In a previous article, I mentioned that
Jesse Berst was jumping the gun by saying that Apple was offering
nothing new. A particularly astute reader pointed out that, in fact,
Apple has indeed stopped innovating. This reader was obviously a Mac
lover and was in no way bashing me or Apple.
So, has Apple stopped innovating?
Let's define "innovation" as it will be used in the context of
this article before we begin. Innovation, according to Dictionary.com,
is "a new device or process created by study and experimentation."
Let's go with that.
Has Apple released a new device or process in the last year or
two? Bear in mind that the "new device" does not include repackaging
something in a new
skin.
The iMac might be considered a
"new" device by many. Its funky shape and unique cooling system
definitely make it "new" in many ways. However, is this really new -
or just a refining an already existing machine (the personal
computer)? A lot of hard work and research went into this design to
make it work properly. So, while others may see it as an innovation,
I consider this a refinement. It's not an easy call and I can see and
understand arguments to the contrary. This is what I call a 51 to 49
split. 51% of me says it's a refinement and 49% of me says it's an
innovation.
The Cube is no easier. Packing that
much power into such a small space is no mean feat of engineering.
Again, however, the argument can easily be made that Apple is simply
refining an existing technology, not innovating. Great cooling
system, compact design, and plenty of power make this a pretty great
machine. Unfortunately, this also falls into the refinement category.
It's a box with computer components inside it. The Commodore 64 is a
box with computer components in it.
On the software side, things get a little muddier. We are all
eagerly anticipating OS X and all the great things that it will
bring. Is Apple's new OS truly innovative, though? Unix has been
around for a while, and the Mac GUI has been around for a while.
Isn't this just a more refined version of both operating systems? The
way we interact with computers has remained essentially unchanged for
15 years. We enter commands or click on icons. How do we interact
with OS X? We enter commands or click on icons. The system will
definitely be stable and quick, but the way we interact with it
introduces nothing truly new.
Underneath, there is definitely some great technology at work. But
is it new? Or is it a refinement on an older concept? Is Apple
charting the course or sticking close to the shore? While I have
written (with much assistance from subject-matter experts)
programming courses, I am not a programmer and I will not comment on
any potential Apple innovations in the backend OS X arena. You can
read various articles concerning OS X at Stepwise,
Ars
Technica, and even Slashdot
and draw your own conclusions.
From a GUI perspective, Apple is not innovating. It is not
introducing new ways for users to interact with their machines. The
original point and click interface from 1984 was clearly an
innovation. OS X is a refinement on this concept.
And this is the crux of the problem. What's next? It's the big
question that just won't go away. We've gone from Model T's to
Formula 1 racers, but the next big step is still unclear. This is a
space that Apple occupied in 1984 with the introduction of the
point-and-click interface.
How will we move beyond this interface? Does Apple have the
answer? Is it working on the answer?
I don't know, and I don't think many people do know. As I've said
before, I think that they must be up to
something. The crew at Apple is too smart to be sitting on their
hands. There are signs that indicate otherwise as Stepwise indicates.
Of course, I don't expect this next generation interface to make
it's appearance immediately. The internal combustion engine has been
used for a century, and alternatives are just now starting to make
their appearance on the mass market.
How you react to Apple's approach to innovation is largely
dependent on what you expect from Apple. Steve Jobs has stated that
he wants Apple to be like Sony.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sony makes great consumer
products that are stylish, useful and profitable. David K. Every, who
runs MacKido, wrote an
excellent article
that makes the case that Apple is a better, if less innovative,
company now than it was before.
However, if you want Apple to be turning out things that redefine
the computer landscape, like the Mac GUI and Newton, it might be
better to look elsewhere. Apple does introduce great products that
are functional, useful, and just plain great to look at. It does not,
however, innovate as much as it used to.
Long-term R and D expenditures are way down, which indicates that
Apple is placing much more emphasis on the "here and now" problems
rather than the "then and later" problems. This is not surprising,
considering that both Apple and Steve Jobs have been burned more than
once for being ahead of their time. PDAs are all the rage now, even
though the Newton (1993-97) was the first on the scene. We are only
now seeing some of the benefits of NeXT.
Whether or not being out in front matters depends on what you want
out of Apple: solid (if safe) performance and financial gains, or
glory and first mover status.
In the long run, I'll take solid performance any day.
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French.
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new
skin.
