Or they'd just sell their hardware, but allow it to run MS Vista or Linux/Unix etc.
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Apple's Most Important Product
- Thread starter elppa
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No. To use your house analogy (and its a good choice) the most important part of your house is the foundations because otherwise you would have no house.
If this is true, why was OS X the number one priority since Steve Jobs returned and why did Apple spend so much time and money looking at ways to replace their ageing Mac OS? I think the answer is quite simple, to get the company back to health they knew they needed a strong operating system.
"Just" is a bit of an understatement. You can't just flip and switch and change OS.
- Would there be any backwards compatibility?
- Would the pro apps run on this "other" OS Apple just happened to find?
- iLife? iTunes? iWork? Adobe Apps? Mac:Office?
- Developer Tools? Printers and other peripherals?
- Would all developers want to write for this new platform?
- Would all the support staff and retail staff need retraining in the new System?
- How long would the transition take?
- How long would it take to build the Mac back to the levels it is at now?
- How much money would Apple lose in the process?
You can "just" find a new flash supplier for iPod, you can "just" update the specs of iMac (or any Mac), you can "just" find a new supplier for LED displays but you can't "just" switch platforms.
OS X is as important as it gets.
Who the hell would switch to a Mac if it had a ****** OS?
As far as Apple being a Hardware/Software company, I'd say both.
They design the hardware and software together and that's why it works so damn well.
Steve came back to Apple with a plan and he sure as hell fulfilled it.
Who the hell would switch to a Mac if it had a ****** OS?
As far as Apple being a Hardware/Software company, I'd say both.
They design the hardware and software together and that's why it works so damn well.
Steve came back to Apple with a plan and he sure as hell fulfilled it.
What did Steve and Woz start selling 30yrs ago? Hardware.
What makes the $$$ in the iTunes/iTMS/iPod circle? Hardware.
What makes the $$$ in the apps/computers circle? Hardware.
Why did the clones almost kill Apple? Because they undercut Apple's hardware sales.
Why did Apple start making so much first party software? 'Cause 3rd party developers were leaving the platform and no one is going to buy a piece of hardware that has no software to run on it.
Final Cut Studio 2 is over $30,000 of software being sold for $1399. When Apple purchased Shake it drastically cut the price and kept the OS X version cheaper than the *nix versions. Components of what is now "iLife" used to be free. None of these things scream "software company" to me.
Apple is a hardware company that always wanted control of the entire computing experience and later, out of necessity, started offering a pretty complete line of solid, first party software.
To get on topic, I think the iPod is the most important Apple product of the last 5-10yrs. It helped keep the company moving forward and looking fresh while the computers stagnated for a bit under the Moto/IBM fiasco. Before the iPod I'd say the iMac because it too helped get the company out from underneath a dark cloud.
Lethal
What makes the $$$ in the iTunes/iTMS/iPod circle? Hardware.
What makes the $$$ in the apps/computers circle? Hardware.
Why did the clones almost kill Apple? Because they undercut Apple's hardware sales.
Why did Apple start making so much first party software? 'Cause 3rd party developers were leaving the platform and no one is going to buy a piece of hardware that has no software to run on it.
Final Cut Studio 2 is over $30,000 of software being sold for $1399. When Apple purchased Shake it drastically cut the price and kept the OS X version cheaper than the *nix versions. Components of what is now "iLife" used to be free. None of these things scream "software company" to me.
Apple is a hardware company that always wanted control of the entire computing experience and later, out of necessity, started offering a pretty complete line of solid, first party software.
To get on topic, I think the iPod is the most important Apple product of the last 5-10yrs. It helped keep the company moving forward and looking fresh while the computers stagnated for a bit under the Moto/IBM fiasco. Before the iPod I'd say the iMac because it too helped get the company out from underneath a dark cloud.
Lethal
Okay, I'll take a stab at this.
1. The original Macintosh.
Without this, we'd have no OS X, no iPod, no apps, nothing. The Macintosh was the base that Apple built the company on.
2. Mac OS X/NeXTSTEP.
There's no doubt about it, OS X gave Apple a new life. Without OS X and the leadership of Steve Jobs following the acquisition of NeXT Apple would've sunk with a flailing user base and a struggling OS. The OS X/Jobs combination made way for the definitive Apple products we all know and love; without Jobs and OS X, we'd have no iMac or iPhone/iPod touch.
3. The iPod.
The iPod brought Apple to the forefront of popular culture right off the back of a breakthrough OS. This one product pushed demand for Apple products so high that it was undoubtably one of the main factors in Apple's dive into retail marketing. With the iPod available for a good 'ole hands-on in Apple's own stores the rest of the line pretty much advertised itself. The iPod is much more than just a media device. It's a fashion accessory, a billboard, a 3rd party development platform and a synonym for digital music.
4. Apple Retail Stores
I'm going to class the Retail Stores as a product because they are, albeit a free one. In the six years of their existence Apple's Retail Stores have become renowned for their superior design and unique shopping experience. How many other computer stores can you go in, check your mail, see's whose online on AIM, edit a movie and upload it to YouTube while browsing MacRumors and listening to music in iTunes? Now how many of those stores let you test drive every single product they have on display along with get your own product troubleshooted by people who know what they're on about? And how many of those stores offer these services for free? The one and only Apple Retail Store. Consumers have realised that they want to shop the Apple way and because no one else offers this kind of service, they buy from Apple.
That's what I think is most important to Apple. The above four products target specific levels of consumer relation to provide an experience quite unlike that of any other company, and when they're combined, we can see how they all come together and build a "house" of sorts. The Macintosh is the foundation for everything, OS X built on foundation to give it walls and a roof, the iPod furnished it and the Retail Stores are the welcome mat.
1. The original Macintosh.
Without this, we'd have no OS X, no iPod, no apps, nothing. The Macintosh was the base that Apple built the company on.
2. Mac OS X/NeXTSTEP.
There's no doubt about it, OS X gave Apple a new life. Without OS X and the leadership of Steve Jobs following the acquisition of NeXT Apple would've sunk with a flailing user base and a struggling OS. The OS X/Jobs combination made way for the definitive Apple products we all know and love; without Jobs and OS X, we'd have no iMac or iPhone/iPod touch.
3. The iPod.
The iPod brought Apple to the forefront of popular culture right off the back of a breakthrough OS. This one product pushed demand for Apple products so high that it was undoubtably one of the main factors in Apple's dive into retail marketing. With the iPod available for a good 'ole hands-on in Apple's own stores the rest of the line pretty much advertised itself. The iPod is much more than just a media device. It's a fashion accessory, a billboard, a 3rd party development platform and a synonym for digital music.
4. Apple Retail Stores
I'm going to class the Retail Stores as a product because they are, albeit a free one. In the six years of their existence Apple's Retail Stores have become renowned for their superior design and unique shopping experience. How many other computer stores can you go in, check your mail, see's whose online on AIM, edit a movie and upload it to YouTube while browsing MacRumors and listening to music in iTunes? Now how many of those stores let you test drive every single product they have on display along with get your own product troubleshooted by people who know what they're on about? And how many of those stores offer these services for free? The one and only Apple Retail Store. Consumers have realised that they want to shop the Apple way and because no one else offers this kind of service, they buy from Apple.
That's what I think is most important to Apple. The above four products target specific levels of consumer relation to provide an experience quite unlike that of any other company, and when they're combined, we can see how they all come together and build a "house" of sorts. The Macintosh is the foundation for everything, OS X built on foundation to give it walls and a roof, the iPod furnished it and the Retail Stores are the welcome mat.