Robert; It might make for expanded egos to puff Apple up and bury the collective head in the sand, but that is why Apple is where it is now. Too many people had an image of superiority that dated from the early Macs going into graphics(black and white) as a market not addressed by the PCs until later. They sat on their superior asses and the Wintels caught up and passed them by the only test that counts, sales. Same as NeXt, superior boffo stuff, no sales, no good. If you cannot sell your product you are finished as a computer or a reproducing mammal. I am not attacking Apple, I am observing Apple and saying what I saw. Apples products had longer market lives, ipso facto a slower rate of change than the Wintels. That the Wintels started behind the Apple and ended up ahead is also an observed fact by box count. The Wintels have a larger repertoire of software that can be used on them. Apples crash less often, and it is easier for stupid people to use them(an attribute??) also called user friendly as it sounds better than the easier for stupid people to use them descriptor.
So if you think Apple should rest on it's laurels and be happy with it's snails pace progress you do not have my vote. Apple should start parallel time sequenced programs of R&D to replace each machine with a successor with a multi year planning horizon so they do not get blindsided again and again in the future.(I am sure they are doing this now, but the structure has to be evolutionary so that the teams are stand alone and compete within the company and also with the items appearing on the Wintel horizon) If you do not do this you get frozen in time and spend all your time the the coming generation and no time for the one in 5 years, 4 years, 3 years etc. What do you think HP does?? Same thing. Maybe Apple does it, but they do not do a good job. I do not know why this is, but it is an observed fact of life. Apple drags out product development timetables for very long periods, when the market demands shorter development horizons and buys those that provide them.
Do not get into an artsy mode and think Apple is better by definition, it must now fight a war with minds and products and gain some momentum to convince people to come back, a very hard and long war to start from such a serious back position. But if we on SI can come out with a few good ideas and if APPL management can overcome it's hubris and take to them APPL may yet redeem it former position.
Bill |
