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As for "a careful steward who nurtures talent", I wonder whether Sir Jony ever posts here.

No one is indispensable. Ive created a good team and deserves to be able to spend his time now more however he'd like to, no? There comes a time when the nestlings must try their wings. Sure there's risk if they're not ready. But Ive hanging around "just in case" is not going to make them more ready in the end.

I too think a company has to change itself up, or die. And agree that they were going nowhere on design with Sculley at the helm even if he put a floor back under the company. But I do think Apple's changing it up now. They're living in the real world --today's real world, not that of 2011-- and positioning themselves for it in extending their service endeavors, in my opinion.

I wasn't a fan of the Watch although if I were 20 years younger I'd be wearing one. I'm still looking forward to seeing whatever they do with mobile devices and laptops... and maybe more wearables, I suppose. Hell I still like my little shuffles. One that hooked to the net or had BT like the 7th gen nano would be fun.

But I don't think Apple believes it can "just" be a manufacturer of very cool and very pricey computing gear as it prepares for competition in the next decade. Gear is still fun for kids now just on cosmetic tweaks, and geeks still want more power under the hood and a battery that can keep it together for 48 hours? However, it seems to me the consumer tech industry is almost to that deadly point that kitchen appliance manufacturers reached back whenever they started pitching the idea that you weren't keeping up with the Joneses unless you too had an avocado-themed kitchen... or later on, a stainless steel one. Shrug... my range is white and my refrigerator is black. They cook and store food just fine.

Right, so today's kid in high school has his gear tab picked up by his parents and he likely wants a new phone every year and it better look new at that. But soon enough he's out there with college debt payments, and expecting his phone to last for 3 years. So the spec matters when he upgrades. In the meantime he expects the device to serve him up what he wants in the way of information and entertainment. Apple seems to be trying to make sure it can figure into his plans no matter whether the look and feel or the services offered are what matter most to him with respect to his gear as he and the company move on. I see that sort of strategy as sustainable.
 
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No one is indispensable. Ive created a good team and deserves to be able to spend his time now more however he'd like to, no? There comes a time when the nestlings must try their wings. Sure there's risk if they're not ready. But Ive hanging around "just in case" is not going to make them more ready in the end.
Umm, you know that Jony left because Tim is flying it into the ground right?

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jony-ive-apple-lovefrom

I'm not saying that Apple should stick to phones and overpriced laptops. Just the opposite!

I agree completely that they need to branch out into all-new market spaces. Ones that need to be revolutionized and rebuilt from the ground up.

Not into "services", the meaning of which they are muddying, and a space that is already crowded and being done very well by others.

(For the record, Apple is misusing that term. Apple does not offer ANY services. In fact, they host their own infrastructure on someone else's Services platform! (That would be AWS if you were wondering.))

They failed to get into services in the mid-2000's when it was a ripe opportunity, and it's too late to play catch-up now.

No, overcharging for repair is not "Services" in the sense that Apple is using it. It is nothing more than fraud and customer-milking:

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilear...an_undercover_investigation_found_that_apple/

Where Apple needs to go is someplace brand new; someplace that hasn't been revolutionized yet.

And not the "safe" type of dabbling they are doing now: A bit of health stuff that is cheap to do and may or may not catch on, a bit of home automation, a car didn't work so they make software for car stereos, blah blah gross. That's a timid Accountant's approach.

They need to come out with a bold, expensive, radical new way of doing something that nobody every thought of. Something that might fail horribly or change the lives of 7 billions people.

Maybe s $100B social network that's 100% democratized, inherently secure, and un-wiretappable. A car. An airplane. Whatever.

Just stop pretending that saying "all-new" and then describing a candybar smartphone counts as innovation.
 
Umm, you know that Jony left because Tim is flying it into the ground right?

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jony-ive-apple-lovefrom

I'm not saying that Apple should stick to phones and overpriced laptops. Just the opposite!

I agree completely that they need to branch out into all-new market spaces. Ones that need to be revolutionized and rebuilt from the ground up.

Not into "services", the meaning of which they are muddying, and a space that is already crowded and being done very well by others.

(For the record, Apple is misusing that term. Apple does not offer ANY services. In fact, they host their own infrastructure on someone else's Services platform! (That would be AWS if you were wondering.))

They failed to get into services in the mid-2000's when it was a ripe opportunity, and it's too late to play catch-up now.

No, overcharging for repair is not "Services" in the sense that Apple is using it. It is nothing more than fraud and customer-milking:

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilear...an_undercover_investigation_found_that_apple/

Where Apple needs to go is someplace brand new; someplace that hasn't been revolutionized yet.

And not the "safe" type of dabbling they are doing now: A bit of health stuff that is cheap to do and may or may not catch on, a bit of home automation, a car didn't work so they make software for car stereos, blah blah gross. That's a timid Accountant's approach.

They need to come out with a bold, expensive, radical new way of doing something that nobody every thought of. Something that might fail horribly or change the lives of 7 billions people.

Maybe s $100B social network that's 100% democratized, inherently secure, and un-wiretappable. A car. An airplane. Whatever.

Just stop pretending that saying "all-new" and then describing a candybar smartphone counts as innovation.
Opinion pieces and anecdotal stories form the basis of this hyperbole?

Many companies, like Netflix, use AWS. Does that mean they don’t offer services either?
 
C'mon. So curation of content doesn't matter? How about original content? :)
It matters. It is just a misuse of the term "Services" in IT.

Azure is services. AWS. These are IAAS.

Salesforce and office365 are services. They are SAAS.

ICloud was going to be a Services offering but failed.

Making also-ran YouTube series is not.
 
It matters. It is just a misuse of the term "Services" in IT.



ICloud was going to be a Services offering but failed.

The services Apple is booking are just users trapped in the walled garden. I haven't bought a "service" from Apple in years. All Cook's doing as the fun has gone elsewhere.
 
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It matters. It is just a misuse of the term "Services" in IT.

Azure is services. AWS. These are IAAS.

Salesforce and office365 are services. They are SAAS.

ICloud was going to be a Services offering but failed.

Making also-ran YouTube series is not.

:D OK, if not "services" then how about just "software, entertainment, educational fare and other life-enhancing options." For plenty of us all that stuff certainly does complement and enhance our lives as well as our use of their gear.

Apple's curation and the convenience appeal to me, the prices aren't bad for the choices extended, and when stuff doesn't work right (which does happen and is annoying), customer service has always made it right for me, even escalating to engineering teams if they can't resolve an issue. OK so once in awhile it turns into a "program" to repair a glitched component. Those and AppleCare have worked out great for me even if I was disappointed that some part went south on me a couple times. LOL I remember one ol' MBP that must have been made on a Tuesday after a three day weekend. Short of that sulky thing, I've been pretty happy with my gear from Apple.

So far I'm also still willing to shell out for all that non-gear stuff inside their "walled garden" and I like being able to choose whether I download it or stream it, rent it or purchase a license. My days of imagining I'll construct a super hackintosh out of spare parts of old Macs and PCs and a couple of raspberry Pi boosters are behind me. I'm just an ordinary consumer now and content with life in "the walled garden."

I can't be alone on my assessments of Apple's offerings and prospects or by now they'd be out of business. They're not out of business by any means, not going there soon by any analysis I've read so far, and they're still forging ahead improving both their gear and whatever you like to call their not-gear offerings.

Hey I wouldn't mind if AAPL's price dropped a bit now and then so maybe I could at least round up my 28 shares to 30. :) But I'm not holding my breath for a great price on that score, and I'd far rather they just keep making a play for my wallet in offering improvements in their gear, software and what I'm still gonna call their "services".
 
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It matters. It is just a misuse of the term "Services" in IT.

Azure is services. AWS. These are IAAS.

Salesforce and office365 are services. They are SAAS.

ICloud was going to be a Services offering but failed.

Making also-ran YouTube series is not.
As a consumer I don’t care if it’s IAAS, PAAS, SAAS, I’m paying for something and get something in return. I’m paying for an iCloud subscription, do I care where they store the data. AWS makes a lot of sense to me and I’m sure Apple crunched the numbers. To me a 1TB iCloud is pay-for service that Apple provides. Don’t care what their back-end as a consumer.
 
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