[QUOTE=AppleInsider;1740797]Rumors that Bill Gates secretly uses a MacBook are not true, as Apple products never breach his doorstep, according to his wife.
Apple products in Gates household
"There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household," she said. "But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids."
***
So Bill & Melinda are DELIBERATELY HANDICAPPING THEIR KIDS LEARNING & social abilities by restricting them to using the Yugos? I think money has severely warped the parents "vision".
Unless those kids become virtual rich drunken slobs that never work, they had better know the popular top of the line tools or they will be severely disabled at work. If they follow their father into software, they damned well better be proficient in reverse engineering the best products so they can copy them...like their father did.
The concept of brand loyalty trumping capability, reliability and performance that is sorely needed in a tool is almost beyond comprehension.
I use nothing the but highest quality most reliable laptop I can get so I don't have to buy and carry two laptops. Even the $6500 Dell Precision M6500 can't do what the MacBook Pro does, which is let me run OSX & Win7 native.
Apple has been locking in more and more for almost a decade now. And see what pinnacles of success it got them to. What makes you think they would change that m.o.? There's no incentive ? from Apple's point of view ? in that.
Could you list them?
I would contend that Boot Camp, iTunes, FileMaker, Quicktime, Time Capsule, Safari, AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express are evidence to the contrary. Some are even free and/or cross-platfom for the same price.
In particular, consider
Quote:
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Doesn't this logic usually backfire in parenting and make them want the forbidden product all the more? I thought Apple products were also banned at Steve Balmer's house too...
\
According to a coworker, who has a relative who works for MS, there are quite a few things MS employees are not allowed to have in their homes (this came up during a discussion about TiVo's, which are one of the "banned" devices for MS employees). When I asked how a private company can police what it's employees have in their own homes, she just said they don't dare risk it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wurm5150
That's never going to happen. Apple maybe a lot of things but they're not that stupid to go that far. They know the backlash that could result. They don't have to lockdown the Mac, the Mac App Store will eventually be the only place regular casual Mac users will know how to get Mac apps.
But if that's the only place casual users go to get software, and if that software is limited by Apple's Developer's Agreement, then most users will settle for the limited software and not enough users will go find and buy better software that's available outside the App Store. Those developers will eventually go out of business and all you'll be left with is applications that meet the strick App Store guidelines.
So even if Apple doesn't force use of the App Store, the net effect will be to give applications that Apple "approves" a considerable advantage over those applications that may be better, but don't meet what are sometimes very arbitrary guidelines set by Apple.
See this article for a list of some of the App Store guidelines that are cause for concern. My favorite is: "Apps that duplicate apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many of them." Great if you are talking about fart apps. But if my app does something that other apps already do, even if it does it better or cheaper than other apps, Apple could reject it simply because it was the 11th instead of the 10th app that does that function? That's a pretty big disincentive for developers to work on applications. Why would you invest in developing an app if Apple can sumarily reject it after you've invested your time and money creating it for something as vague as that?
I would contend that Boot Camp, iTunes, FileMaker, Quicktime, Time Capsule, Safari, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and the Mac App Store being one of many ways to download apps are evidence to the contrary. Some are even free and/or cross-platfom for the same price.
As a parent I can tell you that their prohibition is the surest way to guarantee that their kids will get Apple products as soon as they get out of that house. Wouldn't surprise me if one of his kids ends up working at Apple just to rebel against or differentiate him-herself from the father.
You make a very good point..... I have nothing but Macs in my house except for my 14 year old son's Win 7 desktop. I have been pushing Apple products on him since birth! Well...almost and he loves his Win 7 desktop....I think just to be different than dad to have his own space so to speak. But he does LOVE his iPad to carry around everywhere he goes! :-)
There are plenty of examples throughout history where people regretted their actions and changed their goals and motives, seemingly overnight.
On average it just doesn't happen though. Especially with things like your moral compass, it's basically set by age 6 and rarely if ever does anyone wake up one morning and be a completely different person than they were yesterday.
People often have regrets and try to "buy their way into heaven" though through later actions that they hope will tip some mystical balance beam in their favour. It's much more likely that Gates is involved in that, than it is he had some kind of non-religious revelation that he has to be "good" now.
When Apple locks down Mac OS X (and we all know they will), there will be no Macs in my household either.
Why not get a headstart and jump on the Win7 and Zune bandwagon now while you can?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wurm5150
Yes I have. ZUNE HD I find to be a good device. What you said is exactly my point.
If MS marketed the Zune the way Apple does the iPods it might actually have a chance. I haven't even seen a single advertisement of the Zune.
Not only does the marketing not work well for them - they were not able to assemble enough clearly superior features or ecosystem (as witnessed by all the "Zune doesn't suck" and "I love the hardware sleekness and the squirty social aspects of my Zune" in other commentary previously). To compete with a solid ecosystem like iPod/iTunes, you have to do more than deliver something that is merely OK, "doesn't suck" or is "pretty cool". Especially against the majority market holder. Witness Apple's move into the smartphone segment - against all prognostication by pundits and market leaders alike. To be successful against the iPod/iTunes hegemony, the Zune ecosystem must deliver a radically better user experience. It doesn't. It doesn't suck (for the most part), but that's being damned by faint praise - and no way to gain marketshare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rokcet Scientist
Apple has been locking in more and more for almost a decade now. And see what pinnacles of success it got them to. What makes you think they would change that m.o.? There's no incentive ? from Apple's point of view ? in that.
Of course Micro$haft thought the same thing at one time... They in fact still do.
Rokcet, if the so-called lock-in was the only thing driving Apple's success, I might agree, but you conveniently ignore all the other aspects, operational and design driven, let alone marketing driven. And you need to be specific about what you mean when you say "lock-in". "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".
Jobs is very vocal about he thinks is good or bad for the company he runs to support, but I don?t think he would disallow anyone to use a MS product. In fact, this last event on Wednesday someone on stage pimped MS Office for Mac while there was no mention of iWork during the event. Also, I would bet money that Jobs has Blu-ray in his home. It?s not a good for a consumer notebook, but it?s great for a home entertainment system, especially Pixar films.
Jobs often does more then just talk about what is good or bad for his company. When Apple reported earning he bashed RIM and really took a good amount of time to bash Google which I found even more interesting. For the amount for time he took talking about Android he must be thinking about Android alot.
Now while I agree that not letting a product in your house is over the top and sounds stupid, I think we can all agree that Jobs is also over the top on certain issues.
Comments
Apple products in Gates household
"There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household," she said. "But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids."
***
So Bill & Melinda are DELIBERATELY HANDICAPPING THEIR KIDS LEARNING & social abilities by restricting them to using the Yugos? I think money has severely warped the parents "vision".
Unless those kids become virtual rich drunken slobs that never work, they had better know the popular top of the line tools or they will be severely disabled at work. If they follow their father into software, they damned well better be proficient in reverse engineering the best products so they can copy them...like their father did.
The concept of brand loyalty trumping capability, reliability and performance that is sorely needed in a tool is almost beyond comprehension.
I use nothing the but highest quality most reliable laptop I can get so I don't have to buy and carry two laptops. Even the $6500 Dell Precision M6500 can't do what the MacBook Pro does, which is let me run OSX & Win7 native.
Sheesh!
whats stopping you from using chrome? or at least IE8?
Proceedures and security. Gov
And Steve Jobs isn't narrow minded when it comes to his products. Are you kidding me? Steve Jobs makes an extra effort to bash others.
I'll bet you that Steve Jobs doesn't have any type of rule preventing his kids from getting a Zune, or any other lame product from Microsoft.
Thompson
What do you get when you don't use competitive products? The Zune, The Kin, and Windows.
I'd hate to be Bill's Kid
Proceedures and security. Gov
Your not aloud Google Chrome, but you can still post on AI from work
When Apple locks down Mac OS X (and we all know they will), there will be no Macs in my household either.
What does "when Apple locks down Mac OS X" even mean?
Thompson
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504104,00.html
2009
Apple has been locking in more and more for almost a decade now. And see what pinnacles of success it got them to. What makes you think they would change that m.o.? There's no incentive ? from Apple's point of view ? in that.
Could you list them?
I would contend that Boot Camp, iTunes, FileMaker, Quicktime, Time Capsule, Safari, AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express are evidence to the contrary. Some are even free and/or cross-platfom for the same price.
In particular, consider What's in your list?
Doesn't this logic usually backfire in parenting and make them want the forbidden product all the more? I thought Apple products were also banned at Steve Balmer's house too...
According to a coworker, who has a relative who works for MS, there are quite a few things MS employees are not allowed to have in their homes (this came up during a discussion about TiVo's, which are one of the "banned" devices for MS employees). When I asked how a private company can police what it's employees have in their own homes, she just said they don't dare risk it.
That's never going to happen. Apple maybe a lot of things but they're not that stupid to go that far. They know the backlash that could result. They don't have to lockdown the Mac, the Mac App Store will eventually be the only place regular casual Mac users will know how to get Mac apps.
But if that's the only place casual users go to get software, and if that software is limited by Apple's Developer's Agreement, then most users will settle for the limited software and not enough users will go find and buy better software that's available outside the App Store. Those developers will eventually go out of business and all you'll be left with is applications that meet the strick App Store guidelines.
So even if Apple doesn't force use of the App Store, the net effect will be to give applications that Apple "approves" a considerable advantage over those applications that may be better, but don't meet what are sometimes very arbitrary guidelines set by Apple.
See this article for a list of some of the App Store guidelines that are cause for concern. My favorite is: "Apps that duplicate apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many of them." Great if you are talking about fart apps. But if my app does something that other apps already do, even if it does it better or cheaper than other apps, Apple could reject it simply because it was the 11th instead of the 10th app that does that function? That's a pretty big disincentive for developers to work on applications. Why would you invest in developing an app if Apple can sumarily reject it after you've invested your time and money creating it for something as vague as that?
Could you list them?
I would contend that Boot Camp, iTunes, FileMaker, Quicktime, Time Capsule, Safari, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and the Mac App Store being one of many ways to download apps are evidence to the contrary. Some are even free and/or cross-platfom for the same price.
What's in your list?
fixed.
As a parent I can tell you that their prohibition is the surest way to guarantee that their kids will get Apple products as soon as they get out of that house. Wouldn't surprise me if one of his kids ends up working at Apple just to rebel against or differentiate him-herself from the father.
You make a very good point..... I have nothing but Macs in my house except for my 14 year old son's Win 7 desktop. I have been pushing Apple products on him since birth! Well...almost and he loves his Win 7 desktop....I think just to be different than dad to have his own space so to speak. But he does LOVE his iPad to carry around everywhere he goes! :-)
There are plenty of examples throughout history where people regretted their actions and changed their goals and motives, seemingly overnight.
On average it just doesn't happen though. Especially with things like your moral compass, it's basically set by age 6 and rarely if ever does anyone wake up one morning and be a completely different person than they were yesterday.
People often have regrets and try to "buy their way into heaven" though through later actions that they hope will tip some mystical balance beam in their favour. It's much more likely that Gates is involved in that, than it is he had some kind of non-religious revelation that he has to be "good" now.
Why is this even a story? Does anyone pretend for even a minute that Steve Jobs has any PCs in his home?
he does. or at least, he did. and he certainly doesn't stop his children from owning MS products.
Your not aloud Google Chrome, but you can still post on AI from work
I've never seen "allowed" spelled that way. Gawd, you guys are stupid.
When Apple locks down Mac OS X (and we all know they will), there will be no Macs in my household either.
Why not get a headstart and jump on the Win7 and Zune bandwagon now while you can?
Yes I have. ZUNE HD I find to be a good device. What you said is exactly my point.
If MS marketed the Zune the way Apple does the iPods it might actually have a chance. I haven't even seen a single advertisement of the Zune.
Not only does the marketing not work well for them - they were not able to assemble enough clearly superior features or ecosystem (as witnessed by all the "Zune doesn't suck" and "I love the hardware sleekness and the squirty social aspects of my Zune" in other commentary previously). To compete with a solid ecosystem like iPod/iTunes, you have to do more than deliver something that is merely OK, "doesn't suck" or is "pretty cool". Especially against the majority market holder. Witness Apple's move into the smartphone segment - against all prognostication by pundits and market leaders alike. To be successful against the iPod/iTunes hegemony, the Zune ecosystem must deliver a radically better user experience. It doesn't. It doesn't suck (for the most part), but that's being damned by faint praise - and no way to gain marketshare.
Apple has been locking in more and more for almost a decade now. And see what pinnacles of success it got them to. What makes you think they would change that m.o.? There's no incentive ? from Apple's point of view ? in that.
Of course Micro$haft thought the same thing at one time... They in fact still do.
Rokcet, if the so-called lock-in was the only thing driving Apple's success, I might agree, but you conveniently ignore all the other aspects, operational and design driven, let alone marketing driven. And you need to be specific about what you mean when you say "lock-in". "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means".
Jobs is very vocal about he thinks is good or bad for the company he runs to support, but I don?t think he would disallow anyone to use a MS product. In fact, this last event on Wednesday someone on stage pimped MS Office for Mac while there was no mention of iWork during the event. Also, I would bet money that Jobs has Blu-ray in his home. It?s not a good for a consumer notebook, but it?s great for a home entertainment system, especially Pixar films.
Jobs often does more then just talk about what is good or bad for his company. When Apple reported earning he bashed RIM and really took a good amount of time to bash Google which I found even more interesting. For the amount for time he took talking about Android he must be thinking about Android alot.
Now while I agree that not letting a product in your house is over the top and sounds stupid, I think we can all agree that Jobs is also over the top on certain issues.