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Has Apple Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew?

blog.wired.com — Apple has staked its reputation on tight control of a few carefully-designed, faultlessly-executed products. Now, as Apple expands its reach from computers into music, video, consumer electronics and phones, it's getting harder and harder for the company to make sure all of its products "just work," as its marketing slogan goes.

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  • sagefool1975, on 07/25/2008, -25/+16No.
    • MurphyMac, on 07/25/2008, -17/+8Definitely no. The biggest snag has been with Mobile Me. Most iPhone users probably don't even use Mobile Me. People using the new iPhone software with Exchange and other mail servers aren't having trouble.
    • synystar, on 07/25/2008, -6/+21You say just "No." ? But Mobile Me is an Apple product that managed to piss off a lot of Apple's customers. They just ignore their users? Not so much as a simple "Sorry, we're working on it"? It would seem that yes they did in fact bite off more than they could chew:

      "Apple needs to communicate with it's customers and tell us what is really going on. It is obvious that they do not have a solution and can't provide an ETA and that the problem is much larger than the 1% of users they claim. Having no choice but to accept this, I would at least be appreciative if they would post something that provides some information regarding their efforts to correct this problem. Even a statement admitting that they are trying to understand the problem and identify a solution would be more than we are getting."
      • MurphyMac, on 07/26/2008, -16/+5They gave people a free month. Most companies would not have done that in similar circumstances. Similar to the credit early iPhone buyers got. What other company has been criticized for LOWERING a product price?!
      • macmangb, on 07/26/2008, -14/+3It was the fault of the telco and their MS backend that caused all these problems, the negative attention is a result of ms fanboys spreading fud.
      • Daniel591992, on 07/26/2008, -1/+7Exactly. Not only did they screw up the MobileMe launch, but they screwed up the iPod Touch 2.0 update and the iPhone Activation. All on the same day.
    • mattlohkamp, on 07/26/2008, -3/+1I agree - no.

      You underestimate how accomplished Steve Jobs is at masticating.
    • shank2001, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1While I am not going to say "No" I think Apple can handle the current problems just fine. I have had issues with my iPhone software, and the 2.0 release does seem a little premature. BUT, my experience so far with my new 3G iPhone is still better than any other smartphone I have ever owned. I can live with the glitches, knowing what the future holds. My iPhone is still young, and it's potential far outweighs its current problems. I couldnt be happier with my purchase... and this is coming from a longtime smartphone user.
  • Evilblobs, on 07/25/2008, -4/+50Apple is mortal? blasphemy...

    /sarcasm off
    • synystar, on 07/26/2008, -12/+7I vote that we stop using /sarcasm and especially /sarcasm off. Is there anyone dumb enough to not recognize that comment as sarcasm?

      Now that I think about, it could be useful. Digg's code should parse comments for the /sarcasm switch, not display it, then ban users who often bury sarcastic..meh, this sounds like too much work. Let's just stop using it and if someone doesn't realize that you were being sarcastic then either accept the buries or make fun of them.
      • waydee, on 07/26/2008, -11/+5It's for the benefit of the Americans who have absolutely zero concept of sarcasm.
      • comedianX, on 07/26/2008, -1/+10Not only that, he's being redundant by saying "off." The slash indicates the closing of the tag.
      • chrisinsocalif, on 07/26/2008, -2/+5Obviously you dont post here very much. Peoples sarcasm detectors are not very good on digg, so you tend to get dugg down unless you state the obvious.
      • mattlohkamp, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2'/sarcasm' is like when Family Guy draws out a funny scene until it becomes uncomfortable.
      • myshl0ng, on 07/26/2008, -1/+6 "Is there anyone dumb enough to not recognize that comment as sarcasm?"
        Someone is new to the internets
      • synystar, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1New to the internets? Don't post here very much? You people piss me off. Check my profile dumbasses. I expected to be buried but I was hoping that smart people would comment in the process.
      • Hollowpoint, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1Synstar, they're only suggesting you have too much faith in the average idiot on the internet, they're not in any way attacking you.

        Chill your metaphorical beans my friend.
      • synystar, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1Ok... Chilling my beans. Thanks for the smart comment. I really was getting upset for a minute there. /sarcasm
      • redlantern64, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1Are you being sarcastic? I can't tell...
      • Nitesmoke, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1How about this one: Yes, I'm being sarcastic. /sarcasm
        I think I just blew my own mind.
  • SEANWOOKIE, on 07/25/2008, -21/+10All companies make mistakes Apple is no exception. I've had problems with a few products of theirs and they fixed them for free. Well atleast the products are better than Microsoft's.
    • MrHappy123, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2It's almost as if it is competing with Microsoft's so called problems.
  • edstate, on 07/26/2008, -1/+27They just might be on the cusp... I've been a mac fan for ever, and applaud their ventures into the ipod, then the "windows" ipod, then the iphone... but same goes for any good, inspiring venture: you can absolutely get "too big" to keep your previously vaunted quality level up to snuff.
    • MuskokasFinest, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5Just take a look at a company like Google. I'm not saying they're quality level is slumping, but considering their only (well, almost only) revenue stream is ad-based, I see problems in their future...
  • Berkana, on 07/26/2008, -12/+6OM NOM NOM NOM. . .
    (*crumbs of overloaded services and other misteps falling out of mouth*)
  • fritzbrown, on 07/26/2008, -5/+53As Apple enters the consumer electronics business and market share grows they will find themselves subject to the same scrutiny and criticism as those that came before them.

    As a niche company their loyalists will defend endlessly but the public at large is a fickle bunch. Apple's "it just works" image will not survive.
    • johnpaul191, on 07/26/2008, -3/+3eh, growing pains. As many problems as some people have with the current iPhone situation..... it's sounds like a better user experience than i have ever had with a phone. My past cellphones and current smartphone claim syncing and all kinds of useful features that never properly worked after a few generations of the phone. They sorta sync, but it regularly loses contacts and calendar events to the point that i only do a sync if i have time to manually check it. I've had the same issue with phones from Moto, LG, Palm etc etc. It's true i would expect Apple to offer consumers a better experience, as opposed to managing a full enterprise solution with dedicated hardware, but i feel like they are still ahead of the curve here.
  • macmangb, on 07/26/2008, -25/+2Apple is possibly the company that has done more for society in the past 20 years than any other company and they will continue to do so. So the answer is no.

    ~Garry
    • Totz83, on 07/26/2008, -1/+17What have they done that's so wonderful for society?
    • incandescent, on 07/26/2008, -1/+20I really wish the Apple fanatics would realise they come across like obsessive religious freaks, unable to recognise any fault with their holy company.

      (And I'm an iPod Touch and iPhone 3G owner before someone calls me a "hater")
    • Trax91, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6What's the point of having a nickname if you just want to sign your name in every comment?
      ~ Sir Goldsworthy Richington
    • jakem1, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5Oh yes, thank god for all those iPods that lifted millions out of poverty, stopped wars and saved the environment. This iSociety of ours is so much richer thanks to Apple.
    • stagmire, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1That's a retarded way of spelling Gary.
    • duncanbell, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2protip: don't sign off your comments with your name, it makes you look like a douche.
    • iNNeRKaoS, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Really? 20 years? I'm pretty sure Intel processors has done a lot more than Apple in the last 20 years when it comes to pushing society forward. Apple USES technology, but they wouldn't be around if others didn't create the tech. Without the hardware manufacturers, Apple wouldn't exist.

      On top of all of that, Apple was on the verge of failing, but by some good timing, and trendspotting, they were saved by the iPod.

      Don't think of me as an Intel fanboy, and don't think I'm hating on Apple. Your comment just missed the mark by quite a margin.
  • Shogi, on 07/26/2008, -1/+7Faultless?

    Sooooo, what, are we retconning the 3G iPhone?
    • boozedrinker, on 07/26/2008, -4/+2Wait a second - how did you get dugg up for a nonsensical post? I can't tell what you mean using the word 'retconning'...
      • ileftfark, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6"I don't know what a word means, and I therefore expect that no one else does either".

        You obviously have the Internet. You may be surprised it can be used to find information.
  • dullnation, on 07/26/2008, -0/+16I don't know if it's because they're trying to juggle too many tasks at the same time but my 2G iPhone with firmware 2.0 is so buggy, I'm considering downgrading to 1.1.4 until they fix it.
    • Diggnabbit, on 07/26/2008, -4/+2Really? Mine has no problems at all.
    • cgruber, on 07/26/2008, -0/+4I've had to reboot mine a lot since upgrading and I only recall doing that 1x on all the previous firmwares. I've had mine since August last year.
    • adammharvey, on 07/26/2008, -5/+1well stop bitching and downgrade you ***** idiot.
    • Norumeni, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1My friend has an original iPhone and it constantly freezes with the 2.0 firmware; it seems to be overheating the phone and it's a lot less responsive to touch :(
    • addiktion, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1I've had to reboot my ipod touch 2.0 firmware quite a bit. Although I think some is contributed to the applications. Either way your only as good as the code you write.

      I do think Apple is gaining and growing more profitable but like many said the end result of a growing company giant is poorer quality over quantity. Only great innovative & monopoly companies pioneer themselves into the main stream and stick around by dominating the markets. You can't make everyone happy and well lets face it Apple can't stay small forever.
  • dunmasterkane, on 07/26/2008, -8/+6om nom nom nom = more $$
  • dcolley, on 07/26/2008, -17/+4Apple is just having growing pains. They are taking on all the competition at all levels and winning. Give them a break. At least, they are not boring and clueless like their competition.
    • waydee, on 07/26/2008, -2/+4Where are they winning? besides the portable music player market that is.
      • iNNeRKaoS, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1They're getting a good market share of the consumer computer area, but it could just be because schools are starting to require them, and girls find Justin "I'm a Mac" Long 'dreamy'.
  • pierrelourens, on 07/26/2008, -1/+26Reminds me of what happened to Sony when they branched out into every damn market.
    • reefrmad, on 07/26/2008, -2/+12I think that Sony could handle all the branching out, as they were primarily a consumer electronics gig, but in that Japanese way.

      Sony's true ***** up is when the got into content production... All of a sudden the engineers had all these lawyers running around the labs saying "protect that movie! Don't let that music be copied! Lock the devices down!" And so, every device Sony made had to be protected against every other device Sony made.

      They still haven't fixed that yet...
      • prophetpimp, on 07/26/2008, -0/+7I still hate that those bastards ***** up their first digital music players by making them atrac only and then sonic stage *****. if those devices were not crippled the mp3 player scene would have been a whole lot different.
      • DestroyFascism, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1And then there is the rootkit debacle (melware) which is almost the same as Abobe's new registration snoop///
    • Schmich, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Didnt they reduce the range of products they had by a large amount a few years ago?
    • iNNeRKaoS, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1That is funny... didn't Sony just admit that the PS3 is not what they wanted, because they didn't collaborate with the software side while making the hardware?
  • str3ama, on 07/26/2008, -4/+36The truth is that Apple is suffering from brain-drain, the marketing division insists that they keep pushing out new products and there's only so many variations they can do of the IPod to meet that demand in between creating new devices like Apple TV (which seems to have dropped off the map in terms of anything new for it).

    The thing that really annoys me about Apple, now more then ever, isn't the company itself but the mindless consumers toting it and praising it and turning what's otherwise a product into some sort of quasi-religious experience.
    • incandescent, on 07/26/2008, -1/+5Hear hear!
    • drgreenberg, on 07/26/2008, -0/+7Brain drain usually refers to people being hired away by another company.
      • ileftfark, on 07/26/2008, -1/+6But in this case it doesn't, and it's fairly obvious what the poster intends to convey by using context clues.
    • iNNeRKaoS, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Steve Jobs once said he wanted you to buy a new iPod every year, if I remember correctly.
    • Tyr7BE, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1"The thing that really annoys me about Apple, now more then ever, isn't the company itself but the mindless consumers toting it and praising it and turning what's otherwise a product into some sort of quasi-religious experience."

      Indeed.

      I saw a piece the other day on the 3G iPhone - some camera crew was going around the city asking people who had a first gen iPhone how they liked it. I remember one woman in particular who seemed to sum up every response. It went something like:

      News Crew: "How do you like your iPhone after using it for a year?"
      Lady: "Oh you know, it's pretty great. I can email people, and set reminders, and text, and [etc etc etc, everything that all smartphones have been able to do since 2003 but nobody seemed to know about]"
      News Crew: "What's your biggest complaint?"
      Lady: "Ummm...well....I still can't type on it"

      Can't type? And it's still "pretty great"? I think that's a pretty damn big problem. How are you going to be doing your emailing and calendaring and everything else my Blackberry 6000 series did in 2004 without being able to type? But still, this thing is "pretty great"...yeah....now if you could just figure out how to do all the things it's supposed to do it would be even better.

      This is exactly what you're talking about. People have gotten so doe-eyed about a phone that all things considered has a pretty slim feature set, that they're willing to overlook pretty much everything. Five hours of battery life with push email and exchange turned on? No problem! Rebooting your phone all the time due to buggy firmware? That's cool, it's an iPhone, why WOULDN'T I want to reboot it? No removable battery? It's how it's designed, it's SUPPOSED to be that way. Still can't play music via Bluetooth? Who needs to listen to music anyway?

      This isn't the majority of consumers - most of them are pretty sensible about the whole thing and can see it for what it is - a pretty decent phone all around, has a nice UI, but nothing to write home about. But there's a core of Apple apologists that pretty much cream their jeans whenever there's a reported Steve Jobs sighting, and it seems that no matter how bad things are in reality, they will always see the iPhone as a perfect and pure religious icon rather than accepting it as a product.
  • buggu, on 07/26/2008, -3/+34The problem with this article is that the author assumes that everything "just worked" before. Well, it really didn't. Apple's products were flawed before and they are flawed now, just like every single one of their competitors. It's just that before people were caught up in the hype and managed to overlook it, but now with more and more people switching over to Apple products, the collective voice is just increasing and not easy to ignore.
  • TWiThead, on 07/26/2008, -1/+12I'm glad to see that many Apple customers (of which I'm one) are holding the company accountable for its problems. I mean, I love Apple, but the fact that they've delivered some terrific products doesn't mean that they deserve a free pass when things go wrong.

    As expected, however, the usual Apple apologists are busy making excuses (because to them, Apple can do no wrong). The same individuals would harshly criticize Microsoft if MSN/Hotmail users were to experience a week-long e-mail outage (an inexcusable failure, in my opinion). Ironically, they're holding their beloved Apple to a *lower* standard.
    • reefrmad, on 07/26/2008, -4/+0You're comment was good but what is it with having to add "I mean, I Love X Company." I've noticed that on DIGG and REDDIT ALOT! Are you scared of getting beat up by emo fanbois? Or, if you don't have said declaration do you get instantly buried?
      • TWiThead, on 07/26/2008, -0/+7I just want two things to be clear:
        1. I'm not an Apple-basher.
        2. Not all Apple fans are Jobs-worshiping drones; some of us realize that no company is perfect or immune to criticism.
      • phoomp, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1It give more weight to his statement.
    • strategynode, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1You're right, Apple does need to take responsibility for its products. It would go over much better with the public if they just came out with it and said that they screwed up.
  • duckyinc, on 07/26/2008, -10/+18Om nom nom nom nom nom nom delicious apples.. oh noes I've nomed too much
  • praxis22, on 07/26/2008, -10/+2You've not really lived until you've heard a spontaneous 3 part harmony of the four seasons in nom's break out as you're picking up litter around the food table. A moment of transcendent beauty right there...
  • trixterIreland, on 07/26/2008, -5/+26faultlessly executed? No copy and paste on the iphone. Bluetooth stack for the iphone missing most profiles, even handy ones like A2DP (high quality stereo so you can better listen to music). Or is this faultlessly executed as in the recent worms and trojans for osx? Perhaps it was the assploding batteries, maybe it was the finish on some ipods chipping off because they didnt add a better layer of sealant.

    They have had a lot of faults, fortunately though, there is digg where exposing said faults causes comments to get dug down to supress the truth and bias the information coming out to appear that it was faultlessly executed.
    • shadownetwork, on 07/26/2008, -9/+3There is copy & paste on the iPhone now with the latest update.
    • BossKey, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1Apple faultlessly executed what they promised for copy and paste, which was to not promise it. They fulfilled that.
  • wilhoitm, on 07/26/2008, -10/+4Leave Apple alone!
  • whoreable, on 07/26/2008, -11/+6Apple...."We make computers for people who don't want to learn anything about computers"
    • iNNeRKaoS, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2My girlfriend doesn't want a Mac. She says if I get her one, she'll think that I'm trying to insult her intelligence.
  • xombiefarts, on 07/26/2008, -1/+14I first read that as..Has Apple Beaten Off More then it can chew? was a bit disturbing.
  • joebagodonuts, on 07/26/2008, -10/+5Speculation from analysts, somehow spun into an "article" which is just a whinny op-ed piece. Here's the real issue for Wired and other technical websites; "And Apple ignores the media, too."

    Sorry Wired, you just aren't that important. Neither are any of the analysts quoted in this piece. Solution? "Hey let's write a critical piece. It'll make us appear edgy . Plus it'll drive traffic from all the fan boys!"

  • Oogler, on 07/26/2008, -8/+5"The company's towering list of recent problems ..." Well it's a ***** up if there ever was one. I mean come on Apple, this is just **outrageous**; compatibilty issues with camcorders!!! OUTRAGEOUS!! You had better get that sorted or else!

    More hater nonsense.
    • incandescent, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1I wondered how long it would be before some frothing at the mouth fanboy would use the word "hater".
  • peestandingup, on 07/26/2008, -2/+7When they went from Apple Computer Inc to just Apple Inc, it all started to go to *****.

    They're losing focus big time.
  • punkcat, on 07/26/2008, -6/+8wtf kind of article is this?
    you could create a list like this about anything, from Microsoft to butt plug suppliers.


    • prophetpimp, on 07/26/2008, -3/+8But MS or buttplug provider (I am sure as an apple fan you must know these very well) son't cliam to have products that "just work" and neither do they have marketing campaigns that ridicule their competitors will false or exaggerated information.
      • jakem1, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2They don't tend to have a lazy media providing free publicity either.
      • punkcat, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1im not the one who abandoned critical thinking and accepted the article as quality.
        so i believe you gain the title as fanboy, nor did i say anywhere Apple is omg awesome, merely pointed out people need to keep common sense, ***** can go wrong and will for anyone.

        oh and nice slam about butt plugs, took the steam out my argument thats for sure.
  • Albumen, on 07/26/2008, -2/+6Apple, perfect? One word bound to make Steve Jobs cringe a little:


    Lisa

  • lsumed, on 07/26/2008, -2/+7I think it's just growing pains.
  • meshman, on 07/26/2008, -3/+8Apple sets themselves up for this. They bill their products as a miracle of technology and although they're good, Steve puts them up on a pedastal so high he can't possibly meet those expectations. The buildup of hype before any product release won't work much longer because every time, a product is hailed as a miracle but later examination finds out it's just like anything else; except highly proprietary and locked in. You can only cry wolf so many times.
  • ernieoporto, on 07/26/2008, -0/+7My iPhone is buggy, but even still I enjoy it more than any other device I've had.
    • Tyr7BE, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1How many other smartphones have you had? Have you used anything else that has MORE capability than the iPhone? What about a the Blackberry 8800 series that will give you push email, a week of battery life, copy paste, and A2DP? What about a Windows Mobile device that will let you do up freaking powerpoint presentations while you wait for a bus? What about the ability to browse samba shares when connected to a corporate network?

      I used an iPhone for a few days and I very quickly got frustrated. It looked very good, the graphics and touch were very smooth and slick, but it just didn't do what any of my other smartphones did. In the end, a turd with a bow on it is still a turd. Give me half the features it's missing, and then we'll talk.
    • Lewiji, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Yeah. Doing powerpoint presentations is hugely enjoyable!
  • Gutterpunk, on 07/26/2008, -8/+2I bought a Mac Mini 3 day ago at an Apple store, and when came time to pay, they tried to push the ol' extended warranty plan on me. This is how it went :

    Me : "Who needs that? Mac Just Work"
    Mac Genius : "Well it is electronics, you never know with electronics"
    Me : "That is not what that super cool mac user on TV says"
    MG : "Wut?"
    Me : "If that thing stop working, I'm throwing it by the window as far as can"
    MG : *shocked silence*

    They don't even believe this slogan to be true anymore

    Now, can someone explain to me why Firefox installs as a mounted virtual drive on OS X? What kind of craziness is that...
    • elveis, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2The craziness is that you don't know how to install Firefox. Like most app installs on a Mac all you have to do is drag the icon (from the mounted virtual drive) to applications folder. Just like when you open up the virtual drive and there's a Firefox icon followed by an arrow that says "Drag Here" pointing to the Applications folder... do that.
      Maybe that's just a little too advanced for some people.

      http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Installing+Fir ...
  • flashback99, on 07/26/2008, -4/+7everythings working over here. you guys must be talking about another apple.
    • incandescent, on 07/26/2008, -2/+3Yeah, the 96,000 posts about iPhone bugs on the Apple forum must all be made up by Microsoft employees.
      • flashback99, on 07/29/2008, -0/+1Cos the iPhone is 100% of Apple's business, right?
  • lump1, on 07/26/2008, -3/+15Apart from the MobileMe problem, is there any evidence that the quality and just-workingness of any Apple product has declined compared to Apple's very imperfect historical standard? Are you too young to remember the OSes that had a numeral for a version, and that popup box with the bomb? Or how about the first OSX, from the time when Apple was still a small company? Face it: All of their present products just work better.

    It seems like the article doesn't know what to complain about. It starts off with totally unsubstantiated claims about a slip in quality, speculating it's because of size. But it seems that the main gripe has to do with the closedness of Apple's development model (nevermind that the core of their OS and their web browser are open source, unlike their competitor).

    I don't dispute there's a lot of closedness inside Apple, but it's just pure innuendo to suggest that it undercuts quality. One would have a much easier time making the opposite argument, that the closedness and dictatorial control is what makes the Apple experience so predictable, consistent and effective. Of course there are open software projects that just work, but none that are on the scale of OSX work anywhere near as well as OSX.

    So it seems that someone was blinded by the light of Apple, and is now grumpily waving the FUD wand. That's not really worth reading, or turning off Adblock. :)
  • Owwmykneecap, on 07/26/2008, -10/+4Apple fanboys are worse than Nintentards.






    Go SEGA!
  • davidwasman, on 07/26/2008, -1/+5Oddly enough, Apple is being fairly transparent with the MobileMe issue. They just created this page for outages, fixes, and status today:

    http://www.apple.com/mobileme/status/

    I'm amazed they're being so open about it. Will be interesting to see how well they follow through with it.
  • SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -1/+5Like, Apple has never had a failure before? Does anyone remember the Newton, Cyberdog, EWorld, the $7500 20th Anniversary Mac, the iTunes ROKR, Mac Portable, Lisa, Macintosh TV, and for that matter AppleTV. Apple has failed in the past and will fall in the future, sometimes things come out too early, like the Newton.

    And Steve, it is time to bring the Newton back. I think a lot of people would be lined up at the door to buy a computer about the size of a 5x7 with the Touch interface.
    • msheidi, on 07/26/2008, -0/+0lol, I a newton at home here. An Old boss gave it to me.
    • userperson, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1I thought the iPhone was the "new Newton"? (I write having actually worked with neither).

      The Lisa was a 'failure'?
      • SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Don't think the screen is big enough on the iPhone. I think Apple needs something that is bigger than an iPhone but smaller than the EEE pc. Right now the screen just isn't big enough to watch video or do any serious surfing.
  • Erythroxylum, on 07/26/2008, -8/+2The only Apple product I've ever used is an iPod, and I would hardly call it a 'faultlessly-executed product'. It makes you install the horrible iTunes on your computer before it'll let you put any music on it. Then it gets all niggardly when you use more than one computer to transfer music to it. If it hadn't been somebody else's and the fact that I've only had to use it around three times in total, I'd've crushed it under my foot ages ago.
    God knows what Apple computers are like if something so relatively simple like an iPod is so *****. If the people who spend their worthless lives harping on about how great they are - 90% of the denizens on digg.com - are anything to go by, then they must be really, really bad. But then, Apple could release a bucket of baby diarrhoea and say something like 'This is the greatest computer to ever be released, ever, ever!' and Apple fans would crawl out of their caves and go 'Oooh, it's incredible and so easy to program for - this'll strike another blow to Micro$oft! (because, you know, Steve Jobs makes products out of the goodness of his heart and doesn't charge any money for them, and allegations that his company makes some $24 Bn annually is vicious slander)'

    • stagmire, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1Dugg up for "niggardly," which illiterates assume is a racil slur.
    • DAllenJ, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Since you hate Apple so much, I thought I'd tell you about this great product that isn't made by Apple. It's called Valium. It doesn't run OS X, and it doesn't require you to install iTunes on your system. It's not a bucket of baby diarrhea either, so no worries there. Oh! and get this: it's configurable! You can take as many as you want in combination with any other substance you choose! No closed system here! It's not free, but hey, it won't strike any blows to Micro$oft either so at least there's that...

      Enjoy!
  • o0dhacker0o, on 07/26/2008, -6/+3Here's the thing: Apple still makes great products, I'll give it that, but this is not an issue of the products quality degrading, or even service slowing. It is a matter of user competence. From the first days of Apple, it has never been true 'consumers' using and purchasing the products. It has been somewhat advanced users who have a purpose and goal in mind with buying a Macintosh/Macbook/Ibook/et cetera.

    Now, Apple has pushed it's products to the frontlines of the consumer tech arena. Now any ***** wants get his hands on a flashy Iphone or Mac because its 'cool'. So when 'recent problems' arise, it isn't that the products suck, it's that the people suck.
    • incandescent, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3What planet are you on? MobileMe doesn't work. That has nothing to do with the competence of users.

      My iPhone 3G is extremely slow, crashes frequently and can't hang on to a 3G signal for more than a few minutes. Thousands of people are reporting the same problems in every country.

      I have a BSc and an MSc in computer science. I'm a chartered engineer and a chartered IT professional. I've been working in IT for fifteen years. If I'm not competent enough to use an email service or a phone then who the heck is?

      You fanboys do my head in.
  • PilotHead, on 07/26/2008, -3/+2Apple is no different than any other company, they start great, get bigger, get more customers, than losses quality to quantity to keep the larger group happy. Call it what you want, but there will never be 1 company to keep everyone happy forever.

    It's the exact same thing with Starbucks. It was great, inviting, great place, and great quality coffee. No company could touch them. People loved Starbucks, and scoffed anybody who said different. They got bigger (at a ridiculous rate, like every street corner), got more customers, losses quality to quantity (1 button press drinks) to keep a large group going. Now they're closing down stores nation wide and loosing it's fan base to local stores, and even to Mickey D's.

    I think Apple should of stayed where they are at, helping "the rest of us", instead of everybody.
  • LuckyEMS, on 07/26/2008, -3/+5Apple would be more awesome if iTunes wasnt *****
    • SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Yeah, they would be just like Creative and iRiver. You people just do not get it. iTunes is what made the iPod be a great mp3 player, and it is still the reason Apple sells more tracks than Amazon.

      I agree with you iTunes is crap, especially on Windows, but most people just want something that is simple to use, and iTunes is just that.
  • mmilton, on 07/26/2008, -6/+3compared to Microsoft Apple is perfect
  • achinda99, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6Apples finally learning what its like to have large marketshare and deal with all kinds of users. While most of their hardware and software is still closed, they are opening up the platform so that others can work off it and that's when their weaknesses are exploited. They are finally feeling what its like to be Microsoft.
    • Bender1001, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2*nods*

      Apple you gotta shape up...you're gonna wake up one day and realize you've become the thing you've been mocking in TV commercials for years.
      • SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1People complained when the iPhone was released, and it was a closed platform with no third party apps. Now that there are third party apps, and the iPhone is just like every other smart phone, people are still complaining.

        Ah guys, this is a new phone, my old iPhone with the new firmware is working just fine, with very few crashes from apps and no reboots. Give Apple sometime to fix the problems which always happen when you come out with sometime new. MobileMe and the 3G iphone are still basically beta products.
  • shadownetwork, on 07/26/2008, -4/+1You are all wrong. Once the latest update is released it will have copy/paste. You will see.
    • anxcaptain, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2I holding you accountable for that... just fyi... but if it doesn't...ohhhh you better hope it doesn't
  • himthatwas, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2In Soviet LOLcats we say "Haz Chew Bitten Apl?"
  • anxcaptain, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1As far as I see it, many of the problems with the Iphone and radio stack could have been solved by community. Apple should stop babying the Iphone and open it up. Let the community help out.
    PROPs to the XDA DEVELOPERS!

    Mobile... you're screwed. I say they throw some exchange servers in the background... fanboys wont notice, cause they wont know.
    • SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Ah, you have heard of Cydia and Installer.app, right? Hopefully, the community is alive and will be going outside the hallowed halls of Apple and be coming up with new features. The best way to fix this is not inside Apple, but inside a jailbroken iPhone.
  • phoomp, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3huh ... looks like Apple's been deleting some of the Apple Support threads referenced by Wired ...
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID= ...
  • Mactard, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Article makes some good points. AAPL is responsible for most of their own problems. If you were using a PC it could take a long time to figure out what is causing your problem..is it Microsoft? The hardware vendors drivers? sloppy programming for apps? If you have any AAPL product and you have an issue.....it is usually AAPL's fault.
    The new users are also prone to complaining while the people who have owned AAPL products for a few years can solve some of their own problems. There are alot of AAPL noobs out there.
  • BenjaminWill, on 07/26/2008, -2/+2The slogan remains true, just because MobileMe and the iPhone 3G had some initial problems doesn't mean the company has bitten off more than it can chew. If anything, Apple's quality has increased not decreased. Something as big as a .Mac to MobileMe transition and the launching of what will become the most popular handset in the world, along with an App Store and many other major products and services was bound to have a few teething problems. And for the record no other company on the face of this planet could have pulled it off better. If you want a quick run down of Apple in the year 2008, just take a quick look.

    The new iMacs are the best ever. I've never had a single problem with mine nor do I know anybody who has. The entire MacBook range is as good as ever and about to get even better in a few months if rumours come to pass. The iPhone 3G is a hell of a lot better than its older bother and software 2.0 has effectively made it as close to perfect as we've come to imagine (save for a few hiccups with bugs that will shortly be ironed out). The iPod is as strong as ever, and impressively still holding its own against the iPhone. iTunes is iTunes and gets even more awesome with time. Leopard was the biggest success story in Apple's operating system history with superb improvements over Tiger, which is saying something, having fewer bugs and even more stable architecture etc. I could go on but I feel I have already outstayed my welcome from all the cynics and envious Windows fanboys who will no doubt digg me down.
  • jaelee, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1apple can't scale. apple pwnd!
  •  

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