“Journalists are great at pattern recognition. It’s a silly function we perform — this thing looks like that thing — and we usually do it to show off our vast institutional knowledge,” Josh Quittner writes for TIME Magazine.
“Still, with the launch of the first ‘Google phone,’ it doesn’t take a journalist to notice the obvious signs of history repeating itself,” Quittner writes. “Is Steve Jobs, whose iPhone is the toast of the telecommunications world, doomed to relive the mistakes of the past?”
Quittner writes, “The tragedy of Apple is, of course, well known. Jobs, a young visionary, and his older, nerdier pal, Steve Wozniak, created the first true personal computer in 1976. But while Apple established and dominated the early market for computers and software — creating a record for ‘fastest start-up to reach the Fortune 500’ — it rapidly lost the market. The rise of the IBM-compatible PC a decade later, which ran Microsoft’s operating system, smashed Apple. The key to the PC’s success and Apple’s downfall was that the open-standards-based IBM-compatible PC created a platform for third-party hardware and softwaremakers to ply their stuff.”
MacDailyNews Take: Josh isn’t really that great at pattern recognition or he’d have noticed a little thing called iPod+iTunes. Many “great pattern recognizers” thought the exact same thing about Microsoft’s PlaysForSure. All of those devices and online music outfits were supposed to obliterate Apple’s iPod+iTunes. Didn’t happen. Consider your pattern broken, Josh.
Oh, by the way, Apple isn’t in any way “smashed.” Apple’s Mac sales are growing at many times the growth rate of the [Windows] PC industry. In fact, PC makers are trying (and failing) to match to Apple’s vertical integration model which has proven to produce products that actually work and that people really love, not just tolerate or worse. Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth, Josh. Your Windows PC is viewed as a rickety joke by those who’ve used Macs.
Also, don’t forget that Microsoft also had the one-time luxury of a poorly written contract signed by an unprepared sugared water salesbozo which allowed them to poorly rip-off Apple’s Mac ad infinitum. Google and all of the other iPhone fakers do not have the same luxury. Apple has over 200 iPhone-related patents that Steve Jobs has publicly-stated Apple plans to vigorously defend.
Now, only a shortsighted “journalist” would claim the Mac vs. Windows PC war to be over. It’s still very much in progress. Despite his self-proclaimed greatness at pattern recognition, Quittner’s clearly not seeing the full picture. In fact, he’s performing the equivalent of calling WWII over in the spring of 1940. Note to Josh: the Nazi’s lost that one, too.
Quittner continues, “Clearly, Jobs, who left Apple in a power struggle, then returned to resurrect it from a near bankrupt state, learned something from his missteps. The iPhone is more open than Apple’s computers.”
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, Quittner’s just plain wrong. Only Apple Macs run all the world’s major (and many of the minor) OSes and the world’s largest software library. No PC is more open than Apple’s Mac. Related article: Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Quittner continues, “But! The [iPhone] platform is far from open. Developers and their programs must be approved by Apple.”
MacDailyNews Take: Blah, blah, blah. The iPhone is fine. It’s plenty open enough. People with more than half a brain don’t want it wide open or you’ll have a repeat of the virus/trojan/malware mess on the Windows PC platform. Recognize that pattern, Josh?
Also, please explain this, Josh:
“It’s easy to see how the iPhone could take off. Once you control the platform, you call the tune. And if that happens, it will be Steve Jobs’s magnum opus,” – Josh Quittner, TIME Magazine, June 10, 2008
The rest of Quittner’s full moronitude (we’ve excerpted most everything of interest) is here.
MacDailyNews Take: Is this really the best TIME Magazine can come up with? We thought they had access to some of the world’s best writers and analysts? Why would TIME publish some lame hack who gets everything wrong and draws all the wrong conclusions? Email:
“But! The [iPhone] platform is far from open. Developers and their programs must be approved by Apple.”
And even with Apple’s oversight, half of what is in the App Store is useless crap. Ir really makes me wonder what I’ve missed out on by not shopping in the PC software aisles the last 15 years.
“The key to the PC’s success and Apple’s downfall was that the open-standards-based IBM-compatible PC created a platform for third-party hardware and softwaremakers to ply their stuff.”
When you miss the pattern — it was IBM’s foolhardiness in handing the neophyte Gates the keys to the kingdom and subsequent monopolization — you can’t even begin to make a correct analysis
“Now, only a shortsighted “journalist” would claim the Mac vs. Windows PC war to be over”.
“If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it’s worth — and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.”
— Steve Jobs, Fortune, Feb. 19, 1996
Whoops!
Apple is the new evil empire.
With its growing dominance, there is emerging an autocratic corporate personality that stinks.
Remember 1995 when Windows 95 came out. I don’t think Microsoft yet had the reputation of the evil empire, but 13 years later …
We have now the seeds of what Apple could become in 10 years, a totally grotesque, ARROGANT company — totally unyielding to the requests and sentiments of its customers. And Apple could be worse than Microsoft because it controls the hardware as well as the software.
Daring Fireball\s response to Josh Quitner back in July 2007.
http://daringfireball.net/2007/07/josh_quittner_returns_his_iphone
Seeing the way the pc failed incredibly and did little than cost billions and give you and me headaches for decades, I fail to see the anti Apple and anti app store movement. Senseless.
Dirty Pierre le Punk,
Throughout his life Jobs has said a lot of things he didn’t mean in order to distract competitors. In fact, HE WASN’T EVEN WITH APPLE WHEN HE SAID THAT. It’s was a tactic. He wanted something at that time: he wanted Apple to buy NeXT.
Obviously, by the looks of Mac ads and sales, Jobs does not believe the war is over.
The guy obviously has hidden motives for writing a piece like this.
It’s getting pretty common (and sick) these days for (what used to be) major publications being used to attack companies for the sake of selling copies, and/or helping a competitor of the piece he or she is writing.
It’s worse than you think, folks. Companies who allowed pieces of crap like this article would have been successfully sued 25 years ago.
The consumer does not want what corporate america wants. An air cooled volkswagen that leaks oil and breaks down at every intersection. Herbie says I am a pc. America says I am what i am and a pc is not even in my vocabulary any more.
“The iPhone is more open than Apple’s computers.”
I don’t think you can find a single developer that would agree with this statement. The iPhone platform isn’t truly closed, but it is certainly more so than the Mac OS X platform.
“The rise of the IBM-compatible PC a decade later, which ran Microsoft’s operating system, smashed Apple. The key to the PC’s success and Apple’s downfall was that the open-standards-based IBM-compatible PC created a platform for third-party hardware and softwaremakers to ply their stuff.”
The key to PC’s success was due to the vaporware that IBM kept promising and the likes of PC World propagating the lies and myths.
By the way, where is the IBM-compatible PC now?
@ dgp – I agree, Apple is rapidly becoming the new “Evil Empire.” Hoards of former Windows users who have switched to Apple are use to choice and flexibility in their product purchases. However with Apple, pretty much every thing signficant comes thru Apple, inc. – Hardward, software, accessories … and at a price premium.
People are beginning to rebel against Apple… that why those’ new “I’m PC” ads are so effective. People don’t like buying products from a Jerk. Apple is rapidly becomming a Jerk. Apple, inc. needs to become more open and flexible.
MDN and the rest of you MacHeads should stop defending these aspects of Apple, because all you are doing is supporting a negative vision that will ultimately hurt the reputation of the company.
The same style article was written when the iPod became successful. Success begets loose “journalists.”
@Dirty Pierre le Punk,
And Steve Jobs also said that no one wanted to watch videos on their iPods.
So, these are either purposely distracting statements or he simply changed his mind.
“@Screwed Up Liberal Journalist”
Screw your pathetic attempt to inject politics into this.
TIME Magazine: Just more ill-informed, biased, “progressive” pap.
“The key to the PC’s success and Apple’s downfall was that the open-standards-based IBM-compatible PC——-“
“Open-standards…??”
Really?
These pc guys are used to years of sleaze bag, cut throat, viral diseased flower power freedom with the you scratch me I scratch you arrangement. That business model is collapsing rapidly and Bill is really starting to freak out as he cannot believe that times are a changing.
Open thing, yeah I don’t really get the big deal about open source code. I would rather it work than be open. I have heard people complain about the cost of OS, oh give me a break, it is about $129 every two years……
“The key to the PC’s success and Apple’s downfall was that the open-standards-based IBM-compatible PC created a platform for third-party hardware and softwaremakers to ply their stuff.”
As in most situations, it was far more complicated than this, and, as you know, the devil’s in the details.
The iPhone vs. Android situation is completely different, but Apple is in danger of blowing it for themselves if they don’t get their collective head on straight regarding allowing apps into the app store. The ought to draw the line at keeping out malicious apps, and apps that violate their agreement with AT&T;- that’s it.
“The iPhone is more open than Apple’s computers.”
Huh? In what way? Apple NEVER restricted developers in any way with software development for the Mac. Also, Mac developers are free to sell their software anywhere they want.
Quittner ought to just quit. He’s embarrassing himself.
Articles by so called professional journalists, like this one by Time are really short sighted (and really stupid)
Think about it logically for a moment–“the iPhone platform is not open enough”!!!
Yes, Apple, OPEN UP the iPhone…. to viruses and malware and spyware!!! Just think how the anti-virus developers will jump onto the iPhone application gravy train!!!
And Mac OS X and iPhone will never be the same again! And head straight for Doom Town!
Thanks Apple, for keeping the iPhone closed. As a matter of fact CLOSE IT UP even more! Like any sensible iPhone user really care if they cannot have a “fart app” or some other “magical app” on a freaking phone, while loosing sight of what they CAN have on the iPhone. I personally have a dictionary app, VNC app, voice memo app, etc. And these few apps together with the out of the box functionality of the iPhone is plenty enough allready! So, Apple, please, tighten the App Store review process even more!
I for one would rather live without a fart app (and every other “magical app” Apple disapprover’s of) than being frustrated to the point of insanity by MUST HAVE stupid anti-virus, malware and spyware protection (and probably required daily reboots before you can use the thing)
Integrity…..something the media lost long ago. They now look for the “bring down”…..that is what people want. They want the dirty, imaginary or real. It doesn’t matter.
Whatever happened to objectiveness? Whatever happened to researching and drawing logical conclusions?
the answer is: if you don’t like it, get a pc or buy another phone or develope for another platform. you will end the ‘monopoly’ there.
OMG! Yet another wannabe visionary who desperately needs to visit an optician. Just how many journos are on Microsoft’s grey payroll anyway?
The IBM platform was not successful because it was an open platform. It was successful because of three letters: IBM. The saying in business then was, “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” So IBM PCs running DOS flooded the business world while the Apple II was viewed as a toy. By the time Macs and Windows entered the picture, the battle was over (for the time being), and IBM had lost out to clone makers.
Bill Gates told Steve Jobs that being better doesn’t count. For a long time it seemed that unfortunately he was right. Now the world is beginning to see how wrong he was.
Apple’s control of their products is what makes them so great. I hope they are never foolish enough to relinquish control.
And yes, the Mac really is the most open computer in the world.