Imagine 10 years into 2 futures....

[Journojulz]

I asked a question on another thread - and raised it with a friend yesterday.....

Imagine 2019 if apple simply shut down today

and

Imagine 2019 if M$ simply shut down today


In those 2 futures - what would we be missing?

----------------

To see what has happened in the last 10 years, check put the timeline at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh

in 1998 the bondi blue imac was launched....

 

[DoFoT9]

in 10 years i will be the CEO of apple

 

[TwinCities Dan]

Imagine 2019 if apple simply shut down today

Imagine 2019 if M$ simply shut down today

 

[Journojulz]

I reckon XP is as good an OS as the business community needs for its word processing and database needs. As machines get better it will just run smoother and faster.

Can't really see the need to have another M$ OS. Can you?

But I happily pay a bit more for apple today so i can have better toys tommorow.

Investing in our future.

 

[0098386]

Oh bloody hell.

Why do people want to see MS shut down so much? They make good peripherals, unlike Apple who after years of researching and design still can't seem to make a comfortable and functioning mouse. XP is a very good OS compatible with everything included USB beard trimming machines, supports DirectX and is the best choice for gaming. Sure Vista is poor but Win7 looks to undo that.

Why would any of you want to see no competition for OSX? Competition is great. It drives prices down and forces them to put out better products.

 

[arkitect]

Oh bloody hell.

Why do people want to see MS shut down so much? Competition is great.

Agreed.

If only the groupies would remember their Great Leader's words…

"We want to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose"
August 1997.

 

[TwinCities Dan]

Why do people want to see MS shut down so much?

Because my mom made me go to Sunday school...

 

[Journojulz]

Oh bloody hell.

Why do people want to see MS shut down so much?

Not wanting to see them shut down - just asking what we would miss if they did.

They make good peripherals, unlike Apple who after years of researching and design still can't seem to make a comfortable and functioning mouse.

Flat out disagree with you there.

Never had a more comfortable mouse than the soapbar - and the mighty mouse 2d scroll wheel is just brilliant, so light and nimble.

Each to his own and all that - but i do love the mighty mouse.

XP is a very good OS compatible with everything included USB beard trimming machines, supports DirectX and is the best choice for gaming. Sure Vista is poor but Win7 looks to undo that.

A techie mate who has been shown win 7 was not that impressed, neither was the windows die hard bud that showed him. The flash bits are not that useful and it has trouble with his nvidia card....

I agree XP is good enough for what PCs need. Just wonder if ms will ever make an interface as smooth as osx.

Why would any of you want to see no competition for OSX? Competition is great. It drives prices down and forces them to put out better products.

Gah - the flaw in my theory. Well spotted.
Even if the level of competition is so soft.

I would like to see win7 really trounce apple - just so they make something better.

 

[0098386]

Flat out disagree with you there.

Never had a more comfortable mouse than the soapbar - and the mighty mouse 2d scroll wheel is just brilliant, so light and nimble.

Each to his own and all that - but i do love the mighty mouse.

No, it's a very poor mouse. You cannot press the right mouse button if your finger is resting on the left mouse button; major flaw. Dust and stuff gets stuck in the ball and prevents it from working. It's not ergonomically designed, has 2 side buttons acting as 1, has poor weight and acceleration, the sensor is towards the top of the mouse, no teflon pads, they cost way too much for what they are, drains batteries much too quick (but then again I am comparing that to my experience with Logitech wireless mice).
My iMac came with one and after trying to get used to it in a production environment for weeks I gave up and now its sat beside me ageing disgracefully. Logitech, Razer, Microsoft all make much better mice.

You're allowed to like it but it's so poorly designed.

A techie mate who has been shown win 7 was not that impressed

Oh then I guess Win7 is doomed if your friend is not impressed by it.
General concensus - Win7 is a huge improvement over Vista.

 

[xlii]

To the OP... what you are missing is that another company would come in to fill the void.

 

[chris200x9]

To the OP... what you are missing is that another company would come in to fill the void.

linux?

 

[Journojulz]

No, it's a very poor mouse. You cannot press the right mouse button if your finger is resting on the left mouse button; major flaw.

Wow - never noticed that in all the years i have been using it!

Never bothered me.

Dust and stuff gets stuck in the ball and prevents it from working.

Happened twice to me.

turn it upside down and roll it on a piece of a4 - problem solved.

It's not ergonomically designed, has 2 side buttons acting as 1, has poor weight and acceleration,

I find it more comfortable and intuitive than all the other mice i have used, and i was using it all day in a design job.
each to his own i guess

You're allowed to like it but it's so poorly designed.

And you are allowed to dislike it - as are you to have a *subjective* opinion on its design.

General concensus - Win7 is a huge improvement over Vista.

Well, being kicked in the shin is a 'huge improvement' over being kicked in the unmentionables. I will stick with XP for my windows requirements thanks.

 

[0098386]

Wow - never noticed that in all the years i have been using it!

Never bothered me.

So you always hover your fingers above the buttons instead of resting on them?

Happened twice to me.

turn it upside down and roll it on a piece of a4 - problem solved.

Never happened to any of the mice I've ever owned. Also my parents wired MM had this problem too, the usual rolling didn't fix it. Compressed air didn't fix it and neither did soaking the mouse and then drying it. It's been over a year and I could never fix it. The next step is to open it up but of course Apple didn't want you servicing something as basic as a mouse.

And you are allowed to dislike it - as are you to have a *subjective* opinion on its design.

Since when is a mouse where you have to lift your fingers off it to right click a good design choice, or not taking ergonomics into account at all? Name an example of good design on it. All I can think of is the back of the unit fits snugly into my palm, even though it means I have to arch my fingers over to use the buttons.

 

[Journojulz]

So you always hover your fingers above the buttons instead of resting on them?

Just looked, when i want to make a right click i lift my index finger a couple of mm.

The next step is to open it up but of course Apple didn't want you servicing something as basic as a mouse.

I did it the first time, its not that hard if you have a rudimentary experience of this kind of thing.

Since when is a mouse where you have to lift your fingers off it to right click a good design choice, or not taking ergonomics into account at all?

How heavy ARE your fingers?

Name an example of good design on it. All I can think of is the back of the unit fits snugly into my palm, even though it means I have to arch my fingers over to use the buttons.

It fits my hand perfectly, first and second finger fall naturally on the "buttons" either side of the ball and the side buttons are perfectly under thumb and third.

I love it - you hate it. that's design for you.

 

[ikermalli]

No, it's a very poor mouse. You cannot press the right mouse button if your finger is resting on the left mouse button; major flaw. Dust and stuff gets stuck in the ball and prevents it from working. It's not ergonomically designed, has 2 side buttons acting as 1, has poor weight and acceleration, the sensor is towards the top of the mouse, no teflon pads, they cost way too much for what they are, drains batteries much too quick (but then again I am comparing that to my experience with Logitech wireless mice).
My iMac came with one and after trying to get used to it in a production environment for weeks I gave up and now its sat beside me ageing disgracefully. Logitech, Razer, Microsoft all make much better mice.

You're allowed to like it but it's so poorly designed.


Oh then I guess Win7 is doomed if your friend is not impressed by it.
General concensus - Win7 is a huge improvement over Vista.

I'll take that disgusting mouse off your hands, you know... So you don't have to have that filth in your house

 

[themoonisdown09]

So you always hover your fingers above the buttons instead of resting on them?

I have a Mighty Mouse at home and have had no trouble "right-clicking". It works just like standard two-button mice... unless when you say resting, you're index finger is going limp and pressing down on the button, which would then perform a left-click on any mouse.

To answer the OP's question, I have no clue what would happen if either company shut down. As much as I prefer Apple over Microsoft, Microsoft still make some decent products.

 

[yg17]

No, it's a very poor mouse. You cannot press the right mouse button if your finger is resting on the left mouse button; major flaw. Dust and stuff gets stuck in the ball and prevents it from working. It's not ergonomically designed, has 2 side buttons acting as 1, has poor weight and acceleration, the sensor is towards the top of the mouse, no teflon pads, they cost way too much for what they are, drains batteries much too quick (but then again I am comparing that to my experience with Logitech wireless mice).
My iMac came with one and after trying to get used to it in a production environment for weeks I gave up and now its sat beside me ageing disgracefully. Logitech, Razer, Microsoft all make much better mice.

You're allowed to like it but it's so poorly designed.


Oh then I guess Win7 is doomed if your friend is not impressed by it.
General concensus - Win7 is a huge improvement over Vista.

True that. I threw out my Mighty Mouse as soon as I got my iMac. It's garbage. I have a Microsoft Bluetrack explorer mouse and it's excellent. The Mighty Mouse is useless for anyone like myself who wants more than 3 mouse buttons

 

[iShater]

It is hard to imagine what would happen. If Apple is gone, consumers' computing life would be boring. If MS is gone, businesses are ****ed.

PS I Agree with jimmi regarding the mighty mouse unfortunately.

 

[Journojulz]

I think it's actually easier than having a seperate right mouse button.

Once you lift your index finger 3mm of the mouse, the whole rest of your hand is available to press down on the mechanism, rather than just your second finger alone.

I think its a great design you are free to think otherwise

Obviously apple also did produce the worst mouse in the world - the circular imac horror!

 

[t0mat0]

Say goodbye to
Mac OS 9
Mac OS X Cheetah/Puma
Mac OS X Jaguar
Mac OS X Panther
Mac OS X Tiger
Mac OS X Leopard
Mac OS X Snow Leopard

and pretty much every product in the picture (2008-2009 models aren't shown (nano, iPhone shuffle updates etc)

 

[Journojulz]

If MS is gone, businesses are *****ed

Really?

Most businesses use computers for word processing and accounts. XP will still work as well as it ever did, why would businesses suffer?

I imagine they would find their IT bills coming down as they wouldn't have to keep upgrading.

I work in local gov and my pc is replaced on a 4- year cycle. It's due for uprade in 12 months and I really can't see the whole network going vista.

We are still on ie6.

 

[dontwalkhand]

We are still on ie6.

I can never imagine doing work, without tabbed browsing. I hate things that open in new windows.

 

[dmmcintyre3]

Imagine 2019 if apple simply shut down today

I would buy all the macs I could or find a way to decompile Mac OS X or try to get it open sourced. Maybe M$ would buy it

Imagine 2019 if M$ simply shut down today

the rest of my family would be forced to buy Macs or PC's with linux (cant see mom using linux with all the glitches like wifi bugs and all that [but if the PC shipped with it it would probably be a custom distro for that manufacturer])

 

[mscriv]

I can never imagine doing work, without tabbed browsing. I hate things that open in new windows.

Amen to that! I contacted my IT dept and had a rep log onto my computer so I could download and install Firefox just to get tabbed browsing at the office.

As far as businesses being okay if they were stuck with XP, I disagree in terms of the big picture. While it would work well for a while, the constant improvements that are made in software and OS's serve to make the working environment more efficient. Tabbed browsing is a great example. I wouldn't have missed it at all three years ago, but it is indispensable to me today. While a business can function with old software, they lose out on practical upgrades and advantages that can make work more productive if they don't upgrade along the way.

 

[yg17]

I think it's actually easier than having a seperate right mouse button.

Once you lift your index finger 3mm of the mouse, the whole rest of your hand is available to press down on the mechanism, rather than just your second finger alone.

I think its a great design you are free to think otherwise

Obviously apple also did produce the worst mouse in the world - the circular imac horror!

Maybe my middle finger is stronger than most people's due to years of driving amongst some of the worst drivers in the US, but I have no issue pressing the right mouse button with my finger still on the left. Since I never lift it, I have problems with the mighty mouse.

Really?

Most businesses use computers for word processing and accounts. XP will still work as well as it ever did, why would businesses suffer?

I imagine they would find their IT bills coming down as they wouldn't have to keep upgrading.

I work in local gov and my pc is replaced on a 4- year cycle. It's due for uprade in 12 months and I really can't see the whole network going vista.

We are still on ie6.

PCs are cheap. Not to get into a whole price war discussion or anything, but if all a business needs a PC for is some basic word processing and accounting work, a cheap, $300 PC will easily fill their needs.