On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 9:56 AM, Rev. Stewart Marshall <[email protected]> wrote:
> A similar question was asked of Paul Kliptsch who made only high end > speakers. (Came out with a bookshelf model named heresy) > > Because that is where the market is. A portion of the market. > If Apple wants to show us it is all about good stuff. Make and market a > netbook that is better than all the rest. But then it would likely be too expensive and the Lauren's and G's wouldn't buy it. Only snobs would buy it. > Apple is about Computers. The computer market is shifting away from > desktops (I think the past few years laptops have outsold desktops) Again, a portion of the market. If you're just interested in e-mail, tweeting, casual surfing and occasional word processing, a small screen laptop may be fine. If you're doing real work that necessitates being able to see things without undue discomfort or strain, no typical laptop is going to provide you with a 19" or larger screen and a detached keyboard. My brother does database work, and his workplace provides him with a Dell laptop that he uses at work. His previous jobs gave him desktop machines to use. He says that having to work on a laptop all day totally rags him out as opposed to how he used to feel after a day using a desktop machine. He'd love to have a larger screen for looking at all those tiny little numbers and letters, but he isn't going to get that where he currently is employed, so he'll just have to deal with being exhausted at the end of every day. Laptops are just not the best tool for working with all day long unless it needs to be portable. In the situation involving my brother, the portability only involves being able to haul the computer home so he can continue to have to work even when on his own time, which I guess means it really isn't his own time at all. (FWIW, I give him a hard time about that.) Also, the reason for laptops at the office as opposed to desktops is all about money and how to squeeze work out of the employee while out of the office. Laptops take up less space, which means the desk can be smaller which then means the cubicles can be smaller which then means more workers can be crammed into a given space which translates to less square footage which equals cheaper rent. Maybe with really tiny hand-held computers, all the desks, chairs and cubicles could be completely eliminated and all the employees could stand instead of sit. Then you could really cram a lot of workers into a very small space. Now, that's a bit silly, but I'm just making a "Dilbert" point about computer based work environments. > At this point people are about small portable appliances that are easy to > transport and use. (Iphone, Itouch ec.) Some people are. Many fortunate folks, me included, have no need or desire to have to transport their work computer. As to that "easy to use" thing, have you ever watched someone using an iPhone? Ever notice how often they have to struggle to touch the correct area of the screen? Ever notice how many times they have to make corrections? Easy to use? Not necessarily. > Instead of looking down your nose at a segment of the market. Make it > better and show others how it is supposed to be done. Most things that are better made are more expensive. Once again, right back to that same old problem. Steve ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
