In Response to Chris Beland...

Do you think they will sustain their growth further? or do you think they will slip back down like the other 4 companies that reached that half trillion market cap?
 
I definitely believe that Apple has the potential to grow even farther than the half trillion market cap they just achieved. The reason for this is that Apple in innovating all of their products constantly. Comparing them to a company like Microsoft who has slipped back down is somewhat irrelevant at this point. At the time of Microsoft's huge boom, they did not have nearly as many competitors as there are in the market today. Apple being one of them. In the modern market Apple has proven that they can go above and beyond the competition constantly, and with multiple products. They were the first to use the sleek designs in their products that have become so popular. Their iPhones, iPods, iPads and even MacBooks all have a design in their physical appearance and interface that all the other companies are attempting to copy.

With this being said, it is apparent that they have more room to thrive. But, I also believe they will have to hit a cap at some point. If they don't, then they have the absolute best innovation and marketing skills possible. It seems that with all companies that really start to get big quickly, they die down. Society is general loves fads. Apple has proven to be a company that is constantly creating new fads by creating new models of their products that are tailored to the popular demand of the consumers. Could it be possible that Apple is an exception to the other companies that were just fads? Are they on the right path to creating a monopoly in the technology market?

Windows 8: Consumer Preview

Microsoft dropped a consumer preview (beta) of their new Windows 8 today. The responses are mixed amongst professional IT critics but one thing is for sure, it is revolutionary. In the article, many say it is a risk for Microsoft to launch something this different from not only their usual interface, but from all other existing ones in the market.

The reason for this is that Microsoft puts a lot of faith in their new "Metro" system which does away with the previous Microsoft "Desktop" completely. This is an extremely bold move because Windows has not been nearly as innovative as some companies such as Apple. The "Metro" system is an interface that is designed to work on both tablets and PC's and allows for instant streaming and downloading of Apps that can be purchased from the easy to use App store. Some are saying that the interface is very similar to the new interface that the XBOX 360 is using. (Which happens to be powered by Microsoft as well.)

Seth Rosenblatt of CNET stated that "It's by far the most integrated and most capable operating system Microsoft has ever put out, there's a speed and responsiveness to Windows 8 that no other version of Windows has ever had."

But, some critics also say that since it is so different, it is also very different. Could Windows 8 be a huge breakthrough for Microsoft from its innovation? Or, could PC users frown upon the innovation since they appreciated the previous simplicity?