Steve Jobs: True or False?

Yeah OK that didn't make a huge amount of sense. I have mentioned Apple a few times in my postings. But I don't think I've ever really hit it head on. There are a lot of issues to talk about in technology, some very important, but none so important, game changing, or even compelling, as that of Steve Jobs' philosophy. I'm a firm believer in questioning everything, it is a sure fire way of making a situation better. Discussion, not argument, brings progression in every walk of life. Technology is no different.

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift. A new way of interacting with media and even each other. As a geek it's quite exciting. I do, however, feel like I'm being told how excited I should be and at what. In a recent D8 interview, Steve Jobs, heralded a "Post-PC era". I'd like question exactly what he means by this.

Jobs claims that he only wants to build the very best devices, with the very best user experience. This is good. But when that experience and device is then dictated to the general public. This is bad. So are Steve Jobs' intentions True? or False? Competition is good for the industry; claiming you are being competitive but not allowing anyone to compete with you is double standards. It really shows how we should be viewing Apple products. Companies go out of their way to say that their bananas or coffee are fair trade. Or that their packaging is compostable. So why do why ignore the bad ethics of a global and ever apparent company such as Apple. Having great products is not enough for me. In my opinion it is as bad as smoking. Someone smokes knowing they are doing something bad and wrong and yet claiming they are somehow enjoying it more than the alternative.

Which part of PC is ending? The Personal? or The Computer? I'm willing to bet its not the computer. So if I'm not mistaken, my computer is not mine anymore? or have I missed the point?

This is one of those issues that people will only want to do anything about once its too late. It'll be in the news and the scare mongering will have started . An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Lets make sure we don't need to use a cure.

Do we need an Android Tablet?

On one of the many sites I visit during my daily surfing. I came across a site talking about one of the many supposed Android Tablets. Is this a reactionary response to the evident success of the iPad? Has the iPad heralded a new era for computing that people will copy? the iPad's long term success is not down to Jobs or the quality of the product. It's whether the potential competitors decide they think there is value in following the same path. By deciding that there is no real market for the device Apple's recent flurry of sales would be cut short and pretty quickly at that.

Open Computing...?

There are many situations in life that we are able to open our eyes to the seemingly impossible. Revelations hit people when they least expect. Completely changing how they and we think about a certain issues and ways of life.

Archaeology tells us that human beings have always been inventive. Changing life for the better. From the invention of the wheel to the car. Much in the same way we have progressed from the invention of the microchip resulting in the construction of supercomputers capable of calculations far beyond the human brain.

Through this evolution in computing there have always been the key software players, Microsoft and Apple. In the beginning there, of course, were others. In the last ten years it has become easier to live without Microsoft products. Something that, in the 1990's, was unthinkable.

This is due to Apple's innovation of what we knew as an Operating System. Although Microsoft still holds a vast majority of the market share. Apple is denting it. By concentrating on the mobile line rather than the desktop. Whenever I'm in Starbucks, I expect people to pull a Mac out of their bags. Not always the case but the damage has been done.

In the wake of Vista's arrival, dissatisfied PC customers were looking for an alternative. The obvious choice was Apple's new MacBook and MacBook Pro. The sexy looking polycarb shell, gleeming for all its worth on the shop floor, luring unsuspecting consumers to the largely unknown quantity. I can't of course begin to suggest that Apple's success is completely due to Microsoft's failings. Steve Job's marketing team did a fantastic job of negative campaigning against Microsoft's seemingly inferior product...

There is still a crowd of dissatisfied PC customers who retain the belief that Mac is not worthy of their time. I must admit I was one of them. People looking for an alternative without the need to buy premium hardware that both Vista and OSX required. So...

Is there something out there for all of us?

Realistically, it's difficult to say. A mathematician might offer that to each problem there is a solution. So given that, the Operating System that provides the 'Jack of all trades' option is the best for all of us. I would lean to agree with this opinion. However, there is more to the human brain than just solving problems. We are all susceptible to emotion. Individuality. I'm not sure how many things we own and can't change to how we want them to be. Computers appear to be one of them.

The Licences and product keys that Microsoft have become infamous for, has taken away our right to change the systems we have paid for, to suit us. We have to rely on others to decide what is good for us. Apple is no different in this respect.

Are our basic rights to possession being violated?

As well as Apple, there have been movements in the Open Source community. Mark Shuttleworth led Canonical, have done well in improving and marketing the Ubuntu Distribution of Gnu/Linux.

What I have found is that Linux allows us to reclaim our PCs. It's our machine, we paid for it, it should look and perform how we want it to. Not how the two Steves think it should. But of course,

Can Linux compete with the big boys?

Essentially, no. Currently, Linux is playing catchup. As long as Microsoft and Apple are innovating how we use computers, the Linux community will be trying to add more functionality to try and emulate the Windows and Mac prebuilt machines from PC World. Until the Linux community comes up with something revolutionary that will attract people away from their PCs and Macs, they can't possibly compete. Linux is very much an adolescent platform. The misunderstood teenager, trying to show their individuality through creativity, that isn't quite up to the same standard as the professionals, but is commendable none-the-less.

I mean not to quell enthusiasm surrounding Linux and the Open Source community. I, myself find it most exciting. But then I'm a computer scientist. I use Ubuntu Linux as my main platform. It does everything I need it for. It looks how I want it to look. It nearly performs how I want it to perform. But it lacks the polish of the other two. That's what I personally miss.

Ultimately, there's no reason why you shouldn't go and try it. It's an option available to all of us, it is free after all.

- David