Waves Of Revolution
Way back when, IBM decided to standardize computers. Prior to that point, all hardware was custom—IBM had the sense of mind to realize that the computer needed to be modular, and that custom-made hardware would be marginalized. Lo and behold, they were right.
Along came Microsoft (more especially, Bill Gates), who realized that with market forces, the cost of hardware was going to sink to nothing—all the cost was going to be in the software. Lo and behold, they were right.
Then came the Open-Source community, and they saw that eventually, the cost of software was going to sink to nothing—all the cost was going to be in support. Red Hat and several other companies positioned themselves for this, and they’ve been shown half-right.
Then came Apple, who realized that all computers are really just consumer electronics, and that’s how people want to treat them: like any other appliance. And wouldn’t it be cool if all of these things worked together? So they create the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, the iTV, and so on and so forth. And, like history before them, they’ve destroyed the previous competition in those spaces (Microsoft, mostly). Produce good code on specialized hardware that “just works” and lasts forever (because honestly, people don’t need to know all the details), and that’s where the money is.
They’re being proven right.
My beef is this: Apple has shown time and time again that they can produce very good code with supreme design and aesthetic. There are some problems to be sure, but overall, they create a wonderful experience and have amazing brand loyalty.
Microsoft has a bunch of really smart people. IBM has a bunch of really smart people. The Open-Source community has a bunch of really smart people.
Why is Apple the only company that seems to be able to do this, and do this well?
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