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> PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around. They’re still going to have a lot of value. But they’re going to be used by one out of x pe
by MrRage 16y ago
> PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around. They’re still going to have a lot of value. But they’re going to be used by one out of x people
Boy, you can tell Jobs lives in a bubble, or else he would know this truck metaphor is shaky. Lots of people buy trucks, they just don't live where Jobs lives.
- ugh 16y agoOk, help me out there. I don’t know a single person who ever bought a truck. I live in a small town in Germany. Am I out living in a bubble? (That quote is missing some context, maybe that’s were the confusion stems from. He was talking about cars in the US being used in predominantly agricultural contexts in the beginning and the change away from those “trucks” to leaner cars. He did not say that nobody buys trucks anymore. In fact, just that was his point.)
- MrRage 16y agoThe context is trucks and SUVs (which are technically trucks) are wildly popular in the US, but less so in some areas like on the West coast. This remains true in large cities, i.e. it's not just a rural thing.
- dasil003 16y agoLots of people will buy PCs too... what's shaky? The editorializing of the article? That's rabid hype, not Jobs' opinion.
- MrRage 16y agoFull disclosure: I live in Texas so I see lots of trucks. First it's clear that lots of people buy trucks. But from my experience only a fraction of the people who buy trucks actual use them to any extent. That is people buy them for commuting and as a status symbol. I rarely see a truck with anything in the bed or with scratches and dirt from being used to do work. So what's shaky is I took this truck analogy with PCs to mean that PCs will be around and useful but only to "professionals". This may be the case with PCs in the future, I'm not arguing that. But I don't think that's true of people who buy trucks. Yes farmers and construction people use trucks, but they're really in the minority of truck drivers. And this is not even considering SUVs which are really just trucks without a bed. My understanding is they're manufactured with the same frame and engines, and are considered trucks by regulators (so they have laxer safety regulations).
- dasil003 16y agoDid Jobs say only professionals would buy them? No, he simply said there are more cars than trucks on the road, and that is true even in Texas (I lived 3 years in New Mexico). Also, FWIW, Jobs lives in a bubble in California, but Texas is also a bubble, by choice even (eg. energy grid). It's obvious the guy understands consumers the world over, so it's sort of ridiculous to paint him as some sort of out-of-touch California elitist.