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A sentiment that several Apple employees have voiced is: NeXT acquired Apple for negative -$400M That says it all, I think. Apple today is more like a success

A sentiment that several Apple employees have voiced is: NeXT acquired Apple for negative -$400M That says it all, I think. Apple today is more like a successful NeXT than it is like Apple of the 90s.

kunai 13y ago
I don't think I share your sentiment. Apple has always been a consumer-oriented company, whereas NeXT was oriented towards business, educational, and professional use. Apple is still a consumer electronics company, not a professional one. Whatever pro products they used to sell are now obsolete and they don't seem keen on updating them. The only thing that Apple computers share with NeXT machines is the operating system.
- mimiflynn 13y ago
  The MacBook Pro line is still quite popular with professionals, especially developers. With the retina display on the 15inch, it appears to be the best option for a professional laptop available. Is this different from the kinds of 'pro products' you are referring to?
  - kunai 13y ago
    Well, really, a professional desktop is what they're missing, and features in OS X that may have been asking for, such as the latest version of OpenGL, ZFS or a suitable replacement, and better virtual desktop/window management that was crippled with 10.7. It seems as if all "improvements" to OS X are for consumers and "power users," such as Notification Center, Mission Control, porting of iOS apps over to the desktop, etc. There's been no major breakthrough since FileVault 2 was announced, and usability has drastically dropped since 10.6 in favor of kitsch like the stitched iOS apps.
- Samuel_Michon 13y ago
  “The only thing that Apple computers share with NeXT machines is the operating system.” Which is the main reason why people buy a Mac, so yeah, that’s pretty major. Also inherited from the NeXT platform: Objective-C, Cocoa, Xcode, Keynote, WebObjects, and the plan to switch to the x86 architecture. However, what was meant with the quote was that the NeXT folks invaded Apple and took the most influential positions, Steve Jobs of course being the prime example. When Steve Jobs took over at Apple, he got rid of the entire Board of Directors, lots of VPs and other upper management. Some people were promoted from within Apple, but many of the positions were filled by former NeXT employees.
- mikeash 13y ago
  It seems odd to think that a successful NeXT would have somehow behaved differently than the successful Apple, considering that the same man would have been driving either one.

kunai 13y ago

I don't think I share your sentiment. Apple has always been a consumer-oriented company, whereas NeXT was oriented towards business, educational, and professional use. Apple is still a consumer electronics company, not a professional one. Whatever pro products they used to sell are now obsolete and they don't seem keen on updating them. The only thing that Apple computers share with NeXT machines is the operating system.

mimiflynn 13y ago
The MacBook Pro line is still quite popular with professionals, especially developers. With the retina display on the 15inch, it appears to be the best option for a professional laptop available. Is this different from the kinds of 'pro products' you are referring to?
- kunai 13y ago
  Well, really, a professional desktop is what they're missing, and features in OS X that may have been asking for, such as the latest version of OpenGL, ZFS or a suitable replacement, and better virtual desktop/window management that was crippled with 10.7. It seems as if all "improvements" to OS X are for consumers and "power users," such as Notification Center, Mission Control, porting of iOS apps over to the desktop, etc. There's been no major breakthrough since FileVault 2 was announced, and usability has drastically dropped since 10.6 in favor of kitsch like the stitched iOS apps.
Samuel_Michon 13y ago
“The only thing that Apple computers share with NeXT machines is the operating system.” Which is the main reason why people buy a Mac, so yeah, that’s pretty major. Also inherited from the NeXT platform: Objective-C, Cocoa, Xcode, Keynote, WebObjects, and the plan to switch to the x86 architecture. However, what was meant with the quote was that the NeXT folks invaded Apple and took the most influential positions, Steve Jobs of course being the prime example. When Steve Jobs took over at Apple, he got rid of the entire Board of Directors, lots of VPs and other upper management. Some people were promoted from within Apple, but many of the positions were filled by former NeXT employees.
mikeash 13y ago
It seems odd to think that a successful NeXT would have somehow behaved differently than the successful Apple, considering that the same man would have been driving either one.