Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#31

Post by JohnTHaller » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:37 PM UTC

grandalf wrote: post #19

Keep in mind what Apple has been doing with the proceeds of its amazing cash cow: - smart moves to economize the supply chain - attempting to simplify/unify its various OSes. - hinting at a lower price point future (inevitable). - focusing on patented industrial design (lightning connector, new mac pro, etc.) - taking away carrier margins (iMessage) - notably ignoring "enterprise users" and focusing on making consume…

Yes, it's amazing how much Android has lagged, releasing best-in-class phones like the HTC Once and Sony Xperia Z1 that have no match in the iOS world (and that cost the same as Apple's 'low-end' 5C). As well as inexpensive mid-range products like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 making modern well-made smartphones and tablets accessible to all. Not to mention the open ecosytem and OS that all kinds of companies are innovating on in all sorts of ways a single company could never dream of, both hardware and software.

Summarizing the Android market by looking at the low-end devices shows a complete lack of understanding of the Android market and the smartphone market as a whole.

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#32

Post by Mikeb85 » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:37 PM UTC

TruthSHIFT wrote: post #14

Why is iOS 7 being perceived as "not innovative?" If your innovations are only in software, do they not count?

It's a nice step in the evolutionary cycle of iOS, but not innovation...

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#33

Post by DougWebb » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:38 PM UTC

grandalf wrote: post #19

Keep in mind what Apple has been doing with the proceeds of its amazing cash cow: - smart moves to economize the supply chain - attempting to simplify/unify its various OSes. - hinting at a lower price point future (inevitable). - focusing on patented industrial design (lightning connector, new mac pro, etc.) - taking away carrier margins (iMessage) - notably ignoring "enterprise users" and focusing on making consume…

...while Android has blundered along releasing phones with 4 hour battery life and jittery screens.

Is Android a company now, with singular (if faulty) vision and execution?

Some Android phones are junk. Some are great. Most are in-between, and there are a LOT of them. You can make the same statements about desktop and laptop computers based on IBM's original standards, and you wouldn't blame IBM for the range.

I do wish Google provided better vision and guidance for all of the Android implementers to complement the open choices the implementers have. Freedom to make design choices is great, but without guidance about good choices the brand takes damage.

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#34

Post by probablyfiction » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:38 PM UTC

masklinn wrote: post #10

probablyfiction wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

XP was the first decent Windows release since Windows 95, and consumers adopted it en masse. However, it was riddled with security flaws and that makes it less attractive when looking at it in hindsight.

> XP was the first decent Windows release since Windows 95 I'm sure you mean "2000" not "XP".

What I should have said was that XP was the first decent consumer-focused release since Windows 95. 2000 had a good codebase, but an abysmal adoption rate.

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#35

Post by grandalf » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:39 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #23

grandalf wrote: post #19

Keep in mind what Apple has been doing with the proceeds of its amazing cash cow: - smart moves to economize the supply chain - attempting to simplify/unify its various OSes. - hinting at a lower price point future (inevitable). - focusing on patented industrial design (lightning connector, new mac pro, etc.) - taking away carrier margins (iMessage) - notably ignoring "enterprise users" and focusing on making consume…

Android has blundered along releasing phones with 4 hour battery life and jittery screens. If that's the reason, then I suspect Apple have waited too long. Android phones (and the OS itself) has gone on a long, long way in the last year or two. It has a coherent UI and great performance now.

You might be right about that. My impression is that the IOS experience is still qualitatively better, so it'll be interesting to see if a lower price point iPhone impacts market share shifts...

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#36

Post by grandalf » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:40 PM UTC

DougWebb wrote: post #33

grandalf wrote: post #19

Keep in mind what Apple has been doing with the proceeds of its amazing cash cow: - smart moves to economize the supply chain - attempting to simplify/unify its various OSes. - hinting at a lower price point future (inevitable). - focusing on patented industrial design (lightning connector, new mac pro, etc.) - taking away carrier margins (iMessage) - notably ignoring "enterprise users" and focusing on making consume…

...while Android has blundered along releasing phones with 4 hour battery life and jittery screens. Is Android a company now, with singular (if faulty) vision and execution? Some Android phones are junk. Some are great. Most are in-between, and there are a LOT of them. You can make the same statements about desktop and laptop computers based on IBM's original standards, and you wouldn't blame IBM for the range. I do…

Is Android a company now, with singular (if faulty) vision and execution?

More or less. There is no incentive for carriers to help customers find the best Android experience, and so many help customers find the worst. Google utilized this perverse (and often dishonest) aspect of mobile phone showroom sleaze to gain market share quickly.

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#37

Post by masklinn » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:44 PM UTC

probablyfiction wrote: post #34

masklinn wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> XP was the first decent Windows release since Windows 95 I'm sure you mean "2000" not "XP".

What I should have said was that XP was the first decent consumer-focused release since Windows 95. 2000 had a good codebase, but an abysmal adoption rate.

> 2000 had a good codebase, but an abysmal adoption rate.

Yes, which kinda-sorta was expected as it was still considered part of the NT-line and not a consumer OS, and WinME was released after it.

Still, it was a perfectly good consumer OS (IIRC, 2000 was the original merge point of the NT and 9x lines, then the building base for Project Neptune which fell through and ultimately lead to Whistler after 2000's release), much better than WinME could ever be, and I only reluctantly switched to WinXP (to try AoE III which refused to install on 2000, of all things)

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#38

Post by superuser2 » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:47 PM UTC

I have yet to see a "commodity" smartphone or tablet that was nearly as stable or reliable as an iOS device, didn't have the UX destroyed by manufacturer customization, and wasn't abandoned by its manufacturer and never updated again just a few months into the two-year upgrade cycle.

Has the Android ecosystem actually solved these problems yet?

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#39

Post by faet » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

DougWebb wrote: post #33

grandalf wrote: post #19

Keep in mind what Apple has been doing with the proceeds of its amazing cash cow: - smart moves to economize the supply chain - attempting to simplify/unify its various OSes. - hinting at a lower price point future (inevitable). - focusing on patented industrial design (lightning connector, new mac pro, etc.) - taking away carrier margins (iMessage) - notably ignoring "enterprise users" and focusing on making consume…

...while Android has blundered along releasing phones with 4 hour battery life and jittery screens. Is Android a company now, with singular (if faulty) vision and execution? Some Android phones are junk. Some are great. Most are in-between, and there are a LOT of them. You can make the same statements about desktop and laptop computers based on IBM's original standards, and you wouldn't blame IBM for the range. I do…

>Is Android a company now, with singular (if faulty) vision and execution?

To you and I? No. To your parents or the general public? Yes. They will buy one low end android phone, it was suck, they will say "Android is terrible". I know people who went from iPhone 4 to a free Android phone and are wanting to return to apple.

The same goes for laptop companies. They'll buy the cheapest Dell. It'll fall apart in 6 months. "Dells are terrible".

Re: Apple’s “Windows 95″ Problem

#40

Post by kamjam » Wed, Sep 11, 2013, 2:50 PM UTC

grandalf wrote: post #35

untog wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android has blundered along releasing phones with 4 hour battery life and jittery screens. If that's the reason, then I suspect Apple have waited too long. Android phones (and the OS itself) has gone on a long, long way in the last year or two. It has a coherent UI and great performance now.

You might be right about that. My impression is that the IOS experience is still qualitatively better, so it'll be interesting to see if a lower price point iPhone impacts market share shifts...

That depends who you ask, to be I struggle with iOS, I prefer the Android experience, and if I don't like something I am free to change that application for something which fits better for me.