

The Chair - martingordon
http://daringfireball.net/2011/03/the_chair

======
tumult
The tech press needs to play up the competition to the iPad as much as
possible, because drama drives clicks. But the reality is that Apple's iPad is
so far ahead of everything else that it's almost out of sight. Have you used
one of the 'iPad killers'? That is not competition. It's a joke. You can't
even buy any of them, except for Samsung's Galaxy Tab. [And the Motorola Xoom,
but only at retail Best Buy in America, from what I can tell.]

I applaud Samsung [and Motorola] for giving it a real try, but I think they
fall short of the iPad. Few people are buying those things. I wouldn't,
myself. I have some Android phones, but I probably won't get an Android
tablet, if Honeycomb indicates where the platform is heading.

The lack of competition is allowing Apple to, rightfully, do whatever it wants
to with the App Store. And I don't see the situation changing anytime soon.
Apple is making the rest of the consumer tech industry look incompetent.

edit: Updated with Xoom.

~~~
dannyr
Ah, I still remember when the 1st Android phone came out (G1). A lot of people
were dismissing it because the IPhone had a 2-year head start. Interface was
ugly, phone is thick like a brick, only on 1 carrier, the smallest of the Big
4 at that.

Well, how did that turn out? Android is selling more than the IPhone.

A proper tablet OS didn't arrive until last month and people are already
saying it's almost too late for Android to catch up with the IPad.

Alright, people will say that it's not the same. But I believe the barriers to
entry to the table market is lower than that of phones since manufacturers do
not really need carrier approval. Once Google refines the Android tablet OS, I
can't wait to see what manufacturers can come up with.

~~~
lloeki
Not selling more in Europe where Apple dominates. The only Android device
cracking around here is the Galaxy Spica, not quite the same league as the
iPhone.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
IDC predicts Android to be the second best selling smarphone OS in Europe Q1
2011, that is, now. The first is, of course, Nokia which undermines your claim
that Apple dominates on a second level. (Also, in the UK RIM is, somewhat
inexplicably, the premier choice for young people and recently overtook
Apple's web market share).

~~~
lloeki
I was unclear: I meant iPhone (20%, +6%) vs Android (11%, +10%). Not saying
Android won't pass, but I see it more like Q4-2011, 2012 even. Mostly depends
on Apple's strategy notably WRT entry-level devices: phones like Spica are
really appealing price-wise, especially when they're sold with small contracts
(sometimes less than half the price per month of high-profile smartphones like
the Galaxy S, Desire HD or the iPhone). Nokia's decline is staggering and
unless they build up steam quickly with WP7 I see them in troubled waters.

Data source comScore: [http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/02/smartphone-
operating...](http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/02/smartphone-operating-
system-market-share-in-europe/)

That said, I actually encountered more WinMo6 devices than Symbian ones (read:
not much). Really don't know where they hide. Lots of "dumb" (mostly old)
Nokia phones though.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Is that marketshare or sales, it's not clear? Marketshare naturally lags sales
e.g. in the US Android took the sales lead in August and the marketshare lead
December/January.

I see they've got an entry from yesterday about Android overtaking iPhone in
January for the US market so it looks like their figures are talking about
marketshare, not sales:

[http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/03/android-takes-
lead-i...](http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/03/android-takes-lead-in-u-s-
smartphone-market/)

------
mcav
This is why I hope Steve Jobs continues to drive Apple for years to come. He
presses forward relentlessly, driving the _user experience_ forward, even when
the competition can't come close. No one else has been able to match the
original iPad's size, cost, and specs; the iPad 2 makes the other tablets seem
so bulky, so utilitarian, even though they haven't shipped yet.

Any other company would milk the original iPad for all it's worth. They'd get
a device with the iPad's dimensions and call it good enough. They wouldn't
push forward unless their competitors caught up. I can't imagine Motorola,
Microsoft, Samsung, Google, or anyone else having the muscle to put a device
like the iPad 2 out so soon.

Forget pro-Apple or anti-Apple. More companies need to strive harder to be
_better_ , whether or not they see someone hot on their tail.

~~~
redial
And this is exactly what worries me. When Steve Jobs steps down, his
replacement is gonna have a hard time assuming he is not Steve Jobs. I just
hope he (or she) doesn't try to prove anything by making bold decisions on his
own.

On a related note, have you ever found weird that Apple doesn't have any women
in a VP position? At least that is the impression it gives me. For such a
liberal company, it seems to be mostly run by men (nothing wrong with that
btw).

~~~
gyardley
Just off the top of my head, there's Katie Cotton and Allison Johnson -
someone who knows Apple better can correct me, but I'm pretty sure both are
VPs.

------
brisance
One thing that drives me crazy is how each competitor focuses on one or two
things, usually hardware specs, and use those things to extol its superiority
over Apple's offerings. That's like a car maker homing in on horsepower or
number of cup-holders to sell a car.

If I were to run a tech company competing in this space, I would do the
following:

1) Get rid of the nonsensical names. There's a good reason why car makers give
their flagship cars a specific name and stick with it through the years e.g.
Toyota Camry, Honda Accord. I don't know why these highly-paid marketers
insist on giving their products a new name every quarter.

2) Show how sensible and easy it is to migrate away from a desktop-bound,
expensive, heavy and loud computer. Show the customers how losing one's device
doesn't mean the end of the world (cloud-backed storage etc), and how easy it
is to migrate to a new device should the need ever arise.

3) Start a retail channel where my products can be experienced at the
customer's own pace. Best Buy and all those stores are not the same thing
because they are electronics retailers primarily interested in moving product
and I cannot count on them to build a lasting relationship with _my_ customer.

~~~
NickPollard
The naming thing is such a big issue and I don't see why everyone just keeps
on getting it so wrong.

For an example, I bought a Sony Vaio laptop a few months ago. Great piece of
kit and I love it, but trying to work out what to get was bewildering -
there's 7 or 8 categories with single letter names - 'S-series, Y-series,
Z-series, F-series' etc.

What do they mean? Which should I be looking at? I had to scour through
comparing until I realised which one I should be looking at.

Compare that to Macbooks - you've got: Macbook (the standard, economical)
Macbook Pro (high performance) Macbook Air (portable)

It's pretty clear to most people interested in buying a Macbook which one they
should look at. Also relevant is the fact that Apple don't put too many
versions out keeping things in well defined clusters.

~~~
easyfrag
I'm not sure about Sony's Vaio line but a lot of computing/electronic
manufacturers will build specific models for various chain stores, not sure
why they do this but I guess it's to head off comparison shopping by
consumers.

Apple, of course, refuses to play by the rules of its retailing partners.

~~~
alanfalcon
It's easy to offer a 110% guaranteed price match guarantee when you know most
of your products can only be purchased at your store (never mind that the same
model but for a different screw type can be purchased down the street for $100
less, it's got a different SKU).

I hate retail games like this.

------
marze
High definition movie editing, on a phone (iMovie on iOS)? It is amazing to
see how far things have come in since 2007. In 2007, if you said you were
going to download an app to edit a high definition movie on your smartphone
you'd be institutionalized.

When the iPad was announced last year, it appeared to be a somewhat risky move
on Apple's part, lest it cannibalize Mac sales. Now, just a year later, Apple
could take the Mac and shoot it and survive. This has to make the PC maker's
blood run cold; Apple is selling a device with 95% of the usefulness of a
Windows PC but only 5% of the hassle (to the casual computer user), and
they've got nothing to lose if they cannibalize all of their laptop sales.

The breathtaking aspect of this is how just a year ago the Microsoft monopoly
still looked unassailable, but now, to some, the iPad's position seems nearly
unassailable and on track to capture a huge portion of the casual computer
users of the world.

~~~
dagw
_In 2007, if you said you were going to download an app to edit a high
definition movie on your smartphone you'd be institutionalized._

Why? I don't recall the first time I saw a phone that came with video editing
software, but I'm pretty sure it was before 2007. So if someone had said "in a
few years this software will be easier to use and can edit even higher
resolution video than it can today", I would have replied, "well, that sounds
obvious"

~~~
kalleboo
Sony Ericsson featurephones have had video editing built-in since 2005.

~~~
rpledge
Interesting, didn't know that. It makes me wonder if the success Apple has had
in mobile is due to their better understanding of software. Has Sony/Ericsson
iterated on their video editing feature? Apple definitely gets that software
is never done; I can't think of another mobile device company that constantly
improves not only the core (i.e. OS) software but also improves its value adds
(iBooks, GarageBand, iMovie, iWork, Remote, etc...) RIM comes to mind, but I
don't have much experience with RIM devices.

------
akashs
It's a bit unfortunate that most of the post is a bunch of gushing about how
Apple is so amazing. Unfortunate because there's a very insightful point in
that second to last paragraph.

The chair is definitely part of Apple's genius when it comes to the iPad. It
shows us that this isn't a laptop or a PC and the iPad doesn't fall into the
paradigms we're used to. It's something new, meant for you to use when you're
relaxing rather than working, and you haven't experienced anything like it.
You won't get it until you try it.

As for the competitors, they do have a ways to go. But the Xoom is definitely
a great step, especially with the higher-res, less awkward screen for watching
video (the aspect ratio is an annoyance on the iPad).

~~~
erikpukinskis
_But the Xoom is definitely a great step, especially with the higher-res, less
awkward screen for watching video (the aspect ratio is an annoyance on the
iPad)._

This reminds me of my friends who've dated someone for many years, and then
once they got the nerve to leave them, they end up marrying the next person
they date, within 12 months.

When you spend time with something, you get _really_ familiar with its
weaknesses. Then something walks along that doesn't have any of those
weaknesses, and because you are so obsessed with those specific traits, you
perceive this new thing as _perfect_.

Of course nothing is perfect, and once the glow wears off, you see everything
the old one was amazing at, and the new one sucks at.

Widescreen _is_ good for watching movies. But you do a lot on a tablet that's
not watching movies.

~~~
ekidd
I also browse the web, read Gmail, check my calendar, and read books, all of
which are great on the Xoom.

Games are still way behind the iPad, however, and I imagine that everybody
needs at least one great long-tail app that's only available on the iPad right
now.

------
bobz
My favorite thing about Jobs:

Seeing a man who actually DESERVES every ounce of his celebrity, clearly
enjoying it so much.

Nice piece by Gruber capturing the event, and my favorite flavor of Apple
worship.

~~~
retrogradeorbit
Did you actually say "worship"? I suppose you are right. It is more religious
than evidence based.

~~~
jodrellblank
If it was entirely evidence based and nothing else, I wouldn't be a fanboy,
I'd just have the 'best available opinion to have'.

And where's the fun in that?

;)

------
dave1619
I think Apple has the sense that the iPad will dominate the tablet market like
the iPod has dominated the mp3 market. The main reason Android has overtaken #
sales of smartphone is because of the price tax that the carriers (and also
Apple) has taken. But Apple doesn't have the carriers to worry about with the
tablet (cause most people are buying the wifi versions). And they've decided
they're going to compete on price with the iPad, just like they did with the
iPod and iPod Touch. After watching the keynote, it's hard to see the
competition creating a better tablet (hardware, software, design, apps) for a
cheaper price. Apple has integrated the whole process of innovation, and
they're way ahead... and this shows the most in the iPad.

~~~
rbarooah
And the halo of the iPad will probably have a pretty powerful effect in
boosting the iPhone, particularly if they release some cheaper iPhones for
PAYG as rumored.

~~~
dave1619
Agreed. I think Apple will be forced to compete on price with the iPhone.
Hence, likely will see some lower priced iPhones. I have a feeling that Apple
is working to solve the real problem, namely the ridiculous contracts and fees
carriers are charging.

------
ZeroGravitas
The big elephant in the room is that there actually is no product category of
"iPad" for Apple to dominate. I agree with the Gruber of 6 months ago who
thought that phones and tablets would merge into the same product category,
which he called "tablets" and I'll call "webpads" since I think that's the key
distinction between them and the Microsoft tablets and smartphones that
preceded them.

Apple thinks there will be 3.5 inch webpads, and 10 inch webpads and that they
are two totally distinct markets, so it doesn't matter if you lose share in
one of them. Everyone else thinks you can have 3.5, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 even 12
inch webpads and that they're made from 99% the same commodity hardware and
software.

Android is in the process of returning Apple to single digit marketshare in
the small webpad category, a story that tech churnalists have missed because
they live in a rich, old, white, U.S.-centric, gadget-obsessed bubble. I'm
fairly certain it'll happen even faster for the iPad.

------
mkramlich
Regardless of whether you feel Gruber is a fan boy or not, you gotta admit
he's a great writer. Always look forward to his pieces.

~~~
Johngibb
I agree. I've been following him for a long time (before he quit his day
job!), and he is absolutely a great writer. Daringfireball, along with HN, are
truly my only daily reads.

However, while I think he's generally spot on with his Apple analysis, I can
see how his detractors are turned off by the smidgeon of smugness in some of
his articles.

~~~
smackfu
And his links, OMG. SO SMUG! Half his posts seem to be about digging up the
bad sentences from iPad competitor reviews.

------
johnyqi
I seriously don't see how competition can catch up with Apple any time soon.
They build such infrastructure and line of products, all tight extremely well
together, looking amazing and they keep improving it almost every 3 months so
that from competitors perspective even to decide from where to start is
extremely puzzling.

I can tell for sure that Android will take most of the market, maybe even
60-70%, but this will not be because of quality or user experience, it will
only be because of cheaper prices, low end products and trying to please
mainstream. But I'm pretty sure that Apple will be happy with their part of
the cake with high quality products, high margins and very loyal and happy
costumers. Just brilliant from any point of view.

------
tuhin
Love how Steve Jobs has craftily defined a point in time "Post-PC era" that
everyone including me is referring to in the discussions. A phrase that many
of us had not used a few days ago is now the parameter to judge policies of
companies: "that's how it was in post-PC era". As far as the point of power
corrupts is, I do not really see the basis for that. iPod, iPhone? How did the
power corrupt Apple? Or is there some serious competitor to iPod that I have
somehow missed?

~~~
recoiledsnake
> As far as the point of power corrupts is, I do not really see the basis for
> that. iPod, iPhone? How did the power corrupt Apple?

A forced 30% cut of all subscriptions to the iDevices.

~~~
tuhin
Yes, I do see the issue with that and on a fair note, sad to see Apple resort
to this. While the rules and the implementation has been dogmatic, there were
companies who were very craftily bypassing the app store in app purchases to
do all kinds of stuff. Again, I am not justifying the way in which Apple did
this, but I do not see how not letting competitors and app developers by pass
the rules of the eco-system is getting corrupted.

------
Jun8
Excellent points about how Apple's perception of iPad has changed in a year. I
also loved this:

"Good iPad apps can make the iPad feel not like a device running an app, but
like an object that is the app. GarageBand isn’t a musical app running on an
iPad. It turns an iPad into a musical instrument."

So true. But the most insightful quote is at the very end:

"But there are other things any competitor could copy, easily, but seemingly
don’t even understand that they should, because such things aren’t technical."

That's it! In order to compete effectively, you need to fully understand your
adversary's strengths, which I don't think Motorola, Samsung, and others fully
grasp. They still brag about the dual core, and this or that technical detail.
I have yet to see apps as polished as iPad's on Android. When they come (and
when Android has a better app store), _then_ Apple needs to be worried.

------
nopinsight
> But there are other things any competitor could copy, easily, but seemingly
> don’t even understand that they should, because such things aren’t
> technical. Take that chair. The on-stage demos of the iPad aren’t conducted
> at a table or a lectern. They’re conducted sitting in an armchair. That
> conveys something about the feel of the iPad before its screen is even
> turned on. Comfortable, emotional, simple, elegant. How it feels is the
> entirety of the iPad’s appeal.

This is an illustration why product companies, however large, should still be
led by a product-oriented CEO. Companies led by MBAs or finance people are not
doing too well on innovation front. Microsoft is a prominent example of this
observation. Sony during Nobuyuki Idei's tenure was another example.

~~~
yuhong
This reminds me of HP which has both consumer and enterprise products under
it's umbella, particularly since the acquisition of Palm.

------
aik
I don't understand Gruber's conclusion, starting with: “It’s in Apple’s DNA
that technology is not enough.”

Firstly, what does Steve Jobs mean by that? I believe simply that Apple is
where "Technology meets Liberal Arts".

Gruber seems to think this means "better designed, has more developer support,
and it’s cheaper", which is all stuff that competitors can't copy?

That seems to just be an overview of Apple's status in this and their status
relative to others, not necessarily having to do anything with "Technology
meeting Liberal Arts".

In addition, I don't believe Jobs is referring to their marketing model in
this -- that the technology is part of a greater "experience".

Rather, and perhaps I'm wrong on this and assuming too much, but I see it as a
plea for something greater beyond just the technology and the ingenious
marketing scheme. I see the devices (most specifically the iPad) as a
technology that is humankind-enhancing material beyond just making life a
little bit easier. Sure other tablets are, or could be rather, and I hope will
be, the same or better, but at the moment the iPad does hold a special slot
here. With the immense backing that it has, that's a fact I would say.

Whether Apple has purposefully created it to be so exceptional in so many
areas (partner in healthcare, schools, etc.) is something I don't know or if
they just got lucky, but it is true that it is excellent(or at least a big
step forward) in those areas. And for that reason alone I see the device as
more than just a gimmicky piece of technology and rather more of a device that
assists in the advancement of mankind.

~~~
calbear81
I think the "advancement of mankind" piece might get you some flak but the
basic concept sounds like what Steve Jobs was alluding to. My view of it is
that Apple doesn't build technology for the sake of building technology. Every
technological investment is married with a deep focus on how it is APPLIED in
the real world hence the deep focus on user experience and app ecosystem. I
think a good way to look at it is that Apple built the iPod because they LOVE
music as a company. I know some people will think it's a marketing gimmick but
it's clear that Jobs & Apple are true music fans and to them, the dearth of a
player that could hold thousands of songs drove them to think about a solution
that could solve that problem.

------
Tom_Chippendale
Just a note from a design nerd: it's a Le Corbusier LC3 chair. They're
terribly comfortable.

~~~
jodrellblank
It's interesting to hear you say that, but slightly depressing that it's four
oblongs of leather coated sponge in a right-angle wireframe holder, designed
in 1928 and selling for a thousand dollars.

It should be comfortable, and it should be more like $200 and out of copyright
by now.

Where's the innovation in furniture that would make that chair _look_ like
technology from 1928?

~~~
Tom_Chippendale
Sorry, delayed response!

I would say it very much looks like technology from 1928. Compare it with the
minimalist forms of Gio Ponti's Superleggera Chair, or side-by-side against
the sinuous curves of a Rio chaise by Oscar Niemeyer. The LC3 looks downright
old & Bauhaus-y.

Re. the innovation: This is a fascinating topic. One difference might be a
result of value retention. A furniture model from 2006 won't have
compatibility issues with the latest upholstery. I'm being silly to a degree,
but knowing my iPhone 3GS will soon run at the speed of snot does not endear
the thing's design to me. So old style could stick around without seeming
_too_ outdated, reducing the need for innovation.

Second, related thought about design innovation (again, from my very _non_
-authoritative perspective) Furniture design seems have two extremes in
innovation: A) periods of minor & incremental developments, essentially
stagnation. B) Radical developments based on changes in artists' context.

The long periods where innovation is noticeably absent generally parallel
times when artisans have no new medium in which to elevate their craft. During
these periods, they're generally relegated to small changes: modifications &
cosmetic variations on mostly-optimized forms.

Same as in vehicle design or computer hardware, the real magic happens when
you develop new materials for medium & new methods for construction. (Esp.
when those materials that improve fundamentals, a material's increased load-
bearing ability will radically enhance what is possible in chair design.)

A good example are the years after bentwood techniques are pioneered, where
designers for firms such as Thonet and J.J. Kohn produced radical new forms -
the organic curves of Thonet rocking chairs look decades ahead of their
mid-1800s origins, and they anticipate Art Nouveau by more than a quarter-
century.

The same innovation groundswell appeared when synthetic materials (Lucite,
plastic laminate & other petro-products) are introduced to the consumer
markets post-WWII. A generation of design names like Charles & Ray Eames,
Verner Panton, Charles Hollis Jones & Ettore Sottsass seized on these
materials, creating parallel expressions of the abstraction & geometry in
post-war architecture.

Recommend reading on hotbeds of design innovation: _The Sevres Porcelain
Manufactory: Alexandre Brongniart and the Triumph of Art and Industry,
1800-1847_ pub. by Yale University Press for the Bard Graduate Center _Italian
Lighting Design 1945-2000_ by Alberto Bassi

P.S. Apologies for rambling.

------
stcredzero
_Good iPad apps can make the iPad feel not like a device running an app, but
like an object that is the app._

This sentence alone is worth reading the entire post. Subtract the parts of
the sentence having to do with iPad, change good to great, and you get a
universal truth.

Great apps feel not like a device running an app, but like an object that is
the app.

Apply this to your user's content/data. A great X app doesn't feel like a
device running a X app, it feels like you're directly manipulating X. You can
substitute pictures, reports, movies, invites, events, etc...

------
spacemanaki
Hey, thanks Gruber! "skeuomorph" What a cool word: "a derivative object that
retains ornamental design cues to a structure that was necessary in the
original." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph>

------
Newky
"This is the iPad doing something new, things that couldn’t be done on the
Mac"

This is what I want to see, I don't own an iPad but I won't until there is
genuine things on it that I cannot achieve on my laptop.

I feel it is easy for a device like this to become widespread as it feels
magical to use, but for me as a computer scientist, and someone who uses his
keyboard almost exclusively, I need something from the iPad that I can't get
from any other device.

Its why I purchased a Kindle!

~~~
rahoulb
You can read on a laptop ...

It's not about exclusivity.

The thing with the Kindle (I've only used one briefly) and the iPad (I love my
1st gen) is that they do some things _better_ than a laptop.

Reading is better on a Kindle or an iPad - especially curled up on the sofa -
than a laptop.

Sketching is better on an iPad than on a laptop.

Browsing in bed is better on an iPad than on a laptop.

Typing is much worse on an iPad than a laptop.

I'm particularly looking forward to Garageband (and I've spent a lot on music
apps for the iPad) because it looks like it will be better than Garageband on
a laptop (although I admit that's a prediction - one I'm willing to gamble
five quid on).

~~~
Newky
I take your point fully,

and I don't disagree that there are things that the iPad ultimately does do
things BETTER,

I just see would like to see more innovative uses (such as garageband) but I
guess thats just a case of patience.

------
code_duck
When was the last time that Gruber disagreed with anything Apple did, and
didn't have a long list of reasons about why it was good for you, all
consumers, and society?

I can't even read his posts. They are simply too propaganda-like.

------
guelo
Wow, that was as good an iPad ad as Apple could come up with on their own.
Apple would be stupid to hire Gruber on internally as he manages to stay on
message on his own.

------
kaffeinecoma
Can we all pitch in and buy John Gruber a nice, legible font that's larger
than 9pt?

~~~
gabrielroth
<http://daringfireball.net/preferences/>

------
recoiledsnake
>There’s a palpable sense among everyone from Apple I spoke to yesterday that
this is the biggest and most important thing in the history of the industry.

Seriously? Bigger and more important than the invention of the Internet and
WWW?

Well, I just wish the Post-PC devices wouldn't come with a 30% (or 43%)
surcharge for all subscription content.

~~~
tesseract
I fear the world got lucky in that the Internet inherited its openness from
academia, and the PC inherited its openness from the early hobbyist
microcomputer scene. As in many other industries, openness - except when
necessary for a bare minimum of interoperability - has never really been the
norm in consumer electronics. As computing moves beyond the PC, I think that
(sadly) we are going to have to get used to proprietary platforms and their
attendant pricing shenanigans.

~~~
bad_user
Unfortunately for companies moving beyond the PC, the genie is out of the
bottle already.

Phones have been historically locked down by carriers. Taking a look at the
alternatives from just 5 years ago, the iPhone looks pretty damn open. And
there is a reason for that, and why consumers didn't care.

Consumers are used to phones being locked, but consumers are also used to
doing whatever they want with the computers they've bought. And funny thing -
this wasn't always the case. IBM-compatible PCs that you could extend with ISA
cards, assemble your own, coming bundled with MS-DOS / Windows - weren't the
first PCs available. Even Apple came after Atari. And those home computers
back in those day were pretty locked.

What changed the scene is the simple fact that software is so much bigger and
more profitable than hardware; and there are many forces in the market that
want hardware to be an unlocked and cheap complementary to software. You can
see that playing right now with the battle between Android / WinMo 7 / iOS /
Blackberry.

That's the biggest reason why Microsoft won in the 90's - not only over Apple,
but also over IBM's OS/2 - they made no discrimination when it came to
hardware, they ensured backwards-compatibility for third-party software at all
costs, they kept the SDK free of charge. Compared to IBM's OS/2 ; Windows was
a piece of shit ... but it ran fine on 286 processors and was compatible with
everything you wanted.

My phone has at least ten times the horsepower of my first computer. I had no
expectations out of my Nokia 3310; as I only expected it to make phone calls.

Bottom line - computing doesn't move beyond the PC, but towards the PC.

And Apple is increasingly becoming aggressive because they'd like to keep the
grip they have right now, but they also realize that they cannot do it. Want
to bet that they'll lose costumers to Android if for example Kindle for iOS is
shut down?

~~~
tesseract
I truly hope you're right.

(Nitpick: I'm aware IBM compatibles weren't the first PCs available. Before
them came, among others, the Apple II and the Commodore - both of which came
with full schematics in the back of the manual. That's openness if you ask
me.)

~~~
bad_user
Well, if I'm not right ; then at least they'll get bitch-slapped by the EU as
soon as they gain any significant marketshare.

I mean, they could convince frickin' Microsoft to make IExplorer / Windows
Media Player optional ... which makes no sense whatsoever :)

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pridegoforth
No front license drives you can see the top edge of a license plate

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kleptco
iPad's post-pc experience: holding your computer get's old fast, touch is
frustratingly imprecise, copy/paste and the web suck. SJ talks about how it's
not a computer and then points out how great it is for creating content and
for business. He is P.T. Barnum and the suckers are lapping it up.

