“Every computer user owes a great debt to Apple’s foresight and innovation. Apple popularized the graphical user interface we know today with overlapping windows, made the mouse a household word, and brought style and flash to the boring PC market,” Jim Louderbeck writes for eWeek.
“But Apple’s time in that market has come and gone. When it comes to servers, notebooks and desktops, the company is now a follower and a failure, not a leader. Luckily, the innovative company still has a bright future,” Louderbeck writes.
“What about the OS and software? Apple’s been rightly lauded as a leader in both areas. But not anymore. Apple’s OSX operating system is based on Unix, and now the company steals interface ideas from Microsoft, instead of Xerox. I love the new Expose quick-zoom feature on the desktop, but that’s hardly worth switching from either Windows or Linux,” Louderbeck writes.
“And what about Sherlock? The ultra-usable search tool that was supposed to take the Internet by storm? Google has been running rings around it for years,” Louderbeck writes. “When it comes to operating systems and software, Apple surely puts out a good product. But unlike in years past, it’s not much better than Windows. It’s not even the most talked about computer interface
“When it comes to servers, notebooks and desktops, the company is now a follower and a failure, not a leader.”
How can any industry observer write or read this line without busting a gut laughing. What a load!
Look at the 12″ Powerbook, for example. There is still no Wintel ultra-portable that comes close to the power, features, and price-point of that machine. Same goes for the PowerMac G5. The vast majority of all 64-bit machines sold in the world are PowerMacs. Overnight it became arguably the most powerful desktop in the world – and makes up the 3rd most powerful supercomputer in the world. No need to mention the Xserves! 90nm? Intel still can’t get there. Puh-lease.
C’mon, MDN, no stinging rebuke of this moron? Give us some of the good stuff.
What’s this guy been smoking? And what does the “e” stand for in eWeek… ee-diot? (Think Ren when you say ee-diot)
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The guy is copmletely clueless. iHDTV? What’s he smoking?
Yeah, yeah, he loved Macs back in 1984, and he was right about the hockey puck mouse. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. But he still lacks (a) depth (of) perception.
crackhead
This guy almost sounds like a walking Microsoft ad. I wonder if he’s even seen an Apple in action (other than at Apple.com)?
This guy sounds like he walked into an Apple store, played around with OS X for a few minutes and now thinks he knows all there is to know about present day Apple Computers. God, I wish these supposed “experts” would do their homework before they put stuff in print.
“It is better to be thought a fool and remain silent than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt”
All those Microsoft billions get spread around in so many placed. Many of the probably end up in the pockets of “journalists” who write stuff like this article.
“How was that Bill? Did I nail ’em good enough to earn my stipend? Lemme know if you need some more bashing.”
eweek analysts should forget writing anything about computers
Yet another flawed “analysis” of Apple. It must be nice to get paid for spouting garbage.
“And what about Sherlock? The ultra-usable search tool that was supposed to take the Internet by storm? Google has been running rings around it for years.”
Does ANYONE remember Sherlock ever being spun as a Google competitor? Sherlock has always been confined to search of your personal information, from what I remember. It does that fine. I haven’t seen anything about Google being able to do that.
“When it comes to operating systems and software, Apple surely puts out a good product. But unlike in years past, it’s not much better than Windows. It’s not even the most talked about computer interface�GNOME and KDE, over in the Linux space, take that crown.”
Has this guy USED Windows? I still can’t see how anyone can use Windows and say that Mac OS is “not much better than Windows.” I’ve owned Macs personally for years and years, but have HAD to do most of my professional work on Windows, and I’ve ALWAYS hated the Windows experience. When using Windows, I’ve always felt their slogan really should have been “Where DID you want to go today?” cause when using Windows, it’s usually more difficult to get there, even without all the viruses and spyware that plague it. And the whole Gnome/KDE thing? Look at them, they are BOTH just trying to be Windows and to some extent Mac OS. Neither of them are trying to do ANYTHING revolutionary, or even evolutionary. They both seem to be content to trying to clone what’s already out there.
And looking at his suggestions, like most of the authors who write these ridiculous articles, it’s clear why someone like this would NEVER run a company like Apple. Jobs had said that a video iPod isn’t in the works, and I believe him. Just take a look at the device MSFT is presenting. Who will buy this???? Look at the MSFT track record of consumer device failures. They couldn’t design their way out of a paper bag. With them it’s always “Let’s give the people what WE want to give them” rather than “Let’s give the people what they want” which is what Apple seems to always do. People were clamoring for a compact stylish mp3 player with a lot of storage. I don’t see that ANYONE is clamoring for a portable video device like that, especially at the price and size points they’ve shown.
If I didn’t have a Mac to work on, I’d probably stay away from computers. My Windows experience has been mostly awful. Not that OS X is perfect by any means, but there’s so much more to dislike about the Windows interface.
Go to eweek.com. The “Top Story” is titled Dell Means Business, and the blurb reads Dell faces the challenge of keeping prices down while providing innovation with an R&D budget that is only 10 percent that of competitor IBM.
Huh? Dellnovation? This is a marketing piece, plain and simple. eWeek is a pathetic shill. But we all already knew that.
Look, eWeek’s publisher, Ziff-Davis, had a $25 million loss reported on their most recent quarter’s 10Q. The company continues to fall into the abyss, and these articles are clearly an attempt to attract Wintel ad dollars.
Pathetic.
Oh yeh, my iBook has 6 hours battery life, and no fan. It’s beautiful and in my opinion Apple design the best hardware. Period.
Well folks the truth is that eWeek is at best a snooze and this noise is simply a light snore. About as effective as their reader software – crash!
…”And let’s face it, even though the promise of 1984 didn’t come true”
The great 1984 Apple commercial forecasted of a day when the entire computer world walk in lock step with the all powerful monolithic entity.
That day has arrived and we are suffering under the monopoly control Microsoft has on the global computer infrastructure.
When one programmer can create one worm that brings down entire networks; we are in trouble. Imagine someday when an organized group builds a piece of code that has true evil intentions.
And the idea of innovation coming out of the “Linux space” please I know these people all they want to do is port M$ windoze to free platform (still an ok concept many people need a OS that you do not need to pay the man for… the poor, developing countries etc.)
What we have all lost sight of is the concept of computers making our life better and easier; not full of computer maintenance nightmares.
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This guy provides no evidence for his reasons to drop the desktop. He instead gives suggestions to why apple should move towards home media and the likes. to me it sounds like he loves apple but just wants it to move towards conquering other facets of life before microsloth and likes ruin it. he’s really crying for help..
By just reading the Title I thought that this guy was going to say what we’ve been saying. “We love the iPod and the online music store, but where’s the new computers at Apple?”
But I guess this is another Microsoft paid in full article. Microsoft is getting questioned by news anchors about the now Monthly mega-worm. So instead of fixing the problems they have people write articles bashing the competition. Great Job Microsoft.
i bet hes related with that reporter from Cnet
Thanks to OmniDictionary
From WordNet (r) 2.0:
psychosis
n : any severe mental disorder in which contact with reality is
lost or highly distorted
[also: psychoses (pl)]
From WordNet (r) 2.0:
delusion
n 1: (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of
evidence to the contrary [syn: psychotic belief]
2: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; “he has delusions
of competence”; “his dreams of vast wealth are a
hallucination” [syn: hallucination]
3: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas
[syn: illusion, head game]
This is all a trick to get mad Mac people to sign up to write a scathing review. They’re looking to get a bunch of subscriptions. That is the only reason I could come up with for such a disgustingly naive article.
To be fair to the former Fresh Gear guy, I believe this was one/half of a “Point- Counterpoint” set of articles.
If you make it to the second page of the article (we all read the entire article, didn’t we?) There’s a link to a story by Rob Enderle taking the opposite point.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1589170,00.asp
From what I’ve seen in the past, Louderbach is a pretty obvious “Mac guy” while Enderle lists among his clients, M$.
I think this was bait to see whose panties would get bunched up.
I can’t believe I am writting this, but for a good counter point, read (of all people) Enderle:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1589172,00.asp
He conclude with the following:
“An Apple without PCs would probably lead to a world without Apple. and we should do whatever we can to ensure that result doesn’t happen.”
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1589170,00.asp
“eWeek columnist: Apple should forget about Mac computers”
REply: I thought Apple had already did that. What is it going on a year since a new G5 game out???
And I think MacDailyNews should change its name to “iPodDailyNews”.