30 years in Apple products: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Engadget ^ | 4/1/06 | Ryan Block

[qam1]

Comments on individual machines in link

[Lunatic Fringe]

Apple sucks.

[Glenn]

Apple sucks.

Thanks for that brilliant and well researched observation.

[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.  

[359Henrie]

Ya forgot the IIc. I think that goes in the bad.

[359Henrie]

Because I bought one, who knew?

[SteveMcKing]

The G4 Cube was a very good product.

It had a unique target market, so it shouldn't be compared to regular desktops.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

I guess you own a Mac.

[DB]

Okay, lets make it "fair and balanced"

Apple sucks.

Microsoft sucks.

Not necessarily in that order...

[blu]

Perfomra 410 (i think those are the correct numbers) The best of computers (it was my first) and the worst (too little storage, too slow, and it introduced me to crappy customer service!)

Had 100 mb hard drive, 10 mb max ram, and , this is what really cheesed me off...no software discs! Of course, this was back in the day when one little mistake could make me think I had to reinstall the system software. So I did, a lot! It would run Word, Pagemaker, Quark and Photoshop, but only one at a time. Oh, and let's not forget the blazing fast 2400 modem!

But, I must be honest. I haven't had AOHell in 10+ years, but I still get a nostalgic feeling when I hear someone else's computer say those magic words: "You've got mail." That computer taught me the ultimate computer fix: open window, throw computer out! Nowadays, I must be very careful and in a good mood when my iBook needs some work, it would actually fit thru the window.

[larryw408]

Well of course that's his response and it is well researched: he learned the hard/painful way. Look at his web site, he does IT--Macs cut into his profits and job stability.

[kilowhskey]

My bank bought an Apple/// when the product was launched. Big mistake. We had to run it in the Apple ][ emulation mode in order to run Visicalc, as they did not have the foresight to develop a version compatible with the allegedly more powerful machine. The first evolution of the Mac did not have a numeric keypad. The hallmark of a successful enterprise is its ability to recover from its mistakes. The firm has successfully developed that ability.

[cardinal4]

I love my iPod. I was listening to mine the other day on the plane. I was boppin pretty good when I realized I was in public. I looked around to see if anyone noticed and counte 8 people doing the same exact thing...

[RegulatorCountry]

The G4 Cube didn't sell well due to price, but the form factor was amazing for its time, and there were no performance issues, unless you were a bigtime power user, in which case a boutique, clear plastic cube with limited expansion wouldn't exactly be the ticket.

And, I take issue with saying the Quadra sucked. I had a Quadra 950, and produced huge, four color catalogs; I was an early adapter of digital photography via a Scitex Leaf digital back on a Mamiya, and had no problems. It was quite the workhorse at the time. It would feel like a slug now, no doubt, in comparison to a dual G5, but hey, we're talking 13 or 14 years ago.

[Conservomax]

OSX server is pretty good. it does run on a Linux kernal, however.

[driftdiver]

"Look at his web site, he does IT--Macs cut into his profits and job stability."

I do IT as well, we even do a little low leve MAC programming. Funny how much MAC is like certain other OS's out there.

Also learning about some of the MAC security problems that haven't been well publicised. he he

MAC doesn't compete with windows. It is widely used for graphics intensive uses but not in many other areas.

[Venerable Bede]

Al Gore is on the board of directors... that's enough for me not to buy one.

[Filo]

Apple's biggest failures are that they abandoned open architecture when they introduced the Lisa and Mac which forced the Apple aftermarket to turn to the IBM PC and clones for sales. Apple's market share plummeted and the PC’s grandchildren are the worldwide standard.

With the Mac Apple failed to realize that they are not a hardware company. Some people might buy Macs because they are cute (at twice the price pf a comparably powerful PC), but most buy them for the operating system and software. If Apple would allow that software to run on other machines they'd make a killing.

Selling their own computers and OS has kept them at a solid 2% market share with no hope of improvement.

Apple has had a few innovations, but not many. They get far too much credit for things they didn’t invent or popularize (digital music, GUIs, etc.) but they do have a fanatical following and they should have more customers.

I say this, by the way, as an owner of just about every Apple product through the early Macs (except an Apple I and an original Lisa – anyone got one for me? :D)

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Ya forgot the IIc. I think that goes in the bad.

I used one from 1985 to at least 1989 without any serious complaints. Got me through three and a half years of college and two degrees. Put it in the good column for me.

[operation clinton cleanup]

The Apple IIc was the first real computer I ever touched. The 5 1/4 inch floppies were the coolest thing I had ever seen at the time (1984). My other computer class required the use of a VAX system with key punch cards... no fun!