Steve Jobs: Apple tablet "the most importing thing I've ever done" - Page 3

Originally Posted by reliason

The puff piece on Jobs career gloss over many of Jobs' failures.

The Apple Lisa
The Hiring of Scully
NeXT failure to find a niche (it was not started as an OS company, but as a hardware vendor to compete with MS and Apple)
The eMate
The Mac Cube
Apple TV

They also left out some important points.
NeXTs Acquisition of Renderman
The Formation of Pixar

I believe this tablet, if announced, can be a game changer. I have wanted a functional tablet for years, I even own a Fujitsu tablet -- which sucks.

If he delivers a blinding brilliant product, but misses the price point, it will still be a failure.

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

I thought the porno would be "The Devil Wears Nothing"

Originally Posted by zoetmb

It's been said that if you don't have any failures, then you're not taking enough risks. Apple's failures (since Jobs' return) have been few and far between and minor in importance. (So the Cube wasn't a real big success - big deal!)

Most of Jobs' failure at Apple were before his return. Think about how young and how inexperienced he was at the time. He was only 30 when he left Apple.

Especially considering that critics said that Apple should be closed or sold, that the retail operation would be a failure, that cheap MP3 players would destroy the market for the iPod, that since people could get a phone for free or near-free, no one outside of business executives would pay $200-$300 for a phone, that no one would buy Macs when they could buy Dells cheaper, that Macs could not survive because there wasn't enough application software, that Apple would fail at the PowerPC to Intel transition, etc., their success is truly remarkable.

Add to that their continued success during a worldwide recession where even flat revenue would be considered success for almost any other company and you have a truly remarkable company that has been running on all cylinders for some time.

When most companies have a failing product, they simply discontinue it and produce something else instead and no one even notices. (Sony's XBR10 series of TVs has barely made it to retail and they seem already discontinued.) If Dell or Lenovo stopped making a computer, would you even know? But everything Apple does is placed under a microscope.

Some critics have complained that Apple is not really a computer company anymore, but so what? Apple understands that it's in the business of selling hardware and software products and services that enable the delivery and manipulation of media and data. The particular device you use to accomplish this is not really important. Companies who don't understand that do so at their peril. (In post-WWII, the railroad companies essentially went out of business in the U.S. because they did not understand that they were in the transportation business, not the train business. Imagine if the railroads had invested in airlines and built lines to airports to transport people to downtown and to smaller cities, etc. Likewise, in the early 1950s, the Hollywood movie studios did not understand that they were in the entertainment business, not the "movie" business, and originally refused to sell product to or invest in TV production.) What Apple has understood better than anyone else is the importance of the ecosystem. It's the ecosystem that has made the iPod, the iPhone and Apple retail an enormous success.

And it's not just Apple. Jobs bought Pixar from Lucas for $5 million (+ an investment of $ 5 million), managed it brilliantly and sold it to Disney for $4.7 billion.

I actually would like to see Apple have another (moderate) failure. One learns more from failure than from success and Apple still has a bit of an "arrogance" problem.

Name one other company that has executed as brilliantly as Apple during the last ten years. Imagine if there were ten companies in the U.S. that performed as well as Apple (not just financial success, but in terms of impact on the marketplace and industry.)

Originally Posted by reliason

The puff piece on Jobs career gloss over many of Jobs' failures.

The Apple Lisa
The Hiring of Scully
NeXT failure to find a niche (it was not started as an OS company, but as a hardware vendor to compete with MS and Apple)
The eMate
The Mac Cube
Apple TV

They also left out some important points.
NeXTs Acquisition of Renderman
The Formation of Pixar

I believe this tablet, if announced, can be a game changer. I have wanted a functional tablet for years, I even own a Fujitsu tablet -- which sucks.

If he delivers a blinding brilliant product, but misses the price point, it will still be a failure.

Originally Posted by reliason

The puff piece on Jobs career gloss over many of Jobs' failures.

The Apple Lisa
The Hiring of Scully
NeXT failure to find a niche (it was not started as an OS company, but as a hardware vendor to compete with MS and Apple)
The eMate
The Mac Cube
Apple TV

They also left out some important points.
NeXTs Acquisition of Renderman
The Formation of Pixar

I believe this tablet, if announced, can be a game changer. I have wanted a functional tablet for years, I even own a Fujitsu tablet -- which sucks.

If he delivers a blinding brilliant product, but misses the price point, it will still be a failure.

Originally Posted by reliason

The puff piece on Jobs career gloss over many of Jobs' failures.

The Apple Lisa
The Hiring of Scully
NeXT failure to find a niche (it was not started as an OS company, but as a hardware vendor to compete with MS and Apple)
The eMate
The Mac Cube
Apple TV

They also left out some important points.
NeXTs Acquisition of Renderman
The Formation of Pixar

I believe this tablet, if announced, can be a game changer. I have wanted a functional tablet for years, I even own a Fujitsu tablet -- which sucks.

If he delivers a blinding brilliant product, but misses the price point, it will still be a failure.

Originally Posted by antkm1

i remember reading articles reporting how Jobs was so disappointed that the iphone didn't get more wide-spread adoption in industries other than entertainment. Saying that the medical, government, educational, etc. would benefit much more from the iphone than the media industry. I think that's what is meant when SJ is quoted as saying this "creation" is the most important thing he's ever done. And i see his point. when the 3GS came out i remember the keynote where they were promoting educaiton apps and medical apps (i.e. the blood glucose tester). The technology of the iphone and this new "Creation" are important to the greater good. The problem is that Apple has never been a heavy hitter in the corporate sector, which is largely dominated by Microsoft products. If SJ want's to go to the philanthropic route, he's going to have to make a much larger effort to win over the corporate world. The real problem with it all is that it boggles my mind as to why SJ is so surprised that the gaming/entertainment aspect of the iPhone/Touch is dominating. Well, when you're marketing a product to the non-techinical, non-corporate user, that's mainly what we need from a device like these.

Let's hope the "creation" is a bold step forward.

blazing bonfire of excited anticipation

"the most important thing I've ever done"

Originally Posted by s.metcalf

Add to that list the Mac Mini...have a soft spot for the G4 cube though! Oh and first gen iMac G5s were crap...

Originally Posted by ifail

I dont remember seeing those articles but the iPhone fails miserably at security so you can nix that idea. iPhone in education...maybe but limited. Medical field i cant really say but im not sure how i would feel about someone carrying/having access to my medical records in their pocket. Sure the extent goes beyond that but im too tired to think of anything.

Their computers work well for education/medical/science purposes but the government essentially runs on Windows and that most likely wont be changing.

I personally would rather see this tablet be more education focused than being some useless content device to carry around.

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

In my country, in the past decade the main newspapers that used to be the vanguard of intelligent writing and reporting have fallen to the wayside with propaganda and all sorts of uninteresting stuff.

Originally Posted by Carmissimo

How do you figure the Mini is a failure? They're still making them. I know. I just bought one.

Great computer, by the way.

Most are opting for the iMac instead but I like the idea of being able to retain my monitor when I decide to trade up to a new desktop. With the iMac you're stuck having to get rid of a perfectly good monitor years before it has stopped working well on account of the computer attached to it has packed it in. Last time I checked, computers don't last more than 10 years but good monitors do.

Granted, for the price of my Mini, an external hard drive and a 24" Cinema Display (terrific monitor, by the way) I could have bought a 27" iMac and had better specs. But the Mini is fast enough for my needs and a few years from now, I will be able to trade it in for a machine faster than the current iMac, get a decent dollar in trade, and be good to go for a few more years. I'll be able to do that several times during the lifespan of the monitor. Every time I get a new machine, I can update my OS and iLife free of charge. Long-term, the Mini is a better deal.

Originally Posted by antkm1

That's 100% the reason why my last computer ended up as a PC. The Mini is a great machine but isn't powerful enough for my line of work, and i'm kicking myself for not buying one now since i really don't work much at home after changing jobs. The Mac Pro is way more than i need and way out of my price range. My industry is primarily PC based and REVIT doesn't work on Macs, unless you load Windows on it. Which, why would i buy a Mac to run Windows? As my girlfriend says, "i'm not going to taint my Mac with Microsoft Products".

Periferals are not disposable and don't need upgrading as often as computers. when are they going to make a iMac in a Mini form factor? Probably never, but it's worth hoping for one.

Originally Posted by kdaniel

Long time reader and fan, never posted.

And as another poster said -- the article glosses over many failures of Jobs: The cube, like other products, failed because it was a complete FORM without FUNCTION.... I still won't buy an iMac because you can't even replace the disk drive WHEN (not IF) it fails or should you actually want a bigger one!

Apple will always be a niche player as long as they, like yesterday, insist on 40% profit margins --- Bill Gates may have sold CRAP for many years, but he recognizes the value of selling a LOT of it and building market share. Steve Jobs does not.

And what happened to all the fanboys who declared that Jobs/Apple would destroy the corrupt system of cellphone mega monopolies???

But, he is not perfect. He makes mistakes. Sometimes very expensive mistakes.

I am interested to see what tomorrow brings. But, if it's tied only to ATT --- no tablet for me either!

Originally Posted by antkm1

That's 100% the reason why my last computer ended up as a PC. The Mini is a great machine but isn't powerful enough for my line of work, and i'm kicking myself for not buying one now since i really don't work much at home after changing jobs. The Mac Pro is way more than i need and way out of my price range. My industry is primarily PC based and REVIT doesn't work on Macs, unless you load Windows on it. Which, why would i buy a Mac to run Windows? As my girlfriend says, "i'm not going to taint my Mac with Microsoft Products".

Periferals are not disposable and don't need upgrading as often as computers. when are they going to make a iMac in a Mini form factor? Probably never, but it's worth hoping for one.

Originally Posted by kdaniel

Long time reader and fanI still won't buy an iMac because you can't even replace the disk drive WHEN (not IF) it fails or should you actually want a bigger one!

Originally Posted by alandail

you buy a 27" iMac and it becomes your monitor (or 2nd monitor) with your next computer.

Originally Posted by Carmissimo

One more thing. Because the hype leading up to tomorrow's event is absolutely insane, the initial reaction to the device will be major disappointment. Ignore that reaction and wait a bit to see what the fundamental impact of the device will be before passing judgement. Even if it is a game changer, it takes a while for the game to change and Apple's innovations do seem less than they really are at first glance. In the beginning the iPod was just a music player.

Originally Posted by Capnbob

Cube: yes - form over function in a product category that already existed with nothing else to differentiate it - not something that can be applied to the iTab

Niche player - yes - but wildly successful - you are not grasping the business angle here - market share is not relevant if you have critical mass in software (which the Mac does). Profitability is everything - Dell, HP's PC business, Acer etc. are all horribly thin margins with no hope of improvement - they have destroyed their own market in a race to the bottom. Bill Gates believes in much higher margins for most of his products (software) whose growth has never been based on low prices but on the success of the PC platfomr and monopolistic practices. Where he has moved into hardware, it has typically been a business failure (xBox, Zune - all money pits). Apple is slowly growing share at stellar margins which is the right way to go. A lunge for share by lowering prices puts Apple in Dell's place - and you can rarely ever raise prices after you have slashed them.

Carrier monopolies - not smashed but very different - now more and more people talk about platforms not phones, choose carriers based on platform availability, buy apps/ringtones etc. at market not carrier set prices, etc. Certainly an evolution away from carrier dominance. Don't expect Rome to fall in a day...

Yes he fails - but that is what makes him successful - he learns from failures...

Originally Posted by Carmissimo

As CPUS and GPUs get more powerful, the limits on what you can do with a Mini are diminished. I have the 2.53 version and it's a dramatic step up from my previous 1.87 model which netted me a surprisingly decent amount in a trade. Being able to hook up an external 7200 RPM drive via the faster Firewire 800 technology has also contributed to dramatic performance gains.

Down the road an even more compact Mini using solid-state hard drives is very likely. At that point they might just call it something else. A computer so portable you could practically stick in in your pocket. That could lead to some interesting developments. Maybe develop a dock that contains the optical drive, power supply and peripheral connections. Set up a dock in each of multiple locations and take your computer along with you. Maybe have docks set up in multiple locations in your home. Plug it into a desktop set-up, then drop it into your home entertainment unit in another room when it's needed there. Have a dock at work and one at home. Stop by a friend's place and use their dock to show them something on your unit. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by antkm1

The second thing the print industry needs to do to get out of thier self-inflicted mess, and hopefully Apple will help out here, is to make all print media in a single copy-protected format. Like PDF for example. Sure that puts a lot of $$$ in Adobe's hands...but it just solves the problem of the format wars, like with HDDVD and Blu-Ray, VHS and Beta, etc...consumer looses when companies get proprietary.

Originally Posted by SSabev

Hello,
This is my first post. Got so excited about the tablet and registered here.
While browsing I found this . So what do you think - is this a leak or a fake ?
Doesn't look very good in my opinion ...

Originally Posted by ifail

PDF would work but when your content goes beyond images and words then it falters horribly.

Apple wont be able to force one standard, they couldnt do it with MP3/iPod and they cant do it now if they want widespread adoption. All Apple needs to do is just support as many formats as possible (but have one PREFERRED for their iTunes Book Store, .pkg possibly with DRM? talk about nostalgia) this will essentially kill the overpriced Kindle and the Nook where they are. Lord knows that if you CAN use the iPhone Apps like the Nook and Kindle they are both screwed. It wouldnt surprise me if they pulled their apps very soon.

Originally Posted by SSabev

Hello,
This is my first post. Got so excited about the tablet and registered here.
While browsing I found this . So what do you think - is this a leak or a fake ?
Doesn't look very good in my opinion ...

Originally Posted by antkm1

the UI doesn't really look "Apple". But who knows.
I thought your post was spam until i watched the video.
It could be a leak or just really good speculative marketing.
Interesting that they call it the "iPad", since that seems to be the name most people are speculating it is.

Originally Posted by reliason

The puff piece on Jobs career gloss over many of Jobs' failures.

The Apple Lisa
The Hiring of Scully
NeXT failure to find a niche (it was not started as an OS company, but as a hardware vendor to compete with MS and Apple)
The eMate
The Mac Cube
Apple TV

Originally Posted by TomHicks

I must admit, that does look rather convincing.

I think the UI DOES look Apple - looks just like the iPhone with menu bar thingies...


EDIT: it seems that parts of that video have been doing the rounds since December.

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

"We failed Steve"
Interesting perspective.

Originally Posted by icyfog

With all the expectations surrounding tomorrow's announcement, I bet many people, all the tech pundits, will be disappointed because this device will not do enough.