3 ms·

I remember reading this (on paper) in the 90s in college. It came across as worthless idiot blather then, as it does now with the benefit of hindsight. 1.

by veidr 12y ago

I remember reading this (on paper) in the 90s in college. It came across as worthless idiot blather then, as it does now with the benefit of hindsight. 1. Admit it. You're out of the hardware game. Outsource your hardware production, or scrap it entirely, to compete more directly with Microsoft without the liability of manufacturing boxes. Wronger words than that have rarely been spoken.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Apple has definitely outsourced hardware production (as has the rest of the industry, mostly). I don't understand what your point is.
- veidr 12y ago
  In the context of that article, 'outsource' meant letting other companies (such as the short-lived Mac clone maker Power Computing) manufacture hardware while Apple just licensed the software. (But also, the very best Macs, which command the highest prices, are currently made at Apple's facility in Austin, TX.)
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    The Mac Pros are assembled in Austin because they are high value and low volume (just like DELL still assembles servers nearby in round rock). At any rate, 2014 is very different from 1997, and outsourcing has become ubiquitous, just not exactly in the way that was foreseen.
  - mhurron 12y ago
    > currently made at Apple's facility in Austin, TX Assembled in the US, not made. It's cheaper to ship boxes from China, where they were made, full of components that stack than it is to ship assembled products that leave a bunch of empty space. And under US regulations you still get to slap a 'Made in the USA' sticker on it and charge even more.
- sixothree 12y ago
  I think this item means stop designing, building, and selling hardware. This article is from a time when all PCs were third party clones of IBM PC yet there was breakneck innovation happening. Apple had toyed with licensing hardware. Regardless I think they did realize that they were competitively out of the hardware game and eventually doubled down instead of folding.

by veidr 12y ago

seanmcdirmid 12y ago

Apple has definitely outsourced hardware production (as has the rest of the industry, mostly). I don't understand what your point is.

veidr 12y ago
In the context of that article, 'outsource' meant letting other companies (such as the short-lived Mac clone maker Power Computing) manufacture hardware while Apple just licensed the software. (But also, the very best Macs, which command the highest prices, are currently made at Apple's facility in Austin, TX.)
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  The Mac Pros are assembled in Austin because they are high value and low volume (just like DELL still assembles servers nearby in round rock). At any rate, 2014 is very different from 1997, and outsourcing has become ubiquitous, just not exactly in the way that was foreseen.
- mhurron 12y ago
  > currently made at Apple's facility in Austin, TX Assembled in the US, not made. It's cheaper to ship boxes from China, where they were made, full of components that stack than it is to ship assembled products that leave a bunch of empty space. And under US regulations you still get to slap a 'Made in the USA' sticker on it and charge even more.
sixothree 12y ago
I think this item means stop designing, building, and selling hardware. This article is from a time when all PCs were third party clones of IBM PC yet there was breakneck innovation happening. Apple had toyed with licensing hardware. Regardless I think they did realize that they were competitively out of the hardware game and eventually doubled down instead of folding.