What's so fantastic about Apple?

[kajata]

I'll admit it. When I first got my iPad it was frustrating to see all those blue boxes where flash couldn't be displayed but now you hardly see them because flash is quickly going the way of the dodo especially since Adobe announced they are ceasing development of Mobile browser flash.

 

[merentha]

I'll admit it. When I first got my iPad it was frustrating to see all those blue boxes where flash couldn't be displayed but now you hardly see them because flash is quickly going the way of the dodo especially since Adobe announced they are ceasing development of Mobile browser flash.

Until it goes the way of the dodo, perhaps. But for the present, many sites that I regularly check out still require Flash, and I don't see why I should compromise my surfing habits just because Apple says I should.

 

[kajata]

Until it goes the way of the dodo, perhaps. But for the present, many sites that I regularly check out still require Flash, and I don't see why I should compromise my surfing habits just because Apple says I should.

You certainly shouldn't. But now it's everyone telling you. If you love your flash don't upgrade to whatever comes after Ice Cream Sandwich. Because it won't support it either. But by then I'm guessing flash won't be running on many websites.

 

[Stomatopoda]

Jobs was saying that five years ago with the first iPhone. Flash still hasn't died. I'm sure it will, eventually, but "futureproofing" is a fool's game.

 

[TheL8Elvis]

You certainly shouldn't. But now it's everyone telling you. If you love your flash don't upgrade to whatever comes after Ice Cream Sandwich. Because it won't support it either. But by then I'm guessing flash won't be running on many websites.

Oh yeah ... how did that mobile flash thing work out for adobe ?

We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook

Probably the fault of the apple marketing department....

 

[BobTheDonkey]

I'll admit it. When I first got my iPad it was frustrating to see all those blue boxes where flash couldn't be displayed but now you hardly see them because flash is quickly going the way of the dodo especially since Adobe announced they are ceasing development of Mobile browser flash.

*shrug*

Works on my Windows Tablet just fine

 

[Brian-M]

I thought Microsoft bought QDOS, renamed it MS-DOS, then presented it to IBM, which in turn renamed it PC-DOS.

I seem to have gotten the details wrong. MS-DOS is a clone of CP/M, not PC-DOS (which was the same thing).

Looking up the details, I found that IBM was going to use CP/M for their OS, but were having a contract dispute, and so got in contact with Microsoft.

Microsoft then bought the rights to a CP/M clone called 86-DOS (formerly known as Quick-and-dirty DOS, or Q-DOS) from Seattle Computer Products, and hired someone to port it to the IBM-PC.

This was then named PC-DOS on IBM computers, or MS-DOS when sold by Microsoft.

The way I originally heard it was different.

 

[John Albert]

Come to think of it, I do seem to remember Microsoft putting out their own DOS after their partnership with IBM ended.

I think the partnership ended, and IBM continued developing PC-DOS, then Microsoft forked the development to form their own version which ended up selling much better than IBM's PC-DOS. Something like that.

Then there was OS/2, which was also developed during the IBM-Microsoft partnership. After the split, OS/2 ended up being driven out of the market by Windows, because Microsoft was so aggressive about selling its OS direct to the manufacturers and vendors of PC-compatibles.

That was a long time ago though, and I wasn't really into IBM-compatibles that much back then, so I might have some of the details wrong.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

I thought Microsoft bought QDOS, renamed it MS-DOS, then presented it to IBM, which in turn renamed it PC-DOS.

For a glimpse of that era and history, there's a decent little movie called "Pirates of Silicon Valley".

It's a fascinating story of risk-taking, vision and bravado, chronicling the beginnings of Apple and Microsoft.

Worth a viewing, IMHO.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

Jobs was saying that five years ago with the first iPhone. Flash still hasn't died. I'm sure it will, eventually, but "futureproofing" is a fool's game.

I remember when Apple stopped shipping Macs without floppy drives.

Many people still had programs and backups on floppies and lost their minds.

Now the same seems to be happening with optical drives.

Someone has to make the first step away from obsolete technology.

BTW, I sometimes miss Flash on my iPad. Then again, I do like the really, really long battery life. Isn't it true that Flash is a resource and energy hog? Serious question, I think I heard it was, but it's outside of my field of expertise.

 

[Darat]

...snip...


What amused me slightly was that devices were getting smaller (mobile phones for instance), until they were so small that people couldn't use them anymore. The finger pads were too small for most adults and their extremely small size (especially the flip phones) meant people lost them very easily and you couldn't hold them to your ear whilst the microphone was close to your mouth. Enter the 'smart phone', bigger and better (apparently).

I never bought a smart phone but I did like the iTouch so I've got one of those and was further amused when Apple decided to make a giant one.

Its that strange losing grasp of reality that often happens with products. The reason originally why reviewers made a big deal about the weight and size of mobiles is that they were bloody huge, heavy and cumbersome when they were first released so size and weight were real considerations back then. Unfortunately that understanding has been lost and today reviewers are still using criteria that were suitable for phones 5, 10 years ago, not phones today!!!! So reviewer after reviewer will go on about a phone being the thinnest phone ever "The new phone is 0.005 slimmer than last years slimist ever phone!!!!!" and then moan on about the battery life! If the idiots in marketing didn't keep telling us and the reviewers that thinner is better we could have much better battery life and phones with much better ergonomic designs.

 

[Darat]

Taking a break from the pro-Apple, anti-Apple debate...

I got a tablet as a gift. Didn't think I'd use it and now I use it 90% of the time when using a computer. They're perfect when you're lying in bed, for reading a book (not outside though), games are fun and cheap, great for surfing the web...love it. My all time favorite electronic device.

It really is a device for consuming rather than producing. Doing a spreadsheet on it is incredibly aggravating.

Ok, back to the Apple defending/bashing.

I really got it wrong about the new generation of tablets and it was with hindsight because I was stupid.

I was considering tablets as I was familiar with them - which was a very unsatisfactory experience at running desktop software and for some strange reason ignored literally decades of images and books of showing and describing how useful such a form factor could be.

 

[KarlG]

Hmm, i have a Windows 7 PC, Windows Vista Laptop, Windows XP netbook, Apple iPad, an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy s2, after selling my Apple iPhone 4) and Sony PS3. Each of these i use for different things in different places. They all connect to my router and wireless printer (haven't tried the PS3 with the printer yet).

I've never understood why people argue over this kind of thing, surely its just personal preference? I've always fancied trying a Mac, but I couldn't justify the extra cost, however well designed.

 

[kajata]

Its that strange losing grasp of reality that often happens with products. The reason originally why reviewers made a big deal about the weight and size of mobiles is that they were bloody huge, heavy and cumbersome when they were first released so size and weight were real considerations back then. Unfortunately that understanding has been lost and today reviewers are still using criteria that were suitable for phones 5, 10 years ago, not phones today!!!! So reviewer after reviewer will go on about a phone being the thinnest phone ever "The new phone is 0.005 slimmer than last years slimist ever phone!!!!!" and then moan on about the battery life! If the idiots in marketing didn't keep telling us and the reviewers that thinner is better we could have much better battery life and phones with much better ergonomic designs.

I find the whole thin tv thing funny. Sure, it's looks kinda cool but once it's on your stand or on your wall does it really matter?

"know what would make our living room feel more spacious? If our tv was a millimeter thinner".

 

[Zelenius]

You missed the point, I wasn't saying that IBM was out of business, just that it's not in the business of manufacturing PCs, especially PCs with an operating system exclusively available with IBM manufactured machines. IBM was a major company long before computers were even invented, there is no reason for it to go out of business because of this.

If Apple stopped selling Macs, it wouldn't be out of business either. It'd still be selling iPods, iPhones, etc.

ETA: My point being that this didn't hurt sales of Microsoft's MS-DOS.

Ok, I understand your point now, although that whole DOS thing gets a little confusing. You're right. But you originally said "computers" which to me implies both PCs and servers, which is why I brought up my point about IBM. Also, IBM is a special case. Any other PC manufacturer leaving the market would signal a defeat for that company. But when IBM left, they were still winners since they made money off of licensing fees from their competitors.

I may have also misunderstood or read something into your post that you didn't intend. A lot of people I talk to are surprised IBM is still in business, or they talk about it as if it is almost completely irrelevant. I suppose I am biased as a Linux/open source user, since IBM is a big supporter of Linux.

This isn't directly related to your post, but it's part of a larger point I wanted to make: Apple has essentially become what IBM used to be. This is why I always have a good laugh whenever I see Apple's 1984 commercial. It's ironic and so misleading(and brilliantly so!), especially when you consider IBM's current support for Linux contrasted with Apple's "walled garden"/proprietary software approach to computing. That some Apple fanbois still think they are being "hip" and "counter-cultural" by buying from the world's largest company is absurd and hilarious.

 

[Darat]

I find the whole thin tv thing funny. Sure, it's looks kinda cool but once it's on your stand or on your wall does it really matter?

"know what would make our living room feel more spacious? If our tv was a millimeter thinner".

It's pretty much the same thing, there was a time when the depth of a TV was of real consideration since they tended to be huge bulky affairs and a large screen TV would need a couple of feet behind it! With pretty much all the new generations of flatscreens as you say it has become an irrelevant consideration for most consumers yet is still screamed out at us via the marketing and reviewers and given same prominence as it was 20 years ago.

 

[El Greco]

I find the whole thin tv thing funny. Sure, it's looks kinda cool but once it's on your stand or on your wall does it really matter?

"know what would make our living room feel more spacious? If our tv was a millimeter thinner".

Still it makes me sad that I don't live 200 years from now, when TVs will probably be made from a material you can fold and put in your pocket and when unfolded would become something like a 100" TV which could also project 3D stereograms.

 

[Chris L]

I've never understood why people argue over this kind of thing, surely its just personal preference?

This is a very valid argument. We all use the tools that best fit our wants and needs. Not every tool is right for every person. Just because a tool fits your wants and needs, that doesn't mean it's really the greatest tool ever made. Some of us are just a little bothered by the almost religious devotion others have for their tools.

 

[Jaxe]

This is a very valid argument. We all use the tools that best fit our wants and needs. Not every tool is right for every person. Just because a tool fits your wants and needs, that doesn't mean it's really the greatest tool ever made. Some of us are just a little bothered by the almost religious devotion others have for their tools.

And that religious devotion gives birth to a plethora of false statements/beliefs, which is the core of what i actually find bothersome.

 

[Darat]

This is a very valid argument. We all use the tools that best fit our wants and needs. Not every tool is right for every person. Just because a tool fits your wants and needs, that doesn't mean it's really the greatest tool ever made. Some of us are just a little bothered by the almost religious devotion others have for their tools.

Can I just add what I think is a crucial two words: "We all use the tools that we believe best fit our wants and needs."

It's that bit that makes all of us vulnerable to marketing, peer pressure and the like.