As outrageous as it sounds, the so-called PC revolution really kinda is over. The 1980s and 1990s brought computing to the masses, but the increasing reliance on portable computers over desktop ones, shrinking form factors, ever more powerful phones, etc, means that "computing" as we traditionally think of it has been smeared across a whole bunch of our lives where it was once confined to the study room (or my 5th grade classroom, etc). This is the "convergence" they were talking about 10 years ago. It's finally coming to pass.
Of course, today's naming announcement has nothing to do with this. Apple is just reconciling an increasingly-inapt corporate name with their vision of the future. I think the point is that when computers are embedded in everything, it feels increasingly archaic to call any of the things "computers" anymore. Who cares what's a computer and what's not when I can edit movies on my laptop in the coffee shop, i can look up directions and get movie tickets on my phone, and instant message from airplanes? Apple's brand is now all about the Apple, not anymore about the Computers-- because they're all computers. It stands for hardware, software, and design excellence. But it's silly to think this somehow means that they are abandoning desktop Macintoshes.
In a way, the name change actually reminds me of the blurb on the cover of one of the last Hitchhikers' Guide books: "The fifth volume in the increasingly-inaptly named Hitchhiker's Trilogy"...
by Ben — Jan 09
Of course, today's naming announcement has nothing to do with this. Apple is just reconciling an increasingly-inapt corporate name with their vision of the future. I think the point is that when computers are embedded in everything, it feels increasingly archaic to call any of the things "computers" anymore. Who cares what's a computer and what's not when I can edit movies on my laptop in the coffee shop, i can look up directions and get movie tickets on my phone, and instant message from airplanes? Apple's brand is now all about the Apple, not anymore about the Computers-- because they're all computers. It stands for hardware, software, and design excellence. But it's silly to think this somehow means that they are abandoning desktop Macintoshes.
In a way, the name change actually reminds me of the blurb on the cover of one of the last Hitchhikers' Guide books: "The fifth volume in the increasingly-inaptly named Hitchhiker's Trilogy"...