From the late 19th Century through mid-20th Century, it was the United States that was the world’s workshop and we have the human, social and environmental scars to prove it. China’s now going through those growing pains and the people actually living there in the here and now have a very different response to Apple’s second-hand abuses than the Western news media.
Record Mac, iPad and iPhone sales, and the company didn’t just exceed expectations. For example, whereas there was discussion about how many iPhones Apple sold, with the most optimistic estimates in the 35 million range, the company actually sold more than 37 million units. The Cupertino kids likewise well exceeded iPad guestimates, shipping nearly 15.5 million of their category defining mobile computers.
Back in 1999, the original iBook was the first production, mass market computer to ship with 802.11b networking built in. Since then the company was the first major vendor to market with faster and faster versions of wi-fi. And, by that I mean Apple chose to ship months and sometimes year before the standards had been set and settled.
Or, how to succeed without really trying. Of course, it would be silly to say that Apple isn’t trying or that the company doesn’t have a strategy. However, Cupertino’s corporate sales force isn’t on the payroll, yet Mac, iPhone and iPad sales into the enterprise keep rising by double and triple digits.
One of the last unfinished thoughts Steve Jobs left us with was textbooks. Walter Isaacson’s seminal biography of the Apple co-founder teased that the next textbook publishing was the next industry the iconic technology visionary was seeking to revolutionize. That was the promise and today Apple has delivered the vision, as well as the tools — iBooks, iTunes U, iBook Author — to make it happen.
By a big margin or just a little? A consensus of analysts, more than 85 percent of amateur and professional, estimate that Apple shipped more Mac last quarter than they did in the September quarter, which was yet another record for a company that has outgrown the industry for six years. And, iPhones? Pretty every analyst is saying expect huge numbers.
Who doesn’t like a juicy palace intrigue? To date there’s no visible hint of that at 1 Infinite Loop, but the potential — a nice enough place to start — for one exists. Although there’s no question Steve Jobs wanted Tim Cook to run the company, a new book also makes it clear that Scott Forstall probably wants the job more than anyone else.
There seem to be two kinds of Final Cut Pro users these days — those with huge investments in legacy workflows and those who appreciate the features + performance improvements Apple baked into the new version. Those in the former group are dropping Apple’s pro video app and the big beneficiary so far seems to be Avid.
Rumors that Apple will switch the iPhone from a USB to Thunderbolt interface have been making the rounds. And, honestly, it sounds like a reasonable move for our favorite fruit company as they’ve taken a lead role in not only promoting this tech but also delivering real, actual shipping Thunderbolt products.
A regular question from my kids is, “If we won the lottery, where would we live?” Some folks, it’s not a question idle speculation. That said, although he hasn’t won the lottery, per se, Tim Cook has come into money, a lot of money. Nevertheless, like Steve Jobs, Apple’s current CEO doesn’t live in a huge house behind guarded gates. In fact, this blogger’s house is not much smaller than his.
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