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Woz Worries Microsoft Is Now More Innovative Than Apple

Posted by samzenpus on from the listen-up dept.

First time accepted submitter yvajj writes "According to a techcrunch interview, Woz believes that Microsoft is now more innovative than Apple. Per the interview, it seems as though Apple is now just doing newer versions of the iPhone, and are potentially headed into a rut. Another gem from Woz is the fact that he treats all new hardware as something new to learn from and does not approach it with any preconceptions (irrespective of who the manufacturer is / what OS etc.). A great short interview from Woz."

6 of 333 comments (clear)

  1. At this point... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Woz should probably be cheering for Apple's demise at this point...

    Just imagine if IBM had been as good at shifting shiny cyrptographic lockboxes and patent litigation back when Apple was getting started. They would have sued his hacker ass back into the garage for good and we'd all still be speaking EBCDIC.

    1. Re:At this point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Things haven't changed that much. At the time of the first Apple computer, IBM had a patent on the way characters were displayed on a CRT. They enforced it, too. I know a guy at Xerox PARC that found a way around it.

  2. woz: the boy who lived by cathector · · Score: 5, Interesting

    seems like one of the few people in the valley who've managed to retain their techno-weenie spirit despite enormous corporate success.

  3. Re:Why should he be worried? by ifiwereasculptor · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fuck it, I'm godwinning this shit right now! When the germans innovated warfare, not everybody ended up benefitting.

    Now, back to our normal programming, the current patent system also discourages your way of thinking. There are open initiatives, that really benefit the whole, if not exactly everyone, and closed initiatives that raise barriers to entry in a market, so every consumer and competing company is a little bit more fucked over so the patent holder can pocket more bucks.

  4. Apple's pace of innovation is slowing down by monzie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Unlike many people who posted here, I actually saw the entire video. I am not a Steve Jobs fan or an apple fanboi.
    I do admire Steve Wozniak, though. ( though am not his spokesperson - this is my interpretation )

    IMO, what he's saying is that
    - Small, incremental evolutions by Apple in their products will not help Apple in the long run.
    - The delta between Apple and it's competitors is reducing.
    - Apple needs to create newer product lines AND/OR create bring out more 'revolutionary products'

    He probably means that we're not seeing the kind of 'jumps' that we saw from iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4
    or the creation of the iPad.

    To conclude, he does not think that apple is doomed per se.
    He is just worried that the pace of innovation might be slowing down at apple. Like all geeks, Woz believes in catching problems earlier rather than later.

  5. Windoes 8 Phone by 1000101 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I had an iPhone for two years, an Android (HTC Evo) for two years, and I recently got a Nokia 920 with Windows 8. All vey different experiences, but from an overall polish and usability standpoint, Windows 8 is the clear winner. The UI is wonderful. Apple still has the upper hand on hardware (not screens though), and Android has the upper hand in apps and 'openness' (if you even care about that). But when I got this device I felt like I did when I first got the iPhone. Maybe that feeling is what he is referring to.