Annoyingly true

[Vort]

[Windseeker]

owned

[Wingnut]

What it's like to own an Apple product - The Oatmeal

[applepansy]

I feel like we're giving up control for easy.

I like The Surface. If I had the money I would buy one and eventually I'll own some sort of e-reader. But I'm uncomfortable storing personal or important documents, pictures, etc in some sort of "cloud" which I can't control.

[FunkyTown]

I feel like we're giving up control for easy.

I like The Surface. If I had the money I would buy one and eventually I'll own some sort of e-reader. But I'm uncomfortable storing personal or important documents, pictures, etc in some sort of "cloud" which I can't control.

Like Facebook? 'Cause that's a cloud. You'd never store any personal information like pictures on Facebook, right?

*nods sagely*

[mnn727]

Like Facebook? 'Cause that's a cloud. You'd never store any personal information like pictures on Facebook, right?

*nods sagely*

I never would -- of course I hate facebook and similar sites.

[annewandering]

It galls me to think Gates was ahead of his time.

[Vort]

I actually did SDET programming/testing on the Tablet PC in the 2001/2 time frame. I am relatively neutral in my feelings toward Microsoft, and I don't really feel any corporate loyalty toward them (heaven knows they don't feel any toward me). But the above seems to me an accurate depiction of things, and I do indeed find it annoying (if amusing).

[mrmarklin]

It's all about the APPS.

The problem Apple's competitors face is that they don't have enough APPS, and in 2002 no one had ever even heard of one.

The iPad (and iPhone) is more than just a computer. It's a window to another world in almost every sense of the world.

[Jennarator]

I never would -- of course I hate facebook and similar sites.

I ♥ Facebook!

[annewandering]

Yesterday I was angry so went to facebook and had fun. ...

[Vort]

It's all about the APPS.

Agreed. But the 2002 Tablet PC was Windows OS. The only difference was form factor. Literally any programmer for Windows who took a little time to learn the Ink and Stroke APIs could make an app for the Tablet PC. No need to learn Super-Special-Objective-C-That-You-Need-To-Buy-An-Expensive-License-And-Whole-New-Freaking-Dev-Environment to write for. No need to pass your app by the App Nazis for approval. You just write your program and sell it like any other, and it works. The fact is that the programming bar for app development was MUCH HIGHER for the iPad than for the Tablet PC.

So why did the Tablet PC fail (except in very narrow niche markets) while the iPad was a stunning success? In order, I believe the reasons to be:

1. Timing. The Tablet PC was at least five years ahead of its time. Most people associated a hand-held computer with Star Trek, not with actual use. The advent of multitasking programmable cell phones opened the public mind to that idea. Microsoft did not lay the groundwork -- but then, neither did Apple. It was happy timing for Cupertino.

2. Marketing. MS has a reputation as a marketing beast, which I do not really understand. MS's marketing is actually quite unsophisticated. They are willing to spend lots of money, but they have developed a reputation for stodginess. Apple jealously cultivates its image as the Cool Kid, so any time they pee, people rush to tell them how good it smells and can they please have a cupful to take home to the children? Ultimately, this reason is more important than #1. But if MS had been first and #1 had not been a problem, MS would have seized a large market share instead of being relegated to playing catch-up.

3. Reputation. This plays in with #2. Back when I was a kid, the Japanese had a reputation as being good imitators but poor innovators. It does not matter that the stereotype was untrue, and in fact ludicrous. That was the stereotype, and to this day you can find older folks who will say, "Them Japs are good at taking other folks' ideas and improving on them, but they can't do anything new!" It's like the reputation becomes reality, never mind what actually is. This is the very reputation that Microsoft now has. Largely MS's fault, by the way, but fair or not, that's how it is. Apple is the Golden Child with the Midas touch.

Consider the Zune. It was actually a well-made and quite clever piece of technology. In many ways, it was demonstrably superior to the iPod. Didn't matter. It was not cool. End of story.

4. Public whim. MS is the Evil Empire. Apple is the Cool Kid. Clearly, this is an effect of all of the above reasons, except perhaps #1. Even that, to some degree.

[Mahone]

4. Public whim. MS is the Evil Empire. Apple is the Cool Kid. Clearly, this is an effect of all of the above reasons, except perhaps #1. Even that, to some degree.

A lot of those in the apple crowd seem to have an expectation that those who work in the IT field will naturally have a preference to apple products as they supposedly "just work" and make their lives easier... in my experience, that couldn't be further from the truth. Not only do they not "just work", but I've found that people in the IT field seem to have a burning hatred of apple products in general.

[applepansy]

Like Facebook? 'Cause that's a cloud. You'd never store any personal information like pictures on Facebook, right?

*nods sagely*

Nope!!! I don't! ( I have a few photos on facebook but I don't store my photos there. I also deleted everything I had of my grandson about a month after I posted them.)

But I still love facebook....well "like" facebook. I love Ravelry. LOL

Edited June 22, 2012 by applepansy

[Vort]

A lot of those in the apple crowd seem to have an expectation that those who work in the IT field will naturally have a preference to apple products as they supposedly "just work" and make their lives easier... in my experience, that couldn't be further from the truth. Not only do they not "just work", but I've found that people in the IT field seem to have a burning hatred of apple products in general.

On the other hand...

At my present job, for the first time since about 1990, my primary computer is a Macintosh. MacBook Pro with BootCamp so I can run Win 7, either boot to it or on a VM. And I have to admit, this is the just plain nicest computer I have ever had. And not just the hardware; the Mac OS is very, very nice. I work primarily in Windows because I'm familiar with it, but mostly I run Windows in a VM and maximize it to fill my second (large) screen, then keep my laptop screen for Mac OS use. I'm getting used to the Mac OS, and by golly, does it have some unspeakably cool features. Simple example: unlimited multiple desktops.

No one will ever mistake me for a Steve Jobs fanboy. But I readily admit, the Mac OS is truly cool.

[mrmarklin]

I think what you're missing Vort, is that when the iPad came on the market, the APP store was already a reality and iTunes had already revolutionized the music industry.

I've been buying desktop computers since 1983 for business (all Wintel based) and really the only time we upgrade is when we're "forced" to by software. The iPad was the culmination of software and hardware carefully orchestrated by Apple.

APPs are very smoothly integrated into the phone and the pad and very user friendly.

This concept is devastating previous market leaders like Nokia and Blackberry to the extent that they may go bankrupt.