
Apples and PCs: Who innovates more, Apple or HP? - davidw
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/08/apples_and_pcs
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easyfrag
I think we need a better definition of innovation, how many releases of
systems per period doesn't really cut it. Is a slightly faster clock cycle
innovative?

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CodeMage
You might be surprised to see how much innovation goes into getting a slightly
faster clock cycle.

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ojbyrne
But how much value is there to the user?

I think Apple's biggest innovation is right there - that the checkbox
mentality of marketing computers was in its heyday when Computer Shopper was
1500 pages every month, and has long passed.

Now people value

\- quality of the experience

\- having everything work the same

\- user-centric software

\- standards-driven software

I have 3 macs, but I also have 2 windows machines, and I much prefer the mac
experience. I like that I have unix, and a apt-like package manager, rather
than some windows "innovation." I like that I can print PDFs out of the box,
rather than having to deal with some shareware. I basically feel like windows
has now managed to require more "sysadmin-ing" than unix, somehow.

I keep the PCs for games. And that's about it.

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bad_user
> _the checkbox mentality of marketing computers was in its heyday when
> Computer Shopper was 1500 pages every month_

That's not true ... I see lots of people still thinking about the best
configuration for them, asking friends, searching on google, doing
comparisons.

Companies like HP / Dell are still using checkboxes because it is a marketing
strategy that still works for more than 90% of consumers.

And BTW ... Apple does not emphasize on experience, but rather on fashion.

> _I like that I have unix, and a apt-like package manager_

Yeah, that's pretty cool, but MacPorts is a far cry from being apt-like.

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Terretta
Right from the top, the article is all about the reporter. "Hey, remember
those ads on TV? Not that I watch it or anything, I'm too busy using
(parentheses)."

And what a strange concept of "innovation": whether the maker ships each Intel
CPU.

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davidw
See my other comment: it's not actually 'innovation', but who ships quicker
and cheaper with newer, fancier gear.

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Timmy_C
This article had nothing to do with actually USING either a Mac or PC and at
the points where to glance at user experience the statements are speculative
at best. Their definition of innovation is numbers on the back of a box.

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thefunk
And this is why I canceled my subscription to the economist.

