Apple Has a Lot In Common With The Rolling Stones (Video)

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Apple Has a Lot In Common With The Rolling Stones (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on Thursday September 12, 2013 @06:18AM from the it's-only-a-smart-phone-but-I-like-it dept.

Tech journalist Ron Miller (not a relative) wrote a piece titled Apple has a lot in common with The Rolling Stones, based on the song It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It). In the article, Ron writes: "Much like the Rolling Stones, Apple has to get up on stage again and again and figure out a way to blow the audience away – and it’s not always easy." In fact, Apple's latest iPhone announcement seems to have been greeted with a massive "ho hum" instead of the frenzied interest some of their earlier product announcements have created. In today's video, Ron tells us why he thinks this is, and ruminates briefly about the future of Apple and what kinds of products might help people get excited about Apple again.

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Yup by sexconker · 2013-09-12 06:21 · Score: 5, Funny

Old, played out, desperate to remain relevant.
1. Re:Yup by Em+Adespoton · 2013-09-12 06:24 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Old, played out, desperate to remain relevant.
  ...and yet any new repackaging of their material is met with instant sellouts.
2. Re:Yup by HornWumpus · 2013-09-12 06:26 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  If Apple were really like the Rolling Stones, after the Ho-hum new announcement they would yet again introduce the Lisa and the crowd would go wild.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
3. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:32 · Score: 1
  
  Must... resists ... making... dried... up... corpse... joke...
4. Re:Yup by cayenne8 · 2013-09-12 06:38 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  You know, for the sake of humanity, we really might need to get DNA samples to sequence from Keith Richards, just so we can figure out how he has survived all these years.
  Apple or any company would do well to survive like that guy has.
  As the old joke goes, "What will be left after a nuclear holocaust?"
  --Cockroaches and Keith Richards
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
5. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:39 · Score: 0
  
  And with overpriced concert tickets (and phones).
6. Re:Yup by sp1nl0ck · 2013-09-12 06:39 · Score: 1
  
  Only one original release this century?
  
  --
  War is God's way of teaching Americans geography
7. Re:Yup by Savage-Rabbit · 2013-09-12 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  Old, played out, desperate to remain relevant.
  Yeah, they should dissolve Apple and give the money back to the shareholders...
  
  --
  Only to idiots, are orders laws.
  -- Henning von Tresckow
8. Re:Yup by cayenne8 · 2013-09-12 06:55 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Must... resists ... making... dried... up... corpse... joke...
  In some ways true...but I think there's other reasons the Stones (no, not talking Fred and Wilma here) have been around so long.
  In their heyday...they WERE just about the most important musicians in the world, they got world wide attention just for picking their nose, and they were one hell of a rock band. Look back at films like "Ladies and Gentlemen", and watch concerts from back in the '69-'74 era.
  While they did try to start putting on stage shows that rivaled anything of their day, often they were simple lights, maybe a slightly whacky stage....but the draw was the performance. The Stones were a FUN band to listen and watch.When I see these old shows and then think about acts today that are lip sync'ing, using auto tune, and have no concept of improvising on stage, I literally cringe.
  The Stones were sloppy often....hell, much of the time they didn't start or stop a song all together, but somehow they have a sort of magic that made the event something to see and hear. Where is that in bands over the past couple of decades? I just don't see it....
  We've not seen much like that in a band with few exceptions...many of those exceptions being other bands in their day (Zeppelin, Floyd, etc).
  The Stones, in addition to being one of the largest money making and popular touring bands ever....produced a legacy of music that is still strangely popular today. Why haven't we seen a large number of bands in the past 20-30 years that have done the same? What happened to music? Where are the songs from the 80's and 90's and 00's that will be the classic rock that will have the longevity the Stones' songs have had and somehow still do? I see young kids today wearing tshirts with the Stones tongue on them or AC/DC shirts, and surprisingly they KNOW the songs from these groups of *my* youth....
  I'm saying and asking much of this, to just say that we've not really had bands that came along to supercede them and replace them, and hence their long professional lifetime.
  I still get a rush when driving down the road, and something like the Stones' song "Gimme Shelter" comes on. I get shivers down my spine when I hear that chick Merry Clayton singing with them hit the last note so hard that her voice breaks.
  I miss songs that you can 'feel' the soul coming through the speakers.
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
9. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:11 · Score: 0
  
  If you like them, you have sympathy for the devil ?
10. Re:Yup by PopeRatzo · 2013-09-12 07:12 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  ...and yet any new repackaging of their material is met with instant sellouts.
  Sellouts yes, but those venues get smaller and smaller.
  They got 60k at Comiskey when I was a kid and went to see 'em. Now, they get 10k at the United Center, and that's with every radio station in Chicago giving away tickets. Sure, it's a sellout, but it means less and less.
  But now that I think about it, "sellout" is a good tag to use for any story about the Stones or Apple.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
11. Re:Yup by vux984 · 2013-09-12 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  they would yet again introduce the Lisa and the crowd would go wild.
  http://www.ijailbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/iPhone-5-44s-4-3gs-3g-2g-boot.png
12. Re:Yup by CRCulver · 2013-09-12 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, gramps, but you're really out of the loop. There is loads of music from the 1980s and 1990s that shows longevity (surprising to me, as I don't care for these particular acts). Michael Jackson continues to get lots of radio play and he sold out that comeback concert he planned before his death. Nirvana not only gets remembered by older columnists in mainstream news, but I've witnessed teenagers today expressing their admiration for Cobain. For younger listeners who prefer rock of a "progressive" sort, Tool's 1990s releases are stil a rite of passage. Rush, who are along with the Stones continue to be one of the most successful touring bands, put out their most widely remembered album in 1981. The list could go on and on.
13. Re:Yup by poetmatt · 2013-09-12 07:40 · Score: 1
  
  that's where we were in 2008, but it takes people a while to catch up.
  how many ethical issues have we had with apple since then?
14. Re:Yup by MightyYar · 2013-09-12 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  I, too, wish the Stones had not sold out and just stayed true to their core values of sex and drugs.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
15. Re:Yup by LifesABeach · 2013-09-12 07:44 · Score: 1
  
  Rolling Stones? I was thinking more like the Michael Jackson Estate. And who would have ever thought that Mick Jagger would have outlived Michael Jackson?
16. Re:Yup by rasmusbr · 2013-09-12 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  I miss songs that you can 'feel' the soul coming through the speakers.
  <=> You are more than 25 years old.
17. Re:Yup by frank_adrian314159 · 2013-09-12 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  Where are the songs from the 80's and 90's and 00's that will be the classic rock that will have the longevity the Stones' songs have had and somehow still do?
  It's not the songs. I would say that several songs from the 80's-00's were good enough to be classics. The issue is the music business that spits bands out if the hits aren't continuous from both single and album sales. The Stones had ten years of backing from their label, which lasted them through twenty more years of sucky releases before they became a real nostalgia act. I doubt that Adele or Lady Gaga get this kind of support. If they don't hit multi-platinum on their singles and albums each and every time, they're screwed, as the labels will drop them instantly. Word on the street is if LG's third album performs as "poorly" as her second, she's history (Again. Sorry, Stephanie). The labels don't put the same amount into artist development as they used to.
  Then when you aggregate this with the concentration of music media with its tightly-controlled play-lists and rigid formats, it's a wonder that anything new sticks at all (Hint: Oldies stations make more money).
  Finally, you just don't have a baby boom to support new artists. The number of and disposable income of younger people are both dropping. And that lower income goes to a large number of other entertainment options.
  So yeah, we won't get label-backed bands like the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd anymore. The best you can hope for is something like a Dave Mathews, who does enough of his own support and development that he might be able to tough it out between the time he's "relevant" and the time he's "nostalgia". Otherwise, it's off to the casino tours with the rest of you...
  
  --
  That is all.
18. Re:Yup by cayenne8 · 2013-09-12 07:55 · Score: 2
  
  Sorry, gramps, but you're really out of the loop. There is loads of music from the 1980s and 1990s that shows longevity (surprising to me, as I don't care for these particular acts). Michael Jackson continues to get lots of radio play and he sold out that comeback concert he planned before his death. Nirvana not only gets remembered by older columnists in mainstream news, but I've witnessed teenagers today expressing their admiration for Cobain. For younger listeners who prefer rock of a "progressive" sort, Tool's 1990s releases are stil a rite of passage. Rush, who are along with the Stones continue to be one of the most successful touring bands, put out their most widely remembered album in 1981. The list could go on and on.
  I'm actually not quite THAT old...I was quite young when the Stones were in their heyday...I grew up mostly in the 80's and 90's, and even then during the middle of them, I didn't find much music that caught my attention they way older groups did.
  Yes, Jackson did have a bit of a comeback when he died....but in the past year or so, that seems to have faded from what I hear being played.
  I was there for Nirvana at the beginning...pretty powerful stuff, but aside from about 3 songs, all off the same album, you don't hear much being played in public really...
  I'm a huge Rush fan....but even with them, they ran out of steam for good stuff around the Signals time. But they do have quite a catalog up till then and a few after...so, I'd give you that one. However, I'd also say that Rush doesn't have quite the large swath of people that would know much of their music like the Stones or Beatles did and still do.
  I'd posit that if you got together a fairly good distributed group of young/old spread over the last 40-50 years...and played a number of songs from bands like Rush or the Stones. The majority would know more of the Stones' songs than Rush's.....I'd guess most of Rush's would be off the single album Moving Pictures as that not much else got widespread radio play at least in the US. Add in The Trees, Closer to the Heart and maybe Subdivisions and that's about it that I'd guess that the masses knew/know.
  One thing it might be however, is that that "shared existance" where much of the US knew and listened to the same thing...fragmented quite a bit, especially in music in about the 90's. Rock itself became : Rock, Rock and roll (oldies), Metal, Death Metal, etc...then all the other fragmented genre's. So, the 'group' experience kinda died and it was hard for one band to unite or gain such a large audience as they used to in the early days of rock like in the 60's and 70's.
  So, possibly a combinations of things....but again, I see bands of today, and I don't see them as great musicians, with a tight band that can play and improve ON stage.....they're too worried about messing up the dance choreography and timed out light show I guess to actually be able to just jam with each other and let the audience in to enjoy it.
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
19. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:58 · Score: 0
  
  Most people like shit, lowest common denominator is what made Zinga a billion dollar company. According to you, they must be better than almost every software house and in-house development teams on the planet.
  Volume is no indicator of quality. Kia sell significantly more vehicles and spares than Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, Porsche and Morgan combined. I know which I'd rather not have.
  People go to see the Stones because they think it's "kewl". Most of their real fans are in their 70s now, how many zimmer frames and how much grey hair do you see at their gigs?
20. Re:Yup by fustakrakich · 2013-09-12 08:11 · Score: 1
  
  Where are the songs from the 80's and 90's and 00's that will be the classic rock that will have the longevity the Stones' songs have had and somehow still do?
  In Prince's basement.
  
  --
  “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
21. Re:Yup by CRCulver · 2013-09-12 08:18 · Score: 2
  
  I don't see them as great musicians, with a tight band that can play and improve ON stage.....they're too worried about messing up the dance choreography and timed out light show I guess to actually be able to just jam with each other and let the audience in to enjoy it.
  
  Your problem is that you posit the idea of an objectively "great" musician and then assume that one of his/her attributes would be a capability to improvise.
  I'd encourage you to read some ethnomusicology: whether improvisation is desirable or not varies widely across cultures and historical eras. For example, in Simha Arom's studies of the Aka Pygmies, he notes their virtuosity (their music is of a complexity that Western music arguably didn't reach until the 20th century), but he also notes that once they have learned a part, they do not vary it during performances. Westerners who have tried to play along with natives and try to add flaw by improvisation a little on their part, draw serious disapproval from the natives.
  So the US is perhaps simply evolving into a culture that doesn't care for improvising but instead focuses on other aspects of the performance. Things change, and once you have a good look at musical diversity across the world and through time, it's hard to argue that the current state is any better or worse than your memories of the Stones.
22. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 08:31 · Score: 0
  
  "Old, played out, desperate to remain relevant."
  And looking like old lesbians.
23. Re:Yup by CRCulver · 2013-09-12 08:31 · Score: 1
  
  Westerners who have tried to play along with natives and try to add flaw by improvisation a little...
  
  Sorry, that should have read "try to add flair by improvising a little".
24. Re:Yup by Megane · 2013-09-12 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  The '80s, back when MTV still played videos, is full of good stuff. Genesis, The Police, Talking Heads, etc. I've been building up an iTunes playlist that I call "80s radio" (because it includes some late '70s stuff that was still getting play), which is partly from my CDs bought back in the day, and the rest from CDs found at thrift stores. (all are rips from actual CDs)
  But I'll agree about music (in the US market) since the '90s being pretty dire. Yes, there were a few good groups like Nirvana, but also it was the dawn of shovelware rap music. (though I have enjoyed stuff from Eminem and Run DMC)
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
25. Re:Yup by Megane · 2013-09-12 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  The difference is that Keith Richards is still alive.
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
26. Re:Yup by Em+Adespoton · 2013-09-12 08:52 · Score: 1
  
  I, too, wish the Stones had not sold out and just stayed true to their core values of sex and drugs.
  It seems to me there was some rock 'n roll in there somewhere too....
27. Re:Yup by Em+Adespoton · 2013-09-12 08:57 · Score: 1
  
  Most people like shit, lowest common denominator is what made Zinga a billion dollar company. According to you, they must be better than almost every software house and in-house development teams on the planet.
  Volume is no indicator of quality. Kia sell significantly more vehicles and spares than Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, Porsche and Morgan combined. I know which I'd rather not have.
  People go to see the Stones because they think it's "kewl". Most of their real fans are in their 70s now, how many zimmer frames and how much grey hair do you see at their gigs?
  According to who? As you agree with everything I said, does that mean you, Anonymous Coward, think Zynga must be better than almost every software house and dev team on the planet? Remind me never to enter a long jump contest against you.
  For an irony and punning contest on the other hand, I think I've got you beat ;)
28. Re:Yup by Nerdfest · 2013-09-12 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  Most likely. Almost nobody under 25 can even understand what that means any more. This is the basic problem. There was a period much like the last 10 years in the 80s as well, that I described as 'soul-less pop trash'. There was a bit of a resurgence in the 90's, but less focused on instrumental or lyrical virtuosity. I think we're seeing another resurgence now, with more focus on instrumental virtuosity again, and a more acoustic lean.
29. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:02 · Score: 0
  
  apple is the best, bar none.
30. Re:Yup by hey! · 2013-09-12 09:04 · Score: 2
  
  You kids make it sound like living for a long time is a character flaw or something. Trust me, your turn at being the ridiculously old guy is coming, and faster than you imagine.
  Anyhow, my teenaged son and I were discussing the Stones just the other day. He said that he thought they had some good songs, but they were overrated. My response was no shit -- they were the *Rolling Stones*. Nobody could be as awesome they were supposed to be. But they put on a great show, and they had some good songs, what more could you possibly ask for?
  Eternal youth, apparently.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
31. Re:Yup by znanue · 2013-09-12 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  aptly put! We all get caught up in the spells of our generation.
32. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 10:07 · Score: 0
  
  Your post made Paul Thurrott jizz all over his keyboard.
33. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 11:06 · Score: 0
  
  at this point, any of these big acts can could do ok without the label. that is, of course, assuming the record label didn't screw the artist over, which it most likely has (owning their old work, shitty royalties, etc). if motivated enough, they could still do well enough to continue in their careers. i mean, wasn't that the issue with bands like radiohead and nine inch nails going label-less, that they wouldn't have been as successful at these new ventures had it not been for the previous success through the labels? i'm sure lady gaga has enough "little monsters" out there for such a venture. i think she'd have to do less than 1x platinum to be removed entirely, but her album after would be the real decider.
34. Re:Yup by rasmusbr · 2013-09-12 11:25 · Score: 2
  
  What I mean was that if you listen to a fair bit of music, which most people do, you will eventually get to a point around age 25 (give or take) where almost everything you stumble on or get recommended seems like a rehash of something you've already heard, perhaps while you were doing something for one of the first times in your life that made the music seem more profound and soulful than it really was.
  It's a lot more challenging to find music that comes to mean something to you when it is no longer almost automatically being tied to exciting memories.
  But yeah, a lot of music these days is literally made to be used as soundtrack for commercials. That's not an artifact of me or anyone else getting older.
35. Re:Yup by reub2000 · 2013-09-12 13:05 · Score: 1
  
  How does an electronics company sell out?
36. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 13:30 · Score: 0
  
  stones didn't invent dat garage band feel. being unprofessional (not syncronizing the start or stop of songs) doesn't make one a rough, raw, garage band.
  I'm glad that you had fun with their shows, but professionals were doing things right 30 or more years before the stones, and the 60's... well we dont need to compare the stones to the entire 60's/70's now, do we? sure, good band, but not the pinnacle of music for innovation.....
37. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 13:36 · Score: 0
  
  cmon, seriously? soundgarden/audioslave? siouxsie and the banshees? the pixies? david bowie?
  some great late 80s and early 90's shit there. Faith no more?
  are you even trying?
38. Re:Yup by PopeRatzo · 2013-09-12 14:21 · Score: 1
  
  That's my point. And yet, every time a new iPhone comes out, inventories are depleted within a few weeks.
  How do they "sell-out"? By turning you, the consumer, into the consumed. You're not buying their product, you're what they're selling. Their real customers are AT&T and advertisers and the strategic deals they have with their content providers.
  Hell, they could give away their products and still make money.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
39. Re:Yup by cayenne8 · 2013-09-12 15:17 · Score: 1
  
  cmon, seriously?
  soundgarden/audioslave? siouxsie and the banshees? the pixies? david bowie?
  some great late 80s and early 90's shit there. Faith no more?
  are you even trying?
  And aside from Bowie, exactly which of those groups do you hear from anymore....hear their "great" songs still being played on radio or other places...played by cover bands?
  How many of those (aside from Bowie) have > 1 song that most people know if you even played it for them?
  I think you helped prove my point for me. Thanks.
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
40. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 15:57 · Score: 0
  
  Well said, exactly right
41. Re:Yup by captjc · 2013-09-12 23:05 · Score: 2
  
  And to finish the joke, "And then Keith will smoke the roaches"
  
  --
  Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
42. Re:Yup by RaceProUK · 2013-09-13 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  Kia sell significantly more vehicles and spares than Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, Porsche and Morgan combined. I know which I'd rather not have.
  I've driven a Cee'd - it's a pretty good car, about 95% as good as a Focus, and for less money. For those that don't have squintillions to spend on a car, a (new) Kia makes a surprisingly sensible choice.
  
  --
  No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
43. Re:Yup by RaceProUK · 2013-09-13 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  Stop listening to mainstream radio then. Stations like Planet Rock will break out some of the more obscure music from those decades from time to time.
  
  --
  No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
44. Re:Yup by RaceProUK · 2013-09-13 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  "Old, played out, desperate to remain relevant."
  And looking like old lesbians.
  Not to mention being cited as the inspiration for many bands/artists old and new (outside the X Factor-dominated chart 'music' that is).
  
  --
  No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
45. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-14 21:26 · Score: 0
  
  Jumping Jack Flash! It's the LISA!!!!!
46. Re:Yup by Megane · 2013-09-16 02:11 · Score: 1
  
  Seriously? You expect me to list every half decent or better band of two decades in a quick reply post? And if I don't list someone, I'm insulting them somehow? Get a grip. This is a Slashdot post, not a scholarly research essay.
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
no by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:23 · Score: 0

wrong
To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-09-12 06:25 · Score: 3, Funny

The submitter is a SPAZ
1. Re:To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2013-09-12 07:03 · Score: 1
  
  Just a FYI for anyone who liked MST3K, the creators have been uploading entire episodes to Youtube . Just search MST3K. Some of my favs are Master Ninja and Gamera. Just this past month they uploaded a live riff track to Starship Troopers too. There's many many hours of entertainment right there. I have nostalgic memories of watching some MST3K, playing some Wing Commander, and then playing pencil and paper RPGs with my highschool buddies.
  
  Whats cool about MST3K being so old is that you forgot some of the jokes and they're funny again. I think when media passes a certain age, like 10 years, you can play it again and enjoy it over again. This goes for movies, books and video games.
  
  --
  God spoke to me
2. Re:To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:34 · Score: 0
  
  The RiffTrax Live riff (could be a pre-recorded one from last month) of Super Troopers is in theaters tonight, September 12th! (Oh hi) Mark your calendars for the live riff of Night of the Living Dead in theaters on October 24th.
3. Re:To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:37 · Score: 0
  
  In other words, the MST3K guys have also become the Rolling Stones and are still playing their decades old greatest hits.
4. Re:To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 10:28 · Score: 0
  
  Thanks, that's awesome!
5. Re:To paraphrase an old MST3K riff... by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-09-13 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but like the old albums they are still worth watching or listening to.
Innovative products for innovative thieves by intermodal · 2013-09-12 06:28 · Score: 1

I'm not looking forward to seeing phone-thieves cutting off fingers to access stolen phones.

--
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
1. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by hedwards · 2013-09-12 06:36 · Score: 0
  
  I am, it might finally settle the question of what precisely is it that an Apple Fanbois won't give up for their cult.
2. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by Tablizer · 2013-09-12 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not looking forward to seeing phone-thieves cutting off fingers to access stolen phones.
  Use middle finger for ID, then you at least can flipoff the robbers a good long time.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
3. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by intermodal · 2013-09-12 06:42 · Score: 1
  
  I will concede that point.
  
  --
  In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
4. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by hedwards · 2013-09-12 06:44 · Score: 1
  
  Of course if this becomes a common occurrence, I may have to run away shrieking every time I see an iPhone, because those dudes be crazy.
5. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-09-12 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  The Anthony Weiner method.
6. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by xxxJonBoyxxx · 2013-09-12 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  >> The Anthony Weiner method.
  No, I will not mushroom stamp my phone.
7. Re:Innovative products for innovative thieves by MF4218 · 2013-09-12 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently the sensor requires the deeper layer of skin cells to be living (detected by RF), so... I do not think that will work.
Don't think so, sorry by djupedal · 2013-09-12 06:29 · Score: 1

'they' are both just brands. Remember, it's always the singer, not the song. If you try to break down the 'they' to individuals, the Apple 'they' isn't the same anchored-over-time group attached to that brand as the 'they' that is attached to the Stone's brand.

If you simply want to state that the marketplace brings similar tasks and tension, fine, but then it's about branding, fans and being able to maintain what was good in the first place with what's worth adding, and over time, all brands have that in common. Of course an article written on that level, without major attention-getting keywords such as 'Apple' or 'Rolling Stones' wouldn't stand much of a chance when it comes to competing for it's own brand-like attention in today's media, so it is easy to see why such a comparison is floated.
My Thoughts by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:32 · Score: 2, Interesting

I wrote about why I thought Apple failed in their iPhone 5C/5S product announcement just yesterday. Unlike Ron Miller, I actually get into concrete reasons why I think Apple failed.
http://www.whisper-jeff.com/apples-announcement-failure/ (no ads - not fishing for ad views)
1. Re:My Thoughts by Score+Whore · 2013-09-12 06:52 · Score: 2
  
  After reading your blog I'd have to say that no you didn't.
2. Re:My Thoughts by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-09-12 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  This time, the "C" stands for Crap.
3. Re:My Thoughts by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:35 · Score: 0
  
  I literally took one look at it and felt sick. WTF is that meant to be? I've shit in better looking places.
4. Re:My Thoughts by fuzznutz · 2013-09-12 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  After wading through the gushing praise, I gleaned the following:
  
  1 The "C" model will fail to sell well in the west.
  
  2 The "S" model is not an iterative upgrade despite the same display as the 5 and no new unique features except the fingerprint scanner which you yourself report is not perfect and has weaknesses.
  
  3 The biggest praise you give is for a faster CPU/GPU and higher clock rate. The 64bit update is a red herring until such time as phones ship with more that 4GB of RAM. I'm not holding my breath for than to happen.
  
  4 You don't seem to understand what iterative means.
5. Re:My Thoughts by MachineShedFred · 2013-09-12 07:53 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  You don't understand the use of 64-bit processing if you only think it is about memory limitations.
  
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  Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
6. Re:My Thoughts by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-12 10:00 · Score: 1
  
  It's utility is fairly limited on a phone. Video decoding/encoding is all handled by the GPU. Photo editing maybe? Even on the desktop most apps gained very little, something like 5% in typical game/app benchmarks.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
7. Re:My Thoughts by gl4ss · 2013-09-12 21:45 · Score: 1
  
  well why don't you tell then what are the advantages in mobile setting? it's not like you need to use 64bit units for anything on it or even would want to use and all extra instructions, dsp's and what have you integrated in it don't need it to be "64bit".
  (and is this the sort of arm that has 48bit address space or what?)
  what apple did was just throw it out there that 64bits is 2x 32bits and so it is 2x faster. that's bullshit.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
They always say that by Tablizer · 2013-09-12 06:36 · Score: 5, Funny

In fact, Apple's latest iPhone announcement seems to have been greeted with a massive "ho hum" instead of the frenzied interest some of their earlier product announcements have created.
I've seen the same kind of statements from ALL the releases since the first iPhone. Incremental. Siri was about the only thing that created a 2nd iPhone buzz.....until all the youtube vids of Siri choking badly.

what kinds of products might help people get excited about Apple again

iFasterThanLightTravel (iTrek?), iFlyingCar, iCuredCancer, iBrainImplantMacPhone, iEye (captain), iFeelPorn3D, iFedWorld, iGotNerdsDatingNatalie, iGrits, iTwelveInchWanker, iResurrectedSteve, iLinuxCluster, imacs, iLisp, iMortality, iModPoints, iRanOutOfIdeas

--
Table-ized A.I.
1. Re:They always say that by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:47 · Score: 0
  
  iLithp
  Fikthed that for you.
2. Re:They always say that by camperdave · 2013-09-12 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  ...until all the youtube vids of Siri choking badly.
  Actually, it was Koothrappali who choked.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
3. Re:They always say that by AvitarX · 2013-09-12 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Really? The thing that they did that blew my mind was the retina display, and after using one, it was hard to go back to old displays (fortunately android got there when it was time to upgrade).
  
  --
  Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
4. Re:They always say that by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  I have bad eyes (from reading Perl code :-) so didn't really notice the diff between iPhone and Android.
5. Re:They always say that by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 11:44 · Score: 0
  
  iAgra
6. Re:They always say that by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 15:38 · Score: 0
  
  Really? The thing that they did that blew my mind was the retina display, and after using one, it was hard to go back to old displays (fortunately android got there when it was time to upgrade).
  It's a shame you couldn't be bothered to pay attention to high-pixel-density displays until one came along with a fruit logo on the back.
  Sure, no US-market phone of the time (there were some Korean and Japanese phones with it, as early as 2008) matched or exceeded the iPhone 4's exact density of 326 PPI.
  However, a number of US market phones were far beyond the iPhone 3GS's 163 PPI -- for example, my phone at the time of the iPhone 4's release was an N900, with 267 PPI, and the UMPC I was using at the time (Fujitsu U820) had a 1280x800 screen with 270 PPI.
  Even when the first iPhone came out, I was using a N800 with 225 PPI (basically the geometric mean of the iPhone 3 and iPhone 4 screens) in practically the capacity of a smartphone. (If you're not familiar with the N800/N810, they were smartphones in every way except having an actual WWAN radio. I used it for all the smartphoney touchscreen stuff I use my phone for today -- the one exception being making actual phone calls, which I did with the same HSDPA-capable dumbphone that provided the N800's internet access.)
  It was good -- if for no other reason, because (as you say), various other manufacturers then tried to catch up and leapfrog it, probably causing pixel densities to progress faster than they already were. But it was still very much an incremental improvement over existing smartphone tech; it only seemed like a massive leap forward because Apple was still shipping the 3GS with the same pixel density as the OK-for-it's-time screen on the original iPhone, while the rest of the smartphone world had made steady incremental improvements over the intervening three years.
7. Re:They always say that by AvitarX · 2013-09-15 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  No, I couldn't be bothered to pay attention until they were in places I saw them, like the stores I shop at or the pockets of people I know.
  The iPhone high density display isn't just high density, it's also high quality, which not all high density displays are (the ones that do the pentile pixels are far inferior for anything except for picture viewing).
  Apple brought high density screens from something I read about, to everywhere, and it was the killer feature they had locked down for a while.
  
  --
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Rolling tumbleweed maybe by bluefoxlucid · 2013-09-12 06:38 · Score: 0

Boring, slow, dried up, and going nowhere important.

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Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by JoeyRox · 2013-09-12 06:43 · Score: 2, Interesting
- One time market leader in smartphones? Check
- Main product has been eclipsed by more nimble competitors? Check
- Has a large cash hoard but nothing to invest in? Check
- Develops overly conservative derivative products to protect its existing business and margins? Check
- Was once seen as hip and cool but now ridiculed as "my father's" device? Check
- Being prodded by vulture capitalists looking to turn a three month investment into a quick profit? Check
1. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by the+computer+guy+nex · 2013-09-12 06:52 · Score: 0
  
  Apple's share of the smartphone market is the best it is have ever been.
  
  http://i.imgur.com/EVirL7S.jpg
2. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by coinreturn · 2013-09-12 07:10 · Score: 1
  
  Please don't confuse the trolls with facts.
3. Re: Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:12 · Score: 0
  
  Should we try the fish?
  (You'll obviously be here all week)
4. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by rasmusbr · 2013-09-12 07:22 · Score: 1
  
  I think you're getting a little ahead of time here. Your description is where Apple will be if their only major new platform the next three years is the smart watch.
  It's fairly likely, like they speculate in TFV, that Apple has an answer to Google Glass in their R&D pipeline. If that product turns out to be better than Glass then Apple would probably be back in the spotlight again. Wearables look like a market that Apple would find easy to dominate since it's a lot about style and other fussy qualities that Apple have done extremely well on in the past.
5. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by drkim · 2013-09-12 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  Apple's share of the smartphone market is the best it is have ever been.
  http://i.imgur.com/EVirL7S.jpg
  
  ...which is sad - considering that it's only 17%
  http://tinyurl.com/p2l3vkz
6. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by drkim · 2013-09-12 07:42 · Score: 2
  
  But with this new product:
  http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-unveils-panicked-ideafree-man-at-launch-even,33814/
7. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  That doesn't refute any of the statements. Nokia's share of the smartphone market, too, was the best it had ever been while they started to stagnate.
8. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by fuzznutz · 2013-09-12 07:54 · Score: 1
  
  Apple's share of the US smartphone market is the best it is have ever been.
  
  FTFY. You might want to read your graphic a little more carefully. Assuming the graphic is even accurate...
9. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by JoeyRox · 2013-09-12 07:57 · Score: 2
  
  http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5192a95969bedd702200000a-620-/sai-cotd-051413.jpg
10. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by Quila · 2013-09-12 08:04 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  One time market leader in smartphones?
  On a volume basis, now #2 worldwide, and that's against much cheaper (and even free) phones sold. On a profit basis, by far #1.
  Main product has been eclipsed by more nimble competitors?
  Apple releases once per year. Given the fast pace of phone technology, in that time it is likely one of their many competitors will release something better in various ways. Apple just release again, eclipsing them. The leapfrog game will continue.
  Has a large cash hoard but nothing to invest in?
  Apple has been buying a lot of companies in order to bolster its chip design, mapping, search, voice control and other products and technologies. The fingerprint reader on the iPhone 5S comes from the $356,000,000 buy of AuthenTec last year. This doesn't count the billions invested in manufacturing. Apple just keeps making money faster than they can spend it.
  Develops overly conservative derivative products to protect its existing business and margins?
  You say protect, I say leverage. It all works together very well in the ecosystem. Remember though that Apple is known to take a hit on margins just to make a better product.
  Was once seen as hip and cool but now ridiculed as "my father's" device?
  Yeah, right.
11. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by JoeyRox · 2013-09-12 09:42 · Score: 1
  
  On a volume basis, now #2 worldwide, and that's against much cheaper (and even free) phones sold. On a profit basis, by far #1.
  As was Blackberry.
  
  Apple releases once per year. Given the fast pace of phone technology, in that time it is likely one of their many competitors will release something better in various ways. Apple just release again, eclipsing them. The leapfrog game will continue.
  Releasing a product every year is not the same as innovating, let alone keeping pace with more nimble players
  
  Apple just keeps making money faster than they can spend it.
  That's how companies develop cash hordes. And without success in new markets that's how they lose it too.
  
  Develops overly conservative derivative products to protect its existing business and margins?
  And so has every other once-successful company who lead their respective industry. At the pinnacle of their success they looked like geniuses for protecting their market and margins. Later not so much.
  
  Was once seen as hip and cool but now ridiculed as "my father's" device?. Yeah, right.
  Every day I see elderly people fumbling with their iPhones, squinting try to understand what they see. That comes with success and the late adoption cycle, but with that comes the loss of cool, which in the smartphone industry is a tough tradeoff since older people don't upgrade nearly as often as the young'ins.
  
  You seem to have taken a wrong online turn at Macrumors and landed here. Here's a link to get you back on track: http://www.macrumors.com/
12. Re:Apple has a lot more in common with Blackberry by Quila · 2013-09-13 01:29 · Score: 1
  
  You keep trotting out this "more nimple players" that are cooler thing. I don't see them. Samsung? Big, slow, selling cheaply built phones with various half-baked features haphazardly thrown in. They've been in such a race to copy Apple that their stores at one point were an Apple Store copy down to accidentally including Apple logos. HTC? About the same for the phones. Google/Moto is now just starting to do something interesting, but we'll have to see where that goes.
  Cooler? I don't see the big lines at their stores on release day. I don't see the young crowd camping out for days in front of a Samsung store.
  You are right that (aside from the scanner) there was no big hardware wow thing that wasn't basically an increase in specs and quality. But this is Apple's "S" year, which is normally just a bump in specs. The big test as to whether Apple has lost it will be next year with an iPhone 6. That has to produce something overall innovative or Apple has shown it can't do it without Jobs.
and "Start Me Up" was played at Windows 95 debut by themushroom · 2013-09-12 06:45 · Score: 1

Just thought a little devil's advocate would be fun here.

--
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Kind of a jab to the Stones by sl4shd0rk · 2013-09-12 06:46 · Score: 1

Apple isn't even British.

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1. Re:Kind of a jab to the Stones by drkim · 2013-09-12 07:41 · Score: 1
  
  Apple isn't even British.
  No, they're Irish.
Gold colored is just a fancy way to say beige ... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 06:53 · Score: 0

... yet again introduce the Lisa and the crowd would go wild ...
Rectangular, rounded corners, gold/beige. Why not? :-)
How would I have known... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:00 · Score: 0

Okay, I'm sitting in jail right now but I only have ONE question! How the HELL was I supposed to know that exposing myself to school children is illegal?? WTF? I would never have guessed that in a million years! Shouldn't they have explained it to me and then let me go?
Strange country we live in!
Sent from my Cell phone
How about they Think Differently? by tuppe666 · 2013-09-12 07:00 · Score: 1

The trouble with Apple is they have become just another electronics company have been since they changed the name to Apple Inc, and they are getting their asses handed to them in that market, by established companies, who simply outperform them. In reality they are just the iPhone company, and they are trying(bless 'em) to innovate in that market its , and that market is becoming increasingly fragile.
How about they try to revolutionise their neglected computing line?
How about they sell their OS, looking why iWork failed before?
How about they buy Dell; Nintendo; Nokia; Netflix?
How about competing with Office instead of limiting it to their products?
How about they compete against Amazon; Facebook; Google search and advertising?
How about they they do a Netbook or a Console; Car Radio?
How about they buy or build a University or Manufacturing facilities?
What are they going to do...buy back shares; How knicker wetting exciting is that?
1. Re:How about they Think Differently? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  There are some markets they can step in which are stagnant. You suggested car audio. This is a market that is so boring that not even thieves grab a radio from a dash anymore when looking for something to sell for a crack rock.
  Apple could step into this market with a 1 (or possibly 2) DIN audio head and completely revolutionize things, and car makers would make their cars (and CANBUS APIs) available for Apple, which they would not do for any other stereo manufacturer.
  With this in mind, iPhones and iDevices could function as keys using Bluetooth, or if the audio had had a built in LTE transmitter, the owner's iDevice could do basic functions from almost anywhere there is a signal. iCloud Music would be the only game in town in getting stuff onto the player.
  To boot, the audio head could be removable so it could be upgraded every year.
  Car audio is a market waiting for Apple. It wouldn't take much for them to twist the arms of car makers to make their cars be compatible with an Apple made car stereo, and only with it. With horsepower being pointless due to congested roads, and MPG being high across the board, creature comforts are becoming a decision point for car buyers. Apple device friendly can be something that can make or break a purchase.
  The day Apple knocks on car makers door is the day that the fate of Alpine, Sony, Jensen, and other audio makers will be history.
2. Re:How about they Think Differently? by MachineShedFred · 2013-09-12 08:18 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  How about they try to revolutionise their neglected computing line?
  This event was about phones. They wanted media focus on phones. Other product announcements will be made at other events about those product lines. How do you get the media to write less about your phone? You give them other things to fill column inches with.
  
  How about they sell their OS, looking why iWork failed before?
  They did licensing to clone makers before, and it practically killed the company because none of the clone makers had the R&D costs that Apple did in order to make the OS and hardware to begin with. It works for Google because Google cares about ad impressions, and not hardware sales.
  
  How about they buy Dell; Nintendo; Nokia; Netflix?
  Dell (the company) is already being bought by Dell (the guy). Besides, what value would purchasing Dell add?
  Apple is already beating Nintendo by accident. What value would purchasing Nintendo add?
  Nokia is already being bought by Microsoft; and Microsoft isn't even getting the patent portfolio which is one of the reasons to buy Nokia.
  Netflix is an interesting proposition, but they also aren't for sale.
  
  How about competing with Office instead of limiting it to their products?
  Apple has long had a strategy of not making products that already have useful versions available, where they have nothing to add. This is why they never attempted to go after Exchange. Going after Microsoft Office is the same - there's nothing to add in a compelling or novel way, and it's the biggest uphill battle in the world because of the entrenched nature of Microsoft Office.
  They never went after Adobe Creative Suite either because it's a fully functional suite of tools for doing print layout and photograph editing. However, After Effects was a piece of shit (back in the day) so Final Cut Pro was born, along with Motion, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro, LiveType, and Compressor.
  
  How about they compete against Amazon; Facebook; Google search and advertising?
  They compete against Amazon where it makes sense - music, Apple merchandise, books, video.
  There is no reason to compete against Facebook - it's far easier to just work with them; and you can ask Google how that social media competition is working out for them.
  They do compete against Google in mobile advertising. It's called iAd.
  
  How about they they do a Netbook or a Console; Car Radio?
  Netbooks are traditionally underperforming stale technology at razor thin margins which would erode Apple's most valuable asset - their brand. Besides, Apple does compete with Netbooks - it's called the iPad. iPad launched, Netbook market evaporated overnight.
  Apple's full living room strategy is yet to be realized - the Apple TV is a self-proclaimed "hobby" which clearly shows promise for much more, if they decide to do it.
  iOS in the Car was announced at WWDC in June, and has a list of manufacturers on board to ship in 2014.
  
  How about they buy or build a University or Manufacturing facilities?
  They used to do their own manufacturing way back when, and it's much more convenient and scalable to pay people that have core competencies in manufacturing to do the manufacturing. That's why everyone does it that way, not just Apple.
  
  --
  Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
Apple makes the jumps, or Apple takes its lumps by govett · 2013-09-12 07:00 · Score: 3, Interesting

East Asian, and particularly South Korean, competitors have faster product cycle times based on Japanese kaizen (incessant incremental improvement). Give Apple's long product cycles and limited number of models, the only way the company can compete is by making quantum leaps in technology. All it takes is one missed cycle to become uncompetitive. Ask Motorola and Blackberry.
1. Re:Apple makes the jumps, or Apple takes its lumps by quacking+duck · 2013-09-12 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  And that's what really annoys me when I see idiots complaining after every refresh that Apple will just release a new model in just a few weeks or months with minor changes. I don't challenge valid criticisms, like outrageous price bumps for more storage, they're falling behind on wanted features (a consequence of taking TOO LONG to release new models), or even their suppliers' working conditions (though they are hypocritically silent when told the working conditions are as bad or worse at their competitors'), but that false one is total malicious ignorance.
  Fortunately there's an effective response to that: point out that Samsung will have released over 25 smartphone models in 2013 alone, and dare them to show the same scorn at Samsung for releasing so many models with minor feature differences. No one spouting their false accusation has ever replied after being slapped across the face with that revelation.
Ho-hum, another really amazing device by sandbagger · 2013-09-12 07:03 · Score: 5, Insightful

This is blog-itis. No, really. The phones these days are so bloody wonderful that apart from adding a Fleshlight and 3D holograms, what the heck else do you want. This is a 64-bit hand-held device with an amazing display and good battery life that reads porn to you. People "complaining" about the top end phones are manufacturing criticisms about minor issues of the mountain-from-a-molehill variety.
Tell me what specifically this (or any other phone of its calibre) is missing that is so wrong? The columnist is saying he's not jazzed by the recent unveiling. So what? Does he mean like most product announcements like cars, televisions and airplanes? How is this Apple's/Google's fault? These are now mature products that, like cars, will differ in the fenders but not in the operation.
I guess he had space to fill.

--
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
1. Re:Ho-hum, another really amazing device by mrwolf007 · 2013-09-12 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  The phones these days are so bloody wonderful that apart from adding a Fleshlight and 3D holograms, what the heck else do you want.
  There have already been several phones with 3D displays, didnt seem to be something people were really interested in.
  And, uhm, i heard fanbois of the various smartphone vendors love their phones, but seriously, you know a marketing slogan like "Life Companion" probably wasnt meant you should actually, well, do that bees and flowers stuff with a phone.
2. Re:Ho-hum, another really amazing device by cdrudge · 2013-09-12 09:02 · Score: 1
  
  This is a 64-bit hand-held device with an amazing display and good battery life
  And by amazing you mean similar or inferior to every other high end cell phone currently on the market. Ditto for good battery life. At best, the display and battery life are par. At worst, they are less and are competing with phones that came to market months before the 5S.
3. Re:Ho-hum, another really amazing device by hey! · 2013-09-12 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  Tell me what specifically this (or any other phone of its calibre) is missing that is so wrong?
  That's easy. More battery life. I know battery life is impressive, but it doesn't matter, you can always ask for more. Same with radio performance.
  Oh, and there's greater ruggedness. Until I can hammer a nail with a device and use it as a deep sea fishing lure, without voiding the warranty, I can always ask for more ruggedness.
  And *cheaper*. That's the real frontier, and a perfectly acceptable way of meeting the nail/deep sea criterion. And it's a tough nut to crack, because manufacturers don't want to be selling cheap commodities. That's how Palm became irrelevant. Rather than selling $20 m500s, they destroyed their market identity by making more complicated devices and competing in that market.
  
  --
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4. Re:Ho-hum, another really amazing device by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-12 09:48 · Score: 1
  
  Are you kidding? The screen is sub-par, most other phones have gone HD with at least 720p now. As for new/missing features, how about NFC, or a proper notification LED, or widgets, proper Google Now (or Apple Now) integration, some different form factors, a TV tuner...
  He is disappointed because there are significantly better phones. Better looking, more features. People used to expect Apple to lead, but the iPhone 5 looked out of date when it launched and the 5S has only fallen further behind. The "wow" factor is gone, the innovation has ended.
  I see a lot of Apple fans trying to make out that the product is complete and can't be improved, that Apple was never about innovation or exciting new features, that nothing has changed. What has changed is that Jobs is dead and Apple has lost its drive.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
5. Re:Ho-hum, another really amazing device by bitt3n · 2013-09-12 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  The phones these days are so bloody wonderful that apart from adding a Fleshlight and 3D holograms, what the heck else do you want.
  The horses and carriages these days are so bloody wonderful that apart from adding an electric lantern and a phonograph, what the heck else do you want.
  
  --
  how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?
And this needed to be a video post why? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:15 · Score: 0

Enough said.
Other Parallels by ScottCooperDotNet · 2013-09-12 07:17 · Score: 3, Interesting

Apple took ideas from Xerox and others, and put them together in a commercially-successful way. Xerox did make some money from Apple's popular work via stock.
The Stones took music from black blues musicians and some pop flavor, and found commercially success. The blues musicians did make some money from the Stones' bringing their music into the mainstream.
Steve Jobs got screwed out of his own company after initial success in part by youth and immaturity.
The Stones got screwed out of their own pre-1971 copyrights by Allen Klein, and paid "the price of an education."
Apple was sliding into obscurity without Steve Jobs. Neither did as well apart.
The Stones were sliding into obscurity in the 80s when Mick Jagger went solo, leaving Keith Richards to play with his own new band. Neither was a great success solo.
Early Apple founder Ronald Wayne is largely forgotten after he sold his share and left.
The Stones founding guitarist Brian Jones is largely forgotten after he left the band and died shortly after.
1. Re:Other Parallels by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:13 · Score: 0
  
  The guy who invented the car didn't invent the wheel, or the engine. He just packaged it together. You expect too much.
2. Re:Other Parallels by sootman · 2013-09-12 11:15 · Score: 0
  
  Don't forget about lawsuits! The Rolling Stones sued the piss out of The Verve for a sample used in Bittersweet Symphony.
  
  Originally, The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a sample from the Oldham recording, but it was successfully argued that the Verve had used "too much" of the sample. Despite having original lyrics... [t]he matter was eventually settled, with copyright of the song reverting to Abkco. Songwriting credits were changed to Jagger/Richards/Ashcroft, with 100% of royalties going to the Rolling Stones.
  
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I think they did just fine with this conference by damn_registrars · 2013-09-12 07:23 · Score: 2

First off, I don't own an apple anything. I was apparently the only person in the known universe who did not find the original iPod to be intuitive to use. I am too cheap to buy an iPhone. I despise Apple mice and have no use for an iPad. On top of that I also don't think they've made a relevant computer since switching form G5 CPUs to Intel.

That said, I think they did just fine bringing attention to themselves with their most recent conference. Even NPR covered it and mentioned the reduced price iPhone 5R and the fact that it has a plastic cover instead of a metal one. We've seen news of people already getting in line to buy one at various places around the world.

So while it might not be the most exciting announcement in history, it seems to have done what they wanted to do (sell more crap) just fine.

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1. Re:I think they did just fine with this conference by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 08:36 · Score: 0
  
  You get awfully quiet when you get exposed as an idiot:
  http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4186701&cid=44810671
2. Re:I think they did just fine with this conference by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-12 09:54 · Score: 1
  
  The media is still used to lazy stories covering Apple announcements, but look at the market's response. Apple stock down sharply because although the 5C is cheaper, it is far from cheap enough to make much of a dent in the Chinese market.
  The reaction online has been extremely underwhelming. Remember when there would be thousands of stories, every social media platform would be flooded, Slashdot posts would get 1000+ comments? If anything there has been more buzz about the Moto X lately, and I think the Nexus 5 will be big despite being pretty much just an incremental upgrade in hardware terms.
  
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  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Baby Boomers - Only Ones Who Care? by xxxJonBoyxxx · 2013-09-12 07:42 · Score: 0

When I read the headline, I thought of baby boomers - the only people who care about the Rolling Stones, but also the ones happily overpaying to be part of that brand. When I think of Apple products...the same thing is kind of true: it's the 50-and-up crowd who tries to impress people with their shiny new iPhone or iPad, whereas the rest of us pretty much couldn't care which Chinese factory built our tech as long as we can get a strong wifi signal.
Not a relative of who? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:43 · Score: 0

What is the summary on about?
Rabid excitement? by msobkow · 2013-09-12 07:44 · Score: 1

If a company thinks they need "rabid excitement" amonst a bunch of raving fanbois to remain relevant, their business model is screwed up.
All a successful company requires is a loyal and steady customer base, not rabid fans. Do you see anybody lining up for IBM's products? Yet who is one of the biggest IT providers in the world? With a stable income?
Yeah, the dinosaurs.

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I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
1. Re:Rabid excitement? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 08:04 · Score: 0
  
  This "news" piece is just a marketing ploy. Most people (those that aren't rabid Apple fans they buy each update) are already in the "meh, got one already" category. In the US, every two years people update their plans/device to whatever is available, because they believe the device is free. They tend to stick with their existing platform due to the purchases made for their last device.
  Apple are still making a killing, but they're falling way behind in market share due to the consumers coming into the market fresh each year (think high school or wealthy middle school kids). They're the ones going for Android devices and they'll probably stick with the platform for many years. Apple's iPhones look very antiquated today, and the UI rather primitive and limiting to what's being done elsewhere.
Submitter has an addiction by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:48 · Score: 0

Apple's latest iPhone announcement seems to have been greeted with a massive "ho hum"

You call lining up before the phone is announced "ho hum?" Where do you get all that Valium?
"People" vs "pundits" by danaris · 2013-09-12 07:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

Obviously we don't have the data for the iPhone 5S and 5C yet, but based on every single previous iDevice release ever, I don't think Apple has a problem with people not being excited. People have been buying their products in ever-increasing numbers for over a decade now.
The people who are vocally un-excited are the pundits. You know, the ones who, in order to keep money coming in, have to keep writing about something amazing and new that gets people excited—or about some scandal. The ones who are quite happy to compare existing Apple products to rumoured or vaguely announced future Samsung, Google, or Microsoft products—and compare their own straw-man versions of rumoured future Apple products to current and rumoured future products from competitors—and in all cases, find Apple's products wanting, no matter how many convolutions and fabrications they have to go through to achieve that.
I'm honestly not sure whether to believe the more paranoid people who have alleged it to be deliberately orchestrated, but there has certainly been a smear campaign targeting Apple...approximately since it failed to produce the iHolodeck on schedule the day people stopped being interested in reading about the release of the iPad. If you pay any attention to it—and read it without a raging anti-Apple prejudice—it's pretty obvious that there is a huge volume of "Apple is DOOOOOOMED" articles being written with practically no evidence to back up any of the (often quite wild) claims made in them.
And yes, I realize that one of the factions on Slashdot right now does, in fact, have a raging anti-Apple prejudice, but come on, people; this is supposed to be a site for smart people. Turn on your brains a little, quit the knee-jerk reactions, and actually apply a little critical thinking when you see someone writing about how the smartphone that Apple will not even announce for months has already failed and doomed the company, or other similar such ridiculous notions.
Dan Aris

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Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
1. Re:"People" vs "pundits" by mcgrew · 2013-09-12 23:04 · Score: 1
  
  Your comment just came up when I was metamoderating (I miss the old system) and I gave the mods a good grade.
  I can see why the pundits are unexcited, the single thing a new iPhone will do that an Android won't is the fingerprint thing. I just got a new Kyocera Edge and the women at Felbers with iPhones were ooing and aahing over it.
  Of course, their iPhones were big and clunky because they had those protective things on them because breaking them would be so expensive, while mine easily slips in a pocket. If it breaks it's only a hundred bucks.
  That's Apple's problem. However, I agree with you, they're in no danger of going out of business.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
2. Re:"People" vs "pundits" by bittmann · 2013-09-13 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  the single thing a new iPhone will do that an Android won't is the fingerprint thing
  My 2011-era Motorola Atrix has a fingerprint reader...
(not a relative) by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 07:59 · Score: 0

Huh? Why is "(not a relative)" in the summary when no one else is named?
1. Re:(not a relative) by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:38 · Score: 0
  
  Because Roblimo is Robin Miller. Same last name. Says so on the title card at the end of the video. A click on the "Roblimo" byline link also would have enlightened you.
Like the stones? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 08:28 · Score: 0

So in 15 years, they'll all be dead?
Speculation & time to market is the killer by ryanw · 2013-09-12 08:28 · Score: 1

I think the real buzz kill is the massive leaks, rumors and speculation of what apple is doing compounded by their secrecy, and lack of being able to be first to market due to their desire to be the best which makes it take longer to execute and allows for only incremental updates to existing products.
I appreciate apple's due diligence to make amazing products which have the best overall complete end-to-end experience for consumers hands down. But with the leaks happening it's letting people speculate and come to conclusions that are even more grand than apple is going to release. This creates a sense of disappointment at the times of announcements. For example, people had speculated we would see the appleTV Television with integrated iSight camera at this product announcement. Since it didn't happen, and only other things which we already knew (5c, 5s, finger scanner, faster processors, updated camera) there wasn't a lot of room for surprise.
The only surprise I saw was the dual colored led flash. Everything else I seemed to have already heard about and seen leaks on the Internet for several weeks if not months.
If apple wants to keep surprising us, they need to close the loop on their leaks, or show us products sooner to be the first to introduce it to us, instead of the rumor mill.
Apple's biggest problem by FyreMoon · 2013-09-12 08:35 · Score: 2

Apple's biggest problem is that unlike in the past where their products were kept secret, their products are available before they are even announced because they rely on the supposed trust of their Chinese factories.
As soon as Apple realises this blunder and brings manufacturing home the better. I don't want to know what the next iPhone will look like until the keynote speech and all the hard work that goes into it to woo the public.
1. Re:Apple's biggest problem by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:04 · Score: 0
  
  I don't want to know what an iDevice would cost if it was completely built in the states.
  And besides all of the so-called "leaks" are planned events to build pre-release buzz and keep the whole we have a secret aura.
  Obligatory Arbitrary Jab: But you would probably be a real expert in early leaks before the main event, if you ever got to participate in an event.
Apple: doomed since the beginning! by mveloso · 2013-09-12 08:41 · Score: 2, Insightful

Yeah, I mean, give Apple a break. They only did, uh:
* the first mass-market personal computer (Apple ][)
* the first mass-market GUI (Mac)
* the dominant music player (iPod)
* the dominant online music store (iTunes)
* the dominant laptop mouse input device (trackpad)
* the dominant laptop form factor (Powerbook)
* the dominant laptop form factor (Macbook Pro)
* the dominant small laptop form factor (Macbook Air)
* the dominant smartphone phone (iPhone)
I mean geez, what a bunch of fuckups. It's not like they're doing anything special. I mean, just look at Tandy, Atari, Creative, Gateway, Leading Edge, Compaq, Tandem, Sandisk, Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola, Sony, Panasonic, Commodore, Tower Records, and the rest of the industries in those spaces. It's not like they've been standing still doing nothing - oh wait.
1. Re:Apple: doomed since the beginning! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 12:14 · Score: 1
  
  * the first mass-market personal computer (Apple ][)
  Altair in 1975 started that market. TRS-80, Commodore PET, Apple ][ were all in 1977, together with several others you've probably never heard of.
  
  * the dominant laptop mouse input device (trackpad)
  Apollo, in 1982. Apple had Cirque touchpads in 1994, as did others.
  
  * the dominant laptop form factor (Powerbook)
  * the dominant laptop form factor (Macbook Pro)
  * the dominant small laptop form factor (Macbook Air)
  Not dominant in large parts of the world. Why would we care about "form factors" anyway? Or even about market dominance (except that we don't like monopolies here)?
  Apple is indeed an important and innovating force in computer technology, and has been so for a long time. The ][, Lisa, original Mac and iPhone were indeed highly innovative, but not as innovative as you seem to think. Comparing apples to stones is absurd to say the least, attributing all progress and salvation to Apple (even if it is only in terms of "market dominance") is no less absurd.
  Ahhh, where do the nerds go, now that the geeks are pretending to be us?
2. Re:Apple: doomed since the beginning! by Patent+Lover · 2013-09-12 14:17 · Score: 1
  
  Uhh, I'll give you the two "first" ones. Better check your numbers on the "dominant" ones. (Assuming these numbers are not just in New York and San Francisco).
3. Re:Apple: doomed since the beginning! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 14:21 · Score: 0
  
  Don't bother. There's no arguing with a pod person.
  Fortunately, Apple has lost its charismatic cult leader, so hopefully these fools will diminish in number, or take up knitting or something. -Anything to curtail the on going retardation of the population through computer toys.
  The fact that yesterday I nearly hit some idiot blindly stepping off the curb while checking his phone is not so indirectly Apple's fault.
Freelance IT journalist - WTF?? by tomboalogo · 2013-09-12 08:42 · Score: 0

How is this even a job? This fuck gets paid to blather about things he has no knowledge of and 'somehow' is some kinda 'expert' for giving us, 'the common folk' the gift of his blatherings??

Reworked joke:

Q: What do you call 5000 IT journalists at the bottom of the ocean?
A: A bloody good start.

We need to 'off' these bastards before they breed.
What they Have in Common by rssrss · 2013-09-12 08:56 · Score: 1

Years of Drug abuse?

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In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Everyone's memory is flawed. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 09:01 · Score: 0, Insightful

Every announcement since the iPhone 4 has come out hohum. People complain that there's not enough innovation, not the right name, too small, too big, no Adobe Flash, no removable storage, blah blah blah. Every release has been followed with a stock dive. And every release ended up being a major success in sales. So next year when all these analysts are reviewing, they don't mention all the negative crap they wrote, they just talk about how excited the sales were.
This phone brings a lot. 64 bit proc, motion co processor, hashed fingerprint identification, revolutionary camera flash(if it works as good as they say). But all we hear about is not enough innovation. LIke a bigger screen would be innovative. Please.
I can understand people not liking the style of the phone, I can understand people not liking the OS, form factor, or people just don't like apple. But you can't say they're not making great products.
Apple is failing, because business is hard by tuppe666 · 2013-09-12 09:27 · Score: 0

They used to do their own manufacturing way back when, and it's much more convenient and scalable...
The event was a disaster. It is why this topic has come up, and many more will in future, and the investors growl "innovation" more and more. Apple over promised and under delivered and it having the worst drop in stocks since year start reflected that.
They failed selling their OS before (so they should give up?), yet suddenly we have Google walk into the market with Android and Chrome OS to even threaten Apple at the top end of the market with the incredible Pixel, arguing its stupid (which financially it might be), while its computing sales are failing. They need a better answer. Your excuse against competing with Office is Microsoft is too strong...boo hoo; that is buisness, Google think differently and scored another Billion from selling Docs
Apple only sell virtual goods on its own platform, they don't have a store on Android, while Google have their applications on Apple. Where are their physical goods? Why can't I get a toaster from Apple? Amazon used to be just a book store too. Google is fighting tooth and nail against facebook and its having success...from a worse position than from Apple, Apple could have bought twitter. I suspect its too late now. but your answer is its too hard again
Apple competes against the netbook? using a form factor that is selling less than last year, in a market where it has already been overtaken by Android. The reality is they don't have a netbook because they want to protect the macbook air. Google are announcing massive growth with the Chromebook...and they think they can make money from it. Why can't Apple make money from it...is it too hard?
Apple have wasted AppleTV they haven't won by default against nintendo, Android has ten consoles at my last count...how many does Apple have? Ironically what did they use at launch to sell the iPhone 5S...a game? The iPhone has wasted the advantage it *could* have had the Apple TV Console. Chromecast has killed it. If Android TV hadn't already.
The reason why other electronics companies can outperform Apple is they manufacture, and right now are getting all the patents over components. "Designed in" ignoring the ugly connotation of made by children in China and anti blue collar workers, Motorola have started assembling in America again...and have reported success :) Their custom cases make Apples color phones look cheap (they look cheap on their own).
Your answer to everything is its too hard, or not enough money, other people do it. I can see why Apple is failing.
1. Re:Apple is failing, because business is hard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-13 00:13 · Score: 1
  
  You do realize, that since 1977, Apple has been in the business of making markets where they didn't exist before, rather than following other companies, right?
  Doing what you describe above is tantamount to the me-too attitude that is associated with Microsoft. If you want to see Apple fail, that's the best way to do it.
  All of this has happened before (beleaguered Apple in the late 90s) and it will all happen again. Besides, I'd love to fail to the tune of throwing out $billions in dividends and stock buybacks, and still adding to the enormous cash pile that could purchase a South American nation..
Changing world by tuppe666 · 2013-09-12 09:40 · Score: 1

Every announcement since the iPhone 4 has come out hohum.
...and The iPhone market share continues to slip. It is currently at an all time low. This launch was different it was about launching an iPhone in markets with little or no subsidies because Europe and America is Saturated. The $700 Plastic China Phone is a joke; 730 Million potential subscribers got on with buying android.
As for them making great products, so so their competitors. I would say better.
1. Re:Changing world by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 10:18 · Score: 0
  
  Next week will speak volumes. The market isn't slipped it's been invented. There are other things involved, subsidies not existing in the 3rd world. Every carrier is giving away Andriod phones and honestly there are a dozen manufactures.
  I've had experiences with many Andriod devices, I'm not wowed by them either. But I'm not going to attack them for it.
Lately...not so much by tuppe666 · 2013-09-12 09:44 · Score: 1

Yeah, I mean, give Apple a break. They only did,...
Nothing recently, and when all your cash is in high margin early adopter markets, and your current markets are saturated, with stronger competitors, well they needed something better than what happened this 10th
1. Re:Lately...not so much by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 10:04 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, I mean, give Apple a break. They only did,...
  Nothing recently, and when all your cash is in high margin early adopter markets, and your current markets are saturated, with stronger competitors, well they needed something better than what happened this 10th
  Like what?
Yea but Mick Jagger is dead and with him there is by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-12 23:50 · Score: 0

Yea but Mick Jagger is dead and with him there is no Rolling Stones