I posted the reply below to a message at discussions.apple.com, which was banned by the Apple thought police. I'm posting the reply here and referencing it. At least in this forum you don't have to be an Apple sycophant in order to post.
ORIGINAL REPLY:
Apple does not value feedback from consumers. Apple has the same philosophy as did General Motors, which resulted in the worlds largest corporation going bankrupt -- "What's good for General Motors is good for America". Apple has the same audacity to believe they know what is best for America, and the world. This philosophy has lead to one debacle after another. There are numerous threads in numerous forums, regarding these debacles. Look at how many dislike iOS 7. Look at how many are furious that Apple gutted functionality in iLife products, becase they have this inane vision that then need to be similar to the iOS versions. Look at iMovie 10 -- In preferences, there are now only two checkboxes! Two! And in iMovie there is still no option to save a movie frame as a still photo! There was an option in previous versions, but Apple deemed it unnecessary! Apple refers to this as "streamlining". Looking at the threads, most feel Apple has gutted these apps such as iMovie, Pages, Numbers, etc. Remember all of the complaints about Final Cut Pro X? It is demonstrative of a company that does not value consumer input. Then look at all of the complaints in this thread about Apple removing the optical drive from the new iMac. And there is not one single USB port or SD card slot placed in a convenient location -- All ports are on the BACK of the new iMac! Now there's lack of consumer input for you. Every other all-in-one on the market has ports in conveniently accessible locations (and the back), except for the iMac. There are numerous other Apple horror stories which are too numerous to mention.
Apple makes some great products, but they are mostly resting on their laurels, and will only continue to be a niche market, unless they start listening to consumers. I used to have all Apple products in my household. Then completely disgusted with iOS 7, my new phone is a Moto X. After Apple raised the starting price of an iPad mini to $400, I bought my 4 year old a Nook HD, and myself a Nexus 7 instead. I put the $400 I saved into my son's college fund.
ORIGINAL REPLY:
Apple does not value feedback from consumers. Apple has the same philosophy as did General Motors, which resulted in the worlds largest corporation going bankrupt -- "What's good for General Motors is good for America". Apple has the same audacity to believe they know what is best for America, and the world. This philosophy has lead to one debacle after another. There are numerous threads in numerous forums, regarding these debacles. Look at how many dislike iOS 7. Look at how many are furious that Apple gutted functionality in iLife products, becase they have this inane vision that then need to be similar to the iOS versions. Look at iMovie 10 -- In preferences, there are now only two checkboxes! Two! And in iMovie there is still no option to save a movie frame as a still photo! There was an option in previous versions, but Apple deemed it unnecessary! Apple refers to this as "streamlining". Looking at the threads, most feel Apple has gutted these apps such as iMovie, Pages, Numbers, etc. Remember all of the complaints about Final Cut Pro X? It is demonstrative of a company that does not value consumer input. Then look at all of the complaints in this thread about Apple removing the optical drive from the new iMac. And there is not one single USB port or SD card slot placed in a convenient location -- All ports are on the BACK of the new iMac! Now there's lack of consumer input for you. Every other all-in-one on the market has ports in conveniently accessible locations (and the back), except for the iMac. There are numerous other Apple horror stories which are too numerous to mention.
Apple makes some great products, but they are mostly resting on their laurels, and will only continue to be a niche market, unless they start listening to consumers. I used to have all Apple products in my household. Then completely disgusted with iOS 7, my new phone is a Moto X. After Apple raised the starting price of an iPad mini to $400, I bought my 4 year old a Nook HD, and myself a Nexus 7 instead. I put the $400 I saved into my son's college fund.
