As his company developed more electronics, many of which shared the same data--especially music--Jobs had a revelation. The computer was not the final destination for data--it was the hub. Everything needed to be able to sync to a central location, and the vehicle for that synchronization (at the time) was iTunes. Developed as a music player that didn't suck, it could be used on both Windows and Macs, and anyone who had an Apple product used it. Through iTunes, you could sync music, movies, pictures, calendars, contacts -- on your iPhone and iPod with your computer -- you could even stream movies from iTunes to your TV. And while it was ok with Windows, with Macs "it just works". Even Apple's routers were easier with Mac -- all Macs shipped with 'Airport Utility', and when setting up an Airport Express, you simply plugged it in, launched the app, and within 5 - 10 minutes had a wireless network up and running. The beauty of the Apple routers? Plug in a printer, print wirelessly. Plug in a cord to the line-in port on your stereo, and stream music from iTunes to your stereo. The system "just worked." People would buy an iPod, or iPhone, and be hooked. They'd buy a Mac. Then an Apple TV. Soon, they'd buy an Airport. Then the iPad. And they were in the ecosystem (or "Applesystem").
Those of us who subscribe to the theory of "It just works" are often faced with criticism for 'drinking the kool-aid'. People don't understand why, when we can go to Best Buy and get a laptop that's "faster" for $499, we'll go and spend hundreds more. Why we buy a phone which has features that 'insert phone here' has had for months. And when we answer with "It just works," they'll debate us to the nth degree that their computer is just as fast (if not faster). We smile, trying to remember the last time we restarted our Mac... or ran a disk cleanup process. Or scanned for Malware, or viruses. "What's that? I haven't restarted for a month? Maybe I should do that." My personal favorite--my six-year old iBook that I use to write articles in bed. Still running strong with a Power PC processor. Do you have a six year old Dell? Maybe it's sitting unused in your closet, and you've been meaning to take it in to the electronics recycling center for the last 3-4 years? Sounds about right. Myself? I might strip down the iBook and use it as a server. And it might keep on running another four or five years -- until my two-year-old MacBook Pro needs to retire to take it's place.
This brings me to my own "Applesystem." I got my first iPod in December of 2004, when I still had my (at the time) trusty Compaq laptop. In February of 2006 I got my iBook (about four months before the PowerPC iBooks were replaced with the speedy Intel MacBooks). This was around the same time that the play button stopped working on my old iPod, and through the replacement program, I got a first-gen iPod Nano (still working). In December of that year, I got an Airport Express, and then in 2007 picked up a first-gen iPod Touch (which is still going strong). I could go on, but... you get the picture. Fast forward to the present, and my house is very much an Apple network. My internet connection (I miss Insight terribly) runs into an Airport Extreme (latest model with wireless-n). From there, I have the network extended to the opposite end of my house, picked up by my old model Airport Express, which is plugged into my receiver. From my MacBook, I can opt to stream my music to my receiver, and then use my iPad as a remote to navigate my iTunes library and choose whatever song I want to hear, even when my computer is sitting in the opposite end of the house. Sounds like a complicated system--but it's not. Everything just works together. No complex wiring, no messing with cables behind the receiver. It just works.
