From: Joel M. Sciamma (joel_at_inventors-emporium.co.uk)
Date: Sat Apr 24 2004 - 03:53:53 PDT
David,
> The iMac, the iPod, the eMac, the iBook, DVD-RW drives, FireWire 400
> and 800, BlueTooth and USB when the industry did not move on them,
> AirPort/WiFi/802.11b and AirPort Extreme/802.11g.
This list does not include much that is Apple innovation.
The current iMac is a nice product, rational ergonomics, good spec and price
but people are not buying them. No innovation here that I can see. Even the
original was just a repackaged PowerBook. Is a case design innovation or
good marketing?
iPod is the best repackaging and design of existing tech and well marketed.
eMac - innovative? Like a different shaped paperclip is "innovation". I
think not.
iBook is just a laptop and not a brilliantly made one either.
All the other technologies were not developed by Apple except for FireWire -
see below.
> Apple never took user feedback in the past, they were famous for it.
You are confusing R&D with user feedback. No meaningful R&D appears to be in
progress at Apple at the moment either in HW or interaction design. Apple
used to be a centre of excellence - not at the moment.
> How are they not listening?
I never mentioned anything about this. Apple never listened to anyone
because they were the best. Now they can't hear because they still think
they are. The rest of the world increasingly disagrees.
> FireWire was done in a joint development effort with Sony and first
> appeared on computers in 1999 with the release of the Blue and White
> G3. That is far from ten years ago, try five.
I'm afraid you are mistaken. FireWire is early 90s tech (1992 I believe) so
I'm being charitable about the 10 gap.
But anyway, I get the drift.
I'm clearly on the way to the funny farm because it seems that everything in
the garden is rosy.
Adobe sales fall and that's not a bad thing.
Market share falls and it doesn't matter.
Publishing does not upgrade to Mac HW and SW and that's just them being
funny.
Education is tougher then ever for Apple but that's not a concern.
The number of businesses using the Mac pro-rata declines and it's of no
significance.
As you wish.
When I saw Mac OS X public beta for the first time I woke up from my
complacent pro-Apple position.
Time will tell but hoping for a thing is not the same as having it happen
and I predict that Apple will continue it's long slide from being a major
player to bit part actor if it continues the way it's doing. Perhaps it has
already happened.
But perhaps this is what you want Apple to be - a small volume producer of
computers designed by programmers for programmers and the rest of the world
go hang.
I had higher hopes for them than that and expected more but all is well, I
think you are going to get your wish.
Regards,
Joel.
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