Apple Has Some Important Lessons to Learn

Liam Cassidy — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:33 +0000

We love Apple. We love its style. We love its vision. We love its marketing and PR. A generation of the world’s best designers cut their teeth on Apple computers, much as they might dislike admitting their sense of taste was shaped by a consumer electronics company.

In business, too, Apple has proven to be a visionary. Entrepreneurs often look to Apple for inspiration. Software startups the world-over are compelled to study Apple so as to learn how best to “do it” — whatever “it” may be.

I don’t know — do entrepreneurs look to Microsoft for inspiration? Arguably one of the greatest speakers on entrepreneurship and startups, Guy Kawasaki, was Apple’s first Macintosh evangelist and still praises the company today. Kawasaki picks winners — after all, that’s his job — and he chooses Apple every time.

In the bad old days, back when Microsoft was “The Borg” and Apple hadn’t released an iPod yet, a big part of the reason for loving Apple was our affinity with the underdog. After all, people root for the underdog, and, back in the nineties, a waning Apple couldn’t hope to compete with Wintel dominance.

Today, despite Microsoft’s monopoly continuing to grow in the last decade, Apple has risen from the proverbial ashes. It might be in Microsoft’s shadow (where all software companies can be found) but this Apple shines. (Sorry — terrible pun, I know.)

This is a company that sweeps in to well-established markets (MP3 players, online music, mobile phones) and fundamentally changes them. It establishes itself as the Porsche of a laptop market otherwise saturated with Fords; it launches an operating system so advanced that, eight years and (nearly) six updates later, makes Microsoft’s latest-and-greatest efforts still look like Redmond is playing catch-up. And don’t forget the stores. Every expert, analyst and critic said they wouldn’t work. Yet in the midst of a global recession, Apple’s retail stores are seeing increased profits.

Apple today is a different company to the limping, broken one in which Microsoft invested $150 million 12 years ago. At Boston’s Macworld in 1997, Steve Jobs said that Apple had to change its (then) dominant mentality; that is, “…for Apple to win, Microsoft must lose. We have to embrace the notion that, for Apple to win, Apple has to do a really good job.”

And what a fine job it has done despite what it was up against. So when it starts behaving unscrupulously (or if that’s too strong a word for you, try “questionably”) we get concerned, even angry. Pundits like Calacanis publish diatribes on everything they think is wrong with the company. The Arrington’s of this world declare they are “quitting” the iPhone in protest (but really, does anyone care all that much if Arrington uses an iPhone?)

Apple has, for a long time, apparently subscribed to the “treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen” school of thought, doling out products and services that are just what we need, just when we need them. Jobs has referenced Henry Ford’s statement about customers’ desire for a “faster horse.” In short, Jobs is saying we have no imagination, no inspired vision of what we really need to improve our lives. Oh yeah, and we have absolutely no style.

It seems we agree, judging by how eagerly we embrace the solution — buying what Apple tells us we want, when we want it because, if we own the latest iMac, iPhone and plastic white earbuds, we’re automatically imbued with impeccable taste, right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I know I am. I have two Apple Cinema displays, several Macs and an iPhone 3GS and I feel positively groovy, thank you very much. (Of course, I also live in fear, anticipating the time Apple updates its hardware, at which point I will automatically be not quite so groovy.)

We don’t want to see Apple turn into the Borg we used to despise but, for all its sexy unibody curves, funny commercials and Simpsons episodes, that’s precisely what has happened. Apple is today the megalithic entity it once derided. But even that would be tolerable if only it didn’t do stupid things, like inconsistently approve/reject/pull apps from the store and then deliver wishy-washy statements when taken to task for it. (I say wishy-washy, some people would call them lies.)

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as Baron Acton so eloquently put it. Apple might not be as big as the Microsoft’s of this world, but it arguably has power. An awful lot of power. Apple sells more digital music than anyone else by a wide margin. It has arguably the most important (and fastest selling) mobile platform in the world. It’s deeply-established inroads into the education and entertainment industries establishes it firmly in the minds of countless young and creative minds in the western world.

So Apple must tread carefully. It’s bigger now than it has ever been, with fingers in more pies than ever before. It’s growing and, paradoxically, proving profitable in markets where far-cheaper alternatives are widely available.

Let’s hope Google Voicegate teaches Apple a sobering, but not too damaging, lesson about the importance of transparency and honesty. We don’t expect to know Apple’s deepest darkest secrets (I’d rather not), but these days a degree of openness is not only preferred by customers, it’s expected.

Even if Apple approved Google Voice in the coming weeks, would it make practical, useful and obvious changes to its app store approval process as a result? I like that Apple doesn’t have its collective minds fixed unimaginatively, like the rest of us, on faster horses — but just because we don’t share its vision doesn’t mean we are owed anything less than respect and honesty.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

GarageBand ’09: Learn Like a Pro

David Appleyard — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:51:32 +0000

GarageBand ’09, the updated version of Apple’s popular software used by millions to play and record music, now gives budding musicians a fun new way to learn to play piano and guitar.

Basic Lessons

Basic Lessons let you learn the fundamentals at your own pace with Apple instructors in beautiful HD video synchronized to animated instruments and notation. You’re able to practice either the piano or guitar, playing through nine different lessons which prepare you for playing an entire song. Speed and repetition can be controlled until you’ve perfected the stage.

When ready to play the entire song, GarageBand allows you to do so with the full backing band. The video shown in the Keynote presentation looked to be of excellent quality, though it was noted that the piano lessons appear somewhat easier to follow than the guitar counterparts.

Artist Lessons

Artist Lessons feature original artists showing how to play their hit songs with everything from finger positions and techniques to the story behind the song. Each artist explains in the video how the song was written and what inspired it. You’re able to choose from lessons by popular artists including:

Sara Bareilles
Colbie Caillat
John Fogerty
Ben Folds
Norah Jones
Sarah McLachlan
Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder
Sting

I’m surprised that John Mayer wasn’t present in the list of artists taking part — he does usually seem to pop up wherever Apple has room for him. Artist Lessons will be sold separately at the new GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 a pop, available inside the GarageBand ’09 application.

You are able to fully control the mix and instrumentation, so it’s simple to break down a professional track into the various constituents and hear each part in isolation. As with Basic Lessons, speed can be controlled to make picking up the song easier. Previews of each artist can be found at the GarageBand site, and Apple noted that new artists will be added to the list shortly.

It will be interesting to see how this feature takes off; I think it’s a good concept, and if budding musicians don’t find the price to be a barrier I’d expect it to become very popular.

Other Features

Two other new features also grace GarageBand ’09. The first is a new guitar amp with stomp-box effects, allowing you to re-create classic guitar rigs. Sounds include Brit Pop, Honky Tonk, Lowdown Blues, Seattle Sound, Stadium Solo, and Woodstock Fuzz. Different pedals can also be added and, in classic Apple style, a 3D recreation of your custom rig can be shown on screen.

The second additional feature is “Magic GarageBand Jam,” letting you play along with a virtual band that you create. You can change the sound of each instrument in the band, arrange each part individually and then, when you’re happy with how the band sounds, jam along with your own instrument. This would appear to be an excellent way of moving away from simply recording a track through GarageBand, toward using it as a recreational and ‘jamming’ tool.

Of course, all the original functionality of GarageBand remains intact. It still provides the renowned functionality for layering tracks, recording, and providing a simple ‘plug and play’ setup process.

Pricing & Availability

iLife ’09 will be available this month for a suggested retail price of $79, and Artist Lessons will be available through the GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 each.

iLife ’09 will require Leopard and the GarageBand Artist Lessons will only be available in select countries.