My wife and I bought an iPhone the other day from a friend. It was meant as a way for my wife to get on top of the emerging photography freelance work she has been getting. After transferring the SIM and poking around with the interface, we found out that the iPhone didn’t sync with her Apple because she had OsX 10.3.9 not 10.4 We were both shocked and angry. Upon realizing that we had to buy a new Operating System we connected the iPhone to Windows XP and it worked just fine.
So the iPhone worked with Windows XP which was originally created in 1998 but wouldn’t connect to OsX that was a few years old? It made me think, why the hell would Apple do such a thing? Doesn’t this very concept deify the Apple commercials in which a young metaphorically speaking “Apple” kid verbally and mentally beats up on a metaphorically speaking old computer dork?
When asking this question to a Marketer and Branding Strategist the question is answered easily. People who don’t update their computers or software on a regular basis are actually in a different Focus Group than the Mainstream Group that would buy and iPhone or Smart Device.
“Think about our perception of Apple and Windows. When someone thinks of Apple they think of New and Sleek. When people think of Windows they think of Office Computer That Old Dusty Laptop. Even though in your case and point the facts are that you bought an Apple iPhone and it didn’t even work on an Apple product you had to use a Windows machine. So ultimately everyone knows that Windows/PCs will get the job done but turn to Apple when they want New and Beauty.”
When asking a Technologist the answer to this question is also straight forward. In order for technology to flourish at some point builders and developers have to draw a line in the sand for “what is old” and “what is new”. If developers have to forever build to support older computers than the envelope will never be pushed and products will languish in “so-so” technology offerings.
When asking the IT department or people involved with maintaining order-out-of-chaos the answer is based on the almighty dollar. Apple is trying to make money by telling everyone they have to go out and buy “New” in order to user their products, at which point we have to go out and upgrade everyone’s machine, “It’s devils work”!!!.
So who is right and who is wrong? I suppose it all boils down to how you use your computer, how you tap into the world of information or what tools do you use in your daily life? In either case during the momentary technology splurges don’t be shocked if it is then your forced to upgrade.
Damon Sanchez - Darkriderdesign - Blog 