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What the iPod tells us about Britain's economic future

15 points by ojbyrne 17y ago

dtf 17y ago
"...after writing my column I’ve received a few emails from readers who have themselves made the switch from finance to manufacturing." Isn't it tradition for those bored of making mega-money in the City to retire into "manufacturing" - the manufacturing in question being invariably that of bourgeois foodstuffs? Organic smoothies; organic hand-reared pig farms; organic gin; organic English sparkling white wine; organic unpasteurized cheese; organic luxury takeaway services; etc etc. Either that or they'll snap up a few struggling restaurants and learn how to cook. It's like they feel dirty after handling all that grubby money and need to get their hands back in the fertile soil to nourish their withered souls.
- Maktab 17y ago
  It could be that many people have a yearning to work with and produce something tangible after all those years of working with abstract columns of numbers. I think we've discussed a similar psychological tendency amongst hackers before as well, in terms of the desire to create things. After all, when given a Lego set most kids build something out of the bricks instead of just laying them out and counting them.
pmorici 17y ago
Wouldn't a more true indicator of economic benefit be the per capita benefit to a countries labor force or something to that effect? If of the $80 that Apple gets from each iPod 90% of that goes into the corporate savings account that really doesn't help out a whole lot of people. On the other hand if that $4 that goes to China goes mostly to the factory workers then that helps out quite a few people. Point being this guy is trying to say that corporate profits are equal to jobs which isn't really the case. One benefits a small group where the other benefits a wider section of society.
- SamAtt 17y ago
  The problem with that logic is that Apple doesn't just put its money in a corporate savings account they invest it (a savings account of any kind would be financial malpractice on the part of the CFO). When you hear about how much money Apple has that isn't their bank balance its their easily liquidated assets (a.k.a. assets that can be turned into cash quickly) Those investments are split into groups depending on their levels of risk but just about every cent gets pumped into the economy in some way. Whether its CDs which guarantee the bank funding so they can give loans or investing in companies which employ people. One way or another that money is active in some way. Companies have CFOs in order to get the best return on their assets and that requires investment (and investment is what fuels an economy)
stcredzero 17y ago
What the iPod tells us about the economic future: Added Value is going to be about design and execution. It's absolutely true that Apple products aren't composed of anything special. It's the particulars of how these things are put together and made to work together that holds the most value. People who are still going over component lists, and insisting that Apple is just a ripoff because you can get the same ingredient list for less elsewhere just don't get the key idea. As our technology for producing stuff advances, even complex components are commoditized. So it's how everything fits together and works which will be the hard part with the big payoff. American car manufacturers had to be schooled by Japanese companies in the last century. Apple is currently schooling Microsoft, and Microsoft is slowly learning. Apple doesn't quite get this when the scope of "how the system works" extends out to include he dynamics of developer communities. What they have with the iPhone and the developer community works better than what's come before, but it can certainly be beat.

15 points by ojbyrne 17y ago

dtf 17y ago

"...after writing my column I’ve received a few emails from readers who have themselves made the switch from finance to manufacturing." Isn't it tradition for those bored of making mega-money in the City to retire into "manufacturing" - the manufacturing in question being invariably that of bourgeois foodstuffs? Organic smoothies; organic hand-reared pig farms; organic gin; organic English sparkling white wine; organic unpasteurized cheese; organic luxury takeaway services; etc etc. Either that or they'll snap up a few struggling restaurants and learn how to cook. It's like they feel dirty after handling all that grubby money and need to get their hands back in the fertile soil to nourish their withered souls.

Maktab 17y ago
It could be that many people have a yearning to work with and produce something tangible after all those years of working with abstract columns of numbers. I think we've discussed a similar psychological tendency amongst hackers before as well, in terms of the desire to create things. After all, when given a Lego set most kids build something out of the bricks instead of just laying them out and counting them.

pmorici 17y ago

Wouldn't a more true indicator of economic benefit be the per capita benefit to a countries labor force or something to that effect? If of the $80 that Apple gets from each iPod 90% of that goes into the corporate savings account that really doesn't help out a whole lot of people. On the other hand if that $4 that goes to China goes mostly to the factory workers then that helps out quite a few people. Point being this guy is trying to say that corporate profits are equal to jobs which isn't really the case. One benefits a small group where the other benefits a wider section of society.

SamAtt 17y ago
The problem with that logic is that Apple doesn't just put its money in a corporate savings account they invest it (a savings account of any kind would be financial malpractice on the part of the CFO). When you hear about how much money Apple has that isn't their bank balance its their easily liquidated assets (a.k.a. assets that can be turned into cash quickly) Those investments are split into groups depending on their levels of risk but just about every cent gets pumped into the economy in some way. Whether its CDs which guarantee the bank funding so they can give loans or investing in companies which employ people. One way or another that money is active in some way. Companies have CFOs in order to get the best return on their assets and that requires investment (and investment is what fuels an economy)

stcredzero 17y ago

What the iPod tells us about the economic future: Added Value is going to be about design and execution. It's absolutely true that Apple products aren't composed of anything special. It's the particulars of how these things are put together and made to work together that holds the most value. People who are still going over component lists, and insisting that Apple is just a ripoff because you can get the same ingredient list for less elsewhere just don't get the key idea. As our technology for producing stuff advances, even complex components are commoditized. So it's how everything fits together and works which will be the hard part with the big payoff. American car manufacturers had to be schooled by Japanese companies in the last century. Apple is currently schooling Microsoft, and Microsoft is slowly learning. Apple doesn't quite get this when the scope of "how the system works" extends out to include he dynamics of developer communities. What they have with the iPhone and the developer community works better than what's come before, but it can certainly be beat.