“...they seem ‘godlike’.”
Oh my Star, I’m not even going to go there. :-)
“Apple does such a fine job of ‘advancing the industry’...”
Apple advanced a couple of items. The OS? Yes. MP3 players? Yes. Smart phones? Yes. There are no real internal advances in Apple computers. They look different, but the components are the same.
The hardware industry was advancing quite well without Apple. Apple started using Intel chips after touting the super advanced G4 and G5 architecture. The Intel chips were all moving forward faster than Apple’s choice. (Do you remember the Burn Baby Burn ads that Apple ran?)
“...to the benefit of the consumer.”
I’d say “the high-end consumer”. That’s OK, they got stuck in that niche, but much of the computer industry simply shrugs and says, “Er, pretty, but I can do that on my PC.”
Oh my Star, I’m not even going to go there. :-)
You're right, I wouldn't go there either, in "seeming godlike" -- because that's not where the problem is. The problem is the rest of the industry seeming "turd-like" -- which then makes Apple seem "godlike" doncha know... LOL ...
I actually heard that statement in a computer store a few years back, after a little demo on the Mac. I can do that on my PC The next sentence was very telling though. "Of course it would take me a couple hours....."
From a simply computer standpoint you are correct, mac machines are nothing spectacular on the inside, while they do have the “cool” factor down and a very high price premium apple PCs really bring little to the table beyond their physical designs at the hardware level.
There really isn’t a huge argument to own a Mac computer over another brand for most users. The OS is superior, though the aqua interface has pluses and minuses vs the MS alternatives. In fact many of the things Windows is touting as making 7 simpler are right out of OSx graphical interface. At the PC level, Macs are for the cool niche players more than anyone else.
The interface though, this is where apple generally shines, and there is no doubting that the user experience create by apple with the iPhone/iPod touch has completely changed how humans interact and expect to interact with electronics. Do drill down menus with a mouse and cursor or touchpad and cursor work? Certainly, but they are nowhere near the intuitiveness and elegance of the multitouch display.
iPad is not simply a tablet computer, it is a tablet computer that is extending the iPhone interface/paradigm to the portable computer. If this is successful, iPad will be far more than a “cool” gadget, but will become the market leader in a brand new segment, if it fails it will be an interesting discussion piece 30 years from now.
I admit the iPad hasn’t proven itself yet, but it certainly has the parts to be a very very significant whole. Touchpads, mice and drill down menus (at least the style most computer users are accustomed to today) may become “quaint” concepts of another time for most users.
Time will tell whether or not its a win or a dud... I suspect that if it works remotely as billed, Apple will become a market segment leader in the tablet space.
Actually, there are. Not much in the modern computing hardware, but in the design, materials and construction of the cases. That machined aluminum just rocks above all other laptops, period.
That’s OK, they got stuck in that niche, but much of the computer industry simply shrugs and says, “Er, pretty, but I can do that on my PC.”
I could drive from here to California in my little commuter econo-car just the same as I could in a Mercedes sedan. But I think I'd prefer to take the Mercedes, better user experience.
And like a good company Apple isn't concentrating on marketshare, but making money. Its little niche has turned out to be much more profitable than others in the business.