“Apple is everywhere following its most recent product announcements, which tell us a lot about the company’s future intentions,” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld.
“The new iPads hit an expanding market at a time of transition from PC to tablet. The best tablets available today, their 64-bit support means they will remain so until the next iPad upgrade,” Evans reports. “They’ll sell millions… The iPad Pro is the iPad Air. As 64-bit creative apps appear across the next 12-months, don’t be too surprised to see notebook sales cannibalized. This is still the beginning.”
“The move to offer Mavericks for free surprised many,” Evans reports. “It places another pillar of superiority between Apple and Microsoft. The latter cannot easily offer its OS for free, as it doesn’t manufacture hardware [that sells in any meaningful quantities outside of game concoles – MDN Ed.].”
More reasons in the full article here.
Microsoft doesn’t have an answer to Apple’s announcements. They had their chances and they blew it.
They announced the Surface 2 or Pro today which isn’t much of an answer.
Except for the return sound of crickets in response.
What about the Nokia-Microsoft event? Anybody heard anything from that side?
What event? ;-))
This sounds like another hit for Apple. Too bad Obama (indirectly) spreaded Anti-Apple FUD when comparing Apple to Obamacare. Even our president thinks iPhone is “buggy, and glitchy”. I should ask him how his BlackBerry is doing after RIMM got sold. Our current government should NOT be compared to iOS…if anything, it should be compared to Android, no…his plans are so bad that they should be compared to Windows 98. As for the country that has the “iPhone” government, that should be Canada.
Windows 98? (shudder) please. You may frighten small children. (Older, more stalwart souls pale at the mention of Windows 2000 or Vista)
Microsoft and Nokia are in the wrong business. They should get into movie props because that’s the only place I see them.
M$ is the MasterCrafter of VaporWare and has been since its early days. 🙂
I’m not sure why the big deal about Mavericks being free, let’s face it that’s been true on Linux and on mobile devices for a while.
I see Microsoft execs are already slagging off the new iPads though. You can just smell the fear, cant you? 😀
This is an extremely ignorant comment. Linux? Are you kidding me? An open source project hacked together by programmers that pick toe jam from between their toes? And what a mess it is, no one can use Linux without a degree in computer science. Not on a desktop, and don’t try to say that Android is Linux, it may have roots there but that doesn’t make it Linux any more than a fruit cake is made from fruit.
Mobile has their operating systems monetized differently than desktops through subscriptions and subsidies that do not exist on desktops. Mobile OS upgrades are not free, you just pay for them differently.
No commercial OS is “free” that’s just you being ignorant of how you are really paying the cost. Free is an illusion, the cost is still paid, trust me.
Erm, I don’t have a degree in Computer Science yet can build Linux servers from the ground up easily enough. The Desktop variants are much easier than building GUI-less server installations too. Certainly worth knowing if you want to do more on a computer than throw it at IT support whenever you’ve got an issue.
And yes, Mac users, plenty of them, do that too.
Also, I really don’t get why you’re attacking me personally for labelling Mavericks “free”. Have you not been on the Web today? Everyone is describing it as such.
I attacked your assertion that “Mavericks is free” and “what’s the big deal”. If you stand by what you said, then explain why Linux vs a commercially backed up OS should be directly comparable. Similarly, why would you expect any professional product backed by a company to have a similar economic model to a hobbyist version?
If you are brilliant enough to know how to set up and run Linux all by your lonesome, then bravo, but that doesn’t mean you have a solid grip of economics and business models. Why do you suppose that everything that a corporation does must be related to increasing it’s overall profits?
Answer that question and you’ll have the reason why I called your comment ignorant.
Oh go boil your head. I honestly can’t be arsed with you, and if that means you “win” the argument, then be my guest 🙂
I think OSX Mavericks is a huge deal. Hopefully peoe will start to question why they are paying Microsoft hundreds of dollars for the convoluted mess that is Windows 8.
But why all the hate on Linux? Linux May not be a hit on the desktop but most of the worlds back end servers run it. Especially web servers.
They won’t pay Microsoft directly, they’ll just get it when they buy their new computer. Which is exactly what they would also get from Apple if they chose a Mac.
Mac users won’t have to shell out $199 to get the next OS software upgrade. Windows users? Not so much.
I’d say that’s a big deal.
I don’t have a degree in Computer Sciences and I’ve benn a Linux user since 1998. Switched in 2006 for Mac OS X.
Having said that, Linux weaknesses have nothing to do with Linux per se.
Linux issues were with hardware (because manufacturers did not made device drivers for Linux) and videogames (because game companies were not producing games for Linux). The Linux community had no responsibility on that. While most of the drivers were made by the community and they worked fine, a lot of them were so tied to Windows that building drivers was almost impossible.
And regarding games, well, even Mac users were limited until no long ago. A games was not going to go for a Linux box. Even today, Windows is still the favorite gaming platform.
Other than that, Linux is an awesome operating system. It’s stable as a rock. It had a much better GUI than Windows, and had for many, many years (Enlightenment, anyone?) It has been ahead of even Mac OS in many ways (Linux had “Spaces” since the 90’s) , their IP stack is much better than Windows, so browsing was way better, memory management is outstanding (runs well on computers most of us would catalog as junk) and has really neat pieces of software (I like OpenOffice better than MS Office. Not better than iWork, though), had great development tools, and it’s free.
Those who critizice Linux so lightly is because they never got to use it. Linux is really good. With the right focus and support from hardware manufacturers, it could have been an awesome desktop OS.
Give Linux games and hardware support, and you’ll see it becoming big as a desktop OS.
Caveat: I’ve used Linux extensively, as both a desktop and server OS (used to be a SysAdmin), but not in two years.
As of last I used it, Linux was a pain in the ass. As fragmented as Android (possibly worse?), tr biggest problem with it is when you go to install or upgrade an application, and you’re off chasing down libraries, downloading them from questionable servers (because that’s the only place you found them!), finding out that the library version isn’t compatible with your system (or with another library), etc.
Essentially, it was an exercise in frustration (and one of the reasons I decided to get out of SysAdmin after 15 years).
Linux HAD a lot of promise, and has mostly fulfilled it as a server OS, but still has many flaws. As a Desktop OS, It has failed abysmally, except for the geek/techie/hacker/tinkerer community, who LOVE it.
Honestly, as a desktop OS, I’d rather use Windows than Linux….and I hate Windows. At least in Windows, simple things like installing software generally *are* simple.
Given those as my personal computer alternatives, I thank Jobs every day for the Mac. 🙂
I agree with the fragmentation part. Being Linux a kernel (not an OS), different companies have build different OSs based on Linux.
Ubuntu, for example, is great as a user desktop. To me, it’s way better than Windows.
Having said that, I agree on the fragmentation part. The war between GNOME and KDE has been one of the factors which destroyed the Linux desktop, since the common user doesn’t care about picking or which is best. Installation packages are another issue. In Linux you can use RPM (Red Hat), deb (Debian) or compile the whole thing (the geeky way), so software installation is also fragmented along versions. But, if you stick with one, it works pretty well.
I’ll agree also that working with Mac OS X is a blessing compared to both Windows and Linux.
It’s free in the sense that Apple COULD have charged for it, but didn’t.
You really don’t know why it is a big deal that Mavericks is free?
These look pretty awesome. I can’t wait to get one, the only problem is that I live in Buttfart, Nebrahoma, and the nearest Apple store is in Chicago, over 300 miles away. I know Apple does not open stores in “fly-over” country, but can you please at least open some near the Omaha area…the long drives absolutely kill me.
Ummm. Web?
I like to get my things physically. I hate buying things from the web, and waiting a couple of days or so for it to arrive in the mail.
Howling does it take to drive 300 miles and back? And surely if you hate doing that 24/48 hours is a small price to pay.
What about Best Buy. You could also just order online. I’m sure you still get FedEx or UPS.
Uh, there is an Apple Store in Omaha, at Viilage Pointe. And Chicago is actually more than 500 miles from Omaha.
Look, I don’t pay attention to what goes on around my hometown. I mostly stay home on the Internet. Frankly, I’m kinda embarrassed to be from Middle America. I wished I lived on one of the coasts, or at least the Great Lakes…
You appear to be a truly clueless troll…
BestBuy
Your wish is Apple’s command.
http://www.apple.com/retail/villagepointe/
Omaha is 3 hours from my house in South Dakota. Would love an Apple Store here for AppleCare.
DAMN MSFT!
What a lost company. They should’ve stick to what they do best: software
They threw themself out of the iPad, iPhone ecosystem by not creating software for those devices.
Too bad!
Shame on you MSFT
If it doesn’t lead to increased sales then just a lesson in futility. Apple keeps talking about how good their tablets are but only Android tablets are gaining market share. iPad sales have been relatively flat for a year and likely to take another dip. Most consumers are refusing to pay more than $300 for any tablet. Unless Apple can convince businesses and schools to buy the higher quality iPads, sales will continue to suffer. Apple is barking up the wrong tree for increased revenue. Android has effectively damaged Apple’s hardware business and no revenue gains will be forthcoming.
Now I can somewhat understand Wall Street’s negative stance on Apple. Good products can easily be undermined by cheap products. Companies like Google and Amazon are masters of cheap and that’s why Wall Street favors them over Apple.
We all really needed a pick-me-up today, something to put a smile on our faces, to point out that life is good, that the future holds sparkling promise, that no matter the daily grind we can always clock out, head down to the ice cream parlour or the pub with our friends, and have a ripping good time. Then we read your post.
“but only Android tablets are gaining market share”
The cult of Marketshare strikes again. Go worship cockroaches, and ants, they are “winning” the battle of marketshare. Heck, viruses make up more biomass than all other organisms on earth combined. I guess viruses are winning!!
Stupid and ignorant argument. In business there is something called “profit” I suggest you look that up. Whoever is making the profit is winning.
“iPad sales have been relatively flat for a year and likely to take another dip”
Oh? I am sure you have some evidence of that? Maybe you are unaware of the seasonal nature of Apple sales based on yearly refreshes, and such things. We will see how they do this holiday season and compare it to the last years’ holiday sales.
I have my money down on Apple, perhaps with your vast wisdom you should short the stock? Maybe you can make some money that way?
If Android devices, and Windows Phone too, are gaining market share, then where are they? Everywhere I look in towns and cities I see the majority of people using iPhones and iPads, and Apple laptops. Probably 80-90% or so.
They might be sitting on pallets in the back of Walmart forgotten and collecting dust.
I see iPhones and iPads everywhere I go. At work. At church. In restaurants and movie theaters. Out on the street. In shopping malls. Everywhere.
Sometimes I see an Android, but it’s very rare.
I saw a pallet of samdung tablets at Costco; $299 each. That’s about $279 too much.
What I’ve been saying since the announcement — the iPad air IS the iPad “pro” that people have been wanting. The iPad “mini” is the “non-pro-ish” version.
Disagree. A pro version should be larger IMO, have proper stereo audio in landscape mode and expose some sort of “common files” area for a file system. A way to interface with storage would be nice (yes I justi asked for a USB port 🙂 ). And jeez I almost forgot, I find it hard to label iOS 7 horrible fonts, colors and UI design as “professional”.
You have identified the very reason that Apple didn’t call it the iPad Pro. No visible file system, no ports, no way to customise the UI. I can’t disagree. (Silly, though, to complain of onboard stereo orientation on a tablet. Audio pros use headgear or external speaker systems.)
So, it’s not branded as a pro device. Yet it offers a lot that pros will find useful as an adjunct to their computing array. Some will deploy several. Think of it as a specialised instrument of the kind that HP or TI used to produce before they fell from grace and entered the market for general-purpose computing.