Long ago, when you bought a black and white laser printer, it was a major purchase. You might spend several thousand dollars even for the entry-level model. But over the years, printers have become cheap commodity devices. Nowadays, replacing consumables and other spare parts can quickly exceed the cost of the printer and then some, […]

There’s something about the way Apple acquires technology. In recent years, dozens of small companies have been purchased, but not because they were in danger of going out of business. In large part, it’s because they had one or more technologies that would be useful for Apple’s portfolio. Don’t forget that the A-series chips that power […]

When does a Retina display hit critical mass? Well, Apple and other smartphone makers have been selling mobile gear with Retina displays, meaning you can’t see the individual pixels at normal viewing distances, for several years. The price of your iPhone, or iPad, never changed. You just got more value for the same money. To […]

Back in 1997, Steve Jobs, newly minted as Apple CEO (well “interim” CEO) began to cut back on Mac model proliferation. Stuck with loads of Performas with different model numbers but not very different specs, it was clear that Apple needed to clean out the catalog. The fundamental change, best signified by the iMac and […]