I think the key to realizing that the Mac is at the center of Apple's plans for the future is to think back to the keynote several years ago where Jobs described his vision for the "digital hub" and they way the computer, specifically the Mac, stood at the center of it. None of the new products Apple is developing exists independently. They all require a computer to act as the hub for all of these devices. Granted, you can use a Windows PC just as easily as you can a Mac, but it's impossible to imagine that Steve Jobs would be happy if you couldn't have the hub, i.e. the computer, be as beautiful and and enjoyable experience as using the devices themselves.
It's equally important to realize that for all the power of these devices, including everything the iPhone can do, none of them are intended to replace the computer. Jobs -- and Apple -- know that for all the innovations new devices like the iPod and iPhone, users will still spend most of their day using a desktop or laptop computer. The power of these devices comes first from how easily they integrate with that computer, which means that there is a market for a premier level of integration.
In other words, all these really, really cool devices enhance the Mac. They enhance how useful and easy and powerful your Mac is. Granted, they do as much for Windows, but not to the same degree. In like manner, using the iPod and the iPhone is improved by having a Mac at the center rather than a PC. In other words, Apple isn't about the Mac. Nor is Apple about the iPod. Apple is about the zen-like transcendence that happens when you're using both together.
by Mark Kawakami — Jan 28
It's equally important to realize that for all the power of these devices, including everything the iPhone can do, none of them are intended to replace the computer. Jobs -- and Apple -- know that for all the innovations new devices like the iPod and iPhone, users will still spend most of their day using a desktop or laptop computer. The power of these devices comes first from how easily they integrate with that computer, which means that there is a market for a premier level of integration.
In other words, all these really, really cool devices enhance the Mac. They enhance how useful and easy and powerful your Mac is. Granted, they do as much for Windows, but not to the same degree. In like manner, using the iPod and the iPhone is improved by having a Mac at the center rather than a PC. In other words, Apple isn't about the Mac. Nor is Apple about the iPod. Apple is about the zen-like transcendence that happens when you're using both together.