Thats 300,000 sold since advance ordering was opened, they just count all sales up to and including day one as occurring on day one.
Still a nice healthy amount.

Is that still going? I thought Apple had given up on it. And as you say, it wasn't "original" - merely "propitiatory".

Yes, it is still going. Some of us prefer it over USB for robustness, consistency and ability to daisychain devices.

It is also "original" since Apple initiated the protocol, and worked with several others to get the IEEE standard drawn up.

Just because most PC manufacturers don't pay the royalty to use it doesn't mean it's not still around out here.

If you have a tape based video camera, it’s essential.

It is also very fast to move huge volumes of files as well.

The layout of the modern notebook computer.
With a palm rest for your little hands, the pointer input control human computer interface ( ) device near your thumbs, and the keyboard tucked up near the display was an Apple idea - now try finding a laptop that doesn't use this layout.

But that is design rather than science. It's the intelligent application of existing technology, which is what Apple are good at.

As I said in my post: "they learn from the others' mistakes and meticulously design the products to be beautiful and easy to use."

The Laptop: Xerox, 1968
The Touchpad: notably used by Apollo in 1983, Psion in 1989

Combined with great design: Apple PowerBook 500 in 1994.

Indeed, but the thing was it was an original idea to do it that way.
Everyone stands on the shoulders of those who've gone before, and nowhere is that more true than in science.
Or at a gathering of midgets trying to sneak onto a roller coaster with a minimum height allowance.

What about that universal port that Apple came up with? The one based on fibre and could take monitors, sound, peripherals, etc...?

I do remember that Firewire was important for this.

However, I've not seen a tape based camcorder in a high-street shop for years. The 100 different camcorders you'll find in Dixons are solid state or HDD and have USB.

Even most Apple products no longer support Firewire. Why would they when USB is so totally ubiquitous, cheaper and faster for general use and eSATA is the performance standard for consumer mass storage devices.

Dead or alive, this is all rather off-topic and irrelevant. Firewire was just yet another serial bus interface, and not an original concept.

I don't quite see your point JJ.

Are you saying Apple don't innovate?

As far as I can tell he's saying that Apple improve existing ideas/designs, rather than come up with entirely new ones. He's also saying that Apple are clever by allowing a technology to mature before attempting to implement their own version.

++;
</Edd>

This what I'm trying to say... but not very eloquent like and with much random sidetracking

Well they have done a lot of stuff over the years.

Apple I
Apple II
Lisa
Macintosh 128k and later versions
Macintosh classic an Macintosh II
Macintosh TV
Macintosh Centris and Quadra
iMac (CRT version. Lampshade and Flat panel)
eMac
Mac Mini
Mac Pro
Macintosh Performa
iBook
Powerbook
MacBook
MacBook Air
Apple TV
iPhone
iPod
iPad
Newton
Time Capsule
Airport/Airport Express

System software 2 through 7.5
Mac OS 7.6 through 9.2
Mac OS X
iPhone OS


To name but a few. They seem to cause quite a stir at product launches to say that it has all been seen before.


Are we certain none of it was their own work? That does seem a bit disingenuous.