When will Apple innovate again?
This is Future Hardware, so I don't want discuss OSX or iApp here. First, let's define "innovation."
Innovation - " The act of introducing something new."
...to which I'll add: to the computer industry.
With that, I'll apply a 5-star rating to Apple's innovativeness (<- an actual word).
- As an exercise, let's take the current iMac. Is this innovate? If you use AtAT's description of it (lump-stick-rectangle), you can argue that it's new. (How many Stick computers have you seen?) But come on, it's an all-in-one design. Been there, done that. ( * / * * * * * )
- How about the iPod? It may be a "breakthrough" product, but a hardware-based MP3 player has been done. It gets points for the Firewire connection. That hasn't been done. ( * * / * * * * * )
- Built-in 802.11b antenna ( * * * * * / * * * * * )
- 22" Cinema display ( * * * * / * * * * * )
- Firewire ( * * * * * / * * * * * )
- Newton ( * * * * / * * * * * ) [for Fran]
We can argue about the Cinema display, as LCDs have been done around, but that's a whopper of a widescreen in the computing world. Any way, you get the idea.
However, when I look back, there haven't been as many innovations as I thought. Maybe someone can remind me of a few. But for now, the question is: WHAT'S NeXT?
- Bluetooth-enabled peripherals?
- Wireless video connection?
- Zero-button mouse?
- What the heck is Gigawire anyway?
- Sexbots? (I have to stop reading Crazy Apple Rumors)
[Note: Using the G5 is not innovate -- other computers also have microprocessors, if you can believe it. A Quad G5 in a consumer computer is, though. Get it?]
Innovation - " The act of introducing something new."
...to which I'll add: to the computer industry.
With that, I'll apply a 5-star rating to Apple's innovativeness (<- an actual word).
- As an exercise, let's take the current iMac. Is this innovate? If you use AtAT's description of it (lump-stick-rectangle), you can argue that it's new. (How many Stick computers have you seen?) But come on, it's an all-in-one design. Been there, done that. ( * / * * * * * )
- How about the iPod? It may be a "breakthrough" product, but a hardware-based MP3 player has been done. It gets points for the Firewire connection. That hasn't been done. ( * * / * * * * * )
- Built-in 802.11b antenna ( * * * * * / * * * * * )
- 22" Cinema display ( * * * * / * * * * * )
- Firewire ( * * * * * / * * * * * )
- Newton ( * * * * / * * * * * ) [for Fran]
We can argue about the Cinema display, as LCDs have been done around, but that's a whopper of a widescreen in the computing world. Any way, you get the idea.
However, when I look back, there haven't been as many innovations as I thought. Maybe someone can remind me of a few. But for now, the question is: WHAT'S NeXT?
- Bluetooth-enabled peripherals?
- Wireless video connection?
- Zero-button mouse?
- What the heck is Gigawire anyway?
- Sexbots? (I have to stop reading Crazy Apple Rumors)
[Note: Using the G5 is not innovate -- other computers also have microprocessors, if you can believe it. A Quad G5 in a consumer computer is, though. Get it?]
Comments
Fitting the computer into such a small enclosure must get some points, right?
Any way, if you haven't seen the new iMac, you really need to take the time and get to your local Apple Retail Store if you can. These machines are awesome to look at and awesome to use.
They're fast, have beautiful displays, they're fast, and are just unbelievable to use (so fast!). Sure, they may not fit your definition of 'innovative', but they sure will sell a ton of them.
Did I mention these machines were fast? If not, they are fast.
Edit: BTW, thanks for the Newton 'plug'. But make it 5 stars. The handwriting recognition itself should get 5 stars. :cool:
[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: Fran441 ]</p>
<strong>In a few weeks when the G5 comes out
That's innovative because...?
We know Apple can make cool designs. I love my girlfriend's TiBook, for example: **** for the widescreen in a laptop, and the first all-titanium housing.
Once more, Innovative = New, as in not introduced before, and not "oh, is that a new tie?"
Fran: forgot about the handwriting technology. You're right.
[edit: punctuations, punctuations]
[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: GardenOfEarthlyDelights ]</p>
what about gigawire. who knows what it is. osopinion.com speculated it's a wireless technology...what about wireless firewire? drives and peripherals that don't need any cabling...that can merely be placed close to your mac to operate. that would be revolutionary too...
<strong>
That's innovative because...?
We know Apple can make cool designs. I love my girlfriend's TiBook, for example: **** for the widescreen in a laptop, and the first all-titanium housing.
Once more, Innovative = New, as in not introduced before, and not "oh, is that a new tie?"
Fran: forgot about the handwriting technology. You're right.
[edit: punctuations, punctuations]
[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: GardenOfEarthlyDelights ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Ok, since you need it spelled out
Gigawire is something new. 64-bit chip for consumers is new. I'm sure the G5 case will be innovative. Airport 2 whatever it may be, etc.
The G5 itself I think will embody 'innovative' as as mush of their products do.
\tEach of us is creative. Whether were writing a memo or composing a symphony, taking thoughts distilling them into something meaningful is a uniquely human process. And the tool we use to transform an idea into action can be as much a source of inspiration as a means to an end.
\tAnd the most flexible and powerful tool yet created for translating dreams into reality is, in itself, a monument to human creativity.
The Macintosh.
\tWhat Apples products have in common has been largely unnoticed by you, the
\tWhen I first heard Steve Jobs describe the Mac as a digital hub for a multi media lifestyle, I was impressed. But I would go a step further and say that the Mac is a creativity hub too. It is one thing to fill our lives with cool gadgets such as Palm devices, MP3 and DVD players. It is another thing entirely to allow us to fill those devices with music worth listening to and movies worth watching.
\t In this box is everything you need to mix music, edit movies, paint pictures, craft web sites, write novels or just be creative. It is your inspiration toolbox. And who doesn't want to be more inspired? While Apple and Steve Jobs wrap up computers in the industries most compelling packages, it has always been what?s inside the box that really counts even if the computers are just as beautiful on the outside.
Theabove is what innovation is and that is what apple has always done with its products so we can use them to innovate for ourselves. Apple brings all of their unique products together to form an overall innovative computing environment.
[QB]
- Zero-button mouse?
/QB]<hr></blockquote>
the current pro mouse is technically zero button, as the whole unit Rocks forward to complete a click, as opposed to using your fingers to push a button,I LOVe the pro mouse, but I don't use mine cause I need 3 buttons at least
apple should redesign the pro mouse slightly, make it capable of rocking forward/backward and left and right, that way you have left click/right click and the forward and back COULD be a scroll wheel type deal(or just customizable)
Apple has instead concentrated on two things:
Taking what was appealing in theory but either poorly implemented or cost-prohibitive (or both) and releasing a well-designed version at an approachable price. This is actually a return to the Mac's roots. One recent innovation - which admittedly is software-based, but relevant to hardware - is the steady reduction of the dependency on hardware to extend the capabilities of the machine. By the time March rolls around, a bottom of the line (LCD) iMac will be able to do things that not even the top of the line PowerMac could do this time last year: n-channel audio; real-time effects; etc. This is working toward a major design innovation that Steve has sought for years, namely the elimination of the need to open the box and handle circuit boards.
Engineering, both mechanical and material. In materials engineering, Apple has been innovating like mad. Nobody had ever tried to do anything like the iMac's colored shell with plastic before. The tolerances were previously unheard of. The Cube's silvery enclosure was actually believed to be impossible (instead, it was only very difficult...). The patterned iMacs used plastic in a way that had never been done before. For mechanical engineering: The Cube. The new iMac - both the compact base and the screen pivot. Apple collaborated with Pioneer on the SuperDrive, and with Lucent on AirPort. Apparently, they also work with their LCD suppliers to get higher-than-normal quality displays.
Apple's been very busy.
If the rumors are true, and Apple has taken a lead in engineering the G5 (they had a hand in the G4 too), that will count for Apple innovation as well. Especially if it ships with multiple cores.
but i pretty much know what you mean. and i don't think you're being consistent. the cinema display. it's a bigger version of the already present lcd display. so what. is "bigger" really innovative?
the new imac. you give it a one? i think you're not being objective here. the all in one has been done at least 5 times by apple, as long ago as 1984. and i'll bet you take the old imac to be revolutionary. it came with color, but so too did the 20th anniv and the TV macs. so, wherein lies what i believe to be the innovation in this product? well, it's the first all in one computer that utilizes an lcd display in an elegant way. and further incoroporates high power and doesn't sacrifice any of it for the sake of a simple (and more uninteresting) design.
i get the impression you're not impressed with anything made by apple that isn't truly revolutionary. (which is a better word for what you seem to be searching for) and, well, get ready for some disappointments in your future.
but on the speculation.
gigawire i have to imagine is just firewire gen. 2. thinking about it, firewire is 400 mbps, the latest gen was supposed to be 800. and that was a while ago. i'll be by now they have it up to gigabiit range
wireless video? i'd be mighty impressed if they could do that. i envision the need of a satelitte dish for that to work. and i'd buy whatever they came out with!!
oh wait, the G5 is not innovative? please.
<strong>
oh wait, the G5 is not innovative? please.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Huh?
The G5 (chip) is made by Motorola isnt it? I think the original poster was asking when APPLE would innovate again...not Motorola/IBM.
Thats kind of like saying Dell is innovating because the released a new machine with the P4 2.2Ghz or whatever in it.
-Moazam
<strong>
If the rumors are true, and Apple has taken a lead in engineering the G5 (they had a hand in the G4 too), that will count for Apple innovation as well. Especially if it ships with multiple cores.</strong><hr></blockquote>
As we have found out lately, the rumors are almost never true.
-Moazam
<strong>
Huh?
The G5 (chip) is made by Motorola isnt it? I think the original poster was asking when APPLE would innovate again...not Motorola/IBM.
Thats kind of like saying Dell is innovating because the released a new machine with the P4 2.2Ghz or whatever in it.
-Moazam</strong><hr></blockquote>
Moto doesn't put the peices together inside the towers. they only make the chip. Dell just assembles, very different. Apple has gigawire, may bring 64 bit chips and OS to the desktop and I'm sure the design may be innovative. The G5 argument is meerly to say that the next time Apple innovates will most likely be with the G5's release.
<strong>
Moto doesn't put the peices together inside the towers. they only make the chip. Dell just assembles, very different. Apple has gigawire, may bring 64 bit chips and OS to the desktop and I'm sure the design may be innovative. The G5 argument is meerly to say that the next time Apple innovates will most likely be with the G5's release.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You can buy a 64bit DESKTOP machine right now for $995. How is this any innovation? Its not.
-Moazam
<strong>your definition and your application of it are both poorly done. #1, "the act of introducing something new to the computer industry" was done i guess 3 basic times at the keynote. iphoto, the new imac and the 14" ibook. all weren't in the industry before. they introduced them and they were new. so by your definition all of these should get a 5 out of 5.</strong><hr></blockquote>
The definition of innovation comes from the dictionary. I added "to the computer industry," because Apple doesn't make cars, planes, etc.
iPhoto is software. This is a hardware topic.
A 14" iBook is innovative? As I said before, a "new tie" isn't innovative, as ties have existed before. It's just new to you, as a used car that you bought. I stick by my definitions.
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>but i pretty much know what you mean. and i don't think you're being consistent. the cinema display. it's a bigger version of the already present lcd display. so what. is "bigger" really innovative?</strong><hr></blockquote>
As I stated, you can argue this one. Bigger <> Innovative, but I think SGI's 21" screen wasn't a wide-screen format. But the Cinema had ADC, which was new (good or bad).
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>the new imac. you give it a one? i think you're not being objective here. the all in one has been done at least 5 times by apple, as long ago as 1984. and i'll bet you take the old imac to be revolutionary. it came with color, but so too did the 20th anniv and the TV macs. so, wherein lies what i believe to be the innovation in this product? well, it's the first all in one computer that utilizes an lcd display in an elegant way. and further incoroporates high power and doesn't sacrifice any of it for the sake of a simple (and more uninteresting) design.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Cool <> Innovative. What's innovative about it? A G4? A Super Drive? An all-in-one LCD screen? Been there, done that.
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>I get the impression you're not impressed with anything made by apple that isn't truly revolutionary. (which is a better word for what you seem to be searching for) and, well, get ready for some disappointments in your future.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Revolutionary may not necessarily be the same as innovative. You can make the argument that the original iMac was revolutionary, and I would tend to agree. But remember, the original Mac was an all-in-one design.
Disappointed? I don't think so, as I have low expectations from Apple. I was actually happy to hear about the 14" iBook. And I love the TiBook, as I've also stated.
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>but on the speculation.
gigawire i have to imagine is just firewire gen. 2. thinking about it, firewire is 400 mbps, the latest gen was supposed to be 800. and that was a while ago. i'll be by now they have it up to gigabiit range</strong><hr></blockquote>
Is speeding up Firewire innnovative? I'm struggling on this one.
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>wireless video? i'd be mighty impressed if they could do that. i envision the need of a satelitte dish for that to work. and i'd buy whatever they came out with!!
I'd be impressed, too.
[quote]Originally posted by pdino:
<strong>oh wait, the G5 is not innovative? please.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If it incorporates Hypertransport, RapidIO or sexbots, it would be innovative.
If it's just faster, or more Altivec units, then someone will have to explain to me why that's innovative to the computer industry.
I'm not a pessimist. I just want to see cool things that make me go, "oooh." And I want this to come from Apple.
<strong>Apple has shifted their innovative approach to more fruitful territory. They learned from the Newton: The iPod wasn't the first, but it was released when Apple could make it the best, before the other companies had refined their designs into something truly appealing. Generally, it's a good idea to let the pioneers take the arrows.
Apple has instead concentrated on two things:
Taking what was appealing in theory but either poorly implemented or cost-prohibitive (or both) and releasing a well-designed version at an approachable price. This is actually a return to the Mac's roots. One recent innovation - which admittedly is software-based, but relevant to hardware - is the steady reduction of the dependency on hardware to extend the capabilities of the machine. By the time March rolls around, a bottom of the line (LCD) iMac will be able to do things that not even the top of the line PowerMac could do this time last year: n-channel audio; real-time effects; etc. This is working toward a major design innovation that Steve has sought for years, namely the elimination of the need to open the box and handle circuit boards.
Engineering, both mechanical and material. In materials engineering, Apple has been innovating like mad. Nobody had ever tried to do anything like the iMac's colored shell with plastic before. The tolerances were previously unheard of. The Cube's silvery enclosure was actually believed to be impossible (instead, it was only very difficult...). The patterned iMacs used plastic in a way that had never been done before. For mechanical engineering: The Cube. The new iMac - both the compact base and the screen pivot. Apple collaborated with Pioneer on the SuperDrive, and with Lucent on AirPort. Apparently, they also work with their LCD suppliers to get higher-than-normal quality displays.
Apple's been very busy.
If the rumors are true, and Apple has taken a lead in engineering the G5 (they had a hand in the G4 too), that will count for Apple innovation as well. Especially if it ships with multiple cores.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I agree with your entire post. I guess I just want more. I'm actually pretty happy with Apple's current fare.
But wouldn't dual G4s in a TiBook be cool?
<strong>
the current pro mouse is technically zero button, as the whole unit Rocks forward to complete a click, as opposed to using your fingers to push a button,I LOVe the pro mouse, but I don't use mine cause I need 3 buttons at least
apple should redesign the pro mouse slightly, make it capable of rocking forward/backward and left and right, that way you have left click/right click and the forward and back COULD be a scroll wheel type deal(or just customizable)</strong><hr></blockquote>
I still like this one.
<strong>
You can buy a 64bit DESKTOP machine right now for $995. How is this any innovation? Its not.
-Moazam</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, maybe innovation as in the first one that is mass marketed with mass marketed apps designed to take advantage of 64 bits instead of a SUN box that is only useful to a select few that even know how to use one. The hard part as always is, how much innovation is innovation.
for example...apple invented firewire quite a few years ago. it was true innovation...and nobody cared. apple put firewire on their new systems...and very few people cared. apple puts a firewire port on the ipod so a CD only takes 10 seconds to download and suddenly everyone gets it. firewire is innovation! the same will be said of the new imac too. they didn't invent the flat screened computer, but they know how to make that idea sexy and, er, innovative.
<strong>here's something else...innovation is as much perception as it is inspiration. innovation only "works" if everyone around you agrees your way is better. this is something apple has become very good at...taking an idea with "innovative potential" and turning it into technology people will talk about around the water cooler.
for example...apple invented firewire quite a few years ago. it was true innovation...and nobody cared. apple put firewire on their new systems...and very few people cared. apple puts a firewire port on the ipod so a CD only takes 10 seconds to download and suddenly everyone gets it. firewire is innovation! the same will be said of the new imac too. they didn't invent the flat screened computer, but they know how to make that idea sexy and, er, innovative.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Innovation is simply something new, not if it works, or is cool, or widely accepted. It may not mean cool, or good or even bad. It is simply new.
What a company does with innovation is independent of the innovation itself (see Iridium).
Here's a stupid innovation: the minivan.
Chrysler introduced this in the dark days of the 1980s. Not only did it become a top seller for them, but others quickly imitated it to capture some of their success. What other advantages did it give Chrysler? How about a higher margin on minivans than their competitors. You can consider the original iMac Apple's minivan.
If Apple gave us their Inkwell technology in their next 'Book update, I'd be happy with that innovation.