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I noticed you answered my question by asking another question. You bring up an interesting point and I'll answer it; however, I'd appreciate it if you returned

by kdsudac 14y ago

I noticed you answered my question by asking another question. You bring up an interesting point and I'll answer it; however, I'd appreciate it if you returned the favor and gave me a straight-forward answer to my question. Q: And how much was it that suppliers were being pushed by Apple into being 'innovative'? Would anyone be producing laptop size retina panels if not for Apple's demand? How long would we have waited for retina laptops if we had to rely on HP, Dell, etc.? A: I have no facts on this and probably only LG and Apple insiders really know. If I had to guess I'd say: LG has been in the display business for decades and have had a long R&D program to research how to make better displays. They (and other companies) figured out how to make very high-res displays at a cheaper price (i.e. they innovated). LG then shopped the technology to several suppliers. HP, Dell, etc. were interested but knew that such a product wasn't a good fit for their product mix and would be too expensive for their typical customer. Apple saw the opportunity (kudos to them) and are able to command a premium price from consumers so they locked up a deal with LG. Did Apple innovate? Personally, I'd just say they saw a market opportunity and ran with it. I guess the real point of difference here is how far we can/need/should stretch the word innovate. To put a twist on your metahphor: Your boss comes to you and says "hey if you can make X go 10 times faster for 50% less, they'll sell like crazy" You then spend a couple weeks figuring out how to achieve that goal. Does that mean he innovated by seeing a market need and setting a goal? No, he saw a market need and deserves a pat on the back for that. You innovated a solution and deserve a pat on the back for that.

pvidler 14y ago
I answered with a question because no-one here is in a position to actually answer any of these questions -- it all really hangs on what was said and done behind the scenes; I'm just playing devil's advocate and providing an alternative point of view. My opinion is that upping the max. resolution for a graphics card is neither especially innovative nor difficult (early reports seem to show that the chip is not really fast enough for it anyway -- see the review on anandtech). While producing a 15" retina display may be more difficult than a 10" model, it seems to me that it's more of a yield and cost issue (but perhaps there's a lot more involved). On the other hand, having the vision (okay, the deep pockets also help) to get all these previously non-existent pieces together, and to get it working with reasonable battery life and heat, could be seen as innovative -- if any part of the MBPwRD is. (The redesigned fan is actually my favourite part -- I hate whining high-pitched laptop fans). As for your final example -- there doesn't seem to be any innovation in it at all? Innovation is about coming up with something new. Let's change it a little -- suppose your boss came up with a complete idea for a genuinely new web app and asks you to build it; much of the innovation is his, in my opinion. If you do something genuinely new in the implementation, then you may also be innovating. I guess my point is that (I believe that) the product can be innovative even if the parts aren't, and especially if they are.

by kdsudac 14y ago

pvidler 14y ago

I answered with a question because no-one here is in a position to actually answer any of these questions -- it all really hangs on what was said and done behind the scenes; I'm just playing devil's advocate and providing an alternative point of view. My opinion is that upping the max. resolution for a graphics card is neither especially innovative nor difficult (early reports seem to show that the chip is not really fast enough for it anyway -- see the review on anandtech). While producing a 15" retina display may be more difficult than a 10" model, it seems to me that it's more of a yield and cost issue (but perhaps there's a lot more involved). On the other hand, having the vision (okay, the deep pockets also help) to get all these previously non-existent pieces together, and to get it working with reasonable battery life and heat, could be seen as innovative -- if any part of the MBPwRD is. (The redesigned fan is actually my favourite part -- I hate whining high-pitched laptop fans). As for your final example -- there doesn't seem to be any innovation in it at all? Innovation is about coming up with something new. Let's change it a little -- suppose your boss came up with a complete idea for a genuinely new web app and asks you to build it; much of the innovation is his, in my opinion. If you do something genuinely new in the implementation, then you may also be innovating. I guess my point is that (I believe that) the product can be innovative even if the parts aren't, and especially if they are.