11–20 of 66 posts
It's also a response to google docs. Introducing collaboration on iWork is a good first step to address to the shift towards shared docs. I imagine we'll see that expand significantly in the future.
I think this guy completely misses the most important point. Apple sees how much fragmentation hurts Windows and Android and they want to avoid it. Imagine if as a developer you only have to worry about a single platform? Imagine if as a distributor you only have to worry about releasing a single package? It makes things much easier for everyone and allows efforts to be on quality rather than compatibility.
Imagine if as a developer you only have to worry about a single platform? Actually, this was one of my first reaction as a developer. I developed and maintain a scientific software package (treebank search) that I maintain for Windows (>= XP), OS X (>= 10.7), and Linux (latest Ubuntu LTS). My first reaction after hearing that Mavericks is free was: great, if most people will upgrade, I am freed of supporting the lega…
And if software developers cease to support older OS versions, those people with old computers that cannot upgrade have a stronger incentive for buying new hardware.
> By going free, Apple has acknowledged something that’s been true in the industry for years: Software is a means to sell hardware. What? How has this "been true in the industry for years" ? Maybe its true for smart phones & tablets, that too for just the OS, but how does he go from there to all software and all hardware?
Thus, Apple wants to drive the software cost to zero, to increase sales of hardware (this includes apps).
Google wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero, to increase ad viewing.
Amazon wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero to sell more content.
What holds Apple back is user OS adoption. With iOS updates being free, users can get the latest apps, and Apple doesn't need to worry too much about backwards compatibility. OS X didn't have that luxury until today. With the free play, Apple is giving their customers zero reason to stay on older versions. They want to see 90 percent adoption rates in 6 months. Why? The App Store ecosystem. The more users on the App Store, the more developers will build apps, the more revenue it will generate for both.
> By going free, Apple has acknowledged something that’s been true in the industry for years: Software is a means to sell hardware. What? How has this "been true in the industry for years" ? Maybe its true for smart phones & tablets, that too for just the OS, but how does he go from there to all software and all hardware?
This is actually basic economics - reduce the price of your complementary goods. Thus, Apple wants to drive the software cost to zero, to increase sales of hardware (this includes apps). Google wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero, to increase ad viewing. Amazon wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero to sell more content.
> By going free, Apple has acknowledged something that’s been true in the industry for years: Software is a means to sell hardware. What? How has this "been true in the industry for years" ? Maybe its true for smart phones & tablets, that too for just the OS, but how does he go from there to all software and all hardware?
This is actually basic economics - reduce the price of your complementary goods. Thus, Apple wants to drive the software cost to zero, to increase sales of hardware (this includes apps). Google wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero, to increase ad viewing. Amazon wants to drive the software and hardware cost to zero to sell more content.
Sure, Apple has an incentive to give away its OS free, because its virtually indivisible from its own hardware.
Google derives the bulk of its revenue without any hardware being sold. When it does sell hardware (the Nexus phones or Moto devices), it gives away Android of course. But then it gives away Android for free to everyone else but for an entirely different set of strategic reasons.
Amazon is primarily an e-commerce company, and then maybe a cloud computing one. Hardware doesn't play much of a role in either case.
Disagree. It's about selling apps, not hardware. What holds Apple back is user OS adoption. With iOS updates being free, users can get the latest apps, and Apple doesn't need to worry too much about backwards compatibility. OS X didn't have that luxury until today. With the free play, Apple is giving their customers zero reason to stay on older versions. They want to see 90 percent adoption rates in 6 months. Why? Th…
Disagree. It's about selling apps, not hardware. What holds Apple back is user OS adoption. With iOS updates being free, users can get the latest apps, and Apple doesn't need to worry too much about backwards compatibility. OS X didn't have that luxury until today. With the free play, Apple is giving their customers zero reason to stay on older versions. They want to see 90 percent adoption rates in 6 months. Why? Th…
If it was just about apps, why wouldn't they release OS X for all x86* architectures instead of just their hardware? Then projects such as hackintosh/osx86 would be irrelevant.
I'm not seeing any upside for Apple if they did this.
It's also a response to google docs. Introducing collaboration on iWork is a good first step to address to the shift towards shared docs. I imagine we'll see that expand significantly in the future.
I just wish they'd gone ahead and made iWork free across the board (or perhaps for Mavericks users), rather than only with the purchase of a new device.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Imagine if as a developer you only have to worry about a single platform? Actually, this was one of my first reaction as a developer. I developed and maintain a scientific software package (treebank search) that I maintain for Windows (>= XP), OS X (>= 10.7), and Linux (latest Ubuntu LTS). My first reaction after hearing that Mavericks is free was: great, if most people will upgrade, I am freed of supporting the lega…
> My first reaction after hearing that Mavericks is free was: great, if most people will upgrade, I am freed of supporting the legacy OS X versions. And if software developers cease to support older OS versions, those people with old computers that cannot upgrade have a stronger incentive for buying new hardware.