http://www.compaq.com/newsroom/presspaq/052101/visioneering.html<br><br>What gives? Is everyone going to always copy Apple's design, with a few of their own mods?<br><br>Even the bottom most pictures are reminiscent of the Newtons....<br><br>Sheesh.... like Compaq can make a good laptop that isn't hot as hell and heavy to boot...<br><br>***<br>"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." -John Adams<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by johnengler on 05/28/01 09:56 PM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

Just wait till the windoze folks start copying the Apple Store layout. You're right, though, John--if copying is the sincerest form of flattery, then windoze box makers are trying to flatter Apple to death.<br><br>And that's true too/--Shakespeare, King Lear

true, but it's not flattery I'm worried about, it's loss of potential revenue......<br><br>***<br>"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." <br> -- Ecclesiastes 10:2

…even at the basic software end of Windoze. Is it my imagination or does Media Player 7 look somewhat familiar?<br><br>

Windoze copying Apple? you must be taking the XP.<br><br>I really do still think that digital watches are a good idea....

I guess the key quote I can reference on this subject is "why spend money on r&d when we can copy our competitors?" - an old unnamed boss of mine....<br><br>Sound like M$ to you?<br><br>Or anyother manufacturer for that matter?<br><br>***<br>"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." <br> -- Ecclesiastes 10:2

XP stands for experience. And what has MS learned from their XP? That copying Apple is a good way to do business.<br><br>you are not your signature

Yeah, everyone follows Apple, but someone has to make these things work. I mean, look at the market now: everyone's catching on to wireless/Airport (e.g. Toshiba in a big way); flat-panel all-in-one desktop units are trying to make headway (Compaq, NEC - it's just been too expensive to catch on until now); many companies are (still/again) playing with tablet designs (Dell, even M$); modular stuff has been thrown around for years (RIP Tandem, frogdesign's early-90s Apple mockups) but never really happened; voice recognition is only now beoming usable (Dragon, IBM - but they aren't at the OS level).<br><br>So Apple has the ideas first. But what's their execution like? Does the industry perceive that Apple actually does "think different" if it doesn't release anything like this? The iBook and TiBook, amazing as they are, are still both laptops after all. The iMac, though, wasn't exactly a first - a desktop all-in-one - but provided enough of a technological and stylistic milestone (USB, no floppy, and some actual thought put into the design!) for others to be scrambling to catch up.<br><br>I think Apple really are delivering technology that "just works", and "thinks like I do" (Mac OS 8.6 and AppleWorks 5 are still my pick!). And I can see where the "digital lifestyle hub" may be heading. I just want Apple to get there before the competition does, because they'll do it best anyway!<br><br>For example, iTunes in concept (Rip, Mix, Burn - hehehe!) is pretty simple, but it's in the slick execution (for a v1.0) that Apple outshines. iMovie, iDVD, even AppleWorks - all simple, smooth products. All we need is good voicemail, fax, videoconferencing and graphics apps rolled into the Apple consumer suite and - well, all I could say is wow! Because Apple has at least two things going for it: simplicity and style. (And then, the grunt to really power the professional stuff.) And if anyone can pull that kind of concept into reality, it's Apple. It just involves a little more "thinking different".<br><br>I wasn't planning on this post being so long - God help me (more to the point, God help you!) if I ever get offered any sort of editorial column!

well, you do need some sort of help if you're not using Mac OS 9.1... it kicks 8.6 around like a redheaded stepchild... there's just no comparison whatsoever, 9.1 is faster and stabler<br><br>~~~<br>"Our civil rights have no dependence upon our religious opinions more than our opinions in physics or geometry." --Thomas Jefferson

I would be if I had the $$$$ - just got married a few months ago ya know!! hehehe But I'll probably wait until 10.1 with 9.2 in the box as well... or would anyone like to donate to the "Starving Just-Married 8.6-Using Guy Foundation"?? <br><br>The point being, it's easy to look back and say "yeah, they're copying so-and-so" but a lot harder to say "wow, that IS different!" - or even "wow, THAT'S a new way of looking at it!" Personally, I love a new idea if it makes things better, no matter where it's come from. (can you say MacBU even?)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Alex on 05/31/01 00:18 AM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>