Filed under: Apple Corporate, Cult of Mac
More words from Woz
It's always
interesting when Steve Wozniak speaks about Apple. He recently chatted with The Globe and Mail
following a polo match on Segways in New Zealand (why does this not surprise me?). When asked about Apple's move to
Intel chips, Woz said it felt like "...consorting with the enemy." From the article:"...We've had this long history of saying the enemy is the big black-hatted guys, and they kind of represent evil. We are different, and by being different we're better. All of a sudden we're the same in this hardware regard, so it's a little hard to swallow your words from the past."
He also stated that a separate iPod division should be spun off of Apple, since the hardware, OS and chips are different. I guess this makes sense.
I feel that a chip is a chip is a chip, and I don't care if there's a Motorola, IBM or Intel processor inside my Mac. But, of course, I have much less invested in Apple than Woz does. Plus, I've never played polo (via horse or Segway).
[Via MacDailyNews]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
unreal mccoy said 12:56PM on 2-23-2006
I love Apple, and I appreciate what Woz did for Apple, but come on, the guy's no business genius.
Apple spin off the iPod division? Why? Seriously, there needs to be a better reason than the OS and chips are different.
He's always making blanket statements, painting with a broad brush, and people look to him like he's some kind of guru. I tend to agree with the opinion that he is merely a good engineer that was at th right place at the right time.
He's given a platform far too often...
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Snaggy said 1:39PM on 2-23-2006
Well, I've played Segway polo with Woz... so feel free to ask my opinion on these important matters. ;-)
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joystuff/segwaypolo.html
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mike said 1:56PM on 2-23-2006
please.. this is about thinner powerbooks and ibooks.. that's it.
the chip does not really matter that much :p
mac users are no obsessed with motorolla .. they're obsessed with the OS.
that's why dvorak is nuts.
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aazp said 2:32PM on 2-23-2006
Snaggy I love the JoT comic so much, thank you and Nitrozac for the many laughs
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Sabon said 4:08PM on 2-23-2006
Woz obviously has --no clue-- concerning what Apple is all about. He is a hardware builder geek. Steve Jobs couldn't care less about who makes the hardware as long as it is really cool and he gets to help design and the look and feel of it. IBM blew it. Intel stepped up and promised Steve that he and Apple would never treat them like IBM did.
As for spinning off the iPod division. Sorry but Woz is EXTREMELY stupid about this. The whole reason iPods were created were to sell more Apple computers. The reason that iTunes was created was to sell more iPods so that people would see them and more people would buy Apple computers. iLife and iWork were created to ... sell more Apple computers. Apple create pro apps to ... sell more computers. Apple (fill in the blank) to ... sell more Apple computers. Spinning off the iPod division would not help sell more Apple computers so it would be really, really, REALLY stupid to do so.
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Mr eel said 5:38PM on 2-23-2006
Agree with the Unreal McCoy on this one. Woz might be a smart, nice guy, but he hasn't been involved in Apple for a long time.
Frankly I think he's talking shit. Like always. Firstly, the chips don't really matter. It's the DESIGN Woz. It's the lovely ID and operating system that makes Apple different.
As for spinning off the iPod division; the big sell for the iPod is how well it all works together with the OS, iTunes and the iTunes store. Spinning it off could potentially affect that.
Besides, Apple has a strong brand, and that brand goes a long way to selling iPods. Turning it into a separate division would have a negative result there.
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Scarface70a said 10:25AM on 2-24-2006
I agree with most comments about Woz. He is a great engineer but not necessarily know for his business acumen. I am a "PC" guy since the beginning and I have purchased my first iMac Core duo. (Find my review on Amazon.com). If a veteran PC guy switches to Mac, there is always a reason. Firstly I bought some songs from iTunes on a PC. and then I bought iPod and then a iMac which is "befitting" to iPod. Personal Computers are not standalone items anymore. They are becoming more and more media centric and the company that has a "total ecosystem" including content generation (ex. video podcasts. music), and players and computers will win this battle. iMac's integration with iTunes (and hence with media content) is a compelling reason besides its astonishing build quality, beauty and reliability. Spinning off iPod will be a huge mistake not that it would be done.
With that said, Intel VIIV platfrom could be a threat to Apple (which is dependent on its chips) and it is going to be a interesting battle to watch in the future.
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