--- On Fri, 5/1/09, Michael McIntyre <morbidsymptoms at gmail.com> wrote:
> Preferring PC to Mac on the basis of
> price, especially when software is
> free, is certainly reasonable. But everything else
> here is wrong. The Mac
> GUI was not exactly "ripped off" from Xerox (not Zenith).
> Microsoft, in
> contrast, based DOS on a hacked version of CP/M. The
> competing business
> models of (1) Microsoft and (2) Apple were (1) to allow
> anyone to
> manufacture computers that could run DOS, but to require a
> licensing fee
> from all, and (2) to refuse to license the software to
> third-party
> manufacturers. Microsoft's business model succeeded
> while Mac's business
> model failed, or nearly so. The "cult of Apple" arose
> initially among
> pre-Mac Apple users and was later adapted as a marketing
> strategy, not a
> business model, after Jobs was brought back. Apple's
> new business model is
> a hybrid of the old Microsoft and Apple
> strategies. Apple still
> manufactures all of its own hardware, but with iPod and
> iPhone its aim is to
> overwhelm the competition with content (either the size of
> the iTunes store
> or the vast range of iPhone apps) and ease of use.
> Wojtek's rejection of
> the fanboy culture is really just a very effective means of
> building
> cultural capital in a would-be proley group like ours.
[WS:] OK, I got the Xerox part wrong (my memory did not serve me well this time :)) - but how is what you argue different from what I argue? I argued that the Mac model is based on monopolistic practices, you say that Apple refused to license to third parties. I said that the Mac model is based on commodity fetishism, you said this model was created by pre-Mac Apple users. I say tomato you say tomahto....
I understand that finally Mac yielded to market pressure and allowed third party software on their Ipod and Iphone - which are still overpriced and still wrapped in the shroud of a commodity fetishism cult. I agree they are cute but with the price tag of $400+ I prefer Asus at half that price. Ok, it may not be cute (albeit is is "hearttouching" :)) and it does not shake, but it offers a far greater choice of really good and inexpensive aftermarket software. After all, it is a machine, not a status symbol.
As to they proley image - I dunno, but I thought that lbo-talk is mainly a Mac shop, no?
PS. By "monopoly with a hefty price tag" I understand that Mac does not allow aftermarket software or hardware - you have to buy it form Mac at a price that is far greater than the aftermarket products. My issue with that is that it would work for me if I were buying a computer for life (quality pays!) but unfortunately the average life of a computer is 5 or so years, after which even the best quality machine is made obsolete - so quality does not really matter that much, but price does.
Wojtek