The world is being taken over...by a fruit?

Apple. Outside the USA, not many of us even heard of Apple until about 10 years ago, however if I said to you,"think of an MP3 player", you'd instantly think of the iPod, yeah?. So ingrained into the collective conciousness is the association between "mp3 player" and "iPod" that other players have struggled to even enter the market, never mind hope to dent Apple's share. It's in part down to the clever marketing of the iPod, and also in part to the very simple "Click Wheel" that Apple invented, patented, and has been part of the iPod ever since, until very recently when they changed the rules again, and invented the iPod Touch.
Which leads us to the reigning "must have" mobile phone of the last three years, the iPhone. Shrouded in secrecy until it's launch, which only served to build the hype, when it hit the iPhone went massive, and instantly changed the mobile phone market overnight. Firstly, it was thinner than many of the phones at the time, and secondly, it had a touchscreen, almost unheard then. Most importantly though, just like the iPod, it just worked. It was a joy to use, and two generations on, it's no different, it's still ruling the roost. I've just gotten one, after being a longtime Blackberry fan, and it's easy to see why people love the damn thing. It's from another first from Apple, single handedly creating a brand new market - the App Store. Over one BILLION Apps have been downloaded through iTunes and handsets, and Blackberry, Nokia, Sony, etc have been quick to follow suit with their own versions. Much like with the iPod, Apple invent, everyone else plays catch up. And STILL everyone wants an iPhone, despite expensive and long term contracts, and in an unprecident turn of events, second hand models are still fetching huge amounts of cash on eBay, even long after they've been released. The only other market that's happened in? Computers, and guess what type? Yup, Apple Mac's. Where PC's depreciate rapidly, Mac's only loose around 10% of their market value a year (on average, don't quote me on specifics).
So after conquering the mp3 player market, and phone market, one has to wonder where they're going next. It's been an interesting journey so far, and most of us are happy to go along for the ride.

Blogging about....blogging

I've finally started my proper blog, to let the world...well, anyone interested...my thoughts, as rambling and incoherent as they are. This is my first non-review blog, and it makes me wonder why the sudden obcession with blogging. The internet has been here for a while now, and it's only recently, with the advent of Web 2.0, that blogging, social networking and so on have become widely popular. Evolving too - it's considered unfashionable to have a Myspace page these days, with Facebook ruling the roost. Why though?
Is it that we have this underlying, subconcious need to let everyone know our thoughts and opinions? Are we trying to do what we did in High School, standing out from the crowd while still trying to fit in?
Tweeter puzzles me. So many people, celebrities included, have jumped on the Tweeter bandwagon, and people follow "tweets" as they're known, just to see what their friends and celebrities are up to. Does it actually matter though, to know what Stephen Fry had for breakfast this morning, or that he's stuck in a lift? Amusing perhaps, but "Donna is at work" is hardly fast breaking news. Or perhaps I'm being cynical. I've got a Facebook page. I don't tweet, but I do use instant messenger programs to talk to my friends. I do try and make my Facebook posts at least interesting, or amusing, though I'll admit to posting a bit too many photographs of my new degu's (more on those later). With having a Blackberry, and just today, an iPhone (more on that later too) I can update on the move, and get updates from my friends on the bus. Are we just trying therefore to become more connected with our piers? What happened to a simple phonecall? Welcome to World 2.0.