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by aspenmayer
407 days ago
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I think that you’re right that Apple is different, but it’s different so that Apple can control it. I wrote about this recently in another comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=43953751 The gist of it is this: Both Steves worked for Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese. I believe that Jobs was likely inspired by Bushnell to create a tech ecosystem to enable easy creation, monetization, and control. But mostly, I think Jobs and Wozniak created Apple to enable them both to create the kinds of technology they needed and wanted, to get the work done they knew folks were using personal computers for. Personal computers have distinct use cases which make them distinct from mainframes or other systems largely outside the control of individuals, and this appeal to the individual is what differentiates Apple from Google or other computer hardware companies. Apple still actually has tech support, retail stores, and yet the goalposts of the market and consumer expectations have moved. Apple hasn’t kept up with what consumers expect in many ways, and the markets they serve have changed, as Apple is now serving multiple sides of markets that they operate as an intermediary, as opposed to the past where Apple was constrained to being a participant in multiple, sometimes overlapping markets. |
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Control would not be such a bad thing if Apple could still be trusted. Unfortunately it seems that they have started to lose their way.
It's not like they became worthless or evil at the flip of a switch - it takes time for such a large company to die like that. But they are declining (in ways other than profit, of course).
They have still managed to create some genuinely good innovation, such as Apple Silicon Macs, but they are seeming to gradually lose their ability to do that properly.
I don't see any problem with wanting more control over the user experience so that it can be improved. Honestly, it seems like the problem you're describing started with how that control has been (ab)used since Steve Jobs' death. I feel like that brought all the corruption out of hiding because Tim doesn't necessarily shoot it all down like Jobs would have.