Heh, Microsoft has been selling “PC to TV” extenders for several years now. The V1 MCE extenders went on the market like three years ago. And of course the Xbox 360, which is superior to the AppleTV in almost every way, went on sale about a year and a half before AppleTV. It has MCE “PC to TV” extender functionality built in for both MCE and non-MCE based machines.

Funny how Apple comes late to the game with an under performing poorly-selling product and it somehow still gets the used as a market identifier.

Of course not.

Someone would have to actually buy the AppleTV before it can replaced.

Interesting. None of the companies you mentioned above invented the product they made popular.

Where’s Apple’s surface computer? They make a piss poor rip off of Windows Mobile that you can’t even run your own code on, ripping off a little corner of Microsoft Surface Computer’s multitouch, which was developed 4 years ago. Are you going to hold them to the same standard you hold Microsoft to?

You are completely correct that none of those companies invented their product category. If you look at innovation vs invention, in the tech industry it’s often about who is able to innovate in terms of bringing said product to market. iPod for example, is a lovely product, and in some ways was better than other digital music players before it, but also was marketed very differently — based on simple features and “1,000 songs in your pocket” — coupled with the elegant iTunes jukebox/store.

Google didn’t think of web searches. They came late to the game, beat out by Yahoo and several others, some of whom aren’t even around any more.

Apple certainly didn’t come up with the concept of an MP3 player. Others were first.

Sony was decades after the original game consoles were released.

AOL was far from the first portal.

Apple was again a Johny-come-lately with the online music thing.

In every single example you give, the originators are not the ones who dominate the field. It’s someone else who came along and did it better.

Oh, and even if you were correct in your examples, you fail miserably here. MS inovated the media center concept, and they continue to dominate the field. Apple is playing catch up here, and doing a very poor job of it.

Google has a search engine, we need a search engine…
Apple has an ipod, we need an ipod….
Sony has a playstation, we need a playstation…
AOL has a portal, we need a portal (MSN)….
Palm has a portable OS, we need a portable OS (Windows Mobile)…
Apple sells online music, we need to sell online music….

Is there no end to the list?
They may not be innovative, but they are the richest copycats on earth.

Heh, Microsoft has been selling “PC to TV” extenders for several years now. The V1 MCE extenders went on the market like three years ago. And of course the Xbox 360, which is superior to the AppleTV in almost every way, went on sale about a year and a half before AppleTV. It has MCE “PC to TV” extender functionality built in for both MCE and non-MCE based machines.

Funny how Apple comes late to the game with an under performing poorly-selling product and it somehow still gets the used as a market identifier.