What? Perhaps if you have down syndrome, but otherwise takes around 5 seconds. Swipe card, enter 4 digit pin, press enter. Faster than it would take the cashier to type in the amount you just gave him, much less make change.
In any case, plenty of people do struggle with it- the old especially. But that's not the biggest factor. With a swipe everything is done by one person- the cashier. PIN entry requires a back and forth between customer and cashier, and I've seen plenty of cashiers not notice that the PIN entry has gone through, etc.
Apple has innovated not just in hardware and software, but also in supply channel management, and the latter was definitely Tim Cook's doing.
If you compare the Jobs 2.0 Apple to the 1990s Apple, improved operational execution (supply channel management, demand forecasting, etc) made a huge impact on the bottom line.
This is actually a really good point. One of the things that distinguishes the Apple of today vs. the one in 1985 (which also had a dominant industry position and fantastic products) is that they're also competing on price. The iPhone 4 is available with contract at $99, the same price charged for very similar (often somewhat inferior) hardware from mass market asian manufacturers like LG or HTC. (The 3GS is actually available free with contract, though IMHO it competes poorly with the competing Android phones.)
That's pretty impressive for an R&D focused company.
This. There is a video out there where Steve jobs is describing how he built and transforms apple and manufacturing, supply chain, and retail were all part of it.
I think Tim has convinced Jobs that operation and execution is all part of the product experience.
You mean the guy that completely changed Apple by moving it out of the manufacturing business? Remember, Steve Jobs built factories, Tim Cook unbuilt them (and put Apple's profits through the roof in the process).
Assuming you're in your thirties: A man that has worked at Apple since you were a late teenager, in several leadership positions, has far more to do with what the company is today than your pithy comment.
This is my first account, I just had to create one to respond to what was probably one of the most moronic things I've ever read in my short existence on this earth.
