Macintosh at 25: Still the innovation leader
On January 24, 1984, the Macintosh came into the world, starting the second major revolution in the personal computer industry. Steve Jobs and team took some lessons from Xerox PARC and created the first user-friendly, mass market computer.
By today's standards, it wasn't that user-friendly (some will remember disk-swapping with the original Mac, which had 128KB of RAM and a 400KB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive), but compared with Microsoft's DOS operating system, it was a major technical innovation.
The Macintosh at 25: 1984 - 2009.
The 128K Mac version of the graphical user interface, with icons, fonts, folders, audio and a mouse, started a new era of computing that hasn't yet run its full course. MacPaint, MacWrite, and eventually LaserWriter, PageMaker, and Photoshop led to a revolution in desktop publishing, and AppleTalk made networking relatively simple.
The Macintosh introduced typography to personal computers.
(Credit: Susan Kare)
After nearly 25 years, the Macintosh and its offspring, such as the iPod and iPhone, are still leading in terms of setting the pace for innovation. Mac sales climbed over the past several years, but still represent a small portion of overall PC sales and have slowed down recently. The iPod holds market share in its category and the iPhone has set a new standard for smart phones.
With the annual Macworld conference approaching, and Steve Jobs declining to participate in the proceedings, expectations are low for any major announcements.
Of course, the Mac fan sites and blogs are full of speculation about Steve Jobs' health, a new Mac Mini and iMac, a quad-core Mac laptop, new home servers, a cloud-based version of the iWork suite of applications, an iPod e-book reader, and a Netbook with a 7- to 9-inch screen.
Whatever Apple announces at Macworld, without Jobs spinning his reality distortion field onstage, the result will be less impactful. Nonetheless, don't expect the Mac faithful to walk away from Macworld without something to satisfy their cravings.
Dan Farber is editor in chief of CBS Interactive News, which includes CBSNews.com and CNET News. He has more than 25 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. E-mail Dan. 
"So what part of Darwin do you figure to be "closed"? Do tell us... "
The commenter didn't mention Darwin- you did. Please do not put words in other people's mouths.
Perhaps they were referrring to the hardware? Or the OS being locked to the hardware? Here's a question- why doesn't Apple allow people to install their OS on non-Apple hardware? Why do they lock it to that hardware alone? That is one definition of a closed system. Microsoft, Linux, BSD- heck, even OS2 doesn't require you to run on only their OEM-branded hardware. Only closed systems like Apple and SGI do this.
Just a thought. When you make assumptions as you did, it only causes confusion and results in misunderstandings. Try going for more of an open mind in 2009.
The reason they do that is because they are a hardware company. they make a premium on the hardware that pays for the price of the software. Really How could you expect Mac OSX to be sold for $129, or their Iwork suite being $79, in contrast to about $300 dollars for Microsoft equivalents. Dont tell me about linux. If you dont know there is money involved you are being either blind or naive. That money just generally does not come out of the consumers pocket. Their development costs are very minimal because other people do most of the developing. Then they make their money from licensing fees from other computer manufacturers who want to use their software. Or those cds they sell for people with slow internet connection. So you see they are all companies. They make money using different business plans. Saying why does Apple only allow their software on their computers is like saying why doesn't McDonnalds get into the Fine Dinning business. They have different buisness plans, set-ups, and it just is not practical.
@markdoiron - OS X has always been able to use two-button mice since 10.0. Apple did create a two button mouse about 2 years ago (technically a 3 button mouse with the squeeze buttons). It's also one of the more innovative mice I've seen. http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
Meanwhile, getting at the source code for Windows ("shared source") requires a truckload of $$$ (about six to seven figures), and you have to bury yourself in NDA's before they let you see it. That's about as closed as it gets.
My 7 button mouse is so much more awesome than the (not so) mighty mouse
Mac OS isn't locked to the hardware
Hackintosh works
is it illegal to install it nonapple hardware==yes
what's stopping one from doing it==nothing
Correct. OS X isn't locked (technically) to the hardware.
Hackintosh does work. Not as simple as just installing OS X and not everything works every time. Installing it on non-Apple isn't illegal in and of itself. It's a violation of a contract, the EULA and absolves Apple of any support for whatever system it's installed on. The end results I've seen are, yes it's running, kind of. And, careful about applying those updates.
Mac'in for 25 Years
'Wow! I remember my collegue had a Mac, and I hated her because she put the files to delete in the Trash and I had a PC so I had to end the application I was using, go in DOS and manually delete the file'. No comment...
I'm 14 and I can't really see this big change, but yes, 60 years ago half of the world was in war, 40 years ago computers were quite common, 20 years ago the first mobile phones were invented, what will there be in 2020? Holograms?
Technology does go fast, maybe too fast! In 2050 we might all be sitting in automotive chairs ordering everything via internet and recieving everything at home...
I think technology will totally change society, as it is today.
When one asks the question "Why does Apple get all the buzz?," you also have to ask "Why does the Wii, the Flip Video, TiVo, and other straightforward, enjoyable technology products also get that buzz, when there are plenty of competitors to those that have more features/power/nerdgasm-potential?"
It's as much about what's left out as what's put in. And for what's put in, it's about putting the effort into making it "just right" for the maximum amount of people--not just those who are out on the bleeding edge.
"Windows has some unique features as do some PCs, but why not the buzz? "
Oh, that's easy. It's the fans and their religious leader, Steve Jobs. PC's are used by people who use a computer as a computer, not a life experience. It's not a religious experience either. Jobs has done a fantastic job of building up a zombie army of people who believe anything that he says and will buy whatever Apple puts out regardless of the quality or usability. They will then defend that decision by Apple to the ends of the earth against all logic and reason. Even when faced with the simple truth that they might be wrong, they go off on a tirade and shout louder.
That's the sad turth. "Apple fans" are zealots, pure and smple. They generate a lot of buzz by themselves. It's about the lifestyle, not the actual product.
Think of it this way- There are people who love Porches and have plenty fo fan clubs for them. That's a fan based product.
Now think of a Ford Taurus. Oh, you might find a few clubs out there that mod them, but it's the generic car of governments and everyday use. It just works and isn't exciting or glitzy like the Porsche. That doesn't mean it's an inferior car- it's just not the same market.
I'm an Apple fan. Not because it's a "religious symbol" for me, but because I'm a sysadmin that has to support Windows and OS X on a daily basis. The Macs I've supported literally "just work" and with their Unix subsystem they are absolutely more stable and secure. Do they have problems occasionally, sure, but those issues are hugely far between and rarely require more than a few minutes of hands on work.
As far as the car comparison I have to disagree. There's a viable philosophy of "Quality vs. Quantity", being that if you buy quality you will spend less in the long run (meaning more value) because the quality product has a longer lifespan as the quantity product. The concept applies just as well to computers as it does to anything else and in my experience has proven true every time I've taken the "Quantity" route. The government chooses the "Quantity" route because of budgetary limitations.
Saying that "fan clubs" that build up around such products exist simply on zealous fervor is a broad statement. That makes the assumption that there are no logical bases for such followings to develop. In defense of Apple Fans (Not the "everything else sucks, OS X rulez, etc., etc." Fan Bois) that same "Quality" concept is a perfectly legitimate base for such a following. Hence, my love for the Apple product base.
Its most innovative feature was the "software update server", which has cost companies in profits from $500 -> $10000, as it happily chewed up hundreds of gigs of bandwidth in a month or so (there have been numerous reports of such throughout). Oh wait, but their magic unix base will stop that right? Ha. Because obviously something that uses /bin for applications makes so much sense to end users..
I'd give its second best feature to my favorite, their fax modem driver. Apple is the only company I know of that has released driver software for a modem which not only crashes their own production-ready OS, but a server consisting of 100% of their own hardware too (and they only ever released 1 fax modem model, so its not because there were so many drivers to cover).
And their only decent hardware recently has been their imac's. First model of Macbook pro, nearly all failed within 3 weeks, so apple discreetly refreshed them with a fixed model. The updated model Macbook pro's simply overheated, and barely surviving. And now, Apple is innovating with their new Macbook Pro's. They have included 2 video cards that cant be switched without rebooting, and unlike their competitor, can't currently be used in SLI mode, making it a waste of silicon. But people just see the specs and go "wow, 2 vid cards, amazing". Yes, if you are clueless about other hardware it is...
And its great how OSX leopard introduces radius support.. which barely works.. And split tunnels, only as of 10.5. In 10.4, file sharing barely ever worked well.. The network list never worked. As an admin that was great eh?
Its easy to "innovate", when not much time is wasted on QA. Neither Microsoft or even linux companies would get away with the crap people let Apple get away with. If Microsoft released server software where nothing worked, it would be all over the internet, but somehow, Apple does it, and admins don't care, and are happy to workaround it (probably because windows server wont run natively on an Xserve, and so nobody wants to waste the hardware).
Sorry, but I quit my job because I was sick of Apple's QA. When they get things back in order, then I might return to OSX server (the promised features are REALLY nice, if they worked). But obviously, you aren't managing anything serious (or are using 3rd party configuration applications) if you honestly believe that OSX is that great.
Don't even get me started on their remote desktop tool (on many xserve's, VNC would never work without rebooting the VNC daemon)....
A few years back I had it out and played around with it. It takes a long time to get the OS going, but getting MacWrite or MacPaint running is fun. Airborne! (First game with digitized sound) was/is lots of fun.
Stu, I don't know what you are talking about. You can run windows nicely on a modern mac.... I think you can even run osX on a PC with some effort.
When the control freak left for a few years, Apple went into a tail spin. Glad to see S.J. back making magic in Cupertino.
I'm running Windows in Boot Camp and in Parallels as well depending on my "Windows" needs. You can run OS X on a PC, but it does require quite a bit of effort. There's a huge "Hackintosh" following out there making this happen.
I'm glad SJ is back too. I'm curious to see who takes his place when/if he retires.
still working, rarely use it though, I have a faster box
PC users usually throw their PC away before the end of its lifespan
1) Bootcamp is basically drivers. Nothing special about it. Apple forced users to pay for a copy of OSX Leopard for Bootcamp. No other manufacturer would charge their users for drivers
2) 802.11n enabler.. Was basically a atheros 802.11n driver for OSX. Nobody else charges for stuff like that. In fact, using the official atheros drivers got you 802.11n support in windows FOR FREE!
3) No comment on hackintoshes.. But their legality is questionable
Maybe Bootcamp - it first came out in beta before 10.5 ("Leopard"). 10.5 was the first version of OS X that *came with* Bootcamp, but you still can download it for 10.4 ("Tiger"). Drivers are part of the OS and have nothing to do with the ability to boot winblows, but winblows does require BIOS to pull itself up. OS X uses EFI.
How you managed to spin that into "charge their users for drivers" is beyond me.
1) The EFI->bios wrapper is part of a firmware update. And with it, you can install any normal OS, EVEN WITHOUT Bootcamp. Its no good being able to boot windows though, when half the hardware barely works.
2) Without bootcamp, you cant create a driver CD for windows. And from experience (at least in the past), many of the vendor official drivers had issues with some of the hardware, which is why you need the apple ones.
3) Also, without a driver CD, features like "eject" don't function (as they need helper software).
4) Check the download for bootcamp. You'll notice IT'S MISSING!! That was because it was a TRIAL beta. The only way to use the betas is to turn back the system clock. Yes the windows side works, but the OSX side will simply tell you the beta has expired.
5) In the beta you can't install updated drivers.
6) So therefore to keep up to date drivers, you require borrowing a boot camp CD off someone (which probably isn't legal). Or, to BUY leopard. There is no way to legally use the official windows drivers without owning a copy of leopard. So yes, Apple is charging. You may not like to interpret it that way, but thats the reality.
7) I notice you don't mention 802.11n enabler. Maybe thats because ignoring it is best for your argument. Once again, thats a OSX 802.11n driver basically.. Nothing special (nobody else charges for 802.11n support). Oh wait though, next you'll be telling me its a firmware update? (btw, it wasn't, as there were ways to get 802.11n working in other OS's without it).
If you are going to argue mate, get your facts right! Don't attack people claiming they are spreading fud unless you are 100% sure of what you are talking about.. I used to admin OSX networks (composed of 100% OSX computers INCLUDING servers), as a part of my job!
Invented the PC. Nope.
Invented the mouse. Nope.
Invented the GUI. Nope.
Invented the MP3 Player. Nope.
Invented the PDA...maybe.
Inveneted a touch screen interface. Nope.
What Apple has done was some great design. They did a better PC with the Apple. They did a better touch interface. They did a better GUI.
You lose again.
That`s why PC`s rule. We just go to Frys and pop in the latest technology like Blu-Ray and i7 (Nehalem) while Apple dribbles out overpriced , crippled products ;)
The iphone is a good example. There's not a single new technology in the device, and it, in fact, lacks a lot of features other, better smartphones have. What it does right, though, is assemble well worn technologies like a camera, web browser, and a touchscreen, and wrap them in an attractive case and a nice looking UI and call it an innovation. Nevermind that the camera sucks, lacks a flash, that it lacks 3g, that the keyboard is utterly frustrating to use, the lack of an SD slot, the inability to change the devices battery, and innumerable other flaws and problems. You still have mac fanboys slavering over something that's been done numerous times before, and done better, because the UI looks nice and the case is slim. And, not only does it not innovate, lack in features, and have a myriad of design flaws, but it also costs more than comperable products, and is locked to one carrier, unless you hack it, which might end you up with a bricked phone.
The same issues plague most other mac products, as well. Fewer features, higher price, and numerous design flaws. Not to mention their claims of innovation when they're years behind PC manufacturers in actual features and range of products. You can't, for example, get an apple netbook or tablet. Or, I suppose they did do a sort of netbook. Except, with other manufacturers, netbooks have less power, are lighter, and cheaper. With mac, their one netbookish design was lighter, had fewer features, and you paid a lot more money for the privilege of having a less useful product.
Apple is a leader in innovation the way Microsoft is a leader in open source.
Part two - The definition of innovation is does not preclude the use of existing technology.
innovate |?in??v?t|
verb [ intrans. ]
make changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products : the company's failure to diversify and innovate competitively.
? [ trans. ] introduce (something new, esp. a product) : innovating new products, developing existing ones.
Apple innovations. Let's see.
-First to use USB with the elimination of PS/2 (really, how many PS/2 mice do you see selling today?)
-First to use CD-R
-First to eliminate the use of floppies.
-First to release a GUI to the personal computing industry with the LISA in 1983 (Windows was release in 1985)
-First to use (and just about the only one I've seen so far) slot loaded CD/DVD.
-First to use magnetic connectors for the power supply connection (Amazing how well this works when my child bolts by ripping it out).
-First to build the lightest laptop on the market
-First to put solid state drives in their laptop (albeit at a large price)
-First to bring TRUE multi-touch to the consumer market via the iPhone.
Other examples of your ignorance on this subject:
"The iphone is a good example... sic ...lacks 3g..." - Where have you been. I have the iPhone 3G sitting right next to my MacBook Pro right now.
"...keyboard is utterly frustrating.." - This is irrelevant opinion. I, and others, find it perfectly usable.
"...lack of an SD slot..." - Why do I need an SD slot when I have 8 or 16 GB of space (and you know 32 is due out next year), I can transfer files wirelessly.
"...inability to change the devices battery..." - Again, opinion. Frustrating? Yes. But easily worked around with 3rd party products for charging or extending the battery capacity.
"...innumerable other flaws and problems..." - Show me a product that doesn't. Or didn't you hear about the 30 GB Zunes freezing up yesterday? Apple's been real good about fixing those.
"...that's been done numerous times before..." Really? By whom? Name one product with the combined features and functionality that the iPhone has? Even the Crackberry clan that originally scoffed at the "lack of keyboard" has joined the fray and doing it poorly.
"...but it also costs more than comperable products..." Costs more how? The 8GB iPhone is $199.00 w/a 2 year contract. The Crackberry Storm costs $199.99 w/a 2 year contract. The 16GB iPhone is $299.00 w/a 2 year contract. The Crackberry Bold is $299.99 w/a 2 year contract.
"...issues plague most other mac products, as well. Fewer features, higher price, and numerous design flaws." - OoooK. What features do Macs lack? Pricing has already been blown out the door, buddy. Design flaws? Pray tell.
"...they're years behind PC manufacturers..." - Uh, Yeah. Please refer to the list above. Apple has consistently put out products years ahead of the competition. Apple does it, others follow.
"...You can't, for example, get an apple netbook or tablet." - Apple has chosen not to enter the netbook or tablet markets. They just haven't taken off. Steve Jobs response to the "netbook question" was to hold up his iPhone.
"With mac, their one netbookish design..." - Apple doesn't have a netbook in production. I can only assume you mean the MacBook Air, which is an ultra-light laptop design, not a netbook.
If you're going to argue the failings of a company and it's products, at least know what you are talking about please. I don't mind honest criticism, ignorance however annoys the crap out of me.
2 of the "innovations" you quote aren't innovative at all, they are the elimination of options. PS/2 and Floppies.
First to build the lightest laptop, there is just so much wrong with that statement. There where "lightest" laptops before and after the Air.
CD-R give me a break
Solid State Drives" Dell was shipping notebooks with SSDs for almost a year before Apple "innovated" this
There is nothing wrong with Apple and it's products, but please lay off the Kool-Aid because it just makes you look ignorant.
Eliminating ps2 isn't innovation. It's removing something.
They weren't the first to use cdr. This is just a lie.
Eliminating floppies isn't an innovation, either. See eliminating ps2.
Xerox was the first to release a graphical OS for commercial sale to the public. Another lie.
The lightest laptop before the air was the lightest laptop on the market. You're an idiot.
Magnetic connectors? Give me a break.
Multi touch displays have been around for a decade. Another lie.
Solid state drives have been around for years, too. They also cost more, have less storage, and decrease performance in laptops. Innovation by going backwards. Good work, apple.
My point about the iphone was that it was released, originally, priced higher than other products with better features, and lacked 3g, not to mention the awful camera, and terrible onscreen keyboard. What they've done since is to try and fix some of these flaws while simotaneously trying to say they aren't flaws.
Oh, and the netbook market is growing faster than any other PC market at the moment. Not to mention that touchscreen laptops, netbooks, and UMPCs are widely available in the PC market, but not from apple. Years behind.
SD slots let you expand storage. When you have 8 gigs, and you can buy an 8, 16, or 32 gig sd card, as long as you're not a cretinous, drooling mac fanboy, you'll see why that might be a nice feature to have. My media player when from four gigs to twenty with the addition of an SD card.
Oh, and the reason for the insults is because of your frankly idiotic claims of "ignorance" when you argue against simple observable reality because you've joined the apple cult. When you can stop lying to cover up apple's products' flaws, let me know, and I'll treat you like an adult. Until then, you're just another crybaby fanboy.
"... aren't innovative at all..." - Splitting hairs I think. Apple adopted USB before any PC did. They abandoned PS/2 when they made the transition. I'll agree to disagree on that.
"... There where "lightest" laptops before and after the Air.." - Really? What laptop was less than 3 lbs before the Air and usable?
"... CD-R give me a break..." - Facts are facts. First to put in Desktops, buddy.
"... Dell was shipping notebooks with SSDs for almost a year before Apple..." - Considering that the company I work for is a Dell reseller and I have access to more Dell data than end users I gotta call BS on that one. Dell is a commodity sales company, kind of like Walmart. They buy in bulk and then only when they can get the best price. SSD technology has only really come down to salable pricing in the last year. Thus SSDs order ready in laptops only became available to consumer level sales in the last year.
"...Kool-Aid..." - Seriously? Facts are facts. If you disagree when I give opinion, then fine we disagree. If you believe me a liar, prove it. I'm not above mistake. But don't spout off about drinking Kool-Aid. You have no idea about my background or my experience with computing technology since this is the least personal place you can get to know a person. You're simply making assumptions.
@Vegemighty -
"...Mac..." - How many people slip and call Microsoft "Windows" or Sony "Playstation". Sorry.
"...PS/2-CD-R-floppies, etc..." - Check your computer history then. If I'm wrong fine. Show me. It is innovative, because they adopted it when nobody else did. They took the risk and the rest followed when they saw how well it worked. Just like the iPhone.
"...Xerox..." The Xerox Alto was never a commercial product. It was a test of concept. Apple didn't need to invent it, to innovate it's use.
"... lightest laptop before the air..." - The Air weighs 3 lbs and is 3/4 in thick. NOTHING on the market has been able to compare to that.
"... Magnetic connectors? Give me a break..." - And your point? Wait for it... I hear PC makers firing up their photocopiers.
"... Multi touch displays..." - Not to the consumer market. Again, show me if I'm wrong. iPhone was the first that was A) affordable and B) directly marketed to the consumer market.
"... Solid state drives have been around..." - No s***. Read a dictionary. Innovation has nothing to do with inventing. Apple was the first to bring it to the CONSUMER MARKET. Others followed suite after Apple already did it. AKA Innovating.
"... My point about the iphone..." - Was pointless then. Your reference was in the present. If you don't believe me, read your statement. Learn the difference between is and was. No company is going to say "Our product has problems". Look at Vista, Microsoft's still saying it's going gangbusters while the majority of their end customers (specifically companies) are all waiting for Windows 7 (AKA Vista 2).
"... the netbook market is growing faster..." - Sales figures say otherwise. Statistically, it's a new market still with no defined future. Touch screen monitors, yes. Multi-touch? Negative ghost rider.
"...SD Slot..." - When the phone natively has the storage and I've got the whole Internet to store files for retrieval? Neh. Talk about backwards thinking.
"... the reason for the insults..." - Then prove me wrong. Facts with supporting evidence. Everything I've stated can be looked up. Twit.
Again facts are facts Latitude D420 and D620 ATG had a 32GB SSD in early 2007. A review here: http://www.itpro.co.uk/111350/dell-gets-flash-with-ssd-option-for-laptops
And yet there is more the Sony Vaio G of 2007 weighed in @ around 2 pounds. And current the Sony Vaio X505 weighs in @ 1.7 pounds.
And no removing PS/2 ports is not innovative. Apple WAS NOT the first with USB they where still trying to push their own standard when USB came into production.
The more you post the more ignorant you look.
Apple was also the first to offer a plug and play networking system with their AppleTalk protocol over LocalTalk or Phonenet wiring. That was available on the earliest Macs and even supported on the Apple Lisa.
As to the comments that Apple took from Xerox, their head GUI designer wrote his Master Thesis on windowing systems back in the late 1960's. This is public record. From a technical standpoint, there are many fundamental differences between what Xerox was doing and what Apple did on the Macintosh and Lisa. Although I doubt the original poster will bother to look it up - you would much rather stay in your ignorance and spout off half-truths and lies.
Removing something and breaking the status quo, moving the market forward is quite innovative.
They popularized the CD drive especially the slot loading one.
Xerox made the first proof of concept GUI, but Apple made the first one that didn't suck.
The lightest laptop point didn't make sense admittedly.
"Magnetic connectors? Give me a break." So you're just dismissing that innovation just like that? The MagSafe has saved my computers a bunch of times from careless idiots.
Multitouch displays have been around, but so has the wheel before Dunlop made the first practical pneumatic wheel. Innovations, as mentioned, can make use of existing technologies and implement them in new ways.
Decreased performance in laptops with SSDs? Yeah, when they first came out. Read some benchmarks of the one's we have today please.
Innovation has a price. Apple set the price for the first iPhone. People bought it.
How is Apple years behind a market that just blossomed this year? Netbooks are still a nascent market.
What media player uses 32 GB SDHC cards? I would like to know. iPod's have capacities ranging up to 120 GB. Try filling that up.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If we're Apple fanboys, what does that make you? A Microsoft Fanboy?
4-5% of the people may worship Macs as if they were some kind of religious idol, but 95% of the people wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole.
The only reason there has been an uptick in Mac sales is because it now runs Windows. Sales were flat before the switch to the Intel chip.
That's strange. I was under the impression that Apple was in business to make money, not win popularity contests. Fortunately for them, they've been making money hand over fist and dominating the new markets they've entered over the past five years.You know - media players and smartphones.
The fact is, there is nothing special about the Mac. If it were as good as the fanboys like to think, everyone would own one, like they do Windows machines. But the world sees Macs OS machines for what they are... over-hyped and over-priced computers that can't run 90% of the software out there.
Apple is hardly even a computer company anymore as they have higher sells in telephones and mp3 players. The only reason revenues seem higher for Apple is because all their products are grossly inflated in price. Better products are available at cheaper prices, and only their cultic fanboys keep them in business.
"The fact is, there is nothing special about the Mac." are you kidding? that is the exclusive, premier, number one reason they have been selling more and more as of late. People want to start using OSX. And what if I am a consumer that doesn't need your estimated 90% of software, can I just be happy with software that comes standard with my purchase?
In my opinion Windows is hyped way more, right down to those annoying little stickers they put on everything. And I would hardly call the millions of computers Apple sells a sign of "failure".
Your comments were nothing more than complete fanboy nonsense. In 2007 (last full year numbers were available), Apple sold only about 6.1 million Mac OS machines. In that same year, manufacturers sold 255.7 million Windows machines.
Being a Mac fanboy seems to bring on a near pathological inabilty to deal with reality.
That's ridiculous. You're comparing one company to the countless other manufacturers that make computers? Now that's desperation. Apple is the third largest computer manufacturer in the US.
http://www.uslaw.com/library/Law_Technology/Apple_3rd_Largest_Computer_Vendor_US.php?item=218124
Just because Apple products look nice and are easier to use for average (or below average) people does not make it superior in every way.
Of course web apps might make both environments obsolete some day soon.
Apple the iNOvator ..... they steal others ideas and claim the origin! They make Al Gore look like a piker!
FIRST affordable "PC" was 8008-based Scelbi-8H microcomputer 1973 - NOT Apple I
First GUI OS was developed by Xerox PARC, Apple swiped it and NEVER paid for it. Xerox has an open suit against Apple still to this day!
FIRST "PID" or PDA was the Psion - NOT the Newton
FIRST One Piece Computer was the Osborne and Kaypro - NOT the Korean made iMac.
FIRST pocket MP3 player was the RIO, NOT the iPud.
FIRST wireless streaming media console, D-Links MediaLounge (by TWO YEARS), NOT the Apple TV.
FIRST x86 based PC's - EVERY buddy buy Apples - "Me Too Clone PC MacIntel"
Apple steals the name iPhone from Cisco, after seeing the LG Prada prototype at a show in Germany and STEALS the idea for the iPhony.
Apple stole "Widgets" from Konfabulator, never paid a penny for it
But here is a FIRST for Apple, the FIRST computer company to out-source EVERYTHING they sell to our side contractors, starting with the Apple IIe made in Canada. Apple hasn't MADE anything they sell since 1996 when they closed the Roseville CA "assembly only" facility.
That's Apple and Stevie Gods ..... the Great iNOvator.
Not forgetting most of your arguments are wrong anyway;
Scelbi-8H is a microcomputer NOT a Personal Computer (PC) - in other words it was a box with lights flashing on it, it wasn't really designed for the everyday (aka Personal) crowed.
Apple never claimed to have invented the GUI - the suit is closed and was not because Apple never paid Xerox but rather a confusion between the parities of how much money for how and what use of technology, as a quick summary.
The first Psion "PDA's" were more like a calculator with letters than what we know as a PDA today. The first PDA was invented by Apple not forgetting that the name PDA too was coined by Apple. Cavemen used stones with sharp edges to cut meat but we do not say they invented the knife.
Apple never claimed iPod to be the first MP3 player - Just the best!
Apple never claimed nor doest anyone think Apple TV is/was the first wireless streaming media.
Apple never claimed nor doest anyone think Mac's were the first x86 based computers.
Cisco never "invented" the name iPhone, this trademark (US only) came as part of a business purchase. Apple already had the EU trademark rights. Again not forgetting the fact that it was Apple that popularised the lower case ' i ' before a word concept.
I always find it funny when Americans cry about outsourcing work to "foreigners" and how wrong it is to steal fro others conceding when you take into account what the US was built on. Stealing from Native Americans and 'outsourcing' work to Chinese works and Black Slaves.
P.S reason I put foreigners in quotation makes in the last paragraph is because your all foreigners to the land of North America except Native Americans so stop ******** about outsourcing to foreigners.
http://www.macdailynews.com/gfx/article_gfx/070116_lg_iphone.jpg
The prada looks more like the samsung instinct. Your argument does not hold water either considering apple showed a working version of the iphone before the lg prada was released.
While Xerox PARC was working on their GUI, Apple was still a private company. Xerox wanted the opportunity to invest in Apple, which was about to go public. As part of the investment deal, executives from Apple were granted the opportunity to tour Xerox PARC's facility with the intention that Apple could incorporate some of their research into their products. As an investor in Apple, Xerox was adding value to their investment by doing so. When Apple went public, Xerox's $1 million investment in Apple became worth $17.6 million. Xerox made quite a profit on their investment in Apple.
If anyone stole anything here, it was Microsoft. Apple just saw demos of technology. They were never given any architecture blueprints or source code. Apple had to invent the ways to make this all work. Microsoft, on the other hand, was given Apple source code when working on software for the Mac. Microsoft literally copied the internal design of the software architecture. The early APIs of Windows and the Mac were virtually identical in design.
I always hear this cited as something that somehow makes Apple's first practical and affordable GUI less valid somehow. The fact is that Apple was invited to PARC, by PARC engineers - and until only a few short years ago, PARC regularly did technology demos like this for other companies.
There is no suit pending or closed; PARC expected no pay and received none.
Anyone who hasn't tried out an iPhone or iPod touch has NO IDEA what game changers they are. No idea. You guys don't have a clue.
I bought my Mac 128K plain vanilla Mac on July 16th 1984. It was quite a leap from a TI 994A and an Atari 2600 before that. Disk swapping was ok since most early apps fit on a floppy with the system and finder. Eventually you got two disks drives (one external) to limit popping out disks. The Mac SE (I believe) was the first to have dual floppy disks but then apps just got bigger and continued to require disk swapping.
This of course was the era of the sneaker network (and pirating of software) which eventually lead to the first viruses that hit the Mac world pretty hard but corrupting the floppies. If you're still reading this then it sure is a slow news day and your New Year's Eve must have been boring.
Needless to say I don't miss the floppy nor Mac OS9 and below. I bought my in-laws an iMac in 1997 (I started using PCs in 1991 and was Mac envious all the way). My thinking was the Mac would be easy for them. Boy I was wrong. Cooperative multitasking just sucked and the those darn extensions and Conflict Catcher just drove me nuts. OSX beta was a real promising OS that renewed my belief in Apple even though the printer in OS9 was no longer supported in OSX. Those HP dude just couldn't make the leap I suppose.
Break the wedge!
www.breakthewedge.com
Give me a break.
It is because Apple products are incapable of running high configurations. They don't support 200 GB or more of RAM (or something like that as I recall it) and there are many other configurations that the Apple OS can't run. That's why most servers in the world, even the Internet servers run either Linux, Windows or a custom OS. Not Apple's OS.
You can steal things that are freely shared?
That's some amazing logic, friend. Better tell someone that corporate America and government are "stealing" right and left from the open source community for custom Linux servers and variations of Bugzilla.
To freely share means that it is not a 1 way relationship. The Darwin project was axed a while back, don't even bother. Corporate America, outside of apple, does not lift the majority of the parts for a product they make and claim to be innovators. This is like someone putting their own dashboard setup in a car, and claiming credit for the whole car. Apple treats open source the way that friend who only calls when they want something treats most people.
As for the take up of Apple v Microsoft software it comes down to the perceived price of the product. People mistakenly perceive windows to be cheaper and more essential to own. The latter conclusion being I use windows at work so must have a compatible system at home.
However a single user license copy of OSX costs about a third of that of windows. The other attractive thing is that the osx operating system is more stable than that of windows. Vista really underscored the MS approach to software. As for calling users of apple computers 'dumb people who don't know any better', that is like saying drivers of cars don't know any better because they cannot assemble a car engine. So open source boys do have respect for average people.
Yes Apple has innovated constantly. The success of the company is undoubted. Apple shows no signs of becoming the mordern IBM, not moving from typewriters to computers, until forced to by Apple. This cannot be said of Microsoft. They are still playing catch up.
Oh by the way, some of the comments to do with the iphone are due to not thinking innovatively. Why have mms when you can email from your phone complete with photos attatched. It is not Apple's fault if other mobile's are not able to receive emails. The same applies to the Macbook Air. So think different.
The thing is that Apple products are so damn high in price as compared to others. Even with OSX being cheaper in price (which has sparked a controversy due to the availability of it in retail stores as Apple only wants it to be run on their computers and not custom built ones) than Windows, Windows and linux machines tend to be cheaper with a better configuration. I know that Apple is both a hardware and software manufacturer, some of their profit margins are way to high which make their products more expensive due to which they sell less than their competitors. I have 2 computers which I bought at the price of 1 Apple product. Another thing I could have done is just buy the usb adpater from efix that fools a Mac into thinking that it is Apple hardware when I am running it on a custom configuration.
Its not about whether Apple is stable (its the hype that people have created about Apple products that lures them). After the market hype, it gets down to the looks and design of the product (I admit that Apple does have innovative designs). That's why most people buy an Apple.
I am a Psychologist and I am doing this research for a few years between the brains of both Apple and WIndows lovers. I have found and seen that people who have no clue or any idea as to how to use a Mac tend to buy one just because of the hype that's created. It may just sit in their garage but they want to say to people that they own a Mac just for the sake of it. The reason as I stated before; its the hype and the looks that make them want to buy them. They don't think about whether or not they have programs that are compatible and/or some of the many changes in the interface that they will face. Some people aren't ready for it and some people just don't get it. With Windows lovers its mostly about the apps and easy configuration of hardware components that keeps them there. They tend to go for games that require power that a Mac can't provide with the current configurations available and with programs that simply are Windows only and/or because their work requires it. Now more and more people are experimenting with their computers with the rise of this information age. With everything available at their hands through the internet, people want to be able to open up and touch and fix things on their own (well atleast the ones that love hands on material).
I am still looking into as to why these people hate each other. The labels of being a Apple lover/hater and a Windows lover/hater simply come from mid-air. Nothing is perfect, some things are perfect one way and somethings are perfect the other. The thing is that all of these computers are bound to have some imperfection in something.
Thank you for being my test subject. :)
In short, the reason why Microsoft and Apple fans hate each other is actually quite simple. Apple fans believes that the products put out by Apple is to better society as a whole. It is much like, for example, a born again Christian who believes he has found "the answer" to life, and needs to let everyone know. It is really evangelism on a corporate level. And it has been like this pretty much since the Apple II, when there used to be a feud between Apple II and Commodore owners.
For a person who base his entire life on logic, Apple evangelism is anything but logical. That's where the Microsoft fans come in. They believe that Microsoft is a corporation, and it makes products that allow them to be productive in work and at home. In short, computers are tools. And, fascination over a given product - any product - is not logical to them, and it eats them away in their guts. It is very much like, for example, you're standing in the middle of a room, while observing the hundreds of other people doing the exact same stupid thing, and you're saying to yourself, "Am I the only sane people here????"
As someone else commented earlier, Apple tends to "eat their own dog food" in that they develop products that they themselves want. Apple also has a sense of what it believes is the right way to perform a function. This is why open-______ people hate Apple - they don't believe that any one body can tell the rest of the world they can only do something a certain way, which is why they don't like closed systems like the Macintosh, iPhone, etc.
What irritates the heck out of Microsoft fans the most is that people purchase products for the most illogical reasons. Reasons such as "It makes me look cool" or "It'll make me fit in" are illogical reasons for purchasing technology. It is up there with buying a bowling ball for its color. The iMac started the trend of purchasing products based on aesthetics, and this technique works to this day. If you listen to any Microsoft fan, price is always number-one on their priority list. However, in an Apple fan point of view, if you purchase something that is based on price alone, it won't make him fit in with the rest of the crowd. Someone with a Zune, Samsung BlackJack or even an XBox 360 will not turn heads. But, show off an iPhone, iPod or a PS3 and it will make people pay attention.
Because not everyone uses email, and i would rather use MMS cause its easier.
- by Perry_Clease January 1, 2009 8:00 AM PST
- "by markdoiron January 1, 2009 6:50 AM PST
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- by ckurowic January 1, 2009 5:03 PM PST
- The current Apple mouse has 4 buttons friggin' loser, do your research.
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- by Perry_Clease January 1, 2009 8:11 PM PST
- "by ckurowic January 1, 2009 5:03 PM PST
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (131 Comments)If Apple is such an innovator, how about innovating a two-button mouse, then? --mark d."
How many buttons on the current Mac mouse? Not that you couldn't use a modifier key with a one button mouse so it wasn't really a big deal.
If you would have brought up that horrid hockey puck Mac mouse I would have agreed with you.
The current Apple mouse has 4 buttons friggin' loser, do your research."
Ummm, are you calling me a loser or the person that I was quoting?