Apple isn't exactly known for catering to the lower end of the market, but so far, it doesn't really seem to have slowed them down much. They are selling more Macs than ever, and especially in the ever-growing notebook market, Apple is very successful. However, with people all worried about possible economic downturn, and with the success of cheap, small laptops (netbooks), people are starting to speculate if Apple will enter the netbook market.
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Member since:2006-01-02
Everyone uses technologies invented by someone else. That's nothing new. Engineering (as opposed to Science) is all about combining the major inventions that exist out there along with some minor (maybe "obvious") ingenuity to meet the cost and time-to-market goals. Apple is one of the better manufacturers at doing this consistently, and they are also pretty good at figuring out which things consumers will find "cool" and exciting while adding only marginal cost (i.e. the backlit keyboards on the MBPs).
I don't personally like their mean and snarky advertising, and their hardware is not more reliable than any corporate-focussed laptop line (after all, they're made by the same ODMs out of the same parts), but Apple should be commended for their design sensibilities and ability to engineer a positive end-user experience.
Member since:2006-02-05
Member since:2006-11-12
Some companies are a lot more innovative and ground-breaking than others. Such outfits are constantly experimenting and researching and pioneering technology.
Apple is one of the least innovative companies. They don't do a lot of original experimenting nor research. They simply employ technology as soon as someone else develops it, which makes them seem innovative.
Examples of truly innovative companies are: Bell (labs) during the 1960s and prior; Xerox during the 1970s and prior; 3M; IBM; etc.
Another good example is Sony. Over the last five decades, Sony has consistently originated and invented new technology, much of which is documented at this site: http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/history/1990.html
Here is an innovative, portable turntable from the 1980s: http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/history/product/1980/ps-f9.html
Sony invented the first pen based PDA (prior to the Newton): http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/history/product/1990/ptc-300.html
Ever seen an omnidirectional speaker that uses a glass tube as the driver?: http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/product/sountina_01.html
Are you impressed by the latest Apple hype about "unibody" construction? Read how much Sony has put into the unibody enclosure of this hand-held device: http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/product/pcm-d1_02.html
It's safe to say that Sony took "unibody" construction a little farther than Apple did.
By the way, machining enclosures is a common manufacturing process for small production runs (and for precision) that has been around since the beginning of the industrial age. It is not special, as Apple portrays it. Furthermore, it is more environmentally wasteful than most other manufacturing methods.
Sony is constantly experimenting with new UIs/GUIs:
http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/concept/interaction/project...
http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/concept/interaction/project...
http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/concept/interaction/project...
In addition, Sony has four design/creativity facilities around the globe, and they actually listen to input from the end user.
Apple doesn't even come close to the immense innovation prowess of Sony, Bell Labs, Xerox, 3M, IBM, etc.
If Apple's being "pretty good at figuring out which things consumers will find 'cool' and exciting" redeems them in the eyes of Apple fans and makes Apple fans feel good, so be it.
However, please don't try to pass off Apple as an innovative company.
Edited 2008-11-27 22:09 UTC
Member since:2005-07-24
From your link:
Which goes to show that a good safety standard often finds applicability beyond its original intended scope. I'm certain that many children have already been saved from being burned by falling MacBooks. ;-)
Edited 2008-11-26 22:14 UTC
Member since:2005-10-12
Member since:
2006-11-12
Whether or not Apple laptops are aesthetically pleasant is a matter of personal taste. However, if the laptops regularly exhibit heat problems, mechanical failures or usability difficulties, the designer has failed.
There is nothing "innovative" about Apple laptops.
Apple did not innovate/invent breakaway connectors -- not even breakaway, magnetic connectors.
Perhaps the thought occured to a group of countertop appliance manufacturers, about five years before Apple: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/07/03/deep.fryers/
Note that these magnetic breakaway connectors were announced as a UL standard on July 4, 2001 -- the Apple magsafe connector was introduced on January 10, 2006.
In addition, breakaway connectors have been used for decades in the safety and aerospace industries.
Except for the countertop appliance manufacturers (and the safety and aerospace industries) mentioned above, who had it long before Apple.
Perhaps the reason that other laptop makers don't utilize this thoroughly standardized technology is because:
- it's too expensive;
- it's too big, compared to the tiny power connectors that are common on laptops;
- it's unreliable -- wiping pins/contacts have fewer intermittent conduction problems;
- it's a fire hazard:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rheauchyr/sets/72057594082940769/
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/magsafe-burning-not-isolated-183...
Here's a device designed to overcome the strain relief problems inherent in the Apple magsafe connector: http://www.macworld.com/article/135299/2008/08/macmagsaver.html?lsr...
The existence of this strain-relief product begs the question: why would a properly designed magsafe connector need a strain-relief accessory?
The answer is that Apple designers and engineers are not very good.
That statement is at the crux of why people buy Apple products -- they are "designer" items. They tend to appeal to people who go for that sort of thing, and to those who go for designer looks but who won't admit it.
Evidently, Apple fans also indirectly admire Braun products from the 1960s: http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-secrets-to-...
I just want a computer that works well, that doesn't restrict my choices, and that is reasonably priced.
Go here: http://www.macfixit.com/ Then, in your browser, search "driver".
Macs have driver problems.
Plus, Macs have a host of other problems listed on this page and countless more problems and complaints in the forums section of this site ( http://www.macfixitforums.com/ ).
Of course, Macs have a lot of problems, just like other computers/OSs.
Furthermore, Apple designers and engineers are not very innovative -- they merely employ technology invented by someone else.