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Apple is a traditional business

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Re: Apple is a traditional business

#81

Post by Avenger42 »

noxToken wrote: post #40
fhood wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I occasionally loose sleep, wondering what products were lost due to Jobs' early death. Edit: Ok, fine. I loose sleep wondering what ideas were out there that languished because Jobs wasn't around to see their potential and capitalize on them. The argument "he wasn't that important because he didn't actually invent X" is played out, and it fundamentally misses the point.

> ...like smart speakers, with their threat of big brother-style surveillance in exchange for a minimal increase in convenience It seems like everyone in this thread is forgetting that the HomePod[0] is a thing. Apple's privacy practices are better than the other listed companies, but they do have a smart speaker just as capable as the others. [0]: https://www.apple.com/homepod/

I think anyone who's used Siri would debate you about the "as capable as the others" part of your statement. Not to mention that when it was announced, several of its features were tied to the introduction of AirPlay 2, which still has yet to be released.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#82

Post by et-al »

fhood wrote: post #22
oflannabhra wrote: post #11

> ...this is a time when Amazon is pushing innovations that don’t solve any real-world problems but may create some: like smart speakers, with their threat of big brother-style surveillance in exchange for a minimal increase in convenience, or complex and expensive cashierless stores that won’t deliver much of an improvement to our shopping experience but may cost underprivileged people their jobs. This is a time whe…

I occasionally loose sleep, wondering what products were lost due to Jobs' early death. Edit: Ok, fine. I loose sleep wondering what ideas were out there that languished because Jobs wasn't around to see their potential and capitalize on them. The argument "he wasn't that important because he didn't actually invent X" is played out, and it fundamentally misses the point.

Has this talk with a friend, but it was actually centered around accessibility of technology for older people (or less technologically-inclined people, if you must).

If Jobs had aged, needed reading glasses, and maybe had Parkinson's, would there be more of a push towards making devices easier to use? Would Siri be more functional?

I know Jitterbug exists, but it seems almost insulting. (If anyone has used one and feels otherwise, please share.)

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#83

Post by mcphage »

zer00eyz wrote: post #54
fhood wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I occasionally loose sleep, wondering what products were lost due to Jobs' early death. Edit: Ok, fine. I loose sleep wondering what ideas were out there that languished because Jobs wasn't around to see their potential and capitalize on them. The argument "he wasn't that important because he didn't actually invent X" is played out, and it fundamentally misses the point.

Not worth it. Jobs was, for all intents and purposes a phenomenal business person in spite of the fact that many people early in his career didn't see it. Name a product apple invented that was HUGE? Go ahead and think about that. GUI & Mac was Xerox, the iPhone was Xerox and palm and... Simply put he was a master at finding good things and refining them into great things. Lets look at the design side. MacBooks for a…

> Simply put he was a master at finding good things and refining them into great things.

I'm not sure if you mean that as an insult, but honestly it's probably the most important thing he could have done; there's no shortage of good ideas out there, but most of them have terrible execution. Being able to see through that bad execution to the good idea, and imagine a great execution not encumbered by what it had, is a profoundly valuable skill.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#84

Post by pier25 »

oflannabhra wrote: post #11

> ...this is a time when Amazon is pushing innovations that don’t solve any real-world problems but may create some: like smart speakers, with their threat of big brother-style surveillance in exchange for a minimal increase in convenience, or complex and expensive cashierless stores that won’t deliver much of an improvement to our shopping experience but may cost underprivileged people their jobs. This is a time whe…

> but it really points to how rarely an innovation like the iPhone really occurs

Yeah, but don't forget that the pieces to be able to create the iPhone had to be there first.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#85

Post by dade_ »

Feed the masses and dine with the classes.

Apple is focusing on the 80%, and have developed a strategic advantage based on privacy. This is not a new lesson.

Commercially this is smart and profitable, but it was at the expense of the 20%. The fact is that their products stopped meeting my needs. So instead of a apology, I would like to thank Apple for the lock in that took over a year to unwind before I could leave the Apple ecosystem. It was a harsh lesson that I will never forget.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#86

Post by shams93 »

emodendroket wrote: post #33
fhood wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I occasionally loose sleep, wondering what products were lost due to Jobs' early death. Edit: Ok, fine. I loose sleep wondering what ideas were out there that languished because Jobs wasn't around to see their potential and capitalize on them. The argument "he wasn't that important because he didn't actually invent X" is played out, and it fundamentally misses the point.

Steve Jobs did not single-handedly invent the iPhone.

Yeah they had a lot of deep institutional knowledge built up working with arm on the apple newton when Jobs was over at Next. Its arguable that if Apple had not already gone deep into Newton before Jobs arrived there would not have been the skills necessary on board to birth the iphone. While Jobs killed the newton he didn't lay that team off by any means they essentially flipped from Newton into ios, using the same arm skills they intially developed working on Newton.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#87

Post by froo »

RyanShook wrote: post #36

Apple’s market cap will keep rising for the next few years without any innovation through buybacks and service revenue from existing devices. But the fact that they’re not talking about new products or hinting at anything down the line concerns me...

> But the fact that they’re not talking about new products or hinting at anything down the line concerns me...

Why would they show their hand? There's little to be gained from it and it would harm their brand when these technologies don't pan out how they would want. See Google Glass - huge fanfare but no real substance.

Besides, we hear of technology that is supposedly being worked on inside Apple. Project Titan, the AR headset that is looking at a 2020 release date.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#88

Post by dkrich »

Clubber wrote: post #25

What a strange article. He spent most of the time saying, "I could criticize Apple for .." which seems like a criticism shrouded in something else or backhanded compliment (if that). Also, what's this infatuation between good and evil? Why does that even belong in a tech conversation?

Because technological advancements are almost by definition poorly understood and people tend to be scared or at least skeptical of what they don't understand.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#89

Post by heartbreak »

r00fus wrote: post #57
austincheney wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an iPhone, but it is soooo painful to me that my awesome as hell MacBook Pro for work has USB C for everything, including power, and yet my phone does not. Meanwhile my team lead, sitting directly across from me, has an android phone that charges with USB C.

I actually am not bothered by that so much as that Apple did not produce a decent 1st party USB-C hub and most of the ones I've purchased produce a lot of signal noise (curse of sensitive ears + quiet home office) so I had to return (if I got around to it before return period) or donate them. The issue IMHO would be moot if they included a USB-C charging adapter (and a USB-A dongle/converter) on newer iPhones. Also i…

I also have sensitive ears, and I highly recommend the Anker hub. It has 2x USB A, 1x HDMI, and an additional USB C to replace the one it consumes.

Re: Apple is a traditional business

#90

Post by ynniv »

__david__ wrote: post #76
pseudometa wrote: post #34

Having been a fan of Apple for over a decade now, over the last year I've come to the opposite point of view. Their iPhone and airpods are great products and of course they can ride a long time on those, but in every other area from Macs and accessories I feel they are falling flat on delivering great user experiences. From FaceTime to Siri, to crappy Apple TV remotes, Home Kit... there are just a LOT of mediocre pro…

Interesting you say that about the Apple TV remotes. I thought they were all horrible but I really like the new one. The speed at which I can move around and the precision of selecting things is really great.

Why can't I tell which side is up without looking at it or accidentally changing something? Why is the black IR sensor the same size, shape, and location as the charging port, but on the wrong side? Why can't it decide that a log press when it's upside down is probably someone sitting on it? Why is it too small to comfortably hold?

Maybe this thing works for people without kids, but I'll take a boring remote any day.

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