This passage by FSJ may highlight the essential difference between Google and Apple in coming years, even as they offer superficially similar services:
Google might make a play for this [replacing cable TV] as well. But they’ll try to do it without charging money, which will never work. Google’s whole world revolves around generating revenue through advertising. And they still think that asking people to pay for something is just a total non-starter because nobody wants to pay for anything anymore.
Truth is, money is the easiest thing to get people to give up. Much easier than asking them to give up their time. Nobody wants to watch ads or futz around with some science project where you have to integrate a bunch of different things and it never works right.
That is: Google wants people to pay with their attention and time, which Google then resells to businesses for cash. Apple wants people to pay in cash, to save attention and time.
And somewhat relatedly: is there a higher proportion of Apple customers among people who click Google ads (spending their attention freely), or among people who buy Google ads (buying the attention of others, or paying to preserve their own)? I don't have figures but strongly suspect the latter.
I don't have figures but strongly suspect the latter.
You are underestimated the technical ability and drive of apple users, you must understand that most computer users are normal people (including apple). Those ads you see on TV for apple are meant for those same people that the Windows 7 ads are meant for.
On another idea from the quote you took if say apple came out with a TV option under a monthly fee and at the same time google came out with an alternative that was free but had an ad every 15 minutes or something along the lines google, the company who can spend and spend and has the market support, would come out on top even if they had the lesser service. No one should ever underestimate the power of free.
Just to throw some alternate perspective in here, I could mention how Spotify offers it's service as a free, ad-supported service and as a paid for service without advertisement.
I thought the advertisements were annoying enough to pay for premium.
This reminds me very much of a short-story by Stephen Baxter called "Glass Earth, Inc.", which was set in a society where everyone has to watch a daily ad-quota, and is monitored to ensure that they do.
The ads that were shown before the start of the game were frozen, for as long as that tab wasn't in front.
Yes, people, it has already begun.