Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
I know this won't be popular, but what did Apple actually invent? Most of what Apple did was retool existing products. MP3 players existed before the iPod. Xerox had a GUI with mouse before Apple. Tablets existed before iPad. Smartphones existed before iPhones. Really, most of what Jobs did was steal tech from others and do it how he wanted it done.
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What Jobs did was to put it all together in a complete package. Personally, I'm an Android/Firefox/Windows kind of person, but I can appreciate what he did.
For example, the first Apple mouse-driven computer was the Lisa. Jobs had been kicked off the Lisa team and lost any control of the direction. As a result, the Lisa came out priced for corporate printing departments. Jobs, joined/kick-started the separate Mac efforts. He insisted on developing a product that was simple and priced for consumers. It had a 9-inch black and white screen, not because he thought that was best, but because it was needed for his target market.
He kept the Mac hardware as an apple only exclusive because it allowed him to keep control of the complete experience and keep a seamless interface.
The mp3 player was around long before the iPod. However, it required you to find your music and/or rip it. Of course, those on this forum have no problem with that, but the integration with iTunes made it easy for the masses.
There were smartphones before the iPhone. But Apple put it all together. Phone, email, mp3, camera (eventually), with a reasonable battery life. All with a software platform that allowed for expansion/apps.
I know you can take exception with any of these statements. And as I said, in most cases, the choices made aren't right for me. However, I believe he brought two general principles: fully integrated systems, and a laser-focus on his market to the extent that he was willing to exclude features to meet his needs. In fact, many of the 'shortcomings' of the iPad is because he felt that a long battery life was more important than other factors.