4 ms·

Bringing personal computing to the masses is pretty important.

by ryanhuff 13y ago

arjie 13y ago
True. It's a pity that Steve Jobs gets credit for essentially the revolution that Wintel brought.
- ryanhuff 13y ago
  Apple brought on the personal computer revolution long before Wintel. Wintel innovated and monopolized.
  - arjie 13y ago
    I'm happy to be corrected, but mass access to computers was something that came not from Apple, IIRC.
    - ryanhuff 13y ago
      I am not sure what you mean by "mass access", but the Apple II was a mass-market personal computer. However, what you might describe as mass-market today is certainly different than in the 1980's, but similarly, the personal computing market size and Wintel's reach during the 1990-2000's will be dwarfed by what mobile computing provides. So its all relative to the market. With that said, Apple introduced computing into the home as a mass market product. Before that, computing was not approachable by non-hobbyists. Everything since has been built upon this revolution. To provide some context, below is a 1983 Time Magazine cover, which illustrates the importance of personal computing even then; before Wintel came to be. Apple wasn't the only player at this time of this cover, but they helped start the revolution lead to the magazine cover. http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html Also, you may find this video interesting, which shows Steve Wozniak walking through the evolution of the Apple computer. Again, all of this occurred before Wintel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84 Edit: Just as an interesting counter-point, this last video sure is prophetic about how you just never know who will try to eat your lunch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-bdwM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-bdwM
      - arjie 13y ago
        Historical point conceded. But if mass market smartphone access is what you're talking about (and I only bring it up because you mentioned it) it won't be apple that made it happen but ZTE and Huawei.
        valleyer 13y ago
        I'm pretty sure he didn't mention "mass-market smartphone access" at all.
        rsynnott 13y ago
        Oh, Apple is rarely (in fact, pretty much never) the one who actually makes the dominant product, but it's hard to imagine that a ZTE smartphone would be much like it is today if the iPhone hadn't transformed that market.
    - richardjordan 13y ago
      no you didn't RC Apple is known as the inventor of the Personal Computer because they, ya know, invented the personal computer in any meaningful sense of the term.
    - Ygg2 13y ago
      I think that Apple did bring mass access to computers, but it was Microsoft that made personal computers a commodity. It's the same situation Apple is now with iPhone, with Android and Firefox commoditizing the mobile phones.
    - rsynnott 13y ago
      You could certainly argue that Apple was the trigger for bringing mass access to computers at least three times; the Apple II heavily inspired what went after, the Mac essentially defined what a UI should be for decades afterward (Xerox had theirs before, but made little effort to introduce it to the consumer, and a lot of Lisa and Mac conceptual additions have persisted), and of course the iPhone created the modern smartphone market.

Bringing personal computing to the masses is pretty important.

arjie 13y ago

True. It's a pity that Steve Jobs gets credit for essentially the revolution that Wintel brought.

ryanhuff 13y ago
Apple brought on the personal computer revolution long before Wintel. Wintel innovated and monopolized.
- arjie 13y ago
  I'm happy to be corrected, but mass access to computers was something that came not from Apple, IIRC.
  - ryanhuff 13y ago
    I am not sure what you mean by "mass access", but the Apple II was a mass-market personal computer. However, what you might describe as mass-market today is certainly different than in the 1980's, but similarly, the personal computing market size and Wintel's reach during the 1990-2000's will be dwarfed by what mobile computing provides. So its all relative to the market. With that said, Apple introduced computing into the home as a mass market product. Before that, computing was not approachable by non-hobbyists. Everything since has been built upon this revolution. To provide some context, below is a 1983 Time Magazine cover, which illustrates the importance of personal computing even then; before Wintel came to be. Apple wasn't the only player at this time of this cover, but they helped start the revolution lead to the magazine cover. http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html Also, you may find this video interesting, which shows Steve Wozniak walking through the evolution of the Apple computer. Again, all of this occurred before Wintel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84 Edit: Just as an interesting counter-point, this last video sure is prophetic about how you just never know who will try to eat your lunch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-bdwM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-bdwM
    - arjie 13y ago
      Historical point conceded. But if mass market smartphone access is what you're talking about (and I only bring it up because you mentioned it) it won't be apple that made it happen but ZTE and Huawei.
      - valleyer 13y ago
        I'm pretty sure he didn't mention "mass-market smartphone access" at all.
      - rsynnott 13y ago
        Oh, Apple is rarely (in fact, pretty much never) the one who actually makes the dominant product, but it's hard to imagine that a ZTE smartphone would be much like it is today if the iPhone hadn't transformed that market.
  - richardjordan 13y ago
    no you didn't RC Apple is known as the inventor of the Personal Computer because they, ya know, invented the personal computer in any meaningful sense of the term.
  - Ygg2 13y ago
    I think that Apple did bring mass access to computers, but it was Microsoft that made personal computers a commodity. It's the same situation Apple is now with iPhone, with Android and Firefox commoditizing the mobile phones.
  - rsynnott 13y ago
    You could certainly argue that Apple was the trigger for bringing mass access to computers at least three times; the Apple II heavily inspired what went after, the Mac essentially defined what a UI should be for decades afterward (Xerox had theirs before, but made little effort to introduce it to the consumer, and a lot of Lisa and Mac conceptual additions have persisted), and of course the iPhone created the modern smartphone market.