Seeding the Apple Way

I've been wanting to say this for a longest time.

Of course, I hope that Apple is successful - that Steve Jobs created a viable business model that will follow in his footsteps.

But I also fervently hope that now that Apple is the biggest company in the world, that someone - anyone - will wake up and try to emulate the way Apple is thinking rather than merely copying what Apple is doing. In other words, I hope that business become more like Apple because I think it would make businesses better and would make the world a better place in which to live.

For Love or Money?

Steve Jobs did not do what he did because he loved money. He made money because he did what he loved. There's a difference.

Is Android Disrupting Apple?

As this point in time, has Android caused Apple to sell even one less phone or make one less dollar in profit? The only battle that Android is winning (not won) is market share in a market that is still growing by leaps and bounds. With the exception of the patent lawsuits, Android hasn't made Apple change its iPhone strategy one iota.

So has Android disrupted Apple? Not hardly.

Improving What Is v. Creating What Should Be

I would say that Steve Jobs didn't think about products. He thought about categories or industries. With the iPod, Apple didn't try to make a better MP3 device, they tried to make a better music industry. With the iPhone, Apple didn't try to make a better phone, they tried to create a pocket sized computer. With the iPad, Apple didn't try to make a better netbook, nor even a better tablet. Apple tried to create a category of portable computers.

The reason Apple reinvents every market it enters is because it doesn't try to improve on what exists. It tries to create what they think should exist.

The Definition of Innovation

Many people don't understand the definition of "innovation". Innovation is not measured by the "newness" of its parts, but by the newness of how those parts are used.

The person who figured out how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together did not discover sticks. He did not discover fire. He just took something old and used it in a new, in a different way. THAT is innovation. And what Steve Jobs did was innovation too.

Patent Purgatory

Here's what's happening in the patent wars.

Android Advocates hate Apple because Apple is being sued by so many others. This, they say, is proof that Apple is a thief and evil.

Android Advocates hate Apple because Apple is suing so many others. This, they say, is proof that Apple is anti-competitve and evil.

Android advocates don't give a damn about patent litigation and they don't give a damn about being fair mined. They just hate Apple. The end.