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But how much value is there to the user? I think Apple's biggest innovation is right there - that the checkbox mentality of marketing computers was in its heyd

by ojbyrne 16y ago

But how much value is there to the user? I think Apple's biggest innovation is right there - that the checkbox mentality of marketing computers was in its heyday when Computer Shopper was 1500 pages every month, and has long passed. Now people value - quality of the experience - having everything work the same - user-centric software - standards-driven software I have 3 macs, but I also have 2 windows machines, and I much prefer the mac experience. I like that I have unix, and a apt-like package manager, rather than some windows "innovation." I like that I can print PDFs out of the box, rather than having to deal with some shareware. I basically feel like windows has now managed to require more "sysadmin-ing" than unix, somehow. I keep the PCs for games. And that's about it.

bad_user 16y ago
> the checkbox mentality of marketing computers was in its heyday when Computer Shopper was 1500 pages every month That's not true ... I see lots of people still thinking about the best configuration for them, asking friends, searching on google, doing comparisons. Companies like HP / Dell are still using checkboxes because it is a marketing strategy that still works for more than 90% of consumers. And BTW ... Apple does not emphasize on experience, but rather on fashion. > I like that I have unix, and a apt-like package manager Yeah, that's pretty cool, but MacPorts is a far cry from being apt-like.
CodeMage 16y ago
Actually, there's a whole lot of value to the user, but it's not necessarily something that most users know about. The innovations in the semiconductor industry that allow you to get faster clock cycle frequently allow you to do many other things you couldn't before. Devices like iPhone wouldn't exist without that kind of innovation. Everyone seems to be dismissing the article because it talks about hardware instead of software. But with Apple you can't really separate hardware from software, because their brand is about bundling them together. If you allow Apple to monopolize the market, then they have a lot bigger say when it comes to deciding the future of hardware, which could have serious impact on innovation in hardware.

by ojbyrne 16y ago

bad_user 16y ago

> the checkbox mentality of marketing computers was in its heyday when Computer Shopper was 1500 pages every month That's not true ... I see lots of people still thinking about the best configuration for them, asking friends, searching on google, doing comparisons. Companies like HP / Dell are still using checkboxes because it is a marketing strategy that still works for more than 90% of consumers. And BTW ... Apple does not emphasize on experience, but rather on fashion. > I like that I have unix, and a apt-like package manager Yeah, that's pretty cool, but MacPorts is a far cry from being apt-like.

CodeMage 16y ago

Actually, there's a whole lot of value to the user, but it's not necessarily something that most users know about. The innovations in the semiconductor industry that allow you to get faster clock cycle frequently allow you to do many other things you couldn't before. Devices like iPhone wouldn't exist without that kind of innovation. Everyone seems to be dismissing the article because it talks about hardware instead of software. But with Apple you can't really separate hardware from software, because their brand is about bundling them together. If you allow Apple to monopolize the market, then they have a lot bigger say when it comes to deciding the future of hardware, which could have serious impact on innovation in hardware.