Why Apple will dominate the next era of computing

“No matter how cool [Apple’s iPhone] exchange support and the enterprise play is, that news is dwarfed by the other, much more important announcement – the iPhone SDK. The powerful platform that Apple uses to create beautiful applications for MacOS and iPhone is now completely open,” Alex Iskold writes for ReadWriteWeb. “This platform is a game changer.”

“Since the early days, Apple embraced a language called Objective-C – an object-oriented flavor of the popular procedural language. When Jobs returned to Apple, one of the early smart decisions was to ditch the old operating system in favor of Unix,” Iskold writes.

MacDailyNews Take: Actually, that’s why Apple bought Steve Jobs’ NeXT; for the Unix-based OS. So, the decision actually predates Jobs’ return, although, obviously, it was Jobs who somehow convinced dumbass Gil Amelio to do something completely different for once and actually make a smart decision.

Iskold continues, “This move allowed Apple to instantly tap into serious programmers while retaining a beautiful and simple UI… Smart, disciplined and mature.”

“Not all platforms are made equal,” Iskold writes. “First compare this offering with what Microsoft offered for Windows a while back. Redmond’s convoluted APIs, COM, OLE, and ActiveX still make developers shake their heads. Instead of cultivating elegance and simplicity, Microsoft pushed for complexity. Why? Because it kept exclusivity, kept people learning new weird stuff, kept people getting new certifications. But Apple’s culture and code is rooted in elegance and extreme simplicity.”

Iskold writes, “Apple has made this play flawlessly. The enterprise and SDK solutions will go hand-in-hand to propel the iPhone to be THE handheld device of the future. Ironically, the PC just got its final blow not from a MacBook (which has been on the rise too!), but from a small new computer. Apple got its revenge elegantly, relentlessly and creatively. The next era of computing will be dominated by Apple. Is this a good thing? Likely yes, and it is surely better than one dominated by Microsoft.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “since1985” for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: “Why would he do that? He has to know that he can never win.” – Bill Gates on Steve Jobs’ return to Apple, as told to Robert X. Cringely during an unpublished 1999 interview for Vanity Fair.

72 Comments

  1. sorry to inform the vast majority of you Apple does not want Micosoft to “lose”

    What happens when MS loses from its own folly?

    Heh maybe Jobs will appear on a MS video screen and announce a stock deal. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

  2. Why do you think Apple doesn’t spend their cash-hoard?

    They’re waiting for it’s rise, and the market value of Microsoft to inevitably fall, so they can buy Microsoft outright.

    Once bought, he’ll merge the 2 OS’s (read – delete Windows and replace it wholesale with OSX).

    That is SJ’s plan, the ultimate humiliation of Microsoft and everything they stand for.

    It’ll probably take the best part of 2 decades, but it will happen.

    After that, SJ will open source the whole OS and then gladly retire, safe in the knowledge that we’ll then be well on the way to the Star Trek future we’ve all been working towards.

    You heard it here first.

  3. When Apple reach a certain figure, probably around 15%, it will be over. The M$ monopoly will be dead.

    At 15% market share, they will be worth about the same as Micro$oft, because they make the HARDWARE too.

    Add in the phone, the ipod and maybe some new ‘enterprise’ moves and thats all they will need to ‘dominate’.

    Windoze will continue to decline, say 3% per year.
    Puts them around 75% within 5 years.

    At that point, the monopoly is finished and the game gets interesting.

    Once a decline is rolling, its hard to stop.

    I dont think Apple will get to 90% – I dont think anyone will ever do what M$ did – people are too smart now to fall for all that crap.

    Computing is mature, the game is different. The iPhone is the way.

    A new OS? Maybe Linux will finally be fixed by a commercial group, like HP and others. Certainly the Linux geeks are not going to do it – they actually believe desktop computing on Linux is ok – even though its like buying your car with no doors.

    Writing a new OS will need a new discovery in processors, or some new impetus.
    Where is that going to come from in a very mature, somewhat stagnant market?

    Anyway, Apple IS the new impetus, it is the new OS.

    At last, its changing. The world is no longer held hostage by the Borg!

    Freedom!

  4. At 15% market share, they will be worth about the same as Micro$oft, because they make the HARDWARE too.

    At what point does Ballmer freak, again, and this time attempt to buy a major PC maker? You know, “embrace and extend” what Apple does…

    Should make for great entertainment, as MS will already be short of cash after the Yahoo takeover. Gotta wonder how far Ballmer would deliberately dig MS into debt.

    MS’s worst enemy is MS. Apple’s just making good business amid the wreckage.

  5. Poor ol’ Gil. I still think callin’ the guy a dumbass is kinda harsh. I think he just got in over his head.

    Agreed. Gil inherited a mess worse than anyone expected. Kinda like the poor sap who’ll get the MS reins after Ballmer…

    Anyway, I challenge the naysayers to propose how they would’ve done things better/differently than Gil did. And no, buying NeXT and passing everything to Steve and Avie doesn’t count; you have to do this yourself.

    I’d hate to know where we’d be today, had Apple pressed on with Classic or Copland, or bought Be instead.

  6. Don’t you have to be a dumbass to get in that far over your head? Sometimes harsh is true.

    If you we’re nominated to Apple’s top job, would you accept and give it your best, or would you decline because it was too much for you?

    Apple isn’t the only company that rotted from the inside out. By the time the stench gets to the top, it’s usually too late.

  7. For companies that want to make their own operating system: It is very hard to do so. It is easier to develop hardware than good software. It takes decades of development and updating to create a good operating system – particularly a mature one where a lot of the bugs are ironed out. This is why Apple has such a large lead on other manufacturers. This is why other manufacturers are trying to use Linux or some other off-the shelf OS – where the source code is open. The problem is that the code is not theirs. The original code has limitations to work around such as with drivers in Linux. Thus a lot of work still has to be done to make it workable. Yet it won’t have the high level features of OS X.

  8. Taking advantage of dropping hardware prices, Intel expects to plug its newest Atom chips into desktops that will be available later this year from under $200.

    Intel expects an Atom chip, code-named Diamondville, to be used in fanless desktop computers designed for basic tasks like surfing the Internet or viewing standard-definition DVDs. The company expects the systems to be priced in the $199 to $250 range.

    ________

    $249 Mac nano anyone???!?

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