

Apple Q3 2008: Macs unstoppable, solid growth down the line - parenthesis
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080721-apple-q3-2008-iphones-short-ipods-flat-macs-unstoppable.html

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mixmax
Goes to show how important design and usability is in an increasingly
confusing world.

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mlinsey
And also how there are fewer and fewer killer desktop applications out there -
doesn't matter what OS you have when everything new and exciting is on the
web, so you may as well choose the one that gives you the nicest experience.

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tx
What "new and exciting" is on the web?

After I dumped Windows, moved to Linux and _especially after bought a Mac_ I
actually started enjoying installing and exploring new (to me) software. I can
honestly say that these programs changed the way I work or even think about
something: ssh, gvim, quicksilver and (oh yes) multi-touch on the latest MBP.

So far there is only one online application I use: gmail (dumped POP3 clients
long ago) and it isn't particularly exciting.

Everything else is the same old online stuff: ever-changing flavors of news
reading, talking to people, humor, etc. Just like it was last year, just like
it had always been. Always, even before Internet, when I was on FIDO.

Apple makes computers fun again: there is a lot of cool stuff to play with. Do
you realize that while everyone is drooling over little piece of online
advertisement money, Apple is actually milking the desktop? Sometimes I wish
PG didn't do Viaweb, but rather did something in consumer software space, YC'd
been much more interesting.

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mlinsey
Keep in mind I'm looking at this from a mainstream consumer angle, not a
hacker angle. This also means I have a much, much longer definition of "new".

The way I see it, the main killer apps for computers throughout the 1980s and
1990s were business software: Office, Quicken, etc.

Web-only killer apps for mainstream audiences: Google, Wikipedia,
MySpace/Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, EBay, Flickr.

Some of those are Web 1.0, but all the same, I can't think of any home runs
for the mainstream audience since the late '90s that have been desktop
software. In fact, the last one I can think of is instant messaging clients,
which are now moving onto the web.

Your "same old online stuff" is the main thing people are thinking of when
people say "I'm buying a computer to surf the web".

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anewaccountname
> In fact, the last one I can think of is instant messaging clients, which are
> now moving onto the web.

Napster was pretty big.

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jimbokun
"Napster was pretty big."

Then you could also include iTunes, bringing us back to the Apple discussion.

