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Creativity and innovation don't necessarily scale linearly with size. You can have loads of money and loads of employees but that doesn't automatically mean you

Creativity and innovation don't necessarily scale linearly with size. You can have loads of money and loads of employees but that doesn't automatically mean you have the best products. Plenty of big companies stagnate and decline after long periods of growth - as companies grow, corporate structures get convoluted, inefficiencies arise.

zelos 8y ago
Does it really require creativity to replace the CPU in the Mac Mini? Presumably Apple has looked at a lot of these issues and decided the return on investment isn't worth it.
- toyg 8y ago
  In isolation, maybe. But there is a goodwill element that is very hard to gain and very easy to lose. Keeping the MacMini competitive, even at a slight loss, would ensure people keep a certain category of projects in the Apple ecosystem; goodwill levels would stay high and ensure people keep buying profitable iPhones and iPads. It looks to me like Cook still lacks a certain vision for the ecosystem at large. He can clearly make individual products extremely profitable, but he can't really tie them all together in a coherent manner -- at least not on the techie side. He has a very good feeling for the consumer market, but a pretty bad one for the geeky niches. And the software is getting terrible -- typical for a traditional electronics company, which is what he's turning Apple into.
  - zelos 8y ago
    Yes, I think you're right: I suspect it may be short term thinking to some extent on Apple's part. I know I'm considering trying to leave the ecosystem because there's no upgrade for my Mac Mini.
    - Reason077 8y ago
      Have you considered a Hackintosh?
      - zelos 8y ago
        Yes, I occasionally go look at the guides on Hackintoshes, but the difficulty with macOS upgrades puts me off.
- hirup 8y ago
  Operating systems are sticky. If there is no up-to-date Mac hardware when I want a new computer, I will switch to Windows/Linux and not come back. Apple's strategy is one for slowly killing the Mac (but they can't intend that because they keep pumping out new versions of macOS like clockwork). I can't detect any logic in what Apple is doing.
occams_chainsaw 8y ago
I'd argue that, by default, companies slow in innovation and creativity with size. It takes a special culture and constant effort to stave off the ossification that comes with growth

zelos 8y ago

Does it really require creativity to replace the CPU in the Mac Mini? Presumably Apple has looked at a lot of these issues and decided the return on investment isn't worth it.

toyg 8y ago
In isolation, maybe. But there is a goodwill element that is very hard to gain and very easy to lose. Keeping the MacMini competitive, even at a slight loss, would ensure people keep a certain category of projects in the Apple ecosystem; goodwill levels would stay high and ensure people keep buying profitable iPhones and iPads. It looks to me like Cook still lacks a certain vision for the ecosystem at large. He can clearly make individual products extremely profitable, but he can't really tie them all together in a coherent manner -- at least not on the techie side. He has a very good feeling for the consumer market, but a pretty bad one for the geeky niches. And the software is getting terrible -- typical for a traditional electronics company, which is what he's turning Apple into.
- zelos 8y ago
  Yes, I think you're right: I suspect it may be short term thinking to some extent on Apple's part. I know I'm considering trying to leave the ecosystem because there's no upgrade for my Mac Mini.
  - Reason077 8y ago
    Have you considered a Hackintosh?
    - zelos 8y ago
      Yes, I occasionally go look at the guides on Hackintoshes, but the difficulty with macOS upgrades puts me off.
hirup 8y ago
Operating systems are sticky. If there is no up-to-date Mac hardware when I want a new computer, I will switch to Windows/Linux and not come back. Apple's strategy is one for slowly killing the Mac (but they can't intend that because they keep pumping out new versions of macOS like clockwork). I can't detect any logic in what Apple is doing.

occams_chainsaw 8y ago

I'd argue that, by default, companies slow in innovation and creativity with size. It takes a special culture and constant effort to stave off the ossification that comes with growth