I think the beauty of Apple is that Steve made you care whether your laptop was made out of one piece of aluminum. See the funny part is, no one should. There is absolutely no value to you other than bragging rights. But, don't worry, before long Steve will convince you that your laptop should be made of carbon fiber or maybe kevlar. Then you will be able to tell your friends that. Won't that be cool!!!!!
Btw, He also has everyone obsessed with thin. It fits in a backpack. What is the big deal about 0.3 inch. Give me a break.
I know exactly why they went to the unibody case, and I'm sure you do too.
I used to follow the problems people were reporting with their Macbooks on the Apple forums. I'm sure Apple knows better yet what all the problems were that they got units back for, but 99% of the problems I saw mentioned were obviously broken connections, whether traces on the circuit boards or external wiring.
If you've ever seen somebody pick a laptop up by the corner and hand it to somebody else, you know exactly why this happens?case flex. There are only two solutions: either secure the boards in so loosely that case flex doesn't transfer to them (and let vibration kill them off instead), or make the case much more rigid. Apple chose the latter course, everyone else the former. The reason Apple was forced to make their case enormously more rigid is because theirs are the only laptops that are expected to last more than a year or two anyway.
Yes that model works for Apple but do you believe anyone else is capable of using it successfully? What would've happened had Dell, HP, Gateway, etc? all decided to run their own OSs? How many different platforms can the market handle?
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How is Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How i.e. Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
Their only option is android since hp got palm already and ms won't release wp7 for tablets. But you are right there is really no way for acer to become an innovation based company any time soon, if ever. You need a brand that would attract the best people. Today only google and apple have such brands in the electronics industry.
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How is Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
Just because Apple makes it work doesn't mean it'll work for everyone else. How is Acer and the others get out of their problems is the million dollar question.
Doesn't Acer make the cheapest lowest quality products? Kinda unfair to compare them in sales that puts out higher end high quality products. It's like comparing an Aston Martin to a 1980's Chevrolet Cavelier.
Just because Apple makes it work doesn't mean it'll work for everyone else. How is Acer and the others get out of their problems is the million dollar question.
it depends on how patient they are and how well the execute. Apple's model takes a 10 to 20 year investment. I really don't see acer with that kind of patience. All I see them doing is bottom chasing the Android tablet market the same way they did the netbook market. Dumping their CEO really isn't even a band aid for the fundamental problems they have right now.
These companies do not suck, apple is a cult and once everyone takes a bite of the apple are under its control...
But really, the problem all these companies have they lack the single vision of how things should be, plus they do not control every part of their product. They all are relying on some other company to do things the right way.
I do not think a single person will say apple products are the perfect technology, however they do work well. Plus Apple does not do check list marketing. These other companies still think as long as their list of features are longer than the next guy they will see more sales.
Think about how many comments have been made over the years about the list of features apple products are missing, therefore, they will fail to win against the competitor who has the best list. Every time someone makes those kinds of comments, fail to understand and failed marketing 101. This is not apples game, apple provides the right amount of featurea that satisfy the majority of the people and make it works so people do not feel like they need all those other features.
Plus Apple is run by Jobs and he has a vision of how things should be and he is still executing again this, his vision is well beyond next year it is probably 10 to 20 yrs out.
Good post. You hit the nail on the head. I used to work at HP and wanted to have quality products (like HP used to be known for). A marketing guy there told me that it doesn't matter how well something works, as long as it's in the product so marketing can talk about it. Otherwise, it's not worth it. Good thing Apple doesn't doesn't do that, and makes (and cares) high quality products.
Damn, everyone knows Acer just makes low-end, cheap computers but sells bucketloads of them. I didn't think Acer were that concerned about Apple, which was, prior to the iPad, totally on the other end of the computing spectrum.
I think the beauty of Apple is that Steve made you care whether your laptop was made out of one piece of aluminum. See the funny part is, no one should. There is absolutely no value to you other than bragging rights. But, don't worry, before long Steve will convince you that your laptop should be made of carbon fiber or maybe kevlar. Then you will be able to tell your friends that. Won't that be cool!!!!!
Btw, He also has everyone obsessed with thin. It fits in a backpack. What is the big deal about 0.3 inch. Give me a break.
LOL. Anyone that's used a unibody Mac laptop, even when you go back to using the plastic Mac laptops, know and feel the huge difference. There is no going back. No one has to tell you this. It's obvious. And looking at the cheap plastic PC laptops, hell, no reason to even really think about it unless you really need whatever "features" you have to have.
Do you know what happens when you hold, open, close and move a Mac unibody laptop around and there's absolutely no flexing or creaking? You just think this is how a laptop should be made... at least until someone comes up with a better idea, which I haven't seen yet.
And thinness... Maybe on the desktop yeah the iMacs don't have to be that thin... But the iPad 2? Just hold that in your hand and you'll understand. Play around a bit with a MacBook Air. They're really remarkably sleek, it makes a difference when you have to carry one around all day, and it's just feels great.
The feature isn't the unibody, it's what the aluminium unibody allows you to create, which is gadgets never ever made before.
And we haven't even gotten to the part of all the plastic e-waste compared to aluminium which is genuinely easy to recycle.
The product sells itself. Steve Jobs' words would be worthless if the products themselves were not well-designed.
...As a CIO of a Gov agency, we use Windows Crap. Still using XP and 03 Server; 3,000 workstations and 120 servers. Staff of 40 techs. It is a shame knowing that we could be using a much better product, with less failure rate and higher client productivity.
Shame? it's a crime that taxpayers have to support such Windows Crap.
... I used to work at HP and wanted to have quality products (like HP used to be known for). A marketing guy there told me that it doesn't matter how well something works, as long as it's in the product so marketing can talk about it.
If you're working for a company when Marketing says "people will always buy our products; we're HP" (or IBM, or GM, or Motorola), and they're serious... it's time to RUN FOR THE DOOR!
That's because making the hardware and software isn't a good business model, it had Apple at the brink of bankruptcy.
No, a bunch of stupid business decisions including an extremely crappy deal brokered by John Scully that basically gave away Apple's crown jewels to Microsoft left Apple at the brink of bankruptcy.
There is nothing wrong with the "making the hardware and software...business model". Indeed:
Quote:
Macs didn't save Apple, the iPod did
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
And BTW, the Mac did save Apple. Specifically the success of the iMac provided the profits that allowed Apple to create the iPod. It didn't just materialize out of thin air....
Quote:
then the iPhone
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
Quote:
and now the iPad have made it hugely successful.
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
Quote:
If it weren't for those devices Apple would be a very different company, and it would've been SJ getting fired yet again.
And all of those successes are successes because selling the hardware and software as a tight and integrated unit is an extremely successful business model.
Indeed, Apple integrates the retail experience as well..
If it weren't for those devices Apple would be a very different company, and it would've been SJ getting fired yet again.
This line baffles me. What do you think Steve Jobs has beed doing all of this time as CEO besides getting all of those devices create, made right, and released to market. They didn't just randomly appear.
And all of those successes [iMac > iPod > iPhone > iPad] are successes because selling the hardware and software as a tight and integrated unit is an extremely successful business model.
Indeed, Apple integrates the retail experience as well..
Comments
I think the beauty of Apple is that Steve made you care whether your laptop was made out of one piece of aluminum. See the funny part is, no one should. There is absolutely no value to you other than bragging rights. But, don't worry, before long Steve will convince you that your laptop should be made of carbon fiber or maybe kevlar. Then you will be able to tell your friends that. Won't that be cool!!!!!
Btw, He also has everyone obsessed with thin. It fits in a backpack. What is the big deal about 0.3 inch. Give me a break.
I know exactly why they went to the unibody case, and I'm sure you do too.
I used to follow the problems people were reporting with their Macbooks on the Apple forums. I'm sure Apple knows better yet what all the problems were that they got units back for, but 99% of the problems I saw mentioned were obviously broken connections, whether traces on the circuit boards or external wiring.
If you've ever seen somebody pick a laptop up by the corner and hand it to somebody else, you know exactly why this happens?case flex. There are only two solutions: either secure the boards in so loosely that case flex doesn't transfer to them (and let vibration kill them off instead), or make the case much more rigid. Apple chose the latter course, everyone else the former. The reason Apple was forced to make their case enormously more rigid is because theirs are the only laptops that are expected to last more than a year or two anyway.
Yes that model works for Apple but do you believe anyone else is capable of using it successfully? What would've happened had Dell, HP, Gateway, etc? all decided to run their own OSs? How many different platforms can the market handle?
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How is Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How i.e. Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
Their only option is android since hp got palm already and ms won't release wp7 for tablets. But you are right there is really no way for acer to become an innovation based company any time soon, if ever. You need a brand that would attract the best people. Today only google and apple have such brands in the electronics industry.
earlier you said it was a bad model, now you say it works. Nobody expects everyone to be able to follow it successfully, but the reality is nobody else even really tried, which is why Apple is technologically so far ahead right now and entire industries are scrambling to catch up, casting aside CEOs along the way. How is Acer supposed to innovate itself out of it's current problems?
Just because Apple makes it work doesn't mean it'll work for everyone else. How is Acer and the others get out of their problems is the million dollar question.
Just because Apple makes it work doesn't mean it'll work for everyone else. How is Acer and the others get out of their problems is the million dollar question.
it depends on how patient they are and how well the execute. Apple's model takes a 10 to 20 year investment. I really don't see acer with that kind of patience. All I see them doing is bottom chasing the Android tablet market the same way they did the netbook market. Dumping their CEO really isn't even a band aid for the fundamental problems they have right now.
These companies do not suck, apple is a cult and once everyone takes a bite of the apple are under its control...
But really, the problem all these companies have they lack the single vision of how things should be, plus they do not control every part of their product. They all are relying on some other company to do things the right way.
I do not think a single person will say apple products are the perfect technology, however they do work well. Plus Apple does not do check list marketing. These other companies still think as long as their list of features are longer than the next guy they will see more sales.
Think about how many comments have been made over the years about the list of features apple products are missing, therefore, they will fail to win against the competitor who has the best list. Every time someone makes those kinds of comments, fail to understand and failed marketing 101. This is not apples game, apple provides the right amount of featurea that satisfy the majority of the people and make it works so people do not feel like they need all those other features.
Plus Apple is run by Jobs and he has a vision of how things should be and he is still executing again this, his vision is well beyond next year it is probably 10 to 20 yrs out.
Good post. You hit the nail on the head. I used to work at HP and wanted to have quality products (like HP used to be known for). A marketing guy there told me that it doesn't matter how well something works, as long as it's in the product so marketing can talk about it. Otherwise, it's not worth it. Good thing Apple doesn't doesn't do that, and makes (and cares) high quality products.
Not a good day to be a CEO.
Damn, everyone knows Acer just makes low-end, cheap computers but sells bucketloads of them. I didn't think Acer were that concerned about Apple, which was, prior to the iPad, totally on the other end of the computing spectrum.
I think the beauty of Apple is that Steve made you care whether your laptop was made out of one piece of aluminum. See the funny part is, no one should. There is absolutely no value to you other than bragging rights. But, don't worry, before long Steve will convince you that your laptop should be made of carbon fiber or maybe kevlar. Then you will be able to tell your friends that. Won't that be cool!!!!!
Btw, He also has everyone obsessed with thin. It fits in a backpack. What is the big deal about 0.3 inch. Give me a break.
LOL. Anyone that's used a unibody Mac laptop, even when you go back to using the plastic Mac laptops, know and feel the huge difference. There is no going back. No one has to tell you this. It's obvious. And looking at the cheap plastic PC laptops, hell, no reason to even really think about it unless you really need whatever "features" you have to have.
Do you know what happens when you hold, open, close and move a Mac unibody laptop around and there's absolutely no flexing or creaking? You just think this is how a laptop should be made... at least until someone comes up with a better idea, which I haven't seen yet.
And thinness... Maybe on the desktop yeah the iMacs don't have to be that thin... But the iPad 2? Just hold that in your hand and you'll understand. Play around a bit with a MacBook Air. They're really remarkably sleek, it makes a difference when you have to carry one around all day, and it's just feels great.
The feature isn't the unibody, it's what the aluminium unibody allows you to create, which is gadgets never ever made before.
And we haven't even gotten to the part of all the plastic e-waste compared to aluminium which is genuinely easy to recycle.
The product sells itself. Steve Jobs' words would be worthless if the products themselves were not well-designed.
...As a CIO of a Gov agency, we use Windows Crap. Still using XP and 03 Server; 3,000 workstations and 120 servers. Staff of 40 techs. It is a shame knowing that we could be using a much better product, with less failure rate and higher client productivity.
Shame?
... I used to work at HP and wanted to have quality products (like HP used to be known for). A marketing guy there told me that it doesn't matter how well something works, as long as it's in the product so marketing can talk about it.
If you're working for a company when Marketing says "people will always buy our products; we're HP" (or IBM, or GM, or Motorola), and they're serious... it's time to RUN FOR THE DOOR!
There seems to be only one way to describe the competition in the tablet/smartphone/content space at the moment: in total disarray.
Flummoxed is shorter and more descriptive
Until companies start focusing on what the customer wants, they will be wanting.
Another hint for these companies: Tech bloggers aren't your customers!
That's because making the hardware and software isn't a good business model, it had Apple at the brink of bankruptcy.
No, a bunch of stupid business decisions including an extremely crappy deal brokered by John Scully that basically gave away Apple's crown jewels to Microsoft left Apple at the brink of bankruptcy.
There is nothing wrong with the "making the hardware and software...business model". Indeed:
Macs didn't save Apple, the iPod did
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
And BTW, the Mac did save Apple. Specifically the success of the iMac provided the profits that allowed Apple to create the iPod. It didn't just materialize out of thin air....
then the iPhone
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
and now the iPad have made it hugely successful.
Which is a device where Apple controlls the hardware and software...
If it weren't for those devices Apple would be a very different company, and it would've been SJ getting fired yet again.
And all of those successes are successes because selling the hardware and software as a tight and integrated unit is an extremely successful business model.
Indeed, Apple integrates the retail experience as well..
And you don't think that the popularity of the iPod and iPhone has helped it immensely?
Sure, but the iPod wouldn't have happened without the initial success of the iMac...
If it weren't for those devices Apple would be a very different company, and it would've been SJ getting fired yet again.
This line baffles me. What do you think Steve Jobs has beed doing all of this time as CEO besides getting all of those devices create, made right, and released to market. They didn't just randomly appear.
Another hint for these companies: Tech bloggers aren't your customers!
Truth!
And all of those successes [iMac > iPod > iPhone > iPad] are successes because selling the hardware and software as a tight and integrated unit is an extremely successful business model.
Indeed, Apple integrates the retail experience as well..
Again, Truth!