Difference between Apple and Microsoft

[Renew Deal]

I think this is pretty interesting.

<snip>
To set the stage, you must realize that John Sculley and Steve Jobs -- once joined intellectually at the hip, finishing each others' sentences -- don't talk to each other. Following the 1985 ouster of Jobs from Apple, which left Sculley in charge, their relationship fell apart irreparably. Four months ago, Sculley said, "I haven't spoken to Steve in 20-odd years."

Few would dispute the fact that Sculley left Apple in shambles and Jobs brought it back to life.

That makes it all the more remarkable when Sculley says in the Cult of Mac interview, "When I think about different kinds of CEOs -- CEOs who are great leaders, CEOs who are great turnaround artists, great deal negotiators, great people motivators -- but the great skill that Steve has is he's a great designer. Everything at Apple can be best understood through the lens of designing." And that, to my jaundiced eye, neatly summarizes the reason why Apple has stolen the wind from Microsoft's sails. Or at least its market capitalization.

Sculley offers a story about a friend who had back-to-back meetings with Apple and Microsoft. "He went into the Apple meeting ... as soon as the designers walked in the room, everyone stopped talking because the designers are the most respected people in the organization. Everyone knows the designers speak for Steve because they have direct reporting to him ... Later in the day he was at Microsoft. When he went into the Microsoft meeting, everybody was talking and then the meeting starts and no designers ever walk into the room. All the technical people are sitting there trying to add their ideas of what ought to be in the design.

"Microsoft hires some of the smartest people in the world ... It's not an issue of people being smart and talented. It's that design at Apple is at the highest level of the organization, led by Steve personally. Design at other companies is not there. It is buried down in the bureaucracy somewhere."
<snip>

http://www.infoworld.com/t/tech-industry-analysis/expect-more-apple-in-your-future-977

[saltpoint]

1. Macs are intuitive.

And they are handsome.

[msongs]

2. apple = 4% market share, without the iphone it would be DOA lol nt

[onehandle]

6. 10.6% and Steve Jobs returning to create the iMac saved the company in 1998.

The iPod, iPhone, and iPad are what is making it the most valuable company in the world.

[Statistical]

9. 5% unless you consider the US to the entire planet..

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8&qptimeframe=Y

"The iPod, iPhone, and iPad are what is making it the most valuable company in the world."
As a shareholder I agree 100%. The mac doesn't make the company interesting at all. It is the CE (consumer electronics) side of the house that pulls in the profit & revenue.

[Upton]

3. I read Woody's blog..

but he has it in for Microsoft...I'm not sure how his relationship with the company deteriorated to this point, but he never misses an opportunity to take a shot.

[ClassWarrior]

7. Click through and read the full interview on cultofmac.com. This blog is just...

...commenting on the full interview.

NGU.

[onehandle]

4. By 'design' they are not just talking about the physical appearance, but also the OS and apps.

Apple designs it all to work better and be easier to use.

There is an overlap of design and technology.

[bemildred]

5. Yep, most places the market-droids run the show, and that sounds like Microsoft. nt

[HughMoran]

8. This designer appreciates what Jobs does with his designs

I'm not a Mac person, but I have always admired the attention to detail in Apple designs - from the physical design appearance and interface to the integration of the software. It's well done. Ironically, one reason I use PC's is due to software compatibility issues with heavy duty CAD design software. Odd.