Armchair CEO: Apple
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Palm is now palmOne and PalmSource - US
This happened a while ago, and I'm only now getting to comment...
Why? Because Palm won't be around for much longer...
No, I'm not bitter because Palm's newest OS isn't mac compatible. It's the old story where a company, once dominant, decides to replicate instead of innovate.
This is one instance where Microsoft's PocketPC format is really making a superior OS for a couple of reasons...
1. Flash player! Why doesn't Palm get on board with this? I mean, there's a TOY that uses Flash for crying out loud! This is critical for developers... At least, those hobbyist developers like me. It also goes to "create once, publish anywhere"-- a philosophy I helped pioneer when Flash came out. How can Sony tweak the PalmOS to run Flash, but Palm can't?
2. Personally, I think the Palm hardware/software split is ridiculous. It reminds me of when Apple spun of Claris. What hubris! There are inherent efficiencies when dealing with tight software/hardware co-development... I don't see how the split helped efficiency. Imagine Apple splitting it's hw/sw departments. Also, Microsoft made a pretty good case for not splitting it up (monopoly) into browser and OS divisions...
3. They might not go away, but will be relegated to smart phones. Let's face it, devices like the OQO are where the future lies, and Palm keeps churning out inferior hardware/software in comparison (granted, it's much cheaper).
I think Apple, Sony, or even MS should just buy Palm out... And don't give me a sob story about BeOS. They should've gone into hardware for a niche. They could have beat Apple to the punch if they'd played their multimedia-OS cards correctly... (think iLife 1999)...
Monday, February 23, 2004
Glad to see the Apple Discussions site is so awesome!
Haha. It's hard to convey sarcasm via text...
I've been trying to use the discussions boards on Apple's site, and despite an overhaul, the site (discussions only) is slower than ever before. As a former webmaster, I have to say not even being able to login on a "live" corporate site is ridiculous.
What makes me suspicious is that some posts have been potential switchers, worried about all the "problems" people have posted about. Makes me wonder if Apple isn't deliberately slowing the site down to discourage people...
But I've posted a number of critical posts:
1. my iTunes and iPhoto sharing won't work-- Apple's suggestion is to "Archive and Install"
2. re-installing makes me nervous, in part because my iBook came with a faulty kext file
3. I've had more crashes and weirdness with this mac than *any other mac I've ever used before in my LIFE*
Strange, Apple doesn't seem to care.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Ever try searching Apple's site for the history of mac?
Well, you won't find much of anything on the old mac, released some 20 years ago...
Why? Why did Apple allow the 20th anniversary of a computer that literally changed computing forever go unmentioned?
Jobs is back at the helm, the Mac is sort of making a comeback, and 20 is a big number for a computer...
Here's my theory:
The cool kids would throw Apple's out their collective windows.
Yep, if there's one segment that is rapidly attaching themselves to Apple's new style, it's the under-25 set. Especially kids who have iPods, and those into UNIX. That's a diverse group.
Also, older folks would see that 20-yr. mark and wonder, "if it's been around 20 years, how is it cutting-edge, and why in the hell isn't it the dominant platform?"
I mean, even brain-dead Joe Dirt fans can do enough math to realize Windows 95 (or 98) isn't that old... So why Windows over Mac?
That's a story for another day. But for today, it appears the marketers have won out over sentimentalism.
And as "cool" as Jobs may be, he realizes that money makes the world go round.
