“Everywhere you turn this year, Apple’s machines are on the march. Apple’s iPhone is continuing to gobble up the smart phone market. Apple’s PCs and notebook computers–long relegated to a niche status–are tearing off big gobs of the PC market,” Brian Caulfield writes for Forbes. “Even Apple’s least successful effort–AppleTV–has rivals such as Blockbuster scrambling to blunt Apple’s attack.”
“The common denominator? Software. While great industrial design–whether it’s for great cars or great buildings–always attracts gawkers, it’s software that makes Apple’s proliferating array of machines so comfortable to use on a long-term basis. Apple’s best products mix the curb appeal of a Lamborghini with easy-to-drive friendliness of a Honda Accord,” Caulfield writes.
“‘We make the whole widget,’ Apple CEO Steve Jobs is fond of saying,” Caulfield writes. “Apple’s move to put a shrunk-down version of its operating system, OS X, on the iPhone and the iPod Touch tells us that Apple sees portable, Web-friendly gizmos as a big part of its future. It’s why speculation about Apple’s next move is so rampant: we may not know what it will look like, but Apple users know it will run the Apple software they know and love.”
Forbes’ “Seven Great Apple Software Innovations” are:
• OS X: Unix For The Masses
• iLife: Lifestyle Computing
• iTunes: Digital Media Made Easy
• Mac OS: The Graphical User Interface Goes Big Time
• Newton: A Computer In Your Pocket
• iPhone: The Web In Your Pocket
• iPod: Music (and Movies) In Your Pocket
Full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Kevin” and “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Excuse me, but “it’s the software stupid!”
frankenshteen…it’s frankenshteen!
Newton is on the list. Interesting. Not a commercial success. First in an area though?
why are there so many quotes from Rob Enderle on that Forbes site? I guess all those top products are 100% earthquake approved.
Amazed MDN pick up on the fact that the expert quotes in the slideshow about why Apple is so good are from no-one other than Rob Enderle – the old tart.
Incredible.
Stole them ALL from Microsoft. Think different, MAC lemmings. You can get everything on the Forbes list for a lot less money if you just get a Windows machine.
Your potential. Our passion.™
WOW. Someone in the media other than Mossberg and Pogue finally get it.
It’s the OS (experience). Always has been always will be.
Awesome! Zunie (or one of then anyway) is back! I haven’t seen a classical Zunie posting in a while! Good grins, buddy! there’s a job for you on Fox News ! BTW how does Bill Gate’s and Steve Ballmers butts taste? ? ?
Newton? That had nothing to do with Steve.
I agree with OS X as #1, but disagree with the Newton even being on there.
What about Apple’s early adoption of wireless networking (Airport) and the invisible Rendezvous/Bonjour that never gets ANY credit?
Just sayin’.
Peace.
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Olmecmystic
P.S. Why WERE they quoting Rob Enderle of the husband and wife team “The Enderle Group”?
Just sayin’.
Peace.
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Olmecmystic
There is a massive oversight on that list – the Cube!!!
All these articles in the mainstream press recently talking about Apple being great and Windows going down. Smells like a tipping point to me.
Rob Enderle will write whatever he gets paid to write, positive or negative. Then Forbes can quote it as coming from an “expert.”
The Newton; Yes, absolutely, so; Newton most definitely belongs on this list. It was indeed the single product that spurned the entire PDA, market. I personally own the 2000 model and still use it quite frequently, the handwriting recognition continues to blow people away, there are plenty of useful app available, color screens, speedier processors etc. I’ve got project planning software that works very well when traveling … for small to medium size projects, spreadsheets, db’s, connectivity software, and it all still works quite well …. years AFTER the product was officially killed by Stevie Boy! Maybe his ego will allow him to reintroduce the Newton concept with his personal genius spin … won’t that just be peachy … ooops I mean Apple.
Thanx
Yea, but they’re quoting that idiot Rob Enderle again! Gosh, I’m surprised that you overlooked this!
ZuneTang:
in the measure of this political season your take is so informative–
gives me pause. It’s like a parable, yes?
tz:
sweet– the answer is sweet! At least that is for ZT’s taste buds.
Too much bud, or Bud for that matter, will do that to you!
The Newton has an estigma, and it is, it was Scully’s pet project.
And well, Steve Jobs hated Scully, and well, whatever Scully did to Apple was bad, therefore, the Newton was bad. Well… I’d say not everything’s black and white.
While I agree Scully’s decision of removing Steve Jobs was not the right one, and I agree that Apple under Scully was not Apple under Jobs, it’s unfair not to agree about the vision of the Newton.
The Newton was way ahead of its time, and suffered from the technology available at the time. Nevertheless, I believe the iPhone/iPod Touch are somehow the heirs of the Newton, whether Steve Jobs likes it or not.
I would have called the iPod Touch simply the “Newton”. But we all know that was NOT going to happen.
I’m not trying to bash Steve Jobs (hell, I admire the guy as we all do), and I’m not defending Scully (we all know what he did) but what’s fair is fair, I think.
Can I add networking?
Ever try to network windows 95, windows 3.1 OS or a DOS computer. Apple had networking WAY back then. You just plugged in the phone wire and viola a network. OK it was Apple talk molasses but you were friggin networked dude. And that was cool.
Zune Tang, you’re losing it again. I know it’s difficult to ride the edge between comedy and sarcasm, but that wasn’t even close to either! You can do better.
The iPhone is an updated Newton…..
Jim
Zune’s revisionist history Lesson: What “Stole them ALL from Microsoft:” really mean.
OS X: Unix For The Masses copied from DOS.
iLife: Lifestyle Computing copied from MS Works. iLife cannot hope to attain the level of mediocraty pioneered by MS Works.
iTunes: Digital Media Made Easy copied from MS “Prays for Sure”.
Mac OS: The Graphical User Interface Goes Big Time: Blatantly stolent from DOS (I mean come on, the letter “e” is a graphic.
Newton: A Computer In Your Pocket: One of the worse cases of Apple outrageously copying the design of the Zune even before it was even invented. Have they no shame.
iPhone: The Web In Your Pocket: Copied from all the MS phones that MS will develop some day.
iPod: Music (and Movies) In Your Pocket: A poor copy of the Zune and the video Zune to be release a few years from now.
Even the “Think different” motto was stolen from the famous MS motto “The Power to be your Best”.
Of course this is the funniest kicker.
“You can get everything on the Forbes list for a lot less money if you just get a Windows machine”
A windows machine? Excuse me, what MS machine are you talking about, the Xbox? Just a toy.
I don’t think that MS makes a computer, nor will they ever make a computer. Hmmmm something that Apple makes that MS hasn’t quite been able to copy. I guess that explains the attempt at compensating for something.
Applexcellence. Msediocraty.™
Forbes has an interesting list, but there are two conspicuous omissions and the Newton deserves further comment. First the omissions:
– QuickTime: PCs go multimedia (and it is a well-established fact that Microsoft stole QT wholesale to make Windows Media work)
– LaserWriter: Yeah, I know, reaching back, but desktop publishing exists because Mac+LaserWriter. Interestingly, the LW was one of the last Apple project championed by Steve Jobs before getting the boot.
Ok, back to the Newton: The Newton DOES belong on this list, altho it was not a commercial success. It was the first real PDA, long before Palm, and its the legitimate (if prehistoric) ancestor of the iPhone. It was the first time a meaningful amount of user-friendly computing power was put into a device small enough to fit in a pocket. I suspect that had Steve been around when it was developed, it might have been different, and better.
@Ralph Megna
You are so right to mention QT. I can remember the wow effect when I installed QT1 under Sys 7.1 for the first time. Boom! You could play movie clips!
Another omission: the Powerbook. It was the first really working and portable computer that didn’t give you a hernia, and it kicked off a trend that is gaining more and more traction. The Powerbook 160 (2. Gen of Powerbooks) could even run greyscale presentations on a beamer (Apple Works or MacDraw). No more making slides or overheads for presentations!
Zune Tang, I really don’t get it?
I mean, you are either a colourful Mac using joker who has dragged on your joke too long to be funny any more or you are a genuine Windows Troll. Which is it?
Please put us out of our misery!
If you are a joker then please try a little harder to be funny and slightly more sarcastic. So it’s obvious!
If you are performing some sort of parody then try to be a little more “weird Al” about it. Pretty please
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If you are serious and really do believe MS is “the shit” then how about some actual facts and figures and evidence to back up your claims.
Your comments remind me of when I used to take my Wall street Powerbook G3 to my friends place of business and the IT guys used to try and mock me by saying things like “why don’t you get a real computer?” or some other similarly dumb comment and then giggle like a gaggle of silly school girls. I used to just smile, pause, look them straight in the eye and say “You really don’t know how ridiculous you sound do you?”.
I wonder how many of them still think Windows is so great.
Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s getting a little old matey.