I just finished reading the biography of Steve Jobs. Aside from being a must read, it told the story of how Apple revolutionized and created the computer industry as well as how Microsoft was able to capitalize on it. For years Microsoft dominated the market with its Windows software while Apple stood around watching and losing market share. Microsoft did exactly with Apple did, steal ideas from another company in order to make their own products better.
Apple stole ideas from IBM and Microsoft stole ideas from Apple.
Apple
After the return of Steve Jobs, innovation at Apple pressed on and it was Apple vs. the world once again. They revolutionized the music industry, the walkman industry (you remember the old Sony Walkman right?), the mobile phone industry, and created the tablet industry. There are rumors that they are trying to take on the TV industry and news that Siri is going to be available in cars very soon. They are already starting to change the car industry, is there an industry that they won't touch?
The only problem with innovation is once you come out with something that changes and revolutionizes the industry, everyone tries to follow (and copy) the leader.
Apple now is spending time battling with various companies to try and protect its flagship products and technology. Apple has recently won two court cases in order to stop sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone and Microsoft has one taken a page out of Apple's play book. They are coming out with their own tablet that is, wait for it, made by Microsoft.
The beauty of Apple is that they control the entire process of any of the products they develop. This allows them to build systems that connect with each other seamlessly. One of biggest things that Apple is known for is coming out with products that are impeccably designed and work with each other flawlessly.
Microsoft
Most of Microsoft's profits come from its flagship PC products, namely Microsoft Windows and a host of programs included in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). Microsoft has a simple business model, comes out with a product and continue to make it better until it dominates the market. They have the ability to throw money at everything to make it the best and enough muscle to make sure that people use their products. It's either buying into a market or creating their own product and improving that product until it's the industry standard.
Want an example of this practice? Stay in your seat, I have a handful. Netscape dominated the Internet browser market until Microsoft began to bundle its Internet Explorer with Windows. Netscape was soon out of business. Microsoft released the gaming console Xbox and later upgraded to the Xbox 360. Sony's Playstation used to dominate that market until Nintendo released their family friendly Wii. Microsoft now sells more Xboxes than Nintendo and are still after the Sony Playstation for the no. 1 position.
The very first Windows programs were horrid in terms of functionality and usability. The only reason they dominate the market is because anyone can license their software. IBM couldn't develop a viable computer software and Apple refused to license their software to anyone.
The New Kid On The Block: Google
The market has changed and since no other companies were able to adapt quick enough, Google was born. They started by dominating the search engine market and are now moving into other business models in order to prepare themselves for the future. Everyone loves Google because they have a simple business model, you can use their stuff for free and click on their adds so they make money with advertising.
Unlike Apple or Microsoft, the concept at Google is to organize the world's information. In order to do this efficiently they are constantly looking for ways to make things faster. The faster they process information the more information they can organize and the more money they can make off ads.
Enter Google Chrome, the fastest Internet browser available today that is eating Microsoft's lunch in the Internet browser market. The updates to Chrome only solidify the fact they are trying to make things faster; you are able to search from the Google chrome address box, instant results on Google search, and the ability to search other websites via the address box (type in youtube.com then tab in the address box to try it for yourself).
Apple vs. Microsoft vs. Google: Round 2 -- Mobile
Apple continues to innovate and the entire world is trying to catch up. Google is the new Microsoft, the new cooler and much improved Microsoft. They are doing the same thing that Microsoft did years ago with the Android mobile operating software, except they are letting you use it for free instead of selling it with a license.
It is the new world order, open source and free vs. expensive and cool. Google just wants you to use their Android software so they can sell you advertising and control the way you see the web. Apple wants you to buy their products because they are designed flawlessly and they are awesome. You saw the PC vs. Mac commercials haven't you?
When the iPhone was released in 2007 they dominated the market, there was nothing in the world like it. Now the only viable competition is the Samsung Galaxy smart phone series that runs on the Android mobile software platform. The iPhone and Android have singlehandedly been responsible for the death of Nokia and Blackberry. Nokia revolutionized the cell phone industry years ago and Blackberry revolutionized the smart phone market after that.
Microsoft is doing what it has always done best: bought its way into the market. It created a partnership with Nokia to run its mobile Windows on all Nokia phones. What Microsoft didn't bet on was the fact that Nokia would die an early death -- they are laying off thousands of employees and losing market share left and right.
I decided early in 2012 to give Blackberry one more chance since I began to start living overseas in Brazil. Blackberry is still what a lot of people use overseas so it will be interesting to see how that changes over time. They came out with the Blackberry Torch (my current phone) which should have been the phone that they came out years ago.
Now that Blackberry is becoming non-existent I have to adapt with the times and move onto Apple or Android. I day trade in the stock market and will be looking for ways to do day trading from mobile. I am currently looking for ways to start day trading via the Apple iPad. All the programs that I use for day trading are only supported by Windows so it will be interesting to see if that changes with the changing market.
Tablet Market
iPhone released the iPad which is still dominating the market and the only competition to come close is Samsung with, wait for it, the Android operating software. Microsoft is now taking a play out of Apple's playbook by trying to release their own tablet, the Surface Tablet. Instead of just licensing the software like they usually do they have take a move out of Apple's own play book to try and control everything from beginning to end.
The only problem is that the world has changed and you can't buy into a market anymore. Branding is everything and Microsoft is now viewed as complacent and out of date with consumers. Most corporate companies aren't even upgrading to newer versions of Windows after Microsoft released the unreliable and problematic Windows Vista.
We have witnessed increased production from Microsoft from their windows line to try an catch up with the times; Windows Vista was a mistake, Windows 7 is the fixed Windows Vista, and Windows 8 is how Microsoft is going to try and break into the mobile world.
Apple vs. The World: The Future
It will be interesting to see if Apple can stay ahead of the pack now that the driving engine behind its innovation, Steve Jobs, is gone. Will they be able to continue to innovate? There are rumors that the iPhone 5 is set to be released and also a new iTV product.
Will Microsoft be able to catch up? They still dominate the PC business but how long will that last now that Apple is gaining market share with their signature Mac computers and Google is continuing to release Android products. Google did announce a deal to release a new PC with Acer with its Chromebook operating software for computers.
How will Google continue to innovate to keep things free? They are taking over with their internet explorer, Chome, which now has more users than Firefox. They just announced that you are now able to run Chrome on the Ipad & the Iphone. Google also is dominating the smart phone market by taking the lead from the Iphone with their Android software.
Who do you think will win? I am betting on Apple and Google -- Microsoft, unfortunately is behind the pack. You just can't buy yourself into a market anymore, it's about innovation and branding and Microsoft has lost both.
Follow Marcello Arrambide on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Wanderingtradr
In the version of Steve Jobs biography I read, Apple made a deal with Xerox Parc to share its GUI technology for Apple stock. Microsoft claimed that Xerox Parc showed them same GUI tech.
As Gates proclaimed and as mentioned in the book, "No, Steve, I think its more like we both have a rich neighbor named Xerox, and I broke in to steal the TV set, and found out that you'd already stolen it."
The innovated the windows mobile phone system after failing miserably with windows 6.5. They didn't innovate anything, they tried to muscle their way into the industry buy teaming up with the dying Nokia and then realized that wasn't enough and started to improve their product. Microsoft isn't innovating that they are just trying to catch up.
Microsoft didn't make the big step, they are trying to take the big step to catch up. Lockheed Martin, the US military's largest supplier, is now using Iphone's instead of blackberries. Large corporations are already using ipads for their business and considering the fact that most business are still in Windows XP and haven't moved up to Vista, 7, and now 8, yet. I would say that Microsoft is realizing that they are dead in the water. Why would they do a complete 360 in terms of how they do business and actually make a computer when they haven't dont that before?
For computers, you will not see the financially reason-less Apple PCs take over the Windows PCs unless they have a legitimate reason like final cut for other areas of business, but mainly they are hopelessly behind in areas needing serious software (such as engineering fields). Speaking of the software problems, that will keep Google Chromebooks far out of the busines market. Microsoft will have that sector for a long time. You also state how businesses have not moved on from XP, but in actuality I believe the statistic is 90% of businesses are now running Windows 7.
Yes Microsoft has done a major overhaul of their OS. You and I both know it is because they realized they need to be in the tablet market better as well. That is definitely true.
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You described Apple as watching its market share disappear to Microsoft, but operating systems and personal computers are two different products, charted separately. Apple competes with computer manufacturers. Microsoft competes with... well, no one. Regarding Apple, except for a few disastrous years right before the Jobs II era, Apple didn't license its os.
Plus, you overrate how successful the Mac was; the early 1980s business computer was the IBM pc, then later the IBM-compatible pc, meaning its os was Microsoft supplied DOS. Many of the computers bought in the 80s and 90s were there for taking work home (running on applications installed via a borrowed company disk.) Microsoft didn't have to bet on Compaq or IBM winning: they got to be high-margin and high-volume whoever won. Apple started being wildly successful after they chose to be high-margin rather than high-volume. That was again Jobs who in 1997 said Apple didn't need Microsoft to lose for Apple to win.
Thing is, in the prognostication game, where there's no consequence for being incorrect, it doesn't really matter if one's predictions come from a precise or flawed historical narrative. So, rock on.
While much of the time tables are intertwined... Apple released its first computer in 1977 and the only reason that the IBM pc became that standard is because Apple refused to license their software to anyone and Microsoft began to license their software to everyone. I agree with you about the high margins but that was never Apple's goal, their goal was to be innovative and they created jobs, headed by Steve Jobs, that revolutionized industries. That is why they could charge a high margin. Great comment Danny like it.
The story I have seen reported is that IBM chose to pick up existing elements rather than self-develop — and retain all the ip rights — in order to speed up getting to market.They approached Gary Kildall who had written the widely used os CP/M. Reportedly the suits freaked out Kildall's wife and Kildall, vacationing at the time, okayed her telling them to take a hike. IBM had already acquired the rights to Microsoft BASIC and, following Kildall's refusal, asked Gates if the company had an os. Microsoft didn't, but it very quickly acquired QDOS (Quick and Dirty OS) from its creator, and licensed it to IBM, on a non-exclusive basis.
In my book, it is a tossup whether that concession by IBM or 20th Century Fox's disinterest in the Star Wars merchandising represented the greater transfer of value into a satellite entity's pockets.
Iphone was more of a copy paste of samsung
but ipod was the only thing they actually created
I have even used an Iphone, was very smooth, but never had a wow factor, true it was awesome compared to windows mobile6.5 or any basic phone, but windows phone I felt like was much more smoother and faster. Everything was so much more easier and direct with windows phone. I even have an IPAD and an itouch right now. Itouch I use in my car, IPAD,… well got tired of it.
I am actually waiting for Microsoft Surface Pro and I believe its so much more than an IPAD, almost same size, light but does so much more than an IPAD.
You kept comparing the Iphone and Android over Windows Phone 8, Just curious if you had done your research, (I have been following all three very closely) other than the Apps, what else does Iphone and Android excel over Windows Phone 8
Maybe they wouldn't love the initial work involved in the upgrade, but there is no doubt Windows 7 is head and shoulders above XP.