Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, OS, Software, Apple
Think different? You bet I do!
It's a common theory that Apple is a "hardware company" not a "software company." What does that mean? Doesn't it actually sell both?The idea is that Apple uses software to push more hardware sales. If Apple was a software company, you wouldn't see the fantastic and very useful iLife bundle of applications included for free on every new Mac, including the el-cheapo Mini. Instead, they might decide to charge $99 for it, or worse, break it up into pieces and distribute it as separate packages, each with its own price.
Snow Leopard's price also seems to support this theory, especially when contrasted to Microsoft's pricing model. Any "dot-oh" operating system upgrade priced at $29 is simply amazing. And given the fact that you can upgrade a whole home or small office full of Macs for less than the price of an Xbox 360 game...well, that's just a special kind of awesome. The main OS competitor, however, has graciously offered its upgrade, similar in "just fixing stuff and making it run better" nature to Apple's update, at the low, low price of $129. Ouch! At least you can save a substantial amount by buying Microsoft's family pack at a tick under 150 bucks, but that discount will only get you three copies instead of Apple's five. And it's still three times the price of Snow Leopard's bundle!
But I realized something interesting about the whole "hardware company vs. software company" argument. As a Mac convert, I've noticed that I think quite a bit less about the hardware than I do the software. In the PC world I still live in, we talk about processor benchmarks, motherboard options, frontside bus speeds, and other Ambien replacements. However, when I talk Mac, I'm often concerned much more with the software it's running, what OS version is installed, and where I can find a free app to do what I need.
Maybe it's a result of my personal role with each platform. I sell PCs, I don't sell Macs. So when my customers approach, I'm ready with the specs of our machines, rather than what kind of awesomeness they can produce.
I tend to think that it's a bit deeper than that, though. Apple's narrower-by-comparison field of hardware offerings helps its customers focus on what to do with the Mac rather than what's inside it. That's one of the reasons that, to "the outsiders," the platform looks pricey on paper. They don't see the intangibles that make the Mac worth more than the sum of its parts.
Now, I'm not suggesting that hardware specs don't matter at all in the Mac universe. It's still important to get the appropriate machine for the job, and that requires a comparison of models and their respective innards. But the simpler choices allow Mac users to focus on what's ultimately more important to most computer users: how is this machine going to make my life easier/less stressful/more rewarding? Most of the time, those answers lie in the software and have little to do with what that software runs on.
Another consideration is the ease in which software is "tried" on the Mac. As you use a Windows machine -- installing and removing applications, upgrading software, etc. -- its Registry becomes all gummed up with old and broken entries. (In my non-developer view, this is Microsoft's biggest problem and the reason Windows needs to be rewritten from the core.) After a few blue screens of death, the average user becomes nervous to try out software, and tends to pick a group of apps that reliably work over the years.
However, because of the lack of a similar centralized registry, operating systems like the Linux distros and Mac OS X don't suffer from nearly as many slow-downs and mysterious lock-ups caused by errant apps. Mac users, therefore, are more likely to try new software and new ways of doing things, without the fear of "breaking the computer."
Since entering this strange and (mostly) wonderful world of Apple products, I have been much more focused on software than hardware. I've also noticed that I've become a bit more creative. I've always wanted to write, but I didn't start until I got a Mac. My PCs were always near top-of-the-line machines, with tons of horsepower and lots of gadgets attached, and would have easily handled video editing. However, I didn't begin putting our vacation stills to music until I checked out iMovie, a freebie on my Mac Mini. Now I offer that service to my customers and actually make some extra coin.
Computers have become fun for me again.
Was it my enthusiasm for the new-to-me platform, or was it the Mac itself that pushed me to be brave and start my new hobbies? Do creative types gravitate toward Macs, or do Macs create creatives? Yes.
So, while Apple is a hardware company that uses software to move more boxes, it's interesting that the software is the piece that has changed my world.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
David Emery said 9:16AM on 9-09-2009
Apple is a -system- company. It's not about the hardware or the software, but about the impact (and the sales) of the system as a whole.
dave
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anthony said 9:30AM on 9-09-2009
I've been saying that they're selling a computing experience.
r0bbiejc85 said 9:57AM on 9-09-2009
'Now, I'm not suggesting that hardware specs don't matter at all in the Mac universe' ...
You know what though, I'm running a Powermac G4 (circa 1999) that I bought for next to nothing and upgraded for about £250 (at a time when I knew nothing about how to work the insides of a machine, or install a hardrive), and today it runs Tiger fantastically and CS3 at a far better pace and stability than both my Universitiy's 'new' design computer suite (XP run) or my gf's 16 month old Dell which has all these 'next gen' specs stats all over the box. I mean seriously, how many PCs can do that, or even boot up in 20 seconds?
That's the key to apple - every now and again if you want to boost your mac, you upgrade your iLife or OSX and it works almost seamlessly. The only issue I have is that barely anything new works on PPC architecture anymore, but that's my fault for not adopting intel machines. Can you imagine a powerhouse pc still working 10 years on?
Hawkman said 9:18AM on 9-09-2009
Steve Jobs is fond of quoting Alan Kay: "People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware." Clearly – wherever Apple actually make their money – Jobs, at least, thinks the software is the important part of their business.
(See http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/352994377/ for instance.)
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Thanila said 9:32AM on 9-09-2009
If i remember corectly, Jobs said in his '97 keynote that Apple is about the Mac and the Mac OS, so yes its about the whole system.
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Phillip.parrin said 9:34AM on 9-09-2009
Great post,
I have a Macbook pro 15" unibody that had some hardware problems, the superdrive, this summer i finally had time to send it in for repairs as i wouldn't need it for my education for a few weeks. Little did i know that this thought had occurred to a lot of other mac owners.... So it took them 3 weeks to finish repairing my macbook, in the meanwhile i had to dig up an old dell laptop with windows installed for doing my homework, it was horrible. One thing i can't live without is a way to scroll using the trackpad(i use the two finger scroll on the mac), Yes the dell has a scrollbar on the left side of the trackpad but somehow it's just doesn't do what it's supposed to do. Most of the time it just stopped working after 2 hours or a hibernation.... I guess this is failing software(might be because of the registry clogging?)
I agree, should microsoft ever want to make the OS run the way it should run, they would have to start over from scratch, i wouldn't be surprised if they had a secret division within their company that's been busy with setting up a plan for a new, and i mean scratch-new operating system. In the meanwhile they need to try an keep up with other operating systems so they can't just shift their focus to an entirely new OS.
I'm typing this comment on my mac right now and must say that i'm delighted that it's finally back on my lap. I can't get any work done anymore without that trackpad gestures and other great mac implementations. The dell is going in the closet again!
Phillip
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Scott said 9:33AM on 9-09-2009
"Computers have become fun for me again."
I think that sentiment, and even in those words, is something Apple should advertise Macs with. I know they've been running for years from the "Macs are for playing around, PCs are for real work" thing, but even real work is more fun on a Mac. It continues to bring me all the joy of working with computers that I had the first time I sat down at one. And that most people get for maybe a day or two before their Windows system starts giving them trouble.
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Oomu said 9:41AM on 9-09-2009
"People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware"
it's really the key to understand apple.
for business, it's essentially a "hardware company" but, yeah they are serious with software, so they make great hardware.
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Renato Aquino said 9:49AM on 9-09-2009
I'm a Linux guy but got me buying iPods and one Macbook over the last year.
That's a good point and I never thought about that, I'm not checking anything about the hardware since I got my Mac. It's really "what can I do with the software" and "where can I find the better software to do this job" my new day to day.
Great Article
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Jeff said 9:50AM on 9-09-2009
Ok, I see you really have it in for Microsoft. When you directly attack another, your argument becomes a little muddy. Did you really have to compare it to an Xbox 360 game while PS3 games are the same price? The reason you don't talk bus speeds and motherboard options for macs is well because you can't because you can't build your own Mac so you don't have any choices. I use both and yes I do love all the Mac Software and the hardware as well.
I really wonder if this article would exist if Apple made OSX available to run on all PC's. I had friends who use to say in the past "iTunes will never come out for the PC, because you can't do that kinda stuff on a PC" and well now there's Safari, iTunes and as always Quicktime.
But I do think Hardware is becoming less relevant and software and apps more important. If you could use the Mac apps on the PC hardware really would you even notice?
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Dan Woods said 6:06AM on 9-10-2009
XBox games and PS3 games generally are the same price, but different markets have a dominance of one over the other. Most people I know in my region have PS3s so PS3 games would be a better example around here.
In other markets XBox 360s have dominance, so the generic game console that everyone think of is the XBox.
WRT iTunes on Windows, most iTunes on Windows users I know (with older PCs) can barely get iTunes running. To them, iTunes still doesn't run on Windows.
Outside of the OS, the main difference between Macs and PCs I know is the build quality of the hardware. Whenever someone comes into my office for Tech-related support, they are usually wowed more by my 13" MacBook Pro than my huge Dell Workstation with 24" monitor.
Tim said 10:05AM on 9-09-2009
I almost thought this wouldn't be just another fanboy post, but then I noticed the registry argument. Fail.
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Level 5 said 10:25AM on 9-09-2009
I agree. As a Linux, guy, I've noticed that it breaks much MUCH easier than Win/OSX could dream about. Especially when one gets into the terminal. Must be a ridiculously slow news day prior to the iPod event.
And editor of an Apple blog loves his Mac? MY GOD SHOCKING!
TheBrew said 11:15AM on 9-09-2009
You don't think the Registry is one of the fatal flaws of Windows? To put it in your own word: Fail ;)
varun said 10:04AM on 9-09-2009
"As a Mac convert, I've noticed that I think quite a bit less about the hardware than I do the software. In the PC world I still live in, we talk about processor benchmarks, motherboard options, frontside bus speeds, and other Ambien replacements. However, when I talk Mac, I'm often concerned much more with the software it's running, what OS version is installed, and where I can find a free app to do what I need."
That's a bit disingenuous. Can you show me how to replace my iMac's motherboard with a different model? Or increase the FSB speed? About all you can do of that list is benchmark the processor. The reason you talk about such things in the "PC" - love how Mac's aren't personal computers, and you don't consider Linux - world is because you actually have choices - and your choices have an impact on the speed of the machine. If I am happy with everything in the iMac, except that it's only upgradeable to 8GB of RAM, I need to spend another iMac's cost to get a Mac Pro. Those are your "choices". That's why no one talks about them in the Mac world.
And it's only technically minded people who do consider benchmarking processors, or replacing motherboards or changing FSB speed. Most people who buy Windows PCs go in, look for something that fits their budget, looks not hideous, and does what they want. That's it.
More and more time that I spend in the Mac community, the less and less I like it. Love my iMac and my iPhone, hate the community.
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THJ said 5:11PM on 9-09-2009
Then leave. Any argument about how apple 'reduces choice' is bunk. Choice is defined by the end user, it's not static. It's almost as bad as the 'hardcore vs casual' debate in WoW.
Biansta said 10:21AM on 9-09-2009
Damn right.
Great post!
Every time someone goes on about "oh, i just bought this PC, with this processor, and this much RAM, oh, and i wont even tell u about my motherboard" i go like "what? what's that? 30.494 Ghz? 1 Billion Gb in RAM? ur mother has a new board?!? o_O ok...so it's fast. but u still gotta stick it with Windows...(and all that other bloatware)"
it's like putting a Ferrari engine in................a BIKE! u really cant do much with all that power.
it's stupid.
i love when people ask me what mac they should buy (as their first one), and i generally go "MacBook - the cheapest one" and they go "does that have enough speed? shouldn't i buy a more expensive one?" and i go "that doesn't really matter now. just make sure ur running the latest version of Mac OS X and u'll be breezin' (do i hear Snow Leopard? w00t w00t!)"
And lemme just throw this in: Apple is a "whole widget" company ;)
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Aaron Brown said 10:34AM on 9-09-2009
Snow Leopard is not a "dot-oh" OS upgrade...it's 10.6
OS X was the last "dot-oh" OS upgrade.
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Aaron Brown said 10:41AM on 9-09-2009
also I'm really tired of the comparison between Windows 7 and Snow Leopard. First you say that Snow Leopard is a "dot-oh" upgrade and then you say "similar in 'just fixing stuff and making it run better' nature to Apple's update." Which is it? While Snow Leopard is more than just a service pack, it still isn't the major leap that Windows 7 is from Vista. I never ran Vista, but I gladly dual boot Windows 7. Windows 7 has major UI improvements...in fact there are improvements about every place you look in Windows 7. I think $129 is too much to pay for it, but it is a complete OS upgrade, on a different level than Snow Leopard is to Leopard.
Quinn Taylor said 10:43AM on 9-09-2009
The "dot-oh" refers to the very last part of the version number. Although the "About This Mac" window says "Version 10.6", it's identical to 10.6.0, just like 10.5.0 and 10.4.0... We just tend to drop the ".0" when it first comes out, since there's no ambiguity about versions at the outset.