Further, but not exclusively, what happens to your CD/DVD collection?
The same thing that happened to Edison cylinders, 78, 45, and 33â…“ vinly recordings, not to mention wire, reel to reel, 8 track and cassette audio tapes, 8 and 16mm films, as well as Beta, and VHS video tape and while we are at it 35mm transparencies, and film cameras. Many pundits are already positing that video downloads have made Blueray obsolete before it has made any significant market penetration.
It seems like Apple's business model is more and more directed towards strong-arming users into buying hardware.
Given the fact that Apple is first and foremost a hardware manufacturer why should you or anyone else be surprised at this? In a previous attempt at allowing third parties to manufacture Apple Computers, Apple came within a hairs breadth of going into bankruptcy because every clone Apple that was sold cost Apple $50 out of pocket and that did not include missed sales opportunities. Apple's recent financial ascendency has been based almost entirely on hardware design and sales. Software and tunes are merely icing on the cake or a means to sell the hardware. If it weren't for hardware there would be no Apple Computer.
The software download model has been wildly successful on the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. To quote dkmarsh
Apple's business model is providing an integrated user experience which incorporates new means of interacting with hardware and software whenever such new means allow that integrated user experience to be significantly improved.
So as a customer and as a stockholder, its migration to the OS X desktop seems to me a logical and entirely rational extension of that success. My only question is how long will it take Microsoft, Dell, HP,
et. al. to figure out how to do it as well.
And, of course, there will only be one OS X vendor in the entire world...kinda puts a lid on competition, no?
As far as I know Microsoft is the only Windows vendor in the entire world….that too kinda puts the lid on competition, no?
Frankly as I look at the number and breadth of apps avialable through the iTunes app store and the OS X App Store I am seeing this model coupled with the free, easy to use developer tools provided by Apple is expoosing Apple users to a wider variety of apps, more options, more developers, a more coherent UI, and all at an unprecedented low cost. If you don't think all of this isn't scaring the socks off of Apple's competition think again.
