Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple: No Longer A Computer Company?
- Thread starter drewdle
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've posted this in another thread, but I think it also applies to this one.
"If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth — and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago." - Steve Jobs (1996 i think)
There we have it. The iPad is the next big thing. The Mac has limited years left.
"If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth — and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago." - Steve Jobs (1996 i think)
There we have it. The iPad is the next big thing. The Mac has limited years left.
Macrophobia- Fear of long waits.
Cainophobia or Cainotophobia- Fear of newness, novelty.
Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas.
Neophobia- Fear of anything new.
Metathesiophobia- Fear of changes.
Tropophobia- Fear of moving or making changes.
Tyrannophobia- Fear of tyrants. (insert Steve Jobs here)
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Consecotaleophobia- Fear of chopsticks.
Okay maybe those last two are just me.
Cainophobia or Cainotophobia- Fear of newness, novelty.
Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas.
Neophobia- Fear of anything new.
Metathesiophobia- Fear of changes.
Tropophobia- Fear of moving or making changes.
Tyrannophobia- Fear of tyrants. (insert Steve Jobs here)
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Consecotaleophobia- Fear of chopsticks.
Okay maybe those last two are just me.
iPad doesn't do anything I need it to do. Computers do. iPad has MUCH further to go before it can replace a computer.
Same. And I cannot stand touchscreen. But will us saying that stop Apple from ditching the platform in a few years? Afterall, Apple make most of their money now from the i<devices>, so why should they bother with the Mac?
I hope they won't ditch it, and I don't think it will be any time soon, but it will inevitably happen.
I don't think the iPad can ever replace a computer. Even if it could run a full version of Mac OS it still wouldn't replace a computer, especially for pro users who buy Mac Pros because of the power and expansion capabilities.
Apple computers still work with Apple's portable devices. I'd say their interaction is as good as and even better than any other manufacturer out there. Just because their updates aren't as frequent, doesn't mean the devices aren't doing their jobs.
Who said they weren't? My comment was about why Apple would bother to continue to make computers.
You are exactly right Lee. Apple is changing their business strategy and adjusting there product line. Just because this is happening doesn't mean they are going to stop making computers. Apple wants it's mobile devices to be tied to your personal computer, which they want to be a Mac.
That being said, technology is changing as devices get smaller, needs become more focused, and the cloud becomes the wave of the future. This should be no surprise to anyone who uses computers, progress can't be stopped, so you have to learn to accomodate. The mac computers of the future will be different from what we are familiar with today, but they are not going to disappear entirely and you might just find that you like what comes along better then what you have now.
Right. But it sounds like people are complaining about the lack of time and effort apple is spending on traditional computing devices. What I'm saying is that these portable devices are the logical extension of the computer and Apple is right in spending time and resources developing them... not only as stand alone computing products, but as system of computing products that are interoperable.
IMHO, Apple developing a computer that fits in your pocket is better than them designing a new MBP every year that does essentially the same thing it did last year.
Yep, apple dropped computer from their name a few years ago and their attention to the computer line has been getting less and less.
They're more enamored to getting the guitar hero on the iPhone then to providing updates to their computer models and software.
They're more enamored to getting the guitar hero on the iPhone then to providing updates to their computer models and software.
I understand your frustration maflynn, but it's things like Guitar Hero, Farmville, and mobile Facebook that's helping to drive the sales of mobile idevices and the billions of dollars made from those sales are helping fund the R&D that will keep Apple computers advancing. The more profitable, and let's not kid ourselves in thinking that it's about anything else, the more stable Apple is and in turn they can continue to churn out computer technology.
I do believe that the refresh rate on computer products will probably lengthen like we are seeing with the Mac Pro, but is that such a terrible thing? I mean not everyone can afford to buy a new mac everytime there's a refresh or a speed bump. Most people I know don't upgrade but about every few years anyway. And let's not forget that a lot of times the frequent refreshes are only incremental bumps or added features that people gripe and complain about anyway. (SD card slots, Matte vs. Glossy, 2.8 Ghz to 2.93Ghz, 320GB HD to 500gb HD, etc.) The big changes like unibody or Core 2 Duo to Core i5/i7 only come around every couple of years.
I do believe that the refresh rate on computer products will probably lengthen like we are seeing with the Mac Pro, but is that such a terrible thing? I mean not everyone can afford to buy a new mac everytime there's a refresh or a speed bump. Most people I know don't upgrade but about every few years anyway. And let's not forget that a lot of times the frequent refreshes are only incremental bumps or added features that people gripe and complain about anyway. (SD card slots, Matte vs. Glossy, 2.8 Ghz to 2.93Ghz, 320GB HD to 500gb HD, etc.) The big changes like unibody or Core 2 Duo to Core i5/i7 only come around every couple of years.
If you have ever worked at a company that is growing in leaps and bounds, you will see that it is not always possible to just flick on a switch, hire 50 people and get top people for the work at hand.
They also need to strike a balance what to do after each project is completed or they'll have people sitting around.
So, when Apple emphasizes a new product they put all their resources (i.e. best people ) where the money is.
Those people are then missing in other work groups, which means they'll only go back to their "real job" AFTER a product launch.
Also, the tech field is at an incredible pace USB 3.0, HD, lightwhatever.
That all needs to be tested and digested AND integrated into the software.
The fact that somebody is waiting for the latest Apple upgrade means nothing. It's ready when it's ready!
Complainers are the few that want the latest of the latest, but no matter how we time it , it's OLD when we buy it!
I am on a PowerPC from 1994. It still does all the work I need it to do, but I am sooo itching to get a MacBooKPro. Don't know when my willpower breaks.
The first i7 in the refurbished store almost cracked me.
Apple makes fantastic and excellent computers (still) If they do the job you need them to do buy and if not switch to something that does.
Clearly the future is in "cloud computing" and whatever Apple puts on our desks will still be great.
In the meantime they change the way we do things over and over. It gets harder and harder (as it will take longer) as everybody copies them faster and faster.
The ipad will eventually replace the MBAir and the low level 13inches.
lol this thread is funny. "apple's no longer a computer company" so what the hell are they then? a company that makes fences?
nope. im pretty sure they still make computers. computers today have evolved, and will continue to do so. they aren't just the old fashioned tower, monitor, and keyboard like they used to be. the ipad, iphone, ipod are all computers. they're just handheld/mobile computers.
nope. im pretty sure they still make computers. computers today have evolved, and will continue to do so. they aren't just the old fashioned tower, monitor, and keyboard like they used to be. the ipad, iphone, ipod are all computers. they're just handheld/mobile computers.
Really? So I can run Photoshop and Final Cut Pro on all of them?
Sorry- they are not computers. They're mobile devices that have some computing capability.
Of course they are computers. They can't do all the things a laptop or desktop can do (yet) but they will move in that direction as the technology matures. Did you see the iMove for iPhone demo? Pretty amazing stuff. Can your Mac record 720p video at 30 fps, edit it and upload to YouTube?
Just because the iDevices don't meet the needs of all users does not make them any less a computer.
For me the Apple experience is about the user experience and not necessarily about the hardware underneath. As computers become more powerful, then the incremental improvement with each new release becomes more slight. Therefore it doesn't surprise me that the refresh cycle will be longer, as the Mac audience aren't really people who drool over the XXGhz processor specifications.
While the upgrades to the range are good, I can wait another few months for another hour onto the battery life or another 20% more processing power. The thing that would speed up computing significantly is a SSD for me, and I'm waiting until they get cheaper....
oh - and my theory is that they just missed a deadline for upgrading macs, which is why 10.6.4 wasn't released. I suspect that an announcement about new hardware and 10.6.4 will come in quick succession in the next month or so.
While the upgrades to the range are good, I can wait another few months for another hour onto the battery life or another 20% more processing power. The thing that would speed up computing significantly is a SSD for me, and I'm waiting until they get cheaper....
oh - and my theory is that they just missed a deadline for upgrading macs, which is why 10.6.4 wasn't released. I suspect that an announcement about new hardware and 10.6.4 will come in quick succession in the next month or so.
If I hook my camera up to it, it can do 1080p at 60 fps and all the rest.
Perhaps I should have said they are not fully functional computers.
Not to mention you won't kill the battery in 20 minutes flat and have a giant screen to work with
If it wasn't for the original iPhone in 2007, I would never have owned my first Mac two weeks after buying that iPhone. The iPhone impressed me so much that I just had to buy a mac, a 2007 15" MBP back then. This is the reason why iPhone/iPads/iPod Touch and iPods are so important to Apple.
Remember, too, how Apple got started. In a world where a "computer" was a big, mainframe device that sat in a corporation or university's climate-controlled, dedicated facility, a few young garage geeks tinkered with the possibility of creating a small, "personal size" device that eventually became known as the PC.
Apple wasn't the first to come up with a PC, but they sure did popularize it.
Sound familiar?
Apple's still doing what they always did best... they took the technology away from a conventional form factor and made strides in bringing that technology to a new form factor.
Apple wasn't the first to come up with a PC, but they sure did popularize it.
Sound familiar?
Apple's still doing what they always did best... they took the technology away from a conventional form factor and made strides in bringing that technology to a new form factor.
Apple will still make traditional desktop computers as long as there continues to be a real market for desktop computers....which I imagine will be for many, many years to come. Phones and tablets are all the rage now. So, they get all the attention (rightfully, in a business sense). However, that doesn't mean that companies, including Apple, will stop making desktop computers. They simply promote what's popular now. Regular computers are a comodity these days and not very exciting to the general public. But that doesn't mean regular computers will no longer be made. Have no fear.
Anyway, computers no longer really have the huge leap in advancements that they were having in the 90's. A computer releasing this year is not that much faster or more powerful than a computer released 6 years ago. At least not in ways significantly noticeable to most average people. My iMac from January of 2006 is just as useful and speedy for everything I do as a computer released today (except for modern gaming...though modern games still play fine on lower settings). Therfore, traditional computers can do fine with longer periods between new revisions or models.
Anyway, computers no longer really have the huge leap in advancements that they were having in the 90's. A computer releasing this year is not that much faster or more powerful than a computer released 6 years ago. At least not in ways significantly noticeable to most average people. My iMac from January of 2006 is just as useful and speedy for everything I do as a computer released today (except for modern gaming...though modern games still play fine on lower settings). Therfore, traditional computers can do fine with longer periods between new revisions or models.