce their annual developers' conference wouldn't cover their operating system even as sales of it are better then they've ever been before... GUTS!
  - jarek 16y ago
    I don't think dropping "Computer" from "Apple Computer, Inc." is really a dramatic change that takes guts. Anyway, Microsoft is a soft and pretty easy target. Your critique of Google's efforts with Android, please?
    - blasdel 16y ago
      Android wasn't gutsy at all: they hired the original Sidekick developers that were already most of the way through developing a bastard medley of other failed platforms on top of a bludgeoned Linux kernel. Palm's WebOS and HP's acquisition of them are gutsy. Google's development of ChromeOS is gutsy. Android ain't. The Android team did most of what they could to repeat all the mistakes of NewtonOS (app transclusion), the Sidekick (mandatory incomplete instant OTA-only sync), and classic Windows Mobile (total fealty to fractious manufacturers and carriers) — and then they added some of their own absurd retardation on top of that (like anything to do with the SD card, Dalvik, OpenBinder, etc.).

glhaynes 16y ago

Well... and talent and taste and opportunity.

Kilimanjaro 16y ago
Taste, above all.
- IdeaHamster 16y ago
  Taste is nothing without the balls to follow through even when everyone thinks you're crazy.

potatolicious 16y ago

> "Apple's success is really quite easy to reproduce." I doubt this... They're not unbeatable, but let's be honest, a lot of money has been thrown at the "kill Apple" by some very large players with a lot of money and experience. No one has done it yet - I'm not convinced it's really simply a matter of determination.

froo 16y ago
I really think the reason why people haven't done it is they're trying to compete on Apple's terms. Palm trying to out-iPhone the iPhone, Microsoft trying to out-iPod the iPod, both of which weren't successful on the same level. You either need to transcend their technology (which is difficult given the positive brand experience that Apple has) or compete in different fields to truly beat them. This just hasn't happened yet.
- josefresco 16y ago
  Or they could mount a full-frontal assault like Google is and attack the iPhone from every angle with an open platform. Palm was a small fish, Google, not so much.
jimbokun 16y ago
"Kill Apple" is a poor goal. One of the first things Steve Jobs said upon returning to Apple was "We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose." http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html Instead, try to make things people want.
- jarek 16y ago
  > Instead, try to make things people want. Because, considering human nature, that is a much better defined and more static goal than "kill Apple."
  - jballanc 16y ago
    Are a human? Do you work on a product that you would want to buy from yourself? Seems like a pretty easy target if you ask me... (hint: you're not as unique as you think, and that's a good thing!)
- crosvenir 16y ago
  A very interesting quote, seeing as I seem to always be told what I want and if I don't then buy/develop for something else.
jballanc 16y ago
Money != determination Look at Zune -- First generation was ugly (eh, that's a personal opinion), but it had some features the iPod didn't. Second generation cleaned up the design a bit, was at least competitive on price, and had a feature that iPod's still to this day don't have: the ability to sync wirelessly... ...but was Microsoft ever really that into Zune? I mean, they made one strong push at the start, but then what? Microsoft is such a schizophrenic company these days. If they were really determined, I think they could've beaten Apple. But, then, if they were really determined I think they'd have to do something radical...like change their name. I mean, come on! Microsoft? That's so...80s! Sure, changing their name would mean throwing away practically priceless brand identity, but I'll bet you it would improve their ability to compete with Apple in the consumer electronics market. What's that you say? They'd be stupid to toss the brand behind their Windows/Office monopoly just to compete in consumer electronics? Well, maybe...maybe they don't really want to kill the iPod...maybe the Zune was a half-hearted, ultimately misguided attempt... ...maybe they don't have the guts. I did hear about this one company that changed its name and abandoned the best selling personal music player so that they could introduce a new model with less capacity at a higher price because they believed that flash technology was better than mini-hardrives and then held their announce their annual developers' conference wouldn't cover their operating system even as sales of it are better then they've ever been before... GUTS!
- jarek 16y ago
  I don't think dropping "Computer" from "Apple Computer, Inc." is really a dramatic change that takes guts. Anyway, Microsoft is a soft and pretty easy target. Your critique of Google's efforts with Android, please?
  - blasdel 16y ago
    Android wasn't gutsy at all: they hired the original Sidekick developers that were already most of the way through developing a bastard medley of other failed platforms on top of a bludgeoned Linux kernel. Palm's WebOS and HP's acquisition of them are gutsy. Google's development of ChromeOS is gutsy. Android ain't. The Android team did most of what they could to repeat all the mistakes of NewtonOS (app transclusion), the Sidekick (mandatory incomplete instant OTA-only sync), and classic Windows Mobile (total fealty to fractious manufacturers and carriers) — and then they added some of their own absurd retardation on top of that (like anything to do with the SD card, Dalvik, OpenBinder, etc.).