Apple vs. Google

[bos]

When you're not paying for it then it makes the choice pretty simple. See all the threads about student loans and paying them back.

I agree that apple currently has the upper hand in laptops right now. Aside from the high end business class, there aren't many windows based products with great build quality. Now that technology advances seem to be slowing down for laptops it is easier to justify keeping one for more than 3-4 years. Also, the crap that is Windows 8 will only help Apple until people migrate to Linux.

Im going to go on record saying the people will never NEVER migrate to linux. Ever. If I am found wrong, feel free to call me back on this. If anything, the desktop platform will be gone altogether and the mobile OS will be on all devices. Much like almost all of them are wanting to do now.

 

[dmclone]

people migrate to Linux.

Sure

 

[DistrictCyclone]

Im going to go on record saying the people will never NEVER migrate to linux. Ever. If I am found wrong, feel free to call me back on this. If anything, the desktop platform will be gone altogether and the mobile OS will be on all devices. Much like almost all of them are wanting to do now.

Converging iOS with the "cat version" Mac OS into a unified operating system across devices definitely seems to be Apple's goal.

 

[jbhtexas]

It is hard to believe some of the things we allow to be patented that are being sued over. Only 1 company can have you swipe a finger up to answer a call. Most of it is stupid **** like this they are suing each other over. I think a equal amount of blame could be put on the patent office for allowing these insignificant things to be patented in the first place.

+1.

As an example, about ten years ago, a number of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) manufacturers were putting webservers on their Ethernet-equipped PLCs (imagine that...putting a webserver on a computer) to allow remote access for control and data acquisition. Somehow, one of the PLC manufacturers managed to get a patent for this, and everybody else had to remove this functionality. It was immediately challanged, and the patent was eventually thrown out, but it took a couple of years to resolve, and those of us using the other brands could not offer this feature, which gave users of the one brand an unfair advantage.

The good news is that sometimes the ridiculous patents do get thrown out.

 

[MaccloNe]

Personal attacks deleted. A reminder to keep it civil.

Thank you. Hopefully a ban as well.

 

[MNclone]

I consider myself fairly neutral regarding Apple. I own a couple apple devices and they work fine. What absolutely blows my mind about Apple is the amount of profit they make. They make more profit than any ot er company in the US using absolute cut throat tactics and people absolutely love them for it. They made more than Exxon last year and everyone complained about the profits from big oil. Exxon far exceeds Apple in gross numbers but Apple still turns more profit.

I also saw an article a couple months back about the subsities that phone companies offer. Apple is selling iphones for $600 each to the cell phome carriers who then eat $400 to put it on the shelf. The top of the line Android phones go to the carriers for $300-400 and eat $100-200. That is why Sprint drug their feet for so long in offering the iPhone. It seems likely that it will be a decision they regret.

OK, I just typed in too many words. Like I said before, Apple is an interesting case study.

 

[acoustimac]

i thought this kind of fact-less bias was reserved for the cave

Factless? How about this review of the google phone business?
Congratulations, Google: Android Is A HUGE Success So Far - Business Insider

"Their software looks alike, sort of; they both have app stores with thousands of apps available; and their newest phones -- Apple's iPhone 4 and Android-based devices like the HTC Droid Incredible -- look like they could be siblings."

that from an outsider.

More...
Judge won't bar Steve Jobs quotes from patent trial - Yahoo! News

Apple, iPhone and iPad News | ModMyi - Google Reportedly Ripping Off Apple's Game Center

Google Ripped Off iPhone, According To Federal Government | Complex

Speech? Dragon was first available to provide that on the iPhone in 2009. This is a company that has worked closely with Apple for years. Google Voice Actions? August 2010. Google Voice Actions provided many of the same features that had been available on ipods for years. You know, things like play a particular song.

I could go on and on....never say that one is factless unless you actually know yourself. Companies all over the world rip each other off all the time. Google just happens to be one of them.

 

[dmclone]

Google Voice Actions provided many of the same features that had been available on ipods for years. You know, things like play a particular song.

Sweet! Can you tell me how to do this on my Ipod?

 

[acoustimac]

I don't believe that Apple has even a 1/4 of the laptop market.

Did a little research and overall you are correct.
For 2011 HP and Dell led the way with over 20% each. Apple was in third with about 11%. This can be attributed to a number of things, the most dominant is the business market where Apple has limited penetration. Apple tends to dominate the K-higher education market. Student purchases have been in the area of 40% choosing Apple over other vendors. Apple's laptop sales in the newest market - China have exploded. The MacBook Air (which dominates the US ultra market) grew by 339 percent in the third quarter last year in China.

From one analyst..."Apple will account for approximately 20 percent of the entire combined PC and tablet market this year" (Jonny Evans - ComputerWorld referring to 2011).

None of this makes Apple the "best" company, but it is one that is VERY healthy, worth a lot of money, and creating products that are selling like hotcakes. As with any tech company this can ebb and flow. The challenge for Apple is ALWAYS coming out with the next "new" thing. Look what happened to former leaders Microsoft and HP? Microsoft put out some crappy OS versions and it cost them where it counts - market value. HP tried to do the tablet thing with PalmOS and it crashed and burned horribly. When big companies make big mistakes they pay in a hurry at the bottom line.

 

[jbhtexas]

Speech? Dragon was first available to provide that on the iPhone in 2009. This is a company that has worked closely with Apple for years. Google Voice Actions? August 2010. Google Voice Actions provided many of the same features that had been available on ipods for years. You know, things like play a particular song.

Microsoft Voice Command has been providing speech on Windows Mobile devices since 2003.

Companies all over the world rip each other off all the time. Google just happens to be one of them.

And so does Apple...

 

[acoustimac]

Sweet! Can you tell me how to do this on my Ipod?

Depends on the ipod you have. The iPod Touch instructions can be found at:
Talk to your iPod: Inside Apple's Voice Control | Macworld

The iPod Shuffle also uses it...
Apple details new Voice Over controls for iPod shuffle
manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPod_shuffle_3rdGen_UG.pdf

Another way is using a third party device such as:
ACCENDA VOICE CONTROL for iPod
This works with older iPods and costs about $25 at Amazon.

 

[alarson]

Factless? How about this review of the google phone business?
Congratulations, Google: Android Is A HUGE Success So Far - Business Insider

"Their software looks alike, sort of; they both have app stores with thousands of apps available; and their newest phones -- Apple's iPhone 4 and Android-based devices like the HTC Droid Incredible -- look like they could be siblings."

Because it looks like they could be siblings it means that android 'stole' it from apple? Hardly. Hardware-wise there isnt a whole lot you can do to differentiate (especially from the front) when phones have become PDAs, which have almost always been a flat screen taking up most of the device with a button(s) at the bottom. Software wise there isnt anything revolutionary against homescreens filled with row after row of icons. Windows 3.1 had that. Palm had that.

The fact is, a ton of things in apple and android came from things before. Almost everything anyone owns is derivative of something else. The joke comes when apple fanboys come in and claim everything every other manufacturer does is 'ripped off of apple' regardless of the truth. The funny part is is its exactly the opposite of what apple actually does. Apple has rarely been first at doing a lot of things. They didnt invent smartphones, pdas, tablets, or mp3 players. What they do is polish it and market the hell out of it.

Look at that article about android supposedly 'ripping off apple's game center'. As if apple was the one that created that whole concept to begin with. Hello xbox live, psn, etc? The other articles? Arguments over patents that never should have been granted in the first place (our software patent system needs a MAJOR overhaul)

 

[cymate]

Here is my take i own an iPad and iPhone. I used to have a droid and it was a good phone. Apple makes everything simpler to use and the stuff never breaks or has issues.

 

[Tri4Cy]

Everyone open your desk drawer. How many different types of pens are in there? Did pilot steal from uni-ball? What about those a**holes over at Parker!! Seriously? I don't give two sh!*'s who "invented" what...I want the best damn product out there that fit's my lifestyle. I was anti Apple for MANY years. I just didn't get it. Until my old smart phone (Motorola) died. I switched to an iPhone 3Gs and couldn't imaging NOT owning an iPhone since then. Apple has to be one of my favorite "underdog" stories out there. This company took on Microsoft decades ago and almost lost. They were really close to filing for bankruptcy in the 90's. Through one of the greatest damn marketing/design plan's I've ever seen, they have been able to create the ultimate niche. The integration of iEverything get's you hooked and prevents you from leaving. How many companies have people beating down the doors and speculating on the semi-annual(ish) release of their slightly modified products that will sell in the BILLIONS!?

I just chuckle to think at everyone who attacks Apple as "the man" or "thief's" when it was this very principal that created the company. They saw an inferior product on the market that they thought they could improve. They did...and they have made billion's in the process. Well done.

 

[jbhtexas]

I also saw an article a couple months back about the subsities that phone companies offer. Apple is selling iphones for $600 each to the cell phome carriers who then eat $400 to put it on the shelf. The top of the line Android phones go to the carriers for $300-400 and eat $100-200. That is why Sprint drug their feet for so long in offering the iPhone. It seems likely that it will be a decision they regret.

Sprint estimates it will take them until 2015 to break even on the iPhone deal. Some financial analysts are suggesting it will be even longer.

I've been a Sprint customer for 13 years. A couple of years ago, a prophetic poster on a Sprint forum I was reading at the time predicted that as soon as Sprint got the iPhone, most of the perks and things that made Sprint a "nice" company to deal with would go away, and that plan rates would go up. Those things would have to happen in order for Sprint to pay the iPhone subsidy.

Sure enough. Right about the time it was announced that Sprint was getting the iPhone, the Premier program went away, nickle-and-dime stuff started showing up on the bills, new fees were added to the voice and data plans, etc.

 

[Clonehomer]

Everyone open your desk drawer. How many different types of pens are in there? Did pilot steal from uni-ball? What about those a**holes over at Parker!! Seriously? I don't give two sh!*'s who "invented" what...I want the best damn product out there that fit's my lifestyle. I was anti Apple for MANY years. I just didn't get it. Until my old smart phone (Motorola) died. I switched to an iPhone 3Gs and couldn't imaging NOT owning an iPhone since then. Apple has to be one of my favorite "underdog" stories out there. This company took on Microsoft decades ago and almost lost. They were really close to filing for bankruptcy in the 90's. Through one of the greatest damn marketing/design plan's I've ever seen, they have been able to create the ultimate niche. The integration of iEverything get's you hooked and prevents you from leaving. How many companies have people beating down the doors and speculating on the semi-annual(ish) release of their slightly modified products that will sell in the BILLIONS!?

I just chuckle to think at everyone who attacks Apple as "the man" or "thief's" when it was this very principal that created the company. They saw an inferior product on the market that they thought they could improve. They did...and they have made billion's in the process. Well done.

When was the last time Parker tried to use the courts to prevent pilot from releasing a new pen because it looked too similar to theirs? Has parker tried to patent the shape of a pen? I'm happy that Apple sells so many products, but the tactics they are using to prevent competition is getting old.

 

[CLONECONES]

People who have apple stickers on their cars are people i would never associate with if I had a choice

 

[jbhtexas]

Arguments over patents that never should have been granted in the first place (our software patent system needs a MAJOR overhaul)

Unfortunately, this problem is not only limited to the software patent system. One issue is that many companies use patent applications/grants as a means to evaluate funding for their R&D departments. As a result, the R&D people file all kinds of patent applications for stuff that has no business getting a patent in hopes of getting some to "stick". It just clogs up the patent system. In my experience, there also seems to be lack of experience among patent examiners, so inappropriate patents get granted, which encourages more such applications.

But it does seem that software/electronics is where some of the more ridiculous patent grants occur...

 

[notengonacho1]

When was the last time Parker tried to use the courts to prevent pilot from releasing a new pen because it looked too similar to theirs? Has parker tried to patent the shape of a pen? I'm happy that Apple sells so many products, but the tactics they are using to prevent competition is getting old.

Yeah exactly. With all these lawsuits, I'm wondering if apple thinks they invented the rectangle. I remember them suing samsung last year over the shape of their phone. ridiculous.

 

[dmclone]

Depends on the ipod you have. The iPod Touch instructions can be found at:
Talk to your iPod: Inside Apple's Voice Control | Macworld

The iPod Shuffle also uses it...
Apple details new Voice Over controls for iPod shuffle
manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPod_shuffle_3rdGen_UG.pdf

Another way is using a third party device such as:
ACCENDA VOICE CONTROL for iPod
This works with older iPods and costs about $25 at Amazon.

This isn't exactly what I was thinking about.