Is it just me or does it seem that Microsoft is no longer viewed as the "Bad" bully.
I agree. Apple has taken over the mantle of bad bully, evil empire.
I distinguish these two totally different scenarios:
> For a breakthrough, totally novel concept - such as the finger-touch iPad, you don't ask customers what they want because they've never seen it before. So I agree with Apple refusing to listen to customers for novel, breakthroughs.
> But for things within the customers area of experience - applying the Apple-knows-best, refusing to listen to customers, is totalitarian arrogance.
e.g. refusing to offer matte, non-reflective screens for 4+ years needed by graphics professionals, photographers, people with sensitive eyes.
e.g. Removing functional features such as SAVE AS from Lion. Sure, there are workarounds and rough-equivalents, but none as good as a precise SAVE AS. I mean, for things like SAVE AS, it's not a fancy feature. I just need it to do work. What good does it do to force people to adopt features which are different, but not necessarily radical improvements.
e.g. Dumbing down software such as iMovie and Final Cut. Sure, there are lots of newbies that benefit from the simpler software - and that's great - but Apple didn't have to remove the more sophisticated features. They could have just put them into less prominent menus or options, so that those complex features are not prominent for newbies, but are still there for power users. Instead, Apple dumbs down their software for the lowest common denominator, and feels justified that they're right because sales go up.
The only thing that keeps me with Apple is the general stability of Snow Leopard, and it being generally virus-free. I update my OSX when each iteration gets to around 10.X.6 so I always get a very stable OS, rather than having to pay money to Apple to be a beta tester.
In the mid 2000's, Microsoft was disgusting in its arrogance and disdain for the rest of the industry - but I don't sense that very much these days from Microsoft. Even Steve Balmer's circus antics on stage evoke more a sense of pity for Microsoft rather than fury at its corporate malevolence. These days I get the sense that Microsoft is just focusing on the task of producing improved software, whereas Apple is the one that has now shifted into drinking its own coolaid, thinking that being the top innovator is their birthright, and ignoring the fact that innovative companies can fall all the way to the bottom if they believe their own spin, e.g. Kodak's demise.
It is a truism that pride - the bad-pride that blinds you, not the good-pride of a job well done - comes before a fall. Apple now has bad-pride in spadefuls. It started off as good-pride, but somewhere a worm got into the Apple and it's turned into bad-pride. Looking at companies like General Motors, HP, SONY (remember the days when we'd pay a premium because it's a SONY?) - I'd say a company can go from the heights, down to the gutter, in about 20 years if they get blinded by bad-pride.
What's more? Apple's pride is baked into their DNA by their stated policy of not listening to customers, unless the outcry causes them public shame. Generally, if sales figures are up, Apple won't listen.
In the 2000's, hating Microsoft was a sport for us Apple fans - but I'm now secretly hoping Microsoft comes back to challenge Apple - not because I have any sense of affection for MS (as I do for Apple), but because Apple has shown it has all the hallmarks of becoming what Microsoft was at its worst, and even worse.
The spectre of Apple domination is more frightening than Microsoft-domination. With MS's monopoly, at least their licensing allowed multiple hardware vendors to complete in the marketplace. It is terrifying to think what will happen to the computer marketplace if Apple ever gets to more than 50% market-share, with only ONE vendor for Apple hardware. If Apple acts like a stuck-up, smiling but nevertheless selfish despot with 8-9% marketshare, you can picture how facist they'd be with 70% marketshare of not just OSX software, but 70% marketshare of hardware needed to run that dominant platform.
If Apple refuses to listen if sales figures are up, imagine Apple's level of willingness to listen if they had 70% marketshare.
So I'm cheering for Windows 8, and am looking forward to running it in under VMWare and even on a tablet - although I'd wait to see how go the tablet hardware is, and how smooth the Windows 8 tablet experience is.
And that they would be shipping it in all their products moving forward. At that precise moment, Windows 8 would suddenly become exciting and very appealing to you and a lot of other people on here.
