So what does Microsoft do with all of it's billions in profit? Nothing but generate more billions in profit. They don't build anything new or innovative, they don't fix issues with their already buggy and relatively useless OS. Apple of late seems to be going down a similar path.
Everything they build lately has been disappointing. Let's go down the list.
Snow Leopard: was supposed to be an "under the hood" revamp of Leopard that was supposed to make the OS more stable, and yet 6 months after it's release we are still seeing problems with it. Appalling when you consider that Apple keeps such strict control over it's products and forces it's third party developers to jump through hoops. We as consumers bought into this BS hoping for a better OS even though there weren't any new bells & whistles to speak of. A lot of us feel duped by Apple's marketing Dept.
iPhone: When it was first released it was just a mediocre phone with an excellent touch screen interface. Two years later the product hasn't evolved much and it's still just a mediocre phone with an excellent touch screen interface. I live in Japan and I have both an iPhone and a DoCoMo phone. My DoCoMo has an 8.1 MP camera that takes pictures and movies, a touch screen interface, a slide out key panel, built in TV, can be used as a train/bus pass, can be used to shop at convenience stores, vending machines, can be used as a credit card, can connect to the audio system in my Mercedes so I can speak "Hands Free" throught the system, has a finger print scanner on the back so it can only be accessed by me, and best of all it's tied to a carrier that actually cares about customer support and has well trained staff unlike Softbank, the carrier Apple chose to go with (I suspect for higher profit margin) that has terrible service and the worst signal reception in Japan. My DoCoMo phone is a far superior phone and it's a fraction the size of the iPhone. The only thing that the iPhone has going for it is the interface, the full web browser and iTunes store connectivity. Other than that, it's a ****** phone that hasn't advanced much in two years.
Mac Pro: hasn't been updated in a while and even when they do update it, it still won't have the very best graphics cards on the market (for some reason Apple always chooses the graphics card smack in the middle of the line up at any particular time and hails it as the best, but if you go to nVidia or ATI's website when a new Mac is released and check up on the card, you'll see that it's neither company's best offering but rather in the middle of their product line), will overcharge for RAM upgrades and will just offer what ever other PC manufacturer out there has in the way of Intel chip upgrades (albeit a few months earlier) minus Blu-Ray support and other things PC uses can rub in our Mac user faces all at a higher price.
Magic Mouse: Cute toy but it's not a proper mouse. By now Apple should realize that a three button mouse is an absolute must! Even some of Apple's own professional software require a three button mouse.
Apple remote: Useless peice of crap. Yes I too believe in simplicity in design and ergonomics but when you sacrifice functionality for simplicity, that's just plain stupidity. Try entering a search for a song on an AppleTV with an Apple Remote, a very painful exercise. And now it's a shiny new aluminum piece of crap. Big deal. In it's second release the best you could come up with was changing the material from which it is made? Bravo Apple.
iPad: what a joke. I'm sure they'll make plenty of money from it, but it's really just a huge iPhone with a slightly better touch screen interface.
As a professional motion graphics designer, I know I speak for hundreds of people who couldn't be more dissatisfied with Apple's Motion 4. After halting production on Shake and teasing us with rumors of the upcoming Phenomenon, we were treated to 3D shadows and refections. I guess I'll be using Adobe AE from on.
And the list goes on:
AppleTV with touchy connectivity, no support for 1080p HD video and terrible interface, Airport Base Station has always been bad with no control over advanced settings (guess Apple figures we're too stupid to know how to set up our own security), and now 5 Ghz wireless connectivity problems, Mac Book Pro with glossy screens (not useful for pro designers), Wireless keyboard with no number pad, home keys etc... (just plain annoying), Screen flickering iMacs, Even their latest release of Aperture (only out for a few days) is already seeing reports of problems. How can this be if Apple designs both the hardware and software? Isn't this supposed to be why we buy Apple, for the seamless user experience?
Apple used to be an innovative company that leapfrogged it's competition with compelling products and superior service. Now I'm afraid it has just become a huge corporate entity that uses it money and market share to overhype mediocre products that it could undoubtedly make better.
I have every one of these Apple products I mentioned above (with the exception of the iPad of course) and I have been an apple user since before some of you were even born, so before you decide to flame me about this post, think differently. Apple is not the company it used to be and it's a damn shame.
