Espresso Machines, Apple, Google and Competition
Much has been said about the rising power of Google and Apple. Every tech blog worth their salt has commented on it at some point. If you want to actually be entertained by all of this skullduggery I can only suggest a visit to Bob Cringely’s website. The report that Google are going to get into social networking in a big way is pretty unsurprising really. Google make it really easy for their users to sample their services so if a technology exists they’re going in there and you’re coming along for the ride. The only major web application I can think of that Google hasn’t got a hold of yet is Auctions. Ebay are sitting pretty in that regard. I wonder how long that can be.
But I digress. What I want to talk about today is competitiveness. How come Apple are swallowing up hardware and Google dominating software so convincingly? What is the reason? Well my simple answer is that their competitors are a) thick b)lazy and c) don’t care. Google’s braintrust is the envy of the business. They hire the best and convince them to stay. It is not difficult to hire a superstar but to convince a superstar to haul the company line in the modern age is very rare. To do so on a large scale such as Google has done is unprecedented.
Apple aren’t so much about brain power as about caring. The care about design. How many other electronics company actually care about aesthetics? Dell produce ugly, ugly hardware. HP are about as inspiring as anArgos store and Toshiba retired from design sometime in the late 80’s. The iphone is revolutionary but only because after the 3210 Nokia decided they had reached perfection and Motorola think that the Razr is all you’ll ever want.
Software companies need flexibility, creativity and a set of values. Large companies don’t provide that and start-ups that do are far too small to compete with Google. If they do (ala Youtube they get bought out. It will be very very hard to gain any inroads in Google’s marketshare. I reckon the only people to do are a bunch of disgruntled Google insiders but that is unlikely in the short term. Whoever is willing and able to get a thousand nerds working at a thousand typewriters on their pet projects has a chance of competing but til then Google rein supreme.
In terms of product design when will companies start pushing the boundaries. I want a laptop as beautiful as my La Pavoni espresso maker. I want reliability of course but I want exotic materials, elegance and long-time durability and style. Who other than Apple have made good looking computers?
Espresso machines are almost exclusively beautiful. Gaggia, La Pavoni, Elektra, Francis Francis all make machines of beauty that both do the job and look the part.
As I await my new iMac and get deeper engrossed into Google and Apple by the day, I know that I am getting the best but I am also at risk of being exploited (well by Google anyway). The reason I use their products is because they are the best at what they do. This is because they are willing to try new technologies (Google) and new designs (Apple). As you may have guessed from the website name I respect that. I always respect a trier!
Posted 31.10.07