As a long-time Apple computer user I could reminisce all day long about how Apple products have helped shaped my experiences—not only with technology, but with life. My life has been changes by the tools we create. My first computer was a Power Mac 6100, and I ran it with a program called “Ram Doubler,” just so I could ratchet that ol’ workhorse up to a whole 16MB allotment… YES, MB not GB, and artificially of course (RAM was very expensive back then).
Anyway, what I want to talk about is competition through innovation. It’s clear that Steve Jobs had a large part in how technology has evolved, and how Apple has become a leading force in the tools they create: for expression, for entertainment, for communication—for whatever your needs may be.
He was a man with a vision. Together with another Steve—Wozniak to be exact, they started Apple. The two quickly realized they had different visions. Steve W. wanted an “open architecture” approach, with openly shared programming and software distribution. And Steve J eventually took it in a different direction. A more “closed” approach with a strategic vision that was a bit more market savvy, creating the Apple we know today, through some pretty big risks along the way.
Apple continues to make incredibly well made, well-performing, elegantly designed devices that have changed how we experience technology, and what we expect while experiencing that technology. Their elegant simplicity has created an experience that we have come to expect from Apple. They control the creation of their products, after leaving the concept of other manufacturers building Macs (i.e. “Mac Clones”) behind after only about a year of trying that approach in the late 90s.
And there has also been a competition brewing for years now. Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Linux—name your flavor… and we can focus on any of them, but I would say Microsoft and Apple are two of the big ones these days. Sometimes, as someone doing much work for Microsoft, I feel like I am right in the middle of it. Apple has hadt retail locations for years now. Microsoft has also grown from being a company known exclusively for making Windows, to a company creating bigger experiences that incorporate a wealth of products and services at their quickly expanding retail locations. It’s not about Windows, it’s about a diverse range of products and services that run the OS.
I have had to take a step back from the eternal question: “So which is better, Mac or PC?” I have had to take that step back to not become so intertwined in that conversation anymore—it’s just not worth it.
It’s bigger than that.
The short answer is: neither. We’re often asking the wrong question! As consumers, all options are relevant, and in this case the answer is more like: “Both are relevant, neither are better or worse, they’re just different.” And they tell different stories, they communicate different visions, and different experiences that the companies wish to share with their consumers. So the question could be: “Which of these devices better serves my needs?” and to answer that… “What set of experiences are important to me?”
Of course sometimes the answer is easier, because you’re asking the question: “How much money do I have for this computer?”
So many choices, so much to think about from price-points to technical specifications. There’s so much out there right now, and for one primary reason:
Competition
We have choices to make, because it’s an “output” of the competitive process. We benefit from the innovation companies realize through the process of being the best.
Go play with some techie toys!
Think about what the world would look like if there were only one company cranking out devices? No comparison, no contrast, probably not so many choices, and not as much desire to be ‘better than the other guy.’ Who knows what it would really look like!
Competition can make a huge impact on the world around us in so many ways—and not just the technology market. Think about that. Two primary outputs of the competitive process are innovation and identity.
Innovation: As already mentioned, being better than the other guy through things like tech specs or price point is a big driver for manufacturers.
Then, whether it starts along the way as an input, or as a resulting output… we realize who we are in the process, and what makes us unique… our identity emerges. COOL!
As an athlete, we need to know our left hook will save us in the ring against another fighter, as a job hunter, we need to leverage our unique skills, separating us from the pack (or stack) or resumés, And as a company we need to really be able to drill down and understand the services and/or products that make us unique… we can claim it’s what makes us better, but really—in the end—it’s about what makes us unique… our identity. Ok, we also need to make a living… and make some money.
I believe Steve Jobs had a vision from the beginning, and Bill Gates did too. Whether it’s clear then or later on, it may change along the way. That’s the fun part… engaging in the competitive process, and then learning and seeing how things change through…
Innovation and connection with our own unique Identity.
I hail you Steve Jobs, and the impact you have made on the world.
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