[citation][nom]jecastej[/nom]Again, it is not what Apple invented, it is about how a company uses what's available to provide a better general user experience or a "new-easier way". Apple invention and "genius" is more about a set of features working together to provide specific functionality, none of then necessarily being best in class, than providing leading technology per se. [/citation]
Great point. others might have invented touch screen and this and that, but at the end, it is how you put everything together that matters the most. Don't get me wrong, I do think better touch screen and faster processors matter a lot, but the way you put everything together to make a product work smoothly matters a lot more. I still remember back in 06 when I installed both XP and and a hacked version of OSX on my AMD desktop, the OSX worked, not extremely, but still noticeably smoother. So the point is that the OSX and the hardware were integrated in a way relatively better than XP with the same hardware. It is all about integration of hardware, software, and whatever that is existing out there to make a great product. Of course, I am not saying we should stop and R&D for new hardware and forever use the same old tech. We should certainly keep the R&D going.
In a way, creating new products is like making new music. So many so called new songs out there are kind of like remix of older songs/elements from other sources. Daft Punk for example, they remix so many old songs, but the most important thing is their songs sound freaking great! Now the question is: who should deserve the most credit, Daft Punk or the people who did the songs that Daft Punk remixed? Well while the people who did the "original" remix certainly deserves some credit, but let's face, it is Daft Punk who actually did the awesome remix.
I think the same for new products, while the ones who do the R&D for new tech certainly deserve a lot of credit for their hard work, but the ones who can do the best remix of existing tech deserve the most credits. So I think that Apple does deserve a lot of credits for being able to remixing things in relatively better way. (also I do not have a single Apple product, I am not a Apple fanboy.) Let's say that the first iphone integrated many existing tech that many companies could get their hands on back then to create smart phones, but it was Apple the first one who could put things together so flawlessly. Yeah certain phones can have better touch screen, processor and other things, but it does not automatically mean that it will be a great products because the grand design is greater than the sum of its parts.