August 11, 2011 20:20

The Power of Apple

There's been a lot of positive news recently about Apple. First we hear that the company has more cash in reserve than the whole of the USA. An amazing, if slightly unsettling, fact. Following from that there was then the news that Apple had become the largest firm in the USA, overtaking Exxon. A truly remarkable rise of a company who came very close to going bust not so long ago.

Computers that were once the preserve of designers and lecturers can now be found in most homes. The iPhone became the first must have smart phone and is now in it's 4th incarnation with the 5th surely on the way. 

It's an amazing story of a company who puts the product and user experience right at the heart of what they do. Loads of companies want to do this, many talk about it but very few really do it and give it 100%. Their stores are a pleasure to shop in - knowledgable staff, cool surroundings and the product right on display all for you to play with. The on-line experience of exploring their product ranges and shopping on-line is nothing short of exceptional, with loads of great rich content and stunning product photography and videos that entice you to get your wallet out!

I remember how excited we were in school when half of the old BBC computers got replaced with new Mac Classics! Nothing will match the thrill of when we first started up our own business... and we went in to the mac store to purchase a shiny new 24 inch iMac. It was the day that we realised that we were actually doing this for real - taking the plunge, quitting our jobs and starting a company and the purchase of that Mac was the moment we realised that we had a real company.

Now we've all got iphones, ipads, iMacs, Mac Book Pros and love each and every one of them. And all this it would seem, is down to one man - the driving force behind the whole company and the mastermind of it's success and the man who also brought us the magical company that is Pixar. The one and only Mr Steve Jobs. Check out this great inspirational TED talk that he gave in 2005 urging a group of students to follow their dreams.