increasing product lifecycles (and why there aren't any updates!
I saw this article in Infoworld outlining Apple's plans for the year. Fred Anderson said they are moving towards a 2x per year upgrade cycle (old news) But occasionaly will have 3-4 quarter update cycles.
This is the most horrible news I have ever heard. I do have to say, if you plan on limiting refreshes, you have to make sure the specs will stand the test of time. No products like slow/outdated/usb 1/pc100 RAM toting emacs.
Infoworld link
I do hope that Apple is agressive about reaching the $10 billion goal, and begins to take more advantage of the anti-MS tide to grow marketshare.
Although the EU ruling is fairly minor, Microsoft also agreed to a large settlement with Sun, new friendliness and openess regarding key windows technologies, and said Longhorn etas won't be out till next year. Now is the time to blow Linux out of the water.
Quote:
In a hint at a broad product refresh cycle to come, they also hinted that Apple management tends to favor a two-quarter lifespan approach to products in its range, occasionally extending this to three or even four quarters per product iteration.
In a hint at a broad product refresh cycle to come, they also hinted that Apple management tends to favor a two-quarter lifespan approach to products in its range, occasionally extending this to three or even four quarters per product iteration.
This is the most horrible news I have ever heard. I do have to say, if you plan on limiting refreshes, you have to make sure the specs will stand the test of time. No products like slow/outdated/usb 1/pc100 RAM toting emacs.
Infoworld link
I do hope that Apple is agressive about reaching the $10 billion goal, and begins to take more advantage of the anti-MS tide to grow marketshare.
Although the EU ruling is fairly minor, Microsoft also agreed to a large settlement with Sun, new friendliness and openess regarding key windows technologies, and said Longhorn etas won't be out till next year. Now is the time to blow Linux out of the water.
Comments
We've built up this culture of new, new, new, new. People are always impatient for the next greatest thing, starting with the day the current thing is introduced. This is foolish and shortsighted, and I welcome a change to this cycle. Better things will come faster if you don't expect them to come more frequently.
Originally posted by Programmer We've built up this culture of new, new, new, new. People are always impatient for the next greatest thing, starting with the day the current thing is introduced. This is foolish and shortsighted, and I welcome a change to this cycle.
Uhm, this is because our society has a real demand for better, faster, and more frequent. In the professional world, a faster computer means time savings and more money and possibly success, all American ideals. This desire for a new product is not foolish or just an example of American excess, it is a result of our American work ethic.
Originally posted by Programmer
Why is it so horrible? At least it'll make your purchase last twice as long before it is out-dated by a newer release. System development has been progressing at a breakneck pace for 20 years (in the case of the Mac, at least), do you really think that is sustainable forever?
We've built up this culture of new, new, new, new. People are always impatient for the next greatest thing, starting with the day the current thing is introduced. This is foolish and shortsighted, and I welcome a change to this cycle. Better things will come faster if you don't expect them to come more frequently.
Why I am anxiously awaiting updates: my new ibook g4 can't keep up with my garage band compositions: neither can the emacs, imacs, or single processor g5.
Apple raised the performance bar with garageband and recent machines can not keep up. Perhaps the only computer that could keep up are the dual processor g5s, and nothing come close to keeping up in the notebook lineup.
No updates would be a-ok with me if I only surfed the web, emailed and word processed. But the digital lifestyle takes processing power, and the full lineup is quite ready to take the challenge on some of the applications.
We don't need 12ghz tomorrow...just enough speed to handle 12-15 simultaneous virtual instruments in garageband
Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.
Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
Originally posted by Programmer
We've built up this culture of new, new, new, new. People are always impatient for the next greatest thing, starting with the day the current thing is introduced. This is foolish and shortsighted, and I welcome a change to this cycle. Better things will come faster if you don't expect them to come more frequently.
Originally posted by Messiahtosh
Uhm, this is because our society has a real demand for better, faster, and more frequent. In the professional world, a faster computer means time savings and more money and possibly success, all American ideals. This desire for a new product is not foolish or just an example of American excess, it is a result of our American work ethic.
It has nothing to do with your so called "American work ethic" that's something the marketing boys want us to believe. hyping shit into honey.
it's your "american" marketing ethics that made people impatient for the next greatest thing. we're all brainwashed by this mechanism.
Originally posted by AirSluf
Well, that exists already. Get a dual G5, your preference to wait for a rev b is just that a preference. It doesn't mean a box with the requirements you need doesn't exist, something you already implicitly and explicitly state repeatedly in your first two paragraphs. Rants are much more effective if they aren't self conflicted.
You missed the notebook part. I want a notebook to fun garage band effectively. The reason I said perhaps the dual g5s, is beacuse I actually haven't tried garage band out on them personally.
Garageband is a consumer level application, and all of the consumer machines should be able to handle it acceptablely. But more importantly...all new computers should be able to keep up with the software released at the same time......if it is preloaded on the computer. Hey I'm not talking Halo...I mean just the stuff your computer comes with. Would you want a computer that comes with iTunes and iTunes is slow and can't encode your cds?
Only 1 box in the entire apple lineup meets my requirements. That is ridiculous. Rev B or not, the majority of the CURRENT lineup should be able to handle the CURRENT software.
One thing we can all agree on, in the early days of computers, the software required high-powered software. This was the case until about 1995, whenthe hardware surpassed the needs of the software. And largely this is still true, most people do not need a faster computer to run basic programs. Home computers are getting more an more powerful, and we are looking at a "ditributed computing model."
Then came the "digital hub concept," where computers have become stations for video editing, photos, and movies. At this point we have come full circle, and the current cycle has hardware that is not able to keep up with the software (Ask the movie editors, 3d animators, and music creators, graphic designers). Using this type of software requires more speed and power. It is unfortunate that even the top end of the hardware spectrum needs updating to keep up with the new stuff.
Sure technologies like the xgrid will help, and affordable super computing clusters will make processing power availible to all kinds of new markets, but the fact remains, the power still needs to trickle down to the home users to handle the digital lifestyle.
The reason updates or so essential, is that the software requirements are making monumental leaps past the current hardware.
My favorite example, garageband will not fully run on products sold as recently as September 2003 (ibook g3s). And I want hardware that will stand the test of time (at least for computer years). I mean the ibook g3 was outdated in terms of software compatibility in 3 months. That sucks.
Or the game second life (one of those online virtual reality community games.) That one's minimum system requirements is a 1ghz or higher g4 ...and they reccommend a g5. And the dual g5 con't really keep up with the game!!!!! The game started beta testing late last year. You can't even buy a current computer to keep up with it! (I saw it demo)
Second life system requirements
So I will concede, for many users the current hardware is plenty, almost overkill even. But clamoring for the next new thing, although it is a conspiracy dreamed up by American marketers, is justified.
Because performance isn't keeping up with software, just like in the early days.
Originally posted by AirSluf
Well, that exists already. Get a dual G5, your preference to wait for a rev b is just that a preference. It doesn't mean a box with the requirements you need doesn't exist, something you already implicitly and explicitly state repeatedly in your first two paragraphs. Rants are much more effective if they aren't self conflicted.
What Jade said. I started to respond, but saw his response had already been made.
This desire for a new product is not foolish or just an example of American excess, it is a result of our American work ethic.
Bullsh*t. Since when does having something new and shiny on your desktop make you work faster. Might work for kids, but adults should know better.
Nothing is fine. People seem to forget that Apple competes in the computer market. This market is chiefly driven by constant evolution. Apple can't just sit there and let their entire line-up develop gray hair.
Why for gods sake didn't they update the iMac to a G5 last september?
Why for gods sake don't they use the 7547 in the iBooks?
Why doesn't the PB have a better battery?
Why didn't they at least lower the price of the PM G5?
None of this costs a lot more, but customer appeal would be far better.
Apple's software is progressing far faster.
They can do it with the iPod. Why can't they do it with the machines?
I *really* don't get it.
I vote for more smaller but more frequent updates and constant price adjustments. This means we need more modularity in the machines. An iMac would have a graphic card adaptor.
programmer states that nothing can grow infinitely. True, but keep in mind that the competition did manage to advance. Apple is still playing catch-up.
Apple needs to struggle more furiously to get the performance crown back.
Remember in 1997 Apple ran ads touting the double speediness of the G3 when compared to a Pentium.
Apple and Steve Jobs are directly responsible that we lost that lead.
This is ridiculous!
Originally posted by cocoa tree
...Apple and Steve Jobs are directly responsible that we lost that lead.
This is ridiculous!
Maybe, but Motorola gets a big assist.
There is nothing historically new or different about the current state of Apple's lineup. Even if updates don't come for another few months, things will be as they have always been.
Once you have witnessed these cycles a few times, it becomes almost comical to read these 'the sky is falling' posts.
If the 15"PB goes from 1.25Ghz G4 to 2.4 Ghz G5 thats also fine.
What I dread to see is a repeat of Apples pathetic G4 saga of 100Mhz speed increases and still having to wait 6months for it.
Dobby.
Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.
Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.
Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
Originally posted by jade
Garageband is a consumer level application, and all of the consumer machines should be able to handle it acceptablely. But more importantly...all new computers should be able to keep up with the software released at the same time......if it is preloaded on the computer. Hey I'm not talking Halo...I mean just the stuff your computer comes with. Would you want a computer that comes with iTunes and iTunes is slow and can't encode your cds?
Software has always driven hardware sales. If it weren't for people wanting to be able to do more things, needing faster computers, the computer industry wouldn't be where it is.
Apple loves it when there's a new application which requires big processing power. If there are artists out there running Garage Band, with 15 simultaneous instruments, there's a real need for G5 towers. I think your expectation that all of Apple's consumer-level computers be able to handle that task is over-optimistic.
That said, I agree that more frequent upgrades or price reductions are in order. Occasional price reductions would encourage hardware sales to those who would otherwise wait months for an upgrade.
Originally posted by AirSluf
GarageBand is a consumer app, but the level you seem to want to run it at, jade, is a bit beyond a consumer level. How many garage bands do you know of that have 10 player back-up orchestras along with the usual 3-5 prime players? It's all a relative manner. My computer came with TexEdit, but I don't think I will complain that I can't write my dissertation the way I want with it.
Have I damped overly-hyped expectations enough? Don't like it? Oh well, you don't have to.
GB is actually more processor intensive than many pro apps. g5s can do like 99 tracks in logic. But in garageband...they all die at about 20.
I'll tell you a secret.....I haven't actually tried 12 virtual instrunments yet in GB.
Because my ibook is "system overload" at 6 virtual instrunment tracks. Yup six. Which isn't that many...I haven't even though about plugging a real keyboard into it. I am just mixing loops. and I like to switch the bass loops into horns. On on the single g5 I made it to 8 virtual instrunment loops before the system overload.
When Apple stops selling computers, I will stop expecting Apple to update its products in tune with the tech industry. Until that day comes it is not unreasonable to expect my computer to keep up with the applications pre-loaded on it.