The real problem is lack of vocational programmer training. So most businesses need people with a CS degree no... But people with CS Degrees are the ones who understand how to program well and make programs that do not fall apart when you look at them the wrong way. Or force you to upgrade them after any small change to the environment or the business need.
This type of stuff they don't teach as part of CS normally. However if there were more vocational type of training to teach future programmers vs Computer Scientists it may be more adventitious.
That said this article misses the point and more likely is the fact that businesses don't want to higher an educated high paid workforce. Because such a workforce doesn't just do what you tell them to do, are more than capable to making business decisions themselves. So if a company is used to dealing with low skilled workers hiring people with college degrees or masters degrees is difficult to manage. And requires a different type of touch.
I work with hospital billing... What is considered surgery is actually rather broad. It is in general is a physical fix is done to the body (as opposed to drugs, or consoling, monitoring or testing)
The issue isn't technical. But cultural and political. The old days of the Wild West Web is gone or nearly out. Freedom is at a cost of safety. Every new control that makes us safer chews up a Little bit of freedom. Any new freedom we obtain can adversely affect our safety.
Freedom is good. But so is Safety. There are some things at a small cost of freedom we can get a lot of safety. their are other that at a large cost of freedom we only get a little safety. So normally there should be a happy balance.
However freedom once given is much harder to regain then safety lost. And cultures and people in general when have their safety threaten will more likely react without fully measuring their decision, as they feel the need to protect themselves.
Back in the 1990's the Web was free, there was all kinds of stuff that you can get anonymously and without much consequences. But early on reputable institutions avoided it AOL/Prodigy/MSN because it was too unsafe, and if they were going to have people pay for service they needed a closed garden to protect themselves. However the Web Caught on and Institutions were mostly forced to get in, and the every man started using it.
The 1990's web had an average level of education of a Jr. in College. Then with average Joe getting in it went down to an 8th grade education. This meant we couldn't trust common sense to protect people. So people ended up downloading viruses/spyware and just general crap that killed their $2,000 computers. So they got angry and then went to more centralized locations Google that weeded out the "Dark Web" then to Facebook which was a self contained ecosystem. In general people are much safe now. I am no longer getting called in a panic because someone had corrupted their PC with millions of popup adds. This happened at a cost of our safety. Now with a few key site hubs, like Facebook information about us is never easier to get to.
If we want a decentralized web again, we need our culture to realize it will no longer be as safe and accept that.
When building a house we do not need a carpenter to put up the framing. Sure it is wood working but having a carpenter doing the work will be wasting your money and the carpenters time. Where he could be focusing on the fine wood work which he is trained to do. Sure he can frame just as well if not better then the guys who may be hired off the street. But he decided to specialize in something, this makes his skill unique and worth his time and effort to work on what he is good at.
A lot of "surgeries" are actually not done by a surgeon. If you have bandaged a bad cut or removed a splinter then you have done surgery on yourself. Emergency workers and midlevels such as ENT and Nurses can perform more complex surgeries. Then you really need a real surgeon where the risk of doing the surgery is high, and needs a skilled and trained person to do the work.
This applies to programmers. If you actually worked as a programmer having to cover multiple projects you can spend a lot of your time making reports (Often one time runs), or just calculating data points. This is easy stuff for someone who has a Degree in Computer Science. It isn't hard for people without a degree as well. But the tools available seem to expect a developer to be able to use them.
For many computing problems that need to be coded, the Slow Language if meant for quicker and easier development is worth it. I find I tend to use python now for what I use to use BASIC for. Not because of any Speed or performance issues, but because the time it takes me to write the code and get the answer is faster then me doing it manually or programming it in an other language.
For example I often have Extremely Large Text files that are too large for most tools and the ones that do may not have the right functionality. So I write a python script to do the function I need to do on the file. It may takes 10x or 1000x slower then if I did in in C or even if I spent more time optimizing the code. But that is often the difference between one second execution vs 15 minute execution. However if this slow program took me 5 minutes to code, vs 21 minutes to make it run faster. Then I am overall still better off with the slow language and code especially for a throw away program. Which I only need to do it once and will not need it again.
I always hate the term "Dumb Down" especially for processes that are sometimes needlessly complex. I have been doing software development for over 20 years, I can take on nearly any task without worry, I am often considered one of these Rock Star Developers who can solve the "impossible" problem, and I will do it with whatever Language or methodology I have available. I say this not to brag, but to point out that some stuff we do in computer programming is needlessly complex and it isn't because I don't know how it works or never worked with it. Sometimes the issue is from the software trying to isolate us from what is actually happening, I see this often in say ASP.NET where the HTML code which is rather easily readable is hidden behind.NET Objects making often a medium complex job much more difficult, just because of the overhead and all the work I need to do to override the default settings. Sometimes we have the opposite problem where we keep on having to reprogram a common task for every project. Such as I find many XML parsing libraries and tools. Often we get so impressed with our handy work and we fail to see our faults in our design. Also Many Software tools are designed for these big projects while a lot of what is needed just a small program to scratch a particular itch.
Dumb Down Development would mean limiting what you can and cant do because it would be deemed too hard. However we can always rethink and reevaluate what is being done and try to make the rough edges easier and better focused for the actual use cases.
It is too bad that for space travel there isn't much alternatives to propellant to alter and correct course. The mars rovers for the most part have well exceeded their design life cycle mostly due to the fact that it is solar powered and uses electric motors for its transpiration. If needed an expendable fuel it would had only lasted its prescribed life cycle. However good old physics shows that an electric motor may be able to spin and rotate a space craft there isn't much it can do for course, and prevent it from leaving an orbit.
GE has been greatly downsizing. However it is still a big company. GE is rather famous for killing its units that are not as profitable as others. Lately they have been going full force. That said their power generation investment is still on the GE Safe list. It seems that GE is still interesting in proving General Electric Services.
No this isn't a case a marketing. Marketing may direct us to use their product to satisfy the primal urge. But we see this behavior across many cultures with much different economic systems.
We bought New York City for $20 in glass beads. Now granted these glass beads were worth much more then, as there wasn't a way to mass produce them. But we were able to trade useful land, for silly pretty rocks.
World wide we can always trade Gold as a valuable substance.
Yes you can do something else to differentiate yourself. But your limiting you availability with such actions.
The problem with bitcoins is that they are too volatile. That $5.00 Coffee you bought today could have a opportunity cost of $15.00 next year. Vs using the Dollar where that $5.00 would have an opportunity cost of $5.15 the next year.
That and the others systems have been out for a while now. If anyone who is now considering getting an Xbox one, ps4 or a switch. Probably had their old system die on them, or their kid has reached an age the parents deemed OK for them to play video games.
Our primal urge to mate means we need a way to differentiate yourself from the pack. One way to do this is with luxury to show that we are so successful in surviving that we can use our excess resources on things that are not necessary for survival. So there are resources available to help take care of children and expand the gene pool.
Pretty rocks, decorative flowers, larger houses... Are things we want to have, So high demand. Then if these pretty rocks are hard to find, then we will need to compete with others to get them. so low supply.
Low Supply and High Demand = a valuable object.
Sure we use other methods, such a physique, and dominance as well. But having excess is an important factor in our species mating rituals.
People get angry over every stupid little thing. What Cell Phone someone uses. The particular food they choose in their diets. Being a fan of a rival local sports team. Condiments used on a hotdog. Thickness of crust on a pizza. Toppings on such pizza. Using a fork to eat such pizza.
Well Rick, it is complicated problem. A lot of sites, we really should be able to preserve our identities, at least internally so there is actual repercussion on what we say and do. There are other sites where anonymity is key. Because you get to say whatever you feel like without a personal repercussion.
The premise behind the need for basic income is flawed. It goes around the idea that efficiency improvements means taking away the jobs that are needed by people. We hear this every 40-50 years or so, When there are some major changes to the workforce. However history seems to show that efficiency improvements create more jobs in the long run. I am not going to be the doing the same Job my father did, and he didn't do the same Job his father did. Even if they get the company business how they do their work is different. Now the pain we feel now is the fact the efficiency measures could replace jobs that we are use to, and once implemented could cause some people to loose their job. However over time the company grow or smaller businesses start up and needs workers to perform different jobs.
Think of the old country store of the 1950's there was normally one person there the whole time, they had to stock the shelves, by paper figure out how much people owed and calculate change in their head. These stores were small less then 1000 square feet. Because that was the limit that a person could do. Then we we got cash registers with computers that kept track of inventory and did all the math. This allowed the store to become these big super markets with dozens of employees working at the same time. Things changed the small stores took a hit, but over time the economy and life styles changed. So other then having a deli guy running his own business he is working for the supermarket Deli. He may not be making as much, but he also doesn't have the expenses and risk of running his own business. For the small stores the ones that made it, found a niche that kept them in place. So the Deli store may have higher quality meats which they sell at a premium. Where before having a niche store like that wouldn't be profitable because you are too busy selling the cheap stuff to the masses that needed it.
Being that PC's are being sold at a higher rate for the first time in a while, We can expect to see Windows 10 market share to go up.
As much as we want to Hate on Windows 10... Microsoft Windows Sales have been tied to General PC Sales. The length of Windows 7 in the market is mostly due to the fact that Windows 7 PC's have been the primary computers for people for many years, and now these systems are start to show their age and become out of date. Back before Windows 7 the Average Live Span for a PC was 4-6 years now it is 6-10 years. Thanks mostly in part to Mobile devices that forced OS makers and software designers to focus more on lower end systems. So That 2008 Windows 7 PC, for most people would be finally really showing its age. 4Gigs of Ram is getting tight, and that Duel Core is quite quaint. So people get a new computer and they Get Windows 10 on it.
Previous to Windows 7 That 2002 PC in 2008 would be really showing its age. and that 1998 vs 2002 PC would show age too.
The Slow increase of Windows 10, is just because PC Sales have been slow too.
I think the biggest issue was their business plan didn't account for how greedy their market is. They could had kept their old price and without restrictions if people went to movies a few weeks after the release, and used the money for concessions. But no they used it to go to the new Releases and didn't spend a dime on concessions. Making it a poor business model.
The Original Netflix (Before Streaming) had control on what DVD they had and when to offer them, so their business plan worked well, because once people got greedy and started renting the New DVDs and not returning them promptly. They just didn't offer the New DVDs as fast, taking a few more weeks later then the DVD general sales. The consumer barely noticed it if that was a problem at all. This was pure speculation.
For Moviepass this is a different animal. You can't push it out without people noticing. Raising rates too is a bad idea. They really should had offered a higher price and the limitations at first and if they find it was very profitable then they could had lowered it in the future. People like lower rates not higher ones.
Being that most of the critical software nowadays is actually on the Web. There isn't much vendor lock in anymore. There may be some titles which are too expensive to move to a different platform, and custom stuff that a business may need. But for much of it now. There is much less vendor lockin then their was 20 years ago. Apple has not pulled a Microsoft. They may be bigger but, we don't feel like we are stuck on their products. There are active competitors out there, And we can switch if we feel like it. It isn't like in the Bad Old days with Crashy Windows, and people like, what else am I going to use, I have all this software I want to run.
The market likes it better when a company meets its projections vs going under or exceeding it.
Running too hot, could cause a burn out. Because people will get what they want then stop buying. Then we are set with a company with a massive infrastructure to build millions of units without people wanting to buy it. Costing the company money. That is why often stock will go down if a company is beating its estimates. If everyone rushes to get their iPhone this quarter, then next quarter they will not want one, because nothing new is out, and what they have is probably good enough.
I don't think Sarbanes Oxley law has been repealed. This type of stuff of counting pre-sales and shifted inventory doesn't fly anymore. They may count if they are sold to Best Buy for resell. But not the Apple Store.
The lower sales of phones, is in part that Apple Released two phones at the same time the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. The iPhone X didn't sell as much as expected because the 8 was in "competition" with it. So they sold a little more 8 then expected and less of the X. Being the 8 and the X have been sold over the a few quarters. The This initial sales number and stories of lagging sales from early on are not so much valid anymore, as the excess inventory is sold off and production is adjusted to meet current demand.
The economy is currently still strong, so people are able to buy things they wanted but couldn't afford. Heck I just got myself a new laptop (not a mac though) But I was living with an under powered laptop for a while now so I needed an upgrade, my personal economy is currently in good position so I got myself one. Being that the economy is currently good, I expect other people made the decision to upgrade the tech. Apple like it or not, is really the standard that others compare themselves too. So my new laptop I compared it against the Mac Pro I got features that are better then it and decided to trade off features I didn't care about. Then I did a month of research and made my decision. However I am a tech guy who doesn't worry about things like default OS, or ease of use. However Apple is the baseline, and normally if you get yourself an Apple device you are not going to regret it. You probable not going to get the best you need, but probably something good enough.
Slashdot Mirror
The real problem is lack of vocational programmer training. So most businesses need people with a CS degree no... But people with CS Degrees are the ones who understand how to program well and make programs that do not fall apart when you look at them the wrong way. Or force you to upgrade them after any small change to the environment or the business need.
This type of stuff they don't teach as part of CS normally. However if there were more vocational type of training to teach future programmers vs Computer Scientists it may be more adventitious.
That said this article misses the point and more likely is the fact that businesses don't want to higher an educated high paid workforce. Because such a workforce doesn't just do what you tell them to do, are more than capable to making business decisions themselves. So if a company is used to dealing with low skilled workers hiring people with college degrees or masters degrees is difficult to manage. And requires a different type of touch.
I work with hospital billing... What is considered surgery is actually rather broad. It is in general is a physical fix is done to the body (as opposed to drugs, or consoling, monitoring or testing)
The issue isn't technical. But cultural and political.
The old days of the Wild West Web is gone or nearly out. Freedom is at a cost of safety. Every new control that makes us safer chews up a Little bit of freedom. Any new freedom we obtain can adversely affect our safety.
Freedom is good. But so is Safety. There are some things at a small cost of freedom we can get a lot of safety. their are other that at a large cost of freedom we only get a little safety. So normally there should be a happy balance.
However freedom once given is much harder to regain then safety lost. And cultures and people in general when have their safety threaten will more likely react without fully measuring their decision, as they feel the need to protect themselves.
Back in the 1990's the Web was free, there was all kinds of stuff that you can get anonymously and without much consequences. But early on reputable institutions avoided it AOL/Prodigy/MSN because it was too unsafe, and if they were going to have people pay for service they needed a closed garden to protect themselves. However the Web Caught on and Institutions were mostly forced to get in, and the every man started using it.
The 1990's web had an average level of education of a Jr. in College. Then with average Joe getting in it went down to an 8th grade education. This meant we couldn't trust common sense to protect people. So people ended up downloading viruses/spyware and just general crap that killed their $2,000 computers. So they got angry and then went to more centralized locations Google that weeded out the "Dark Web" then to Facebook which was a self contained ecosystem. In general people are much safe now. I am no longer getting called in a panic because someone had corrupted their PC with millions of popup adds.
This happened at a cost of our safety. Now with a few key site hubs, like Facebook information about us is never easier to get to.
If we want a decentralized web again, we need our culture to realize it will no longer be as safe and accept that.
When building a house we do not need a carpenter to put up the framing. Sure it is wood working but having a carpenter doing the work will be wasting your money and the carpenters time. Where he could be focusing on the fine wood work which he is trained to do. Sure he can frame just as well if not better then the guys who may be hired off the street. But he decided to specialize in something, this makes his skill unique and worth his time and effort to work on what he is good at.
A lot of "surgeries" are actually not done by a surgeon. If you have bandaged a bad cut or removed a splinter then you have done surgery on yourself. Emergency workers and midlevels such as ENT and Nurses can perform more complex surgeries. Then you really need a real surgeon where the risk of doing the surgery is high, and needs a skilled and trained person to do the work.
This applies to programmers. If you actually worked as a programmer having to cover multiple projects you can spend a lot of your time making reports (Often one time runs), or just calculating data points. This is easy stuff for someone who has a Degree in Computer Science. It isn't hard for people without a degree as well. But the tools available seem to expect a developer to be able to use them.
For many computing problems that need to be coded, the Slow Language if meant for quicker and easier development is worth it.
I find I tend to use python now for what I use to use BASIC for.
Not because of any Speed or performance issues, but because the time it takes me to write the code and get the answer is faster then me doing it manually or programming it in an other language.
For example I often have Extremely Large Text files that are too large for most tools and the ones that do may not have the right functionality. So I write a python script to do the function I need to do on the file. It may takes 10x or 1000x slower then if I did in in C or even if I spent more time optimizing the code. But that is often the difference between one second execution vs 15 minute execution. However if this slow program took me 5 minutes to code, vs 21 minutes to make it run faster. Then I am overall still better off with the slow language and code especially for a throw away program. Which I only need to do it once and will not need it again.
I always hate the term "Dumb Down" especially for processes that are sometimes needlessly complex. .NET Objects making often a medium complex job much more difficult, just because of the overhead and all the work I need to do to override the default settings.
I have been doing software development for over 20 years, I can take on nearly any task without worry, I am often considered one of these Rock Star Developers who can solve the "impossible" problem, and I will do it with whatever Language or methodology I have available. I say this not to brag, but to point out that some stuff we do in computer programming is needlessly complex and it isn't because I don't know how it works or never worked with it.
Sometimes the issue is from the software trying to isolate us from what is actually happening, I see this often in say ASP.NET where the HTML code which is rather easily readable is hidden behind
Sometimes we have the opposite problem where we keep on having to reprogram a common task for every project. Such as I find many XML parsing libraries and tools.
Often we get so impressed with our handy work and we fail to see our faults in our design.
Also Many Software tools are designed for these big projects while a lot of what is needed just a small program to scratch a particular itch.
Dumb Down Development would mean limiting what you can and cant do because it would be deemed too hard. However we can always rethink and reevaluate what is being done and try to make the rough edges easier and better focused for the actual use cases.
It is too bad that for space travel there isn't much alternatives to propellant to alter and correct course.
The mars rovers for the most part have well exceeded their design life cycle mostly due to the fact that it is solar powered and uses electric motors for its transpiration. If needed an expendable fuel it would had only lasted its prescribed life cycle.
However good old physics shows that an electric motor may be able to spin and rotate a space craft there isn't much it can do for course, and prevent it from leaving an orbit.
GE has been greatly downsizing. However it is still a big company. GE is rather famous for killing its units that are not as profitable as others. Lately they have been going full force. That said their power generation investment is still on the GE Safe list. It seems that GE is still interesting in proving General Electric Services.
We can have more then one enemy. Heck we can have Russia and China as an Enemy while Russia and China are enemies with each other.
No this isn't a case a marketing. Marketing may direct us to use their product to satisfy the primal urge. But we see this behavior across many cultures with much different economic systems.
We bought New York City for $20 in glass beads. Now granted these glass beads were worth much more then, as there wasn't a way to mass produce them. But we were able to trade useful land, for silly pretty rocks.
World wide we can always trade Gold as a valuable substance.
Yes you can do something else to differentiate yourself. But your limiting you availability with such actions.
The problem with bitcoins is that they are too volatile. That $5.00 Coffee you bought today could have a opportunity cost of $15.00 next year. Vs using the Dollar where that $5.00 would have an opportunity cost of $5.15 the next year.
That and the others systems have been out for a while now.
If anyone who is now considering getting an Xbox one, ps4 or a switch. Probably had their old system die on them, or their kid has reached an age the parents deemed OK for them to play video games.
Our primal urge to mate means we need a way to differentiate yourself from the pack. One way to do this is with luxury to show that we are so successful in surviving that we can use our excess resources on things that are not necessary for survival. So there are resources available to help take care of children and expand the gene pool.
Pretty rocks, decorative flowers, larger houses... Are things we want to have, So high demand.
Then if these pretty rocks are hard to find, then we will need to compete with others to get them. so low supply.
Low Supply and High Demand = a valuable object.
Sure we use other methods, such a physique, and dominance as well. But having excess is an important factor in our species mating rituals.
Or roughly 2.5 Miles. Yes the US should change to the Metric System, but why mix measurement systems in a comment post. It only adds to confusion.
People get angry over every stupid little thing.
What Cell Phone someone uses.
The particular food they choose in their diets.
Being a fan of a rival local sports team.
Condiments used on a hotdog.
Thickness of crust on a pizza.
Toppings on such pizza.
Using a fork to eat such pizza.
Well stop making stupid names for your neighborhood.
So you can find the Local vs the Neighbor vs the Foreigner.
Well Rick, it is complicated problem.
A lot of sites, we really should be able to preserve our identities, at least internally so there is actual repercussion on what we say and do. There are other sites where anonymity is key. Because you get to say whatever you feel like without a personal repercussion.
The premise behind the need for basic income is flawed.
It goes around the idea that efficiency improvements means taking away the jobs that are needed by people. We hear this every 40-50 years or so, When there are some major changes to the workforce.
However history seems to show that efficiency improvements create more jobs in the long run.
I am not going to be the doing the same Job my father did, and he didn't do the same Job his father did. Even if they get the company business how they do their work is different.
Now the pain we feel now is the fact the efficiency measures could replace jobs that we are use to, and once implemented could cause some people to loose their job. However over time the company grow or smaller businesses start up and needs workers to perform different jobs.
Think of the old country store of the 1950's there was normally one person there the whole time, they had to stock the shelves, by paper figure out how much people owed and calculate change in their head. These stores were small less then 1000 square feet. Because that was the limit that a person could do.
Then we we got cash registers with computers that kept track of inventory and did all the math. This allowed the store to become these big super markets with dozens of employees working at the same time. Things changed the small stores took a hit, but over time the economy and life styles changed. So other then having a deli guy running his own business he is working for the supermarket Deli. He may not be making as much, but he also doesn't have the expenses and risk of running his own business. For the small stores the ones that made it, found a niche that kept them in place. So the Deli store may have higher quality meats which they sell at a premium. Where before having a niche store like that wouldn't be profitable because you are too busy selling the cheap stuff to the masses that needed it.
Being that PC's are being sold at a higher rate for the first time in a while, We can expect to see Windows 10 market share to go up.
As much as we want to Hate on Windows 10... Microsoft Windows Sales have been tied to General PC Sales. The length of Windows 7 in the market is mostly due to the fact that Windows 7 PC's have been the primary computers for people for many years, and now these systems are start to show their age and become out of date. Back before Windows 7 the Average Live Span for a PC was 4-6 years now it is 6-10 years. Thanks mostly in part to Mobile devices that forced OS makers and software designers to focus more on lower end systems. So That 2008 Windows 7 PC, for most people would be finally really showing its age. 4Gigs of Ram is getting tight, and that Duel Core is quite quaint. So people get a new computer and they Get Windows 10 on it.
Previous to Windows 7 That 2002 PC in 2008 would be really showing its age. and that 1998 vs 2002 PC would show age too.
The Slow increase of Windows 10, is just because PC Sales have been slow too.
I think the biggest issue was their business plan didn't account for how greedy their market is.
They could had kept their old price and without restrictions if people went to movies a few weeks after the release, and used the money for concessions.
But no they used it to go to the new Releases and didn't spend a dime on concessions. Making it a poor business model.
The Original Netflix (Before Streaming) had control on what DVD they had and when to offer them, so their business plan worked well, because once people got greedy and started renting the New DVDs and not returning them promptly. They just didn't offer the New DVDs as fast, taking a few more weeks later then the DVD general sales. The consumer barely noticed it if that was a problem at all. This was pure speculation.
For Moviepass this is a different animal. You can't push it out without people noticing. Raising rates too is a bad idea. They really should had offered a higher price and the limitations at first and if they find it was very profitable then they could had lowered it in the future. People like lower rates not higher ones.
Being that most of the critical software nowadays is actually on the Web. There isn't much vendor lock in anymore. There may be some titles which are too expensive to move to a different platform, and custom stuff that a business may need. But for much of it now. There is much less vendor lockin then their was 20 years ago.
Apple has not pulled a Microsoft. They may be bigger but, we don't feel like we are stuck on their products. There are active competitors out there, And we can switch if we feel like it. It isn't like in the Bad Old days with Crashy Windows, and people like, what else am I going to use, I have all this software I want to run.
The market likes it better when a company meets its projections vs going under or exceeding it.
Running too hot, could cause a burn out. Because people will get what they want then stop buying. Then we are set with a company with a massive infrastructure to build millions of units without people wanting to buy it. Costing the company money. That is why often stock will go down if a company is beating its estimates. If everyone rushes to get their iPhone this quarter, then next quarter they will not want one, because nothing new is out, and what they have is probably good enough.
I don't think Sarbanes Oxley law has been repealed. This type of stuff of counting pre-sales and shifted inventory doesn't fly anymore. They may count if they are sold to Best Buy for resell. But not the Apple Store.
The lower sales of phones, is in part that Apple Released two phones at the same time the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. The iPhone X didn't sell as much as expected because the 8 was in "competition" with it. So they sold a little more 8 then expected and less of the X. Being the 8 and the X have been sold over the a few quarters. The This initial sales number and stories of lagging sales from early on are not so much valid anymore, as the excess inventory is sold off and production is adjusted to meet current demand.
The economy is currently still strong, so people are able to buy things they wanted but couldn't afford. Heck I just got myself a new laptop (not a mac though) But I was living with an under powered laptop for a while now so I needed an upgrade, my personal economy is currently in good position so I got myself one. Being that the economy is currently good, I expect other people made the decision to upgrade the tech.
Apple like it or not, is really the standard that others compare themselves too. So my new laptop I compared it against the Mac Pro I got features that are better then it and decided to trade off features I didn't care about. Then I did a month of research and made my decision. However I am a tech guy who doesn't worry about things like default OS, or ease of use. However Apple is the baseline, and normally if you get yourself an Apple device you are not going to regret it. You probable not going to get the best you need, but probably something good enough.