About Quote by Michael Arrington
“Talking about Apple v. Microsoft without mentioning the Internet and the browser is like talking about WWII without talking about the nuke. Framing the conversation just in terms of open v. closed operating systems, the quality of the hardware or software or who the CEO was, is silly.”
About This Quote
Source Blog post: TechCrunch, 2005 (opinion piece)
The quote argues that discussing early OS battles without acknowledging the Internet and browsers misses the pivotal role of web technology, making any analysis incomplete.
In simple terms: Ignoring the web skews understanding of tech wars.
Key Takeaway
Include internet context when evaluating tech history.
Themes
technology
history
analysis
Mood
analytical
critical
historical
Type
informative
educational
When to use this quote
- Tech education
- industry analysis
- product strategy
- historical research
Key Concepts
Computing
internet
software development
Questions to Reflect On
- How did the browser reshape computing?
- What lessons does this teach about holistic analysis?
A Different Perspective
Focusing solely on OS may overlook other factors like user behavior.
![“When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it's the first personal computer worth criticizing. So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and…” quote by Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/511/alan-kay-7358_computer_when-the-mac-first-came-out-newsweek-ask_2903415.jpg)
