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Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

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Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#31
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a big Apple fan. I've bought some of their laptops after the transition to Intel, but slowly switched away when macOS became less of a priority. That said, I think Apple is sitting on top of another blockbuster, similar to the iPhone in terms of impact, if they know how to play it well. I'm referring to the Apple Watch equipped with a non-invasive glucose sensor. I realize that they have a bit of a regulatory…

Could you provide a source on the last claim? I am generally quite skeptic whenever I hear anything in food science as being represented as well-established. Also, love your username, I grew up there!

Sure. This recent Nature Reviews Genetics paper should describe the basic associations between DNA methylation and glucose levels, as well as point you towards more specific literature:

http://173.239.45.5/~joshmitt/data-beta/Horvath-NatureRev201...

Bagsvaerd is great. I was living in the Lyngby-Naerum-Birkeroed-Farum area for many years, working in formal methods. I hope to be back soon! Are you still in the area?

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#32
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a big Apple fan. I've bought some of their laptops after the transition to Intel, but slowly switched away when macOS became less of a priority. That said, I think Apple is sitting on top of another blockbuster, similar to the iPhone in terms of impact, if they know how to play it well. I'm referring to the Apple Watch equipped with a non-invasive glucose sensor. I realize that they have a bit of a regulatory…

> I'm referring to the Apple Watch equipped with a non-invasive glucose sensor. As someone who has dated someone that is diabetic and now works with someone who is diabetic--someone who likes to sit at the cutting edge of technology and is even using hacked equipment to improve his experience--I don't think we have that technology yet.

We don’t, the latest commercial technology consists of disposable sensors that require a probe to penetrate the skin. Whoever brings something non-invasive (and reusable) to market will be raking it in whether they’re apple or not.

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#34
post #26
post #2

For Tim Cook it would be a good idea to take a closer look at this video...

Or Cook could just listen to the legions of formerly loyal iPhone customers who refuse to buy phones that don't have a 3.5mm plug or require one to use Face ID. Or the Mac users who are eternally pissed off that products are too expensive and under-equipped (Mac mini) or "intentionally broken" (Touch Bar on MacBook Pro) or forgotten (is the Mac Pro ever going to get a hardware update -- or the iPod Touch for that mat…

You can turn Face ID off, and Apple publicly stated the Mac Pro is coming in 2019.

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#35
post #3
post #2

For Tim Cook it would be a good idea to take a closer look at this video...

Or the days of Apple without Steve Jobs for that matter. I remember pretty clearly how we all thought Apple would be doomed while they were still struggling to bring Copland out.

Ironically these were times when a TON of new products came out. There probably never were more simultaneous Mac models in the market, and there was OpenDoc, CyberDog, Quickdraw GX, QuickDraw 3D, QuickTime VR, HotSauce, Game Sprockets.

The first few years of Steve 2.0 were largely about REDUCING the number of products, and improving the MARKETING. As for the products:

* There was the iMac, which was notable for having FEWER features. Sure there was USB, but everybody was complaining about their ADB and serial peripherals no longer working without dongles, and about the omission of a floppy drive (sound familiar?).

* There was the iBook, which certainly had an iconic look (especially the handle), but not one that had a lasting impact.

* The PowerBooks were nice designs.

* The Power Mac G3/G4 towers with the opening latch and handles were a really good product with a lasting form factor, in my opinion.

* The Power Mac G4 cube was a commercial disaster, doomed, among other things, by bad pricing positioning in a weakening economy (sound familiar?).

* And don't get me started about the hockey puck mouse — the kind of product design that tends to get forgotten in Steve Jobs nostalgia threads.

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#36
post #32
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm referring to the Apple Watch equipped with a non-invasive glucose sensor. As someone who has dated someone that is diabetic and now works with someone who is diabetic--someone who likes to sit at the cutting edge of technology and is even using hacked equipment to improve his experience--I don't think we have that technology yet.

We don’t, the latest commercial technology consists of disposable sensors that require a probe to penetrate the skin. Whoever brings something non-invasive (and reusable) to market will be raking it in whether they’re apple or not.

PKVitality has a sensor array that is pretty much non-invasive: https://www.pkvitality.com/ktrack-glucose/

There's also an alternative using radiofrequency: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4641327/

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#37
post #2

For Tim Cook it would be a good idea to take a closer look at this video...

I'm not a big Apple fan. I've bought some of their laptops after the transition to Intel, but slowly switched away when macOS became less of a priority. That said, I think Apple is sitting on top of another blockbuster, similar to the iPhone in terms of impact, if they know how to play it well. I'm referring to the Apple Watch equipped with a non-invasive glucose sensor. I realize that they have a bit of a regulatory…

> We hate to ground your technological hopes, but Valencell, which licenses sensor technology to Samsung, Sony and the rest, says that noninvasive glucose tracking is impossible.

Not that I necessarily believe the quote, but I've seen no sign yet that it's likely to happen any time soon.

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#39
post #2

For Tim Cook it would be a good idea to take a closer look at this video...

I think it's quite the opposite - I think Apple have always had issues with every product launch, but the number of people now using them, and the bar / expectations are so much higher - they can't catch a break, rightly so - they charge a premium, and for 10% of the cost you pay Apple you can get a competitors product that's 90% there.

Tim Cook & Apple's board have an absolutely stellar team of VP's, from customer service to engineering, but I think they've given themselves too much freedom in terms of "throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks". They're so comfortable with their brand, cash piles and whatnot, that they can release so many variants of so many products and not even worry about the wasted man-hours and resources spent on it.

I get the feeling there hasn't been anyone there taking a step back and going "Y'kno, we can totally do this, but we shouldn't".

Butterfly keyboard? I love how slim their laptops are now, but did they really have to go and re-engineer how a keyboard works? Even in its 3rd iteration, I have a space bar on an almost new Macbook Pro that just won't stop sticking.

iPhone XR? We've priced out the XS for most folks, but let's make a cheaper one too! Oh wait, we have the 8!

Watch Hermes? Or ceramic? Around the $3k mark you're in Rolex, Omega territory; and those watches will be worth more in a few years than anything Apple release.

Etc etc.

I don't know what motivates a lot of folks to buy Apple, but for me it boils down to:

- Stellar customer support

- Reliability & durability

I don't particularly care too much about having the latest / greatest hardware inside my products; but so far Apple are still lightyears ahead of the competition on those two fronts.

I can be pretty much anywhere in the world that has an apple store, walk in and get my keyboard issue sorted, and my many other iDevices have easily lasted a few years and are still going strong.

Re: Steve Jobs on why Xerox failed

#40
I remember that back then it was very hard to figure out which Apple computer to buy. Model names had proliferated, thanks to the marketing department, and you needed a spreadsheet to figure out the differences between them. One of the best things Steve ever did was to reduce the offerings to just "four great products." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkVs4ZqWgN8
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