I'm a big fan of Apple's products. Have been since the Apple II. But when I look dispassionately at the core capabilities, I do not see uniform excellence.
Apple clearly excels at: marketing/brand, hardware, and partner/supply chain management. But Apple's software quality is all over the map. Further, Apple does not "get" the internet (and never has).
Since "hardware vs software" was the focus of JG's post, I'll briefly state my case around those two elements.
Apple gets hardware. I doubt that anyone would argue otherwise. Fabulous objects-of-desire emerge from amazing industrial designs. I can't even think of a laptop I'd consider in the same league as the Air. Ditto the iPad, iPod, and Airport. (The iPhone is in a much closer race with the Samsung gear.)
Apple also sports price-performance advantages In certain key areas. iPods have held more memory per dollar since the earliest days of MP3 players, for example. HP was unable to match the iPad. And now the Air and other "computer products" have closed the gap. This is an under-appreciated aspect of Apple's game.
Apple sometimes gets software too. I personally loath the one-button-ultra-modal aspect of IOS. But the myriad of brilliant features (e.g., pinch, scroll, etc.) blow me away, in both a design and execution sense. Apple is great at UX-in-the-small. But at application-level, things aren't so balmy.
iTunes and its syncing model are frustrating at best. Mail, iCal, and Address Book are only now getting better than (elegant) toys. These three have had serious bugs for years. iWork - forget it. App uninstall is incomplete, leaving many remnants. OSX's underlying file system is a joke, as is MacPorts. Lion's desire to mimic IOS is frustrating at best.
Apple is the greatest show on earth based mainly on their brand development and their ability to produce must-have objects.
Oh, and I'd (reluctantly) take Win7/Air and IOS/Samsung -based on the strengths of the hardware in each case. A split decision.
Apple clearly excels at: marketing/brand, hardware, and partner/supply chain management. But Apple's software quality is all over the map. Further, Apple does not "get" the internet (and never has).
Since "hardware vs software" was the focus of JG's post, I'll briefly state my case around those two elements.
Apple gets hardware. I doubt that anyone would argue otherwise. Fabulous objects-of-desire emerge from amazing industrial designs. I can't even think of a laptop I'd consider in the same league as the Air. Ditto the iPad, iPod, and Airport. (The iPhone is in a much closer race with the Samsung gear.)
Apple also sports price-performance advantages In certain key areas. iPods have held more memory per dollar since the earliest days of MP3 players, for example. HP was unable to match the iPad. And now the Air and other "computer products" have closed the gap. This is an under-appreciated aspect of Apple's game.
Apple sometimes gets software too. I personally loath the one-button-ultra-modal aspect of IOS. But the myriad of brilliant features (e.g., pinch, scroll, etc.) blow me away, in both a design and execution sense. Apple is great at UX-in-the-small. But at application-level, things aren't so balmy.
iTunes and its syncing model are frustrating at best. Mail, iCal, and Address Book are only now getting better than (elegant) toys. These three have had serious bugs for years. iWork - forget it. App uninstall is incomplete, leaving many remnants. OSX's underlying file system is a joke, as is MacPorts. Lion's desire to mimic IOS is frustrating at best.
Apple is the greatest show on earth based mainly on their brand development and their ability to produce must-have objects.
Oh, and I'd (reluctantly) take Win7/Air and IOS/Samsung -based on the strengths of the hardware in each case. A split decision.
Bob