Lessons from Apple

Two Good Articles from last weeks Economist about Apple before the launch of the iPhone:

Things other companies could learn from Apple:
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=9302662

FOR a company that looked doomed a decade ago, it has been quite a comeback. Today Apple is literally an iconic company. Look at your iPod: the company name appears only in the small print. Some of the power of its brand comes from the extraordinary story of a computer company rescued from near-collapse by its co-founder, Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple in 1997 after years of exile, reinvented it as a consumer-electronics firm and is now taking it into the billion-unit-a-year mobile-phone industry (see article). But mostly Apple's zest comes from its reputation for inventiveness. In polls of the world's most innovative firms it consistently ranks first. From its first computer in 1977 to the mouse-driven Macintosh in 1984, the iPod music-player in 2001 and now the iPhone, which goes on sale in America this month, Apple has prospered by keeping just ahead of the times.


Apples Third Act:
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9298983

IN ANY other setting, it would have been corny to quote from a Beatles song to sum up a three-decade relationship that has encompassed partnership and alliance, rivalry and enmity, as well as defeats, triumphs and reversals on both sides. But not when Steve Jobs of Apple was talking to Bill Gates of Microsoft after reminiscing about the old times on a conference stage last week. â??You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead,â? he said. And there were moist eyes in the audience.

Not to mention that the design element of everything they make is superb.

And, my macbook worked when I took it out of the box. Unlike my previous pc.

I heart apple.

<img src="http://arkitekturnytt.no/uploaded_images/apple_cube-777513.jpg" alt=" - " />

Well, the Mac Cube wasn't so hot (hey, look, it's a CD toaster!)

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:

Well, the Mac Cube wasn't so hot (hey, look, it's a CD toaster!)

I liked the description in the article: "conveniently forgotten"

I've thought of renaming my boat from THE BENICASSIM to THE IPOD, because if it weren't for that little bugger and some blind faith in all things Apple about 20 years ago, there would be no BENICASSIM on the Potomac. Long live Steve Jobs!

is anyone here actually getting an iphone?

i finally upgraded from my 4-year-old 3rd generation iPod to one of the new-fangled 5.5g video thingys, and it's fucking great

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
is anyone here actually getting an iphone?

Strongly considering it. My contract is up with Cingular and I was going to stay with them anyway. I'd like to use someone else's first before I buy it though (or at least hear a review from someone I trust).

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
is anyone here actually getting an iphone?

We are being offered the phones through work in exchange for our Blackberry or Smartphone, but there's no way I'd give up my Verizon 3G network as 99% of my work phone is used for data usage.

When at&t's network catches up and the phone moves to 3G, I'd likley give it a good look.

i would really think about it

but they are building a verizon tower a mile from my new house, so i doubt it

i'm really tempted by the iphone (hello, consumer fetishism!) but i'm going to try holding out for the second generation.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
is anyone here actually getting an iphone?

We are being offered the phones through work in exchange for our Blackberry or Smartphone, but there's no way I'd give up my Verizon 3G network as 99% of my work phone is used for data usage.

When at&amp;t's network catches up and the phone moves to 3G, I'd likley give it a good look.

But does the Iphone have an enterprise messaging app? I didn't think it did, but I'm waiting for it to, then when it does and gets release for t-mobile i'm in.

Originally posted by chaz:
But does the Iphone have an enterprise messaging app?

Nope. And that was the first thing I asked our tech guys when they were offering it as a solution (I'm guessing at&t was cutting us a favorable deal to get them in the market with their $500 price tag). The iPhone isnâ??t a true enterprise device: you can't synchronize the phones contact and calendar applications with Exchange or Lotus Notes servers. Less important to me, you can't edit office documents, but more importantly, you can't even view them, which I do often.

Our guys said Apple is working to allow third-party applications that will fix these shortcomings, particularly since Apple made third-party development possible by using its OS X operating system on the iPhone (the Economist article even alludes to it, but says that they have not done so as of now).

..argh..too much mountain dew.

..my bad..triple post.

I'm strongly considering getting an iPhone. My contract's up and my Motorola has served me well but it's starting to die, so it's time to replace it. I travel a lot for work so a phone/music combo would be great. I've had several music-capable Treo-like devices from work and all of them are OK for 5 or 6 songs but not for a 6-hour flight, so I am hoping the iPhone will be the ticket. One less gadget and charger to drag across the country.

i am getting one for my lady. buying it for her birthday, she really really wants one and theres no stopping her.

i'll have on in 3 weeks i assume…

I definitely want one, but I've got another year on my cell phone contract. I'm going to hold off for the 2nd generation iPhone. I'm hoping it'll have GPS and 3G by then.

Vansmack: I believe you can use http://docs.google.com/ to view most popular document formats on an iPhone.

how come it takes my pc 5 minutes to boot up and the mac takes less than 1 minute?

how come it takes my pc 5 minutes to boot up and the mac takes less than 1 minute?

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
Vansmack: I believe you can use http://docs.google.com/ to view most popular document formats on an iPhone.

Opening a 500kb document on a 2.5G network using Google Docs will take you appoximately 1.5 to 2.5 minutes with an uninterrupted internet connection.

Harldy seems worth it to me when Smartphones and blackberry's can do it in under 20 seconds locally over 3 G networks.