Apple named 10th-most disruptive idea in the past 85 years by Businessweek
The computer company started in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak has been named one of the most disruptive ideas in the last 85 years by influential magazine Businessweek, beating out modern-day essentials such as GPS, credit cards, and the modem.
An Apple I that sold at auction for $905,000. Source: Bonhams
Apple is the third-highest-ranked company to make the list, which was released as part of Businessweek's 85th anniversary issue. Google, ranked 6th, was the only technology company to best the Cupertino firm, while Wal-Mart took the top slot for a corporation, in 4th.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an accompanying interview that he knew from the beginning that the business would one day become something special.
"When we started the company, I knew that the computer was so far ahead of anything the rest of the world had ever seen," Wozniak told the magazine. "We knew we had a revolution. Everyone who joined Apple, this was the greatest thing in their life."
Wozniak went on to call the Apple I a "turning point in history," before downplaying the importance of one of the most famous Apple-related landmarks: Jobs's parents garage, which is now a protected historical site.
"The garage is a bit of a myth. We did no designs there, no breadboarding, no prototyping, no planning of products," he said. "We did no manufacturing there. The garage didn't serve much purpose, except it was something for us to feel was our home. We had no money. You have to work out of your home when you have no money."
An Apple I that sold at auction for $905,000. Source: Bonhams
Apple is the third-highest-ranked company to make the list, which was released as part of Businessweek's 85th anniversary issue. Google, ranked 6th, was the only technology company to best the Cupertino firm, while Wal-Mart took the top slot for a corporation, in 4th.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an accompanying interview that he knew from the beginning that the business would one day become something special.
"When we started the company, I knew that the computer was so far ahead of anything the rest of the world had ever seen," Wozniak told the magazine. "We knew we had a revolution. Everyone who joined Apple, this was the greatest thing in their life."
Wozniak went on to call the Apple I a "turning point in history," before downplaying the importance of one of the most famous Apple-related landmarks: Jobs's parents garage, which is now a protected historical site.
"The garage is a bit of a myth. We did no designs there, no breadboarding, no prototyping, no planning of products," he said. "We did no manufacturing there. The garage didn't serve much purpose, except it was something for us to feel was our home. We had no money. You have to work out of your home when you have no money."
Comments
Exactly. No Apple, no Google.
He said he knew it would be special but yet he left the company.. Right..
Woz was a one trick pony. The Lisa/Macintosh were way out of his league as a hardware engineer. My son met him at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana when he visited there for a conference. My son was working at the time in the Granger Engineering Library (h e was a civil engineering student) when Woz showed up. Nice guy according to reports.
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Apple is the third-highest-ranked company to make the list, which was released as part of Businessweek's 85th anniversary issue. Google, ranked 6th, was the only technology company to best the Cupertino firm, while Wal-Mart took the top slot for a corporation, in 4th.
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Uhhh, Google just made a better widget. We already had search through Yahoo and Alta-Vista.
I don't remember seeing the laser printer on that list unless I overlooked it. That would rank higher than Google.
Apple may have introduced the best smart phone but Motorola paved the way for mobile phones.
How is Walmart a disruptive idea? They're just a big box store selling garbage from China. What did Google do to disrupt anything other than to force a supposedly free mobile OS on us so everyone and their mother could put out a cheap phone. Actually, how was/is Apple a disruptive idea? I must be missing something here that the article doesn't explain.
I checked out the top ten, http://www.businessweek.com/features/85ideas/#10, and this article is weird to say the least.
email at #47
AK-47 at #26
MacDonald's at #18, more disruptive to the world's health than people want to admit
the Pill at #9, disrupted a lot of narrow-minded people but also slowed down the population explosion
at least microchips at #2 and the jet engine at #1 make sense
How is Walmart a disruptive idea? They're just a big box store selling garbage from China. What did Google do to disrupt anything other than to force a supposedly free mobile OS on us so everyone and their mother could put out a cheap phone. Actually, how was/is Apple a disruptive idea? I must be missing something here that the article doesn't explain.
I checked out the top ten, http://www.businessweek.com/features/85ideas/#10, and this article is weird to say the least.
email at #47
AK-47 at #26
MacDonald's at #18, more disruptive to the world's health than people want to admit
the Pill at #9, disrupted a lot of narrow-minded people but also slowed down the population explosion
at least microchips at #2 and the jet engine at #1 make sense
When you consider Walmart, think of Walmart of yesteryears. First time I walked into one int he mid 80's, there were American flags everywhere and Made in America labels on everything.
Apple's vision for a computer in the home is what took hold and became what we have today.
How can a search engine on a computer be more revolutionary than the computer itself?
I was thinking the same thing. As far as I'm aware, what projects they haven't copied from Apple have failed.
"Disrupt" and "disruption" are starting to be as hackneyed and overused as "paradigm shift".
"Disruptive" has always be hackneyed, and wrong as something positive. Disruptive is to making progress as taking a sledgehammer to your TV and calling it fixing the TV.
I checked out the top ten, http://www.businessweek.com/features/85ideas/#10, and this article is weird to say the least.
This Businessweek article is a total clusterf@ck! Absolute rubbish!
I cannot give this list any credibility when it does not contain ARPANET/INTERNET. As far as tech companies and their core ideas being disruptive, Cisco should maybe have made the list.
And Motorola for the 'mobile phone'.
What a ridiculous list.
Usually, when a magazine or media outlet has a countdown of the best 100 songs or best 100 inventions or whatever, they always have questionable inclusions on that list, and this list is no different. The list was probably made by just a few people, so it merely represents the opinions of a few people, and there's often things that are forgotten and things that do get included, but do not deserve to even be on the list.
Leo Laporte and John Dvorak (both with a publishing and media background) have previously said exactly where these idiotic lists come from and it's even dumber than you think.
And the Jeep but not the Model T or the Volkswagen?
How can Jane Fonda's workout tape (aerobics on VHS) beat the smartphone? But it did. So much for taking this list seriously.