I've been following the WWDC 2008 keynote on Engadget and I have to admit it, I'm scared. While Microsoft has seemingly adopted "incrementalism" as its new mantra, Apple has decided to change the game. Life at a PC OEM is inevitably tied to Microsoft. Right now it looks like we have a boat anchor tied to our ankle. I was skeptical of the iPhone - and I think in many ways I was right to be. It did not succeed as a merging of the cell phone and the MP3 player - the two remain fairly distinct devices. It did not turn the phone/service provider paradigm on its head. In fact, it looks like the 3G iPhone will be subsidized (at least in certain markets) by AT&T. However, Apple is driving some significant innovation into the way applications are developed, delivered, and used. This is starting with the iPhone, but it's easy to see how easily this could translate for the PC - especially since the iPhone uses OS X. While Microsoft is focused on fixing the problems it created in Vista, and solving problems no one needed solved (multi-touch capabilities on laptops, desktops), Apple is creating the next generation of computing device usage.
Oh, and I think I found my next phone...
-t
