Do Apple's Policies Help It's Competitors?

Matrix Agent

Matrix Agent

Masochist Mascot
I was thinking about this the other day:

Apple:

-Pushed USB
-First in Firewire
-Popularized 802.11b
-Built In WiFi Antennae
-Moved to LCD
-Popularizing Bluetooth
-Basically Created Consumer Video Editing
-Created Consumer DVD Burning
-Side Opening Towers
-Popularized Gigabit Ethernet
-Simplified the Entire Mp3 Process
-And on, and on...

So, looking just at these achievements, one would assume that Apple is a leading innovator within the computing industry, pushing new open standards. Now everything that Apple does is not open, but many of their developed technologies are able to be used by other companies, royalty free. Apple has even lent its Firewire name and symbol as the official name to IEEE 1394. After all of this progress and sharing, Apple gets nothing.

Dell turns around and talks about being first with built in antennae and gigabit ethernet. They also debut a side opening tower like they were the ones who had thought of it three years earlier.:rolleyes:

Basically, what it comes down to in my mind is that Apple is a very positive force in the computing industry, but everyone uses it as its slave, letting the company take all of the risks, try all of the new designs, push all of the new standards, and then these other *ahem* x86 companies, take all of the credit. It is blatant deceotion of the public, and I've yet to meet more than a fwe people who don;t believe it. I know that this story is on a lot of our minds, but I figured I'd put it out there, to see what you guys make of this situation.

Now, back to my question, "Do Apple's Policies help It's Competeitors?" Well, I think its a double edged sword. They spend massive amounts of R&D money for a company of its size, they recieve less than due credit, but they also have a leading platform (in some people's minds). At what point does Apple just sit down, take a breath and decide that it may be treading water by just feeding the other larger companies? I don't think that point will ever come, but imagine 10 years from now, Apple is 2 years ahead of its competition, but has gained no market or mindshare? What kind of thing does that do to a company emotionally?

Well, I'm sure the future is much brighter than that..:p
 
Yes, I've always noticed this too. You forgot them removing the floppy, and just recently Intel advised PC manufactures to start phasing out floppies! *GASP*

Apple needs to start yelling and screaming, "HEY, WE DID IT FIRST! AND WE DID IT BETTER THE FIRST TIME!". :)
 
But how to do that without looking smug? Smugness has never increased market share.

Ah well, that's why they pay advertising firms lotso dough.. :rolleyes: :p

But back to the question, yes, I think Apple makes it easier for their competitors--the competitors can sit back and watch Apple take the lead, then loudly proclaim their "innovations" (a la Dell and gigabit ethernet) without having to take the risk of being a pioneer. GRRRR. :mad: :monkey:
 
As part owner of Apple, 10 shares last I checked, I can say that we are the leader in the personal computer industry. This of course comes at a great cost to us, but it's well worth it. My iPod, connected by Firewire, to my floppy-less G4 tower, with its digital audio Pro Speakers and sleek 15 inch flat panel display say that the cost is well worth it. Oh yeah, my iBook Axel agrees. Innovation for many is something to be feared, we are the vanguard and it's not always easy but in the end almost always worth it. Okay, pep talk over.
 
It costs as much as the share is worth. Right now (at the moment of me writing this post), each of Apple's shares are worth $19.54. So you can by 1 share for $19.54, 10 for $195.40, or 100 for $1954. It all depends on the share price.

Oh, just a note. Whenever you see those companies offering you to buy one share of your favorite company!, they usually are gouging you. You get some nifty certificate you could have printed yourself, and you get an overpriced share.
 
matrix my friend I have to correct you on one thing.
Bluetooth is not being popularized by apple.
Outside of our USA microcosm bluetooth has been in use since last september when sonyericsson started shipping phones with built-in bluetooth. Nokia and motorola also followed suit, and bluetooth was found on iPaq PDAs even PRIOR to apple's BT dongle :) --- so BT was already gaining momentum before apple laid its hands on it :)

As for apple helping competitors... I dont really see it that way. Apple is helping technology advance :)
 
We've got one of those dells with the opening side door...
ooh... the thing feels so heavy when you lift it (yea... you lift the heavy part up and the light part stays down) that it feels like it will fall over and break... that's if it's on it's site... if it;s standing up, you better remove the stand or else it will fall!

this is one of those "S" models...
dimen_4500s_series.jpg

we bought it to replace a 166MHz Gateway 2000 Destination computer (with the 31 inch monitor... super cool) and it barely gets used (waste of 1.6 GHz), has a max resolution of 640x480 (windows XP looks like total shit at 800x600, so what's it look like now!), and it can't play DVD's (which would be the cool thing if we wouldn't have picked the CD-R/W version)

i can't believe i let my friend buy this exact same model... i preached macs onto him... but i guess he needs the PC for the games... but good news, they're coming out for mac really soon! :)
 
It's not a bad thing that people copy Apple's innovations. It actually means that Apple is right. This was *way* worse in the 80s and 90s, when Apple made innovations that people only started to want a few years later. Apple actually was too early with their innovations back then. Look at the Newton. They should have tested it a few more years and then have come out with the Newton MP 2100 from the beginning.

There's no use in whining, either. Bluetooth, btw, is a big piece of crap, anyway. Here in Europe, where it's supposed to be the 'great next thing', I haven't seen anyone *really* use Bluetooth. It's quite slow, you know, and most of the time it doesn't really work well. And it gets in the way of WiFi networks.
 
Fryke, Admiral,

Undoubtably Apple is a leader in the computing industry, and progress would be much slower without them. And Fryke, Apple has been right, consistantly, but do you often hear people talking about how "right" Apple was? Especially among the general public?

Today, a few people admit the the Newton was one of the best palmtop computers ever manufactured, and most people have forgotten about the newton completely, resigned to thinking of it as a failure, due to the Saturday Night Live skits.

This isn't a whine like other people, who are declaring the imminent death of Apple, and are pissed off because they find a small fault with Apple. This is just me putting out my frustrations with the general public's lack of respect for Apple Computers's place as a leader in the computing industry.
 
Originally posted by AdmiralAK
matrix my friend I have to correct you on one thing.
Bluetooth is not being popularized by apple.
Outside of our USA microcosm bluetooth has been in use since last september when sonyericsson started shipping phones with built-in bluetooth.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by fryke


There's no use in whining, either. Bluetooth, btw, is a big piece of crap, anyway. Here in Europe, where it's supposed to be the 'great next thing', I haven't seen anyone *really* use Bluetooth. It's quite slow, you know, and most of the time it doesn't really work well. And it gets in the way of WiFi networks.
Click to expand...

Neyo Smirks @ his Ericsson T68, Bluetooth Compatible Fone! :p! lol!

Fryke, i Disagree With you there, i use the bluetooth on my fone, maybe not to its optimal ability, but merely as a better alternative to IR. my T68 has both IR and Bluetooth, but for me, Bluetooth allows me to send my Colour background pictures, calender notes, and play battleships over a Very Boring College Class with Ease! No Longer do you have to sit within a foot of one another, aiming the fone At the other, and still IR Won't work too well! :(
i know, even on my fone, Bluetooth can do more, and i did read of some Sync With Email, but i'm not down with all that! For Mobile fones and relative electronic devices, i think Bluetooth is a great thing! :D

...After all, it was pretty cool, when you had to set your fone's 'Phone Name', and then enable it, like on LAN, and then Search for other handsets, and select the fone to share data with, all while the other handset is "down the st." ...And the blue Flashy light on the T68 Does look so Cool! :D

...oh, i won't mention that Funky, but O' so expensive, Bluetooth (wireless) hands Free Kit (if only i had on! <sigh>)

NeYo
 
oh, don't get me wrong, the fun parts of it are great. but i've seen and heard so many stories about how a bluetooth cellphone connected to a pc notebook gets a connection and fails upon connecting to an ISP and stuff... while IRdA just *works* by now. I'd rather see a better IRdA port in TiBooks and iBooks than Bluetooth, which really didn't deliver what it promised, so far. Maybe because Apple wasn't pushing it enough? :p
 
Originally posted by fryke
oh, don't get me wrong, the fun parts of it are great. but i've seen and heard so many stories about how a bluetooth cellphone connected to a pc notebook gets a connection and fails upon connecting to an ISP and stuff... while IRdA just *works* by now. I'd rather see a better IRdA port in TiBooks and iBooks than Bluetooth, which really didn't deliver what it promised, so far. Maybe because Apple wasn't pushing it enough? :p
Click to expand...

Yeah! but i guess, even IR Wasn't "all that" when it was 1st introduced! i still don't think IR is all that special, but i think the Bluetooth technology over time can take over the place, held by IR. i guess its all "one step at a time"

...oh! By tha way (hehe) i should get my iBook (back) real soon! yay! :D

Neyo
 
Originally posted by fryke
It's not a bad thing that people copy Apple's innovations. It actually means that Apple is right. This was *way* worse in the 80s and 90s, when Apple made innovations that people only started to want a few years later. Apple actually was too early with their innovations back then. Look at the Newton. They should have tested it a few more years and then have come out with the Newton MP 2100 from the beginning.

There's no use in whining, either. Bluetooth, btw, is a big piece of crap, anyway. Here in Europe, where it's supposed to be the 'great next thing', I haven't seen anyone *really* use Bluetooth. It's quite slow, you know, and most of the time it doesn't really work well. And it gets in the way of WiFi networks.
Click to expand...

Fryke from these comments you strike me as ignorant on the subject matter. Bluetooth is very versatile and I use it everyday! If you bothered to have bluetooth devices to use and to have them interface you would not hold this opinion.

Bluetooth was built to co-exist right along side of WiFi, not to take its place and not to interfere with it!

As for teh newton, a lot of new-gen PDA users dont even know the newton. They see me with my newton and they ask "is that a palm?" -- ignorant users -- makes me want to punch em :p lol just kidding.

The fact is that people who use PDAs today (namelly the younger of the group) were either too young at the time of the newton, they did not care about PDAs/technology, or they just did not have the $$$$.

I belong in the third category and I had forgotten about its existance until I stumbled on the on ebay.


btw neyo, I just upgraded my firmware on my T68, lets play some naval command :p

Admiral
 
Originally posted by AdmiralAK


Fryke from these comments you strike me as ignorant on the subject matter.
Click to expand...

Well, Fryke is right: here in France I don't see anyone using BlueTooth. Even my "I've got the last technological thingee on me" friends don't use BlueTooth.

I don't know the WiFi point.
 
Originally posted by AdmiralAK


btw neyo, I just upgraded my firmware on my T68, lets play some naval command :p
Click to expand...

u did?! Sweet! but i have to say, i miss tetris now! :( Naval Command isn't all that really! :(

but sure, you name a place, and we'll hook up for a Lil' Game! lol

Does Bluetooth work over the Atlantic? :p

I did read of some hidden games, but i don't think Tetris was one! :(

...Do you agree, that t9 txt input sucks on the fone?! i have to wait for it to catch up with my sentence sometimes! :(

Neyo
 
toast, hear-say is not really something that I would listen to, unless you have personal experience, nothing else matters :) -- once you use it... then you know :D
The phones that have bluetooth, are phones that are higher end, so I dont really think teens and people in their 20s will have those kind of phones unless they have a lot of $$$ or they are technology freaks like me (I spent $550 USD for my T68). Bluetooth doesnt come on low to middle end phones that most of the public uses yet, not to mention the fact that nokia JUST came out with BT models, and a lot of people shun SonyEricsson and the others and go with nokia for various reasons. I think the T39 was a bluetooth phone...but I cant remember, that is the only middle end phone that comes to mind --- but A LOT of people get turned off by the antenna.

anyway... neyo there were hidden games (like snake) in the older version of the firmware I had (T68m R1A :p) but no longer. I liked tetris too :( ... I hope its still there as an easter egg ;)

btw I never use T9 :p most of my SMSs are shorthand and most are written in greeklish (greek in english letters) so T9 doent help ;)
 
Hey, my friends aren't all 20 — I've got my Dad and some friends too buying everything with written "This is new and new and new and technological and expensive". i can't see (much) Blutooth 'round there.

The word in brackets is a small concession ;).
 
remember everyone....apple is an innovative company. apple will always be this way as long as jobs is in. apple has no desire to take the glory of developing new products or standards. this idea brings me to the point of why apple has its small, yet faithful following. Only those who truly appreciate apple and its products continue to buy and support this company. this is what apple wants, apple doesn't want the overly dependant people like those of microsoft and intel. apple only cares to strike the inventitive and innovative consumers. if apple wanted everyone to appreciate what they did, they wouldn't be apple. apple is a subtle company, who will one day have its moment of glory. i look at it as saving the best for last.

peace.

ver
 
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