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<ul><li><keyword id="19894961" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Apple" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Apple" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Apple">Apple</keyword> has introduced several ports in the past</li><li>iPhone 15 saw us bidding adieu to the <keyword id="22891333" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lightning-port" source="keywords">lightning port</keyword> forever</li><li>MagSafe was introduced with the MacBook in 2006</li></ul><br />Last year, while unveiling the iPhone 15 series, Apple made an announcement that caught the entire world’s eye. The Cupertino-based tech giant had shifted to <keyword id="20987565" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="USB-Type-C" source="keywords">USB Type-C</keyword> charging for its iPhones, bidding adieu to the lightning port permanently. This meant good news for Apple users across the globe as they would now no longer have to carry a separate charger for their <keyword id="20113477" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="macbooks" source="keywords">MacBooks</keyword> and iPhones. The company also launched the AirPods Pro with the USB Type C during the event. <br /><br /> Now, Apple’s approach to ports and connectors has evolved significantly over the years, reflecting broader technological shifts, consumer demands, and the company’s relentless pursuit of simplicity and efficiency. As we gear up for the launch of the <keyword id="19899647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone-16" source="keywords">iPhone 16</keyword> in less than a month, let us take a look at how Apple has introduced various ports across its devices all these years.<br /><br /> <h2>Back to the beginning: Serial ports and ADB</h2> In the early years of personal computing, connectivity was a complex affair, with various proprietary connectors and interfaces in use. Apple’s earliest computers, like the Apple II (released in 1977), used serial ports and parallel ports for connecting peripherals like printers and modems.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="apple mac" msid="112735350" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Representative Image&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /> In 1986, Apple introduced the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) with the <keyword id="20332872" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="macintosh" source="keywords">Macintosh</keyword> II and the Apple IIGS. ADB was a proprietary interface that allowed users to connect keyboards, mice, and other low-speed input devices. ADB remained a standard in Macintosh computers until it was eventually phased out in favour of USB in the late 1990s.<br /><br /> <b><h2>The floppy disk drive and SCSI era</h2></b> Apple’s early computers also prominently featured floppy disk drives. The original Macintosh 128K (1984) famously included a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, which became an industry standard.<br /> <br />To connect external storage devices and other peripherals, Apple also adopted the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) in 1986 with the Macintosh Plus. SCSI allowed for the connection of hard drives, scanners, and other high-speed devices, offering a significant leap in performance over older interfaces.<br /><br /> <b><h2>The speed revolution with <keyword id="22891334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FireWire" source="keywords">FireWire</keyword></h2></b> The late 1990s saw the introduction of FireWire, a technology that Apple helped to develop. First introduced on the Power Macintosh G3 in 1999, FireWire was designed for high-speed data transfer, making it ideal for video editing, external storage, and other demanding applications. It became a popular standard in the creative industries, particularly for digital video cameras.<br /><br /> FireWire was available in two versions: FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, the latter of which doubled the data transfer rate. <br /><br /> <b><h2>The introduction of USB</h2></b> One of the most significant shifts in Apple’s approach to ports came with the adoption of USB (Universal Serial Bus). Apple was one of the first major companies to embrace USB, beginning with the iMac G3 in 1998.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="1" msid="112735684" hostid="261"></div><br /> The iMac turned out to be a colourful, all-in-one machine that looked like it belonged in a futuristic candy store. But it wasn’t just the design that caught everyone’s eye; it was Apple’s decision to ditch its long-used Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) connector in favour of USB, the Universal Serial Bus. This was a big deal.<br /><br /> The colourful, translucent iMac famously omitted the floppy disk drive and instead offered USB ports as the primary means of connecting peripherals.<br /><br /> USB was a game-changer, offering a universal and user-friendly interface for connecting everything from keyboards and mice to printers and external storage. The widespread adoption of USB across the tech industry led to a vast ecosystem of compatible devices, further solidifying Apple’s commitment to this standard.<br /><br /><h2>The MAGnetic connection</h2> MagSafe, introduced with the MacBook in 2006, was a game-changer in laptop charging. The magnetic connector snapped into place, making it easy to connect and disconnect your charger without worrying about tripping over the cable and sending your laptop flying.<br /><br /> MagSafe went through a few iterations, including MagSafe 2, which was slimmer to fit Apple’s increasingly thin laptops. But in 2015, with the shift to USB-C, Apple discontinued MagSafe on its laptops, much to the disappointment of fans.<br /><br /> In 2021, MagSafe returned to the MacBook Pro, but this time, it’s known as MagSafe 3. While it’s a welcome return for many, it’s not backward compatible with older MagSafe chargers, meaning you’ll need a new one if you’ve been holding onto an older model.<br /><br /> <b><h2>Speed boost with Thunderbolt</h2></b> In 2011, Apple introduced Thunderbolt, a high-speed interface developed in collaboration with Intel. Thunderbolt combined data, video, and power in a single connection, offering unprecedented versatility. The first Apple devices to feature Thunderbolt were the MacBook Pro and iMac released in early 2011.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="2" msid="112735740" hostid="261"></div><br /> Thunderbolt evolved over the years, with Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 offering even faster data transfer rates and greater versatility. Thunderbolt 3, introduced in 2016, merged with the USB-C standard, creating a single, compact port capable of handling a wide range of tasks, including charging, data transfer, and video output.<br /><br /> <b><h2>The 30-pin dock connector</h2></b> As the company’s product lineup expanded to include mobile devices like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Apple developed new connectors tailored to the needs of these smaller, portable devices. The 30-pin dock connector, introduced with the 3rd-generation iPod in 2003, became the standard for connecting and charging iPods, iPhones, and iPads for nearly a decade.<br /><br /> This wide, flat connector was designed to do it all—charging, syncing, and connecting to a variety of accessories. It became the go-to interface for millions of iPods, iPhones, and iPads over the next decade.<br /><br /> But as convenient as the 30-pin connector was, it had its downsides. It was proprietary to Apple, meaning that if you had a non-Apple device, you were out of luck. And if you wanted to use the latest accessories, you often had to buy new cables or adapters.<br /><br /> <b><h2>The famous lightning port</h2></b> Then, in 2012, Apple introduced the Lightning connector with the iPhone 5. Lightning was smaller, reversible, and more durable than the 30-pin connector, making it ideal for the increasingly slim and sleek designs of Apple’s mobile devices. Lightning also supported faster data transfer and charging speeds, helping Apple’s mobile devices keep pace with technological advancements.<br /><br /> Lightning quickly became the standard across Apple’s mobile lineup, including iPhones, iPads, and even accessories like the AirPods and Apple Pencil. Despite its proprietary nature, Lightning was embraced by users for its ease of use and reliability.<br />  <div type="image" title="lighting port" height="900" width="1200" msid="112735839" hostid="261"></div><br /> The lightning port served Apple devices for many years before being replaced by the USB Type C phones in iPhones last year. <br /><h2><br /> Shifting to USB Type-C</h2> After lightning port, Apple began to transition its devices from lightning and other proprietary connectors to USB-C. USB-C is a versatile and widely adopted standard that supports high-speed data transfer, video output, and power delivery in a compact, reversible form factor.<br /><br /> Apple first adopted USB-C with the 12-inch MacBook in 2015, a move that was initially met with some resistance due to the need for adapters and dongles. However, Apple’s commitment to USB-C has grown over time, with the port now standard on all MacBook models, as well as the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini.<br /><br /> As mentioned already, the most significant shift came with the introduction of the iPhone 15 series that marked the end of the Lightning connector and the complete transition to USB-C across Apple’s mobile devices. This change not only aligns the iPhone with Apple’s other devices but also with the broader tech industry, where USB-C has become the standard for everything from smartphones to laptops.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/decades-of-leading-tech-innovation-a-look-back-at-apples-wwdc-journey-and-its-major-announcements/articleshow/109024488.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Decades of leading tech innovation: A look back at Apple’s WWDC journey and its major announcements</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=479266566&amp;author=divyanshi%20sharma=&amp;page=1" class="artishow_author"></a><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-dependent-some-companies-are-on-apples-success/articleshow/58173712.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank"><strong>Here's how dependent some companies are on Apple's success</strong></a><br />

From FireWire in Macs to Type-C in iPhones - the Apple Connect

<ul><li><keyword id="23134822" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Great-Indian-Festival" source="keywords">Amazon Great Indian Festival</keyword> begins on September 27 for all</li><li>Prime users get early access to the sale</li><li>Apple's <keyword id="21240170" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="MacBook-Air-M1" source="keywords">MacBook Air M1</keyword> will be available at a special discount</li></ul><br />Amazon's Great Indian Festival begins this Friday and as we get closer to the shopping fiesta, people are eager to know about the deals that will be available. For Prime members, the sale begins a day early, on September 26. <br /><br />Several gadgets including smartphones, laptops, TWS earbuds etc will be available at attractive prices during the deal. If you are thinking of buying a laptop during the <keyword id="20586627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-sale" source="keywords">Amazon sale</keyword>, here's some good news. The website recently teased a deal on the MacBook Air M1. <br /><br /><h2>MacBook Air 1 to get discounted during Amazon Great Indian Festival</h2>The MacBook Air M1 will be available at a huge discount during the Amazon sale. The laptop, which originally launched in India at a price of ₹92,990, is set to become much more affordable during the upcoming festive sales. Currently listed on Amazon at ₹62,990, the laptop will see a significant price drop to ₹55,990 during the sale period. Moreover, shoppers using select bank cards will benefit from an instant discount of ₹3,000, bringing the price further down.<br /><br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113214171" title="iPhone 16 Pro with A18 Pro chip launched: Should you upgrade if you own an iPhone 15 Pro?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />For those who are Amazon Prime members, there's an additional perk. Prime members who act quickly during the first few hours of the sale can enjoy an extra ₹3,000 off as part of an early bird offer. This means the price of the MacBook Air M1 could drop as low as ₹49,990 for some customers, making it one of the most enticing offers in the market for a high-end <keyword id="23291511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple-laptop" source="keywords">Apple laptop</keyword>.<br /><br /><h2>Reasons to buy the MacBook Air M1 in 2024</h2>The MacBook Air M1 may not be Apple's latest model, but it remains a popular choice for both students and professionals due to its solid performance and long-lasting support from Apple. Powered by Apple's M1 chipset, the laptop features an 8-core CPU, with four performance cores and four efficiency cores. This combination allows the device to handle daily tasks with ease, while using far less power than traditional laptops, making it energy-efficient as well.<br /><br />The MacBook Air M1 has a 13.3-inch Retina display, boasting a 2560x1600 resolution. This crisp display makes it ideal for watching videos, editing photos, or simply browsing the web. Despite being launched a few years ago, it still packs enough power to meet the demands of everyday tasks, whether that’s work, study, or entertainment.<br /><br />One of the standout features of this laptop is its battery life. Apple claims that the MacBook Air M1 can last up to 18 hours on a single charge, which is more than enough for a full day of use without needing to reach for the charger. This makes it an excellent choice for people on the go, as it offers portability alongside top-tier performance.<br /><br />In terms of its build, the MacBook Air M1 has a sleek, minimalistic design, in line with Apple’s aesthetic standards. It features an aluminium finish that gives it a premium look and feel, while remaining lightweight at just under 1.3kg. This makes it easy to carry, whether you’re heading to the office, travelling, or attending classes.<br /><br />Apple is known for offering long-term support for its devices, and the MacBook Air M1 is no exception. This means that buyers can expect software updates and security patches for several years, extending the usability and lifespan of the laptop. For anyone considering investing in a laptop, this is an important factor, as it ensures that the device will not become obsolete anytime soon.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: <br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/from-firewire-in-macs-to-type-c-in-iphones-the-apple-connect/articleshow/112734982.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">From FireWire in Macs to Type-C in iPhones - the Apple Connect</a><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/elon-musk-to-tim-cook-a-morning-in-the-lives-of-big-tech-ceos/articleshow/113599807.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank"><strong>Elon Musk to Tim Cook: A morning in the lives of big tech CEOs</strong></a><br /><br />

Apple MacBook Air M1 to be available under ₹50,000 on Amazon, how to get the deal

<ul><li><keyword id="19899648" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iOS-18" source="keywords">iOS 18</keyword> is coming soon</li><li><keyword id="20024792" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Siri" source="keywords">Siri</keyword> will be getting a makeover in the new OS</li><li>iOS 18 will launch after the <keyword id="22675256" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone-16-lineup" source="keywords">iPhone 16 lineup</keyword> makes its debut</li></ul><br />Over a decade ago, when the iPhone 4S launched, the world got introduced to Siri. The voice assistant became a part of every <keyword id="19894961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Apple" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Apple">Apple</keyword> user's life and just by "Hey Siri", a lot could be done. Be it a bedtime story or a light-hearted joke, Siri took care of it all. And now, the popular voice assistant is all set to get AI superpowers with the arrival of <keyword id="21976092" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple-Intelligence" source="keywords">Apple Intelligence</keyword> with iOS 18. <br /><br />As the unveiling of the iPhone 16 lineup is just three days away, all eyes are on the new operating system from Apple. For the unversed, iOS 18 is expected to be out a week after the launch of the new iPhones. With its developer and <keyword id="21437468" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-beta" source="keywords">public beta</keyword> versions already out, a lot of excitement is in the air. So what exactly will iOS 18 bring to the table, how will Siri get an AI boost and what is the difference between public and <keyword id="22067144" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="developer-beta" source="keywords">developer beta</keyword>? Read on as we answer all these questions. <br /><br /><br /><h2>iOS 18 upcoming features</h2><br />Apple’s iOS 18 is packed with exciting features that will make your iPhone even smarter and easier to use. From a completely revamped Siri to new ways to customise your home and lock screens, this update aims to enhance your day-to-day experience. Let’s break down the most notable features of iOS 18.<br /><br /><strong><h2>1. The all-new Siri</h2></strong>With iOS 18, Siri won't just be a voice assistant anymore—it will be more like a digital companion that understands you better. Apple has rebuilt Siri, giving it a smarter, more personalised approach. You will still be able to use voice commands, but now there will be an option to type your requests by double-tapping the bottom of the screen. This might come in handy when you can’t talk out loud.<br /><br />Siri will also have a lot more context about your day and will be able to handle more complex tasks. It can edit photos, manage files, and even create folders for you, all with a simple command. One of the coolest improvements is that Siri will now be able to interact with other apps on your phone. Whether you’re looking for something specific or need help completing a task, Siri can do it all. For example, if you’re editing a photo, Siri can suggest tools to enhance it, making multitasking smoother than ever.<br /><br />Another noticeable change is Siri’s appearance. Instead of taking over your screen, a glowing ring will appear around the display when Siri is activated, making it less intrusive while still visually appealing.<br /><br />And if Siri doesn’t have the answer, Apple’s got you covered. You will also be able to access ChatGPT directly through Siri, giving you an extra layer of help when you need it. <br /><br /><strong><h2>2. More personalisation options</h2></strong>iOS 18 will also offer greater customisation options. Apple will be letting users rearrange app icons and widgets freely across the home screen, even above the dock. You will also be able to change the look of your device with dark or tinted themes, making it truly your own.<br /><br />The Photos app will also get a significant overhaul. Now, instead of having separate libraries or scattered images, everything will be presented in a single, unified view. The redesigned interface is user-friendly, featuring collections and daily highlights to make navigating your photos easier and more enjoyable.<br /><br /><h2>3. Improved control center and messages</h2>The Control Center in iOS 18 will also get a boost, providing quicker access to settings and the option to add third-party apps. This will make managing your device more seamless, as you will be able to customise Control Center to suit your needs.<br /><br />In the Messages app, satellite messaging is expected to be a game-changer. Whether you’re off the grid or don’t have a reliable signal, you will still be able to send messages using satellite technology, making sure you stay connected even in remote areas. Additionally, iMessage will support fun new text effects, different formatting options, and message scheduling, allowing you to plan your conversations ahead of time.<br /><br /><h2>4. Apple Intelligence</h2>A big highlight of iOS 18 is Apple Intelligence, a feature designed to make your device more intuitive. Using advanced AI, Apple Intelligence will help Siri understand you better, predict your needs, and even assist with things like image creation or language translation. It’s all about making your iPhone smarter and more capable of handling everyday tasks.<br /><br /><h2>iOS 18 public beta vs developer beta: What’s the difference?</h2>If you’re interested in getting iOS 18 before its official release, you’ve likely heard about Apple’s public and developer beta programs. But what’s the difference between the two? Read on<br /><br /><strong>Developer Beta:</strong> This version is intended for app developers who need to test their apps with the latest iOS software. It’s released first and is usually packed with bugs and glitches, as it’s meant for testing rather than everyday use. You need a developer account to access this version, and because it’s so early in development, it’s often unstable.<br /><br /><strong>Public Beta:</strong> The public beta comes out after the developer beta and is aimed at regular users who want to test out the new features ahead of time. While it’s more stable than the developer beta, it can still contain bugs and isn’t meant for your main device. This version is free to try, and all you have to do is sign up for Apple’s Beta Software Program.<br /><br />If you haven’t tried any beta versions before, it’s a good idea to wait for the official release unless you have a spare phone. Betas, especially developer, tend to have glitches that might make your phone harder to use. iOS 18 is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 16 lineup soon, so if you don’t want to be on the cutting edge, waiting might be the best option.<br /><br />Yet, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to try out the new features before everyone else, you can sign up for the public beta. Or if you happen to have a secondary device then you can give this a shot. <br /><br />Just keep in mind that it might not be perfect, so if stability is important to you, waiting for the full release is probably your best bet.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: <br /></strong><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/a-look-back-at-first-apple-watch-how-apple-entered-the-wearable-space/articleshow/113097387.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">A look back at first Apple Watch — How Apple entered the wearable space</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/from-firewire-in-macs-to-type-c-in-iphones-the-apple-connect/articleshow/112734982.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">From FireWire in Macs to Type-C in iPhones - the Apple Connect</a><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=479255634&amp;author=dhruv%20mohan=&amp;page=1" class="artishow_author"></a><br />

iOS 18 is coming soon and so is the all-new Siri. Are you ready?

<keyword id="19895433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tesla" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tesla" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tesla">Tesla</keyword> and <keyword id="21277268" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-x" source="keywords">Space X</keyword> boss <keyword id="19903807" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Elon-Musk" source="keywords">Elon Musk</keyword> has time and again been in the spotlight for his management style. Be it having a war of words with an employee on Twitter (now called X) or expressing his views about the work from home trend in an interview, Musk has been the centre of attention many times. Recently, Tesla VP Sreela Venkataratnam left the company after working there for over a decade. She described that working there is not “for the faint of heart.” The former Tesla employee isn’t the only one who has talked about having a hard time working under Musk. In the past, several people have shared their experience of how it was working under the tech mogul. Let us take a look at some of these instances. <br /><br /> <h2>1. Sreela Venkataratnam: Not for the faint of heart</h2> Sreela Venkataratnam, a former vice president at Tesla, recently announced her departure after 11 years at the company through a LinkedIn post. Her tenure at Tesla was marked by extraordinary achievements, but she also acknowledged the immense challenges of working under Musk. In the comments section of her post, Venkataratnam described Tesla as a company “not for the faint of heart,” where the pressure to perform was immense.<br /><br /> Despite the difficulties, Venkataratnam expressed pride in what she and her team had accomplished. However, her departure, along with that of several other senior employees, underscores the demanding nature of working at Tesla. Musk’s focus on headcount and cost reduction, coupled with his relentless drive for success, created an environment where only the toughest could thrive.<br /><br /> <h2>2. Esther Crawford: Brilliant problem solver who lacks emotional intelligence</h2> Esther Crawford, a former Twitter product manager, had a unique view of <keyword id="20828946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon" source="keywords">Elon</keyword> Musk’s management style, especially after he took over Twitter. Crawford, who initially joined Twitter through the acquisition of her screen-sharing social app, Squad, experienced firsthand the demanding and unpredictable nature of working under Musk. She described Musk as a brilliant problem-solver but lacking in the social-emotional intelligence necessary for managing a platform like Twitter.<br /><br /> In a post on X in July, she wrote, “Elon has an exceptional talent for tackling hard physics-based problems, but products that facilitate human connection and communication require a different type of social-emotional intelligence.” <br /><br /> Crawford became known for her dedication, famously posting a photo of herself sleeping on the office floor during a critical period. However, despite her efforts, she and her team were let go just a few months later. <br /><br /> After getting fired from the company, she described Musk’s unpredictable personality in another X post and wrote, “His personality and demeanor can turn on a dime going from excited to angry. Since it was hard to read what mood he might be in and what his reaction would be to any given thing, people quickly became afraid of being called into meetings or having to share negative news with him.”<br /><br /> <h2>3. Carl Medlock: You don't argue with him</h2> Carl Medlock, a former Tesla territory manager, talked about Musk’s intense and disciplined approach to leadership in an episode of “The Iced Coffee Hour” podcast in August 2022.<br /><br /> Medlock, who joined Tesla during the 2009 recession, quickly learned that Musk expected absolute compliance with his directives. Arguing or challenging Musk’s decisions was not an option, as those who did were swiftly dismissed.<br /><br /> “You don’t argue with him,” Medlock said during the podcast and added, “When Elon stands up at the end of a meeting and says, ‘This is the direction we’re going to go,’ you stand up from your chair and you better head that direction. Because he’s not one for people back-talking — he’ll just let you go.”<br /><br /> Medlock recalled Musk’s intimidating intelligence and the lack of social interaction in the workplace. Despite Musk’s demanding nature, Medlock showed respect for his ability to hire talented people and his commitment to the company’s mission. However, the pressure to align with Musk’s vision, coupled with his micromanagement, created a high-stakes environment where employees constantly feared for their jobs.<br /><br /> <h2>4. Jim Cantrell: The two sides of Elon Musk</h2> Jim Cantrell, <keyword id="19905255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpaceX" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SpaceX" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SpaceX">SpaceX</keyword>’s first VP of business development, described his time working with Musk as a rollercoaster ride of contrasting experiences. In an interview with Insider's Kiera Fields in November 2022, Cantrell said that he was impressed by Musk's vision for the rocket company but added: "Working with Elon was like working with two different people: the good Elon and the bad Elon, and you never knew which you were going to get."<br /><br /> On one hand, Musk was charming and visionary, drawing people in with his big ideas. On the other hand, he could be vicious and demanding, often leaving employees feeling inadequate.<br /><br /> Cantrell’s tenure at SpaceX was short-lived due to his clashes with Musk, who expected employees to match his relentless drive and work ethic. The intense pressure to perform and the fear of Musk’s wrath made the workplace environment challenging. <br /><br /> <h2>5. <keyword id="22910807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tom-mueller" source="keywords">Tom Mueller</keyword>: Saying no is not an option</h2> Tom Mueller, a co-founder of SpaceX, spent over 20 years working closely with Musk and witnessed his demanding nature firsthand. His experience has been described in Elon Musk’s biography, which was launched in September last year.<br /><br /> Mueller, in the biography, mentions that he learned that saying “no” to Musk was not an option. <br /><br /> The biography mentioned that Musk was an ‘insane’ boss at SpaceX and would give seemingly impossible deadlines to engineers. And if anyone said that something ‘couldn’t be done’, they were not invited to the next meeting.<br /><br /> Mueller’s strategy, he described, was to agree to Musk’s demands and later explain why something might not be possible if it didn’t work out. This approach allowed him to navigate the intense pressure and tight deadlines that characterised life at SpaceX.<br /><br />ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/we-are-nothing-but-numbers-to-them-fat-to-be-trimmed-off-general-motors-employee-reacts-to-layoffs/articleshow/112668541.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">'We are nothing but numbers to them, fat to be trimmed off': General Motors employee reacts to layoffs</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=479266566&amp;author=divyanshi%20sharma=&amp;page=1" class="artishow_author"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/from-firewire-in-macs-to-type-c-in-iphones-the-apple-connect/articleshow/112734982.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">From FireWire in Macs to Type-C in iPhones - the Apple Connect</a><br /><br />

Impossible deadlines to micromanagement: Ordeals of employees working under Elon Musk

<ul><li><keyword id="6354427" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> announced the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year from June 10 to 14.</li><li>The first-ever developers' conference from Apple took place in August 1983.</li><li>For tech enthusiasts, this event is considered a mecca for cutting-edge consumer tech updates and ideas.<br /></li></ul>Apple has announced their Worldwide Developers Conference this year from June 10 to 14. One of the big 4 tech events in the world, WWDC is a monumental stage for developers to showcase what we can expect on our hardware moving forward. <br /><br />This year, the event is particularly exciting, with expectations of updates across several Apple products. There are the usual suspects, iPhone, Macbook and iPad. But, this time we also have the Vision Pro, expecting its first serious update. And no spoilers — Artificial Intelligence will be the focus of discussion this year. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/wwdc-2024-to-begin-on-june-10-ai-features-for-ios-18-and-more/articleshow/108810215.cms">You can read more about the expected updates this year here</a>. <br /><br />While we wait to see what unfolds in June, here’s a trip down history and a look back at some of the major announcements from 1983 to 2023. <br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="It wasn’t always called WWDC in the 80s" comment="subhead" text="It wasn’t always called WWDC in the 80s"><span data-til="noop">It wasn’t always called WWDC in the 80s</span></cmsannotation><br />WWDC has gone through a fair share of name changes since it started back in 1983. In the beginning, it was called the Apple Independent Software Developers Conference (AISDC). This was the era of John Sculley being the CEO of Apple Computers. This conference is most famous for Steve Jobs introducing Lisa, an upgrade to the Apple II computer promising creative democracy to the users. <br /><br />Post this we had three more name changes.<br /><table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Apple II Forever<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1984<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Apple World Conference<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1986-1987<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Devcon<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1987-1989<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />And finally, Apple landed on the name WWDC in 1990, which it has retained over the next 25 years!<br /><br /><strong><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Key Announcements — What made WWDC Special" comment="subhead" text="Key Announcements — What made WWDC Special"><span data-til="noop">Key Announcements — What made WWDC Special</span></cmsannotation></strong><br />Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has been a platform for major announcements since 1990. Here are some key highlights across those years. <br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A hardware-focused era of the 1990s" comment="subhead" text="A hardware-focused era of the 1990s"><span data-til="noop">A hardware-focused era of the 1990s</span></cmsannotation><br />It was a decade preceding the dot-com bubble, and hardware innovations took centre stage at Apple's WWDC in the vibrant 1990s. <br /><br />In 1991, the conference heralded a new dawn for personal computers with the introduction of a more user-friendly interface for Macintosh computers, setting the stage for a more intuitive computing experience. However, it was the seismic shift to PowerPC processors in 1994 that truly revolutionised Apple's hardware landscape. Breaking away from Motorola chips, this new architecture promised unparalleled performance and paved the way for a new era of computing prowess. <br /><br />Amidst the hardware fervour, WWDC introduced Copland in 1996, touted as the next-generation operating system that aimed for convergence between Mac and Newton devices. However, despite early promise, Copland was soon cancelled in the same year and Apple started looking at outside OS. <br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Return of Steve Jobs revolutionised the tech world in the 2000s" comment="subhead" text="Return of Steve Jobs revolutionised the tech world in the 2000s"><span data-til="noop">Return of Steve Jobs revolutionised the tech world in the 2000s</span></cmsannotation><br />In the early 2000s, Apple's WWDC became the epicentre of groundbreaking innovations that shaped the digital landscape. In 2000, the unveiling of Mac OS X heralded a new era of computing excellence, as Apple embraced the power of Unix to deliver a next-generation operating system. This was a significant step forward for Mac, and it was the time when Firewire, later a lighting cable, was introduced in the market. <br /><br />The dawn of 2001 brought forth another game-changing revelation: iTunes. This revolutionary software not only revolutionised digital music management and playback but also emerged as a powerful tool in the fight against piracy. With iTunes, Apple not only transformed the way we listen to music but also catapulted the sales of iPods to new heights, ushering in an era of portable music enjoyment like never before.<br /><br />However, the pinnacle of Apple's innovation came in 2007 with the release of its first-ever iPhone in what could be termed a technological renaissance in the consumer markets. And yes, before Apple made separate events for iPhones, the home for the first iPhone was WWDC — a groundbreaking moment that would redefine mobile communication and computing. <br /><br />Just a year later, in 2008, WWDC saw the introduction of the App Store, opening doors to a new era of mobile applications and forever reshaping the digital landscape. Together, these seminal moments exemplify the unparalleled legacy of innovation that defines Apple's WWDC, marking it as a beacon of technological progress and visionary thinking.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="2010s - Era of mobile computing" comment="subhead" text="2010s - Era of mobile computing"><span data-til="noop">2010s - Era of mobile computing</span></cmsannotation><br />In 2010, the iPad created a new device category, the tablet! It aimed at bridging the gap between phone and computer. This was a surprising move by Apple since Steve Jobs had mentioned multiple times that they would never enter the tablet space. <br /><br />Long before the dawn of artificial intelligence in the consumer market, Apple's intelligent virtual assistant, Siri, was launched in 2011. Coincidentally, 13 years later this year, we are expecting major changes in Siri with the possible integration with Open AI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. <br /><br />The year 2014 saw the launch of Apple Watch and Apple Pay — a smartwatch focused on health and fitness tracking and a mobile payment system for secure contactless transactions. The Apple Watch can be considered the first major move in creating the walled garden of the Apple ecosystem. While we are still waiting for Apple Pay in India, this tool is used extensively abroad, working efficiently with both iPhone and Apple Watch.<br /><br />In 2015, Apple introduced native apps for the Apple Watch with WatchOS 2, transforming it into a miniature iPhone on the wrist. With the addition of cellular connectivity in 2017, Apple's wearable was liberated from the confines of iPhones. The introduction of fall detection and the ECG app in 2018 underscored Apple's commitment to health and safety features, with them <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qx_Unk556D0">credited with saving lives</a>.<br /><br />In 2020, Apple introduced the M1 chip, its own processor marking a significant shift in performance and power efficiency for Macs. This marked the beginning of the end for Apple's association with Intel. It’s 2024 now, and we have M3 chips in action, with the entire Macbook line-up being powered by M series chips. <br /><br />On the iOS front, the release of iOS 7 in 2013 marked a significant visual overhaul, while the introduction of App Widgets in 2020 fulfilled a long-standing user request, empowering users to personalize their iPhone experience like never before. In 2015, Apple Music made an important pivot to digital streaming. <br /><br />AirPods, introduced in WWDC 2016, became a runaway success. This wireless earbuds innovation started an entirely new market, and today we stand on Airpods 3 and even AirPods Max. <br /><br />Last, but not least, Apple Vision Pro was announced last year at WWDC 2023. This mixed-reality headset is now in the market and the reviews have been polarising, to say the least. However, my experience with it at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mobile-world-congress-a-quick-recap-of-the-future-of-consumer-tech-as-seen-in-mwc-barcelona/articleshow/108651018.cms">MWC this year </a>was fairly good, it felt comfortable and inclusive. Point to note, it's not available in India yet.<br /><br />Overall, WWDC has been the epicentre of consumer tech innovation, and an event every tech enthusiast looks forward to eagerly. As the excitement builds around the upcoming event in June, stay tuned to Business Insider India for all the updates around tech and business!<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/motorola-edge-50-pro-with-snapdragon-7-gen-3-125w-charging-launched-in-india/articleshow/109023956.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Motorola Edge 50 Pro with Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, 125W charging launched in India</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/hp-omen-transcend-14-review/articleshow/108980896.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">HP Omen Transcend 14 review – a feature-packed, lightweight gaming laptop with excellent display</a><br /><br /></strong><br /><br />

Decades of leading tech innovation: A look back at Apple’s WWDC journey and its major announcements

Tony Fadell, inventor of the <keyword id="16124" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ipod" source="Orion">iPod</keyword>, has said that <keyword id="6354427" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> should include <keyword id="93829" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="usb" source="Orion">USB</keyword>-C port in <keyword id="57315" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="iphones" source="Orion">iPhones</keyword>, as the European Union passed a resolution on USB Type-C as standard charging port.<br /><br />The debate started when a <keyword id="6354616" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter" source="Orion">Twitter</keyword> user questioned if the iPod would succeed if Apple was forced to utilise USB 1.0 rather than the fast FireWire technology.<br /><br />"I can't see a problem. The world has converged on USB-C. The physical and user limits have been hit. Next up is wireless per, not a diff physical connection. So I'm not too worried about this regulation. They're simply forcing Apple to do the right thing� it's overdue frankly", Fadell posted on Twitter.<br /><br />"Not in this case. This is only happening because Apple hasn't been doing the right thing. Period. This is about a monopolist like position not about technology. I hope after Apple is forced to change the regulations will be removed to allow innovation to continue", he added.<br /><br />Earlier, the European Parliament passed a resolution mandating that by the end of 2024, all consumer electronics, including iPhones and AirPods, will use USB Type-C as their standard charging port.<br /><br />The Parliament said that the new law is part of a broader EU effort to reduce e-waste and empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.<br /><br />"Following Parliament's approval, EU consumers will soon be able to use a single charging solution for their electronic devices," the European Parliament said in a statement.<br /><br />"By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops," it added.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: <br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/instagram-is-developing-a-nudity-protection-feature-to-block-unsolicited-nude-photos-in-dms/articleshow/94697784.cms">Instagram is developing a ‘Nudity Protection’ feature to block unsolicited nude photos in DMs</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-with-tensor-g2-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-59999/articleshow/94696867.cms">Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 chipset launched in India starting at ₹59,999</a> </strong>

iPod inventor says Apple should move iPhone to USB-C

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Apple</span></p><p class="caption">Booting your Mac into Safe Mode can help you find errors with your applications.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Knowing how to start a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mac">Mac</a> computer in Safe Mode can help you figure out, and possibly even fix, certain issues with your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mac">Mac</a> computer.</strong></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>You can start a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mac">Mac</a> in Safe Mode by either shutting down and turning on or restarting your computer and immediately holding down the shift key. </strong></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>To verify that you've fixed the issue, you'll likely have to restart your computer again. But ultimately, the steps you'll need to take after starting in Safe Mode will depend on how your computer reacted to the restart.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> is having issues, starting it in Safe Mode can be a good way to troubleshoot it. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Safe Mode starts your <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> without starting any other programs, so you can test whether it's a program that's causing issues, or your system as a whole.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> is having issues, starting it in Safe Mode can be a way to resolve those issues, or help you figure out what's going wrong based on how it reacts to the Safe Mode start.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here's how to get it done.</span></p><h3><strong>Check out the products mentioned in this article:</strong></h3><h4><a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">MacBook Pro (From $1,299 at Apple)</a></h4><h2><strong>How to start a Mac in Safe Mode</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before you get started, be aware that when you start your <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> in Safe Mode, you won't be able to do certain things, like: </span></p><ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Play movies in your DVD player (if you have one).</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Capture video in iMovie.</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Access VoiceOver accessibility options.</span></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use file sharing.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt devices may also not work, and your internet access may be limited (or even unavailable). If you need to access the systems that aren't available through Safe Mode, simply restart the computer as you normally would.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All that aside, starting a <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> in Safe Mode is easily accomplished (but there will likely be follow up work involved to ensure that your Mac is back in good working order):</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>1. </strong>Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner and select either "Shut Down" or "Restart."</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Devon Delfino/Business Insider" title_caption="Turn off your computer and turn it back on." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d274924a17d6c1a3d679756-960/1-start-mac-safe-mode.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Devon Delfino/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Turn off your computer and turn it back on.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>2. </strong>While your Mac starts or restarts, immediately press and hold the shift key - you should see the Apple logo appear on your screen (if not, it may be a </span><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204267"><span style="font-weight: 400;">power issue</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">).</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>3. </strong>When you see the login window appear, release the shift key (you may be asked to login twice if your Mac is encrypted with FileVault).</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If after going through this process, the issue your <a href="http://apple.sjv.io/c/196318/435031/7613?subId1=bi_071119_start-mac-in-safe-mode&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-mac%2Fmacbook-pro">Mac</a> was experiencing goes away, try restarting it again normally (i.e. not in safe mode). If the problem doesn't recur, you're good to go, otherwise you may have </span><a href="https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25614?locale=en_US"><span style="font-weight: 400;">incompatible login items</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - in other words, one of the programs that's starting when your Mac turns on is screwing things up.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Devon Delfino/Business Insider" title_caption="You can check how your computer started in your Mac's Software Overview." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d27497fa17d6c2312729a63-960/2-start-mac-safe-mode.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Devon Delfino/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">You can check how your computer started in your Mac's Software Overview.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To check that your computer did, indeed, start in Safe Mode, you'll want to use System Preferences. Start by clicking the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the screen and then select "About this Mac." Next, click "System Report." Finally, in the new pop-up window, select "Software" - you should see the word "Safe" listed next to "Boot Mode."</span></p><h2><strong>Related coverage from<span> </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tech-how-to">How To Do Everything: Tech</a>:</strong></h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-rid-of-virus-on-mac">How to get rid of a virus on an infected Mac computer, and protect your Mac from getting infected again</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-my-mac-so-slow">'Why is my Mac so slow?': 6 ways to speed up your Mac computer when its performance is lagging</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-uninstall-apps-on-mac">How to uninstall apps on a Mac computer in three different ways</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-free-up-space-on-mac">How to free up space on a Mac computer that's running out of storage</a></h3></li></ul>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-lightning-cable-wrong-issues-tech-untangled-2019-7">5 things wrong with Apple's lightning cable</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

How to start your Mac computer in 'Safe Mode,' to diagnose problems and track down troublesome programs

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Justin Sullivan</span></p><p class="caption">The Mac Pro, Apple's high-end PC.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Thunderbolt, the high-speed connection technology developed by Apple in partnership with Intel, is taking off in high-end PCs, <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/01/five-years-later-thunderbolt-is-finally-gaining-some-traction-in-pcs/">Ars Technica reports</a>. </p><p>The port, which allows for very high-speed connections between PCs or displays, has been adopted in <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2015/08/lenovo-announces-powerhouse-laptops-powered-by-new-mobile-xeon-processors/">Lenovo work stations</a>, <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2015/10/dell-refreshes-xps-13-and-xps-15-and-debuts-xps-12-tablet-hybrid/">Dell's new lineup of high-end laptops</a>, and a range of <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2015/11/hands-on-with-hps-elite-x2-a-surface-clone-you-can-actually-open-and-upgrade/">HP</a>, <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/01/acer-announces-usb-type-c-monitors-alongside-new-premium-laptops/">Acer</a>, <a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/01/intels-next-nuc-will-be-a-quad-core-mini-pc-with-iris-pro-and-thunderbolt-3/">and Intel computers</a>. Apple has introduced Thunderbolt into <a href="http://www.apple.com/mac/compare/">all-but-one of its PC range</a>. </p><p>"It's just such an adaptable port," Kevin Sather, director of systems marketing at Razer, a high-end PC maker, told Ars Technica. "It's backwards-compatible with Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2, it can do DisplayPort output with two 4K displays simultaneously, as well as passing data through." </p><p>PC makers are also warming to USB Type-C, a technology that <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/apple-invents-usb-c/">Apple allegedly invented</a>. A host of new laptops that were shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/5/10714394/usb-c-at-ces-2016">included the technology</a>. </p><p>Apple first introduced Thunderbolt on the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/24/macbook-pro-early-2011-with-thunderbolt-hands-on/">MacBook Pro in 2011</a> and has brought the technology to all its laptops, bar the new MacBook, over the years. Thunderbolt is available for anyone to use. </p><p>The advantages of Thunderbolt over USB or FireWire are speed and the ability to pass data in both directions. This means that devices can be "chained": A MacBook can plug into an external hard drive and a display out of one Thunderbolt port, for example. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-made-billions-life-story-2015-12">The insanely successful life of Uber billionaire Travis Kalanick</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xwY2lmdjrD0sKNXKjphpxxEqtRvRDYXG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A technology Apple invented is taking off in high-end PCs after 5 years

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/apple">Apple </a>removed the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-has-terrible-reasons-for-removing-the-headphone-jack-2016-9">headphone jack</a> from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/iphone">iPhone</a> and the company's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-macbook-air-usb-c-no-regular-usb-a-2018-10">MacBook laptops are USB-C only</a>.</li><li>You can't <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-without-usb-c-fragmenting-apple-ecosystem-2018-10">plug your iPhone into your MacBook</a> without an adapter and you need <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/headphone-jack-death-still-annoying-iphone-2017-9">an adapter or a dongle</a> to connect to things like HDMI, ethernet, or wired headphones.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-dongles-2017-8">Apple makes over 20 different types of dongles</a>.</li><li>Apple's move to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/no-headphone-dongle-new-iphones-2018-9">get rid of the headphone jack</a> and other ports has caused a lot of fragmentation. </li></ul><p><em>Following is a transcript of the video:</em></p><p>Apple has a dongle problem. The MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPhone, and iPad use just two types of ports. Remember 30-pin? Now we have Lightning. Remember USB-A? That's gone too. And, of course, there's the headphone jack. Unless you're using the Mac Mini or an iMac, if you wanna connect something that isn't USB-C or Lightning, you're out of luck. Enter the dongle.</p><p>In 2018, the best-selling Apple products at Best Buy were AirPods and the Lightning-to-3.5 mm dongle. Both of these products exist because Apple got rid of the headphone jack. Here's the problem with dongles. They'll never be as simple or as effortless as just having the port in the first place, and Apple's dongles can be really expensive. If you want to connect any of Apple's laptops to an HDMI monitor, you need to spend $50 on an adapter, and dongles like this $70 multiport adapter add unnecessary bulk to the devices that are supposed to be thin and portable. Apple still ships the iPhone with a USB-A to Lightning cable. But if you wanna connect your Apple iPhone to your Apple laptop, you have to buy a dongle. And there's always a chance that you might lose that $20 USB-C to Lightning cable you just bought. It's one more thing you need to carry around or forget at home.</p><p>If you're thinking that you can find cheaper dongles on Amazon, you're right. Apple's first-party dongles are notorious for being more expensive than third-party options. But not all adapters are created equal. Cheaper dongles might not work as well as premium options, and many people like the confidence of buying their accessories directly from Apple. Once you've spent a ton of money and amass a collection of Lightning and Thunderbolt 3 dongles, you're locked into the Apple ecosystem even more.</p><p>But why do we have this horrible dongle issue in the first place? In 2016, Apple released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack. It only had the Lightning port. Most people weren't ready for this, so Apple bundled a dongle in the box. But with the iPhone XS and XR, they've stopped including that dongle. If you buy a brand-new iPhone, you have to spend more money to be able to use your wired headphones. And if you do want to use wired headphones, you can't charge your phone and listen to music at the same time. Unless, of course, you buy a bulky dongle, and that costs $40, by the way.</p><p>And yes, Bluetooth is always an option. But Bluetooth isn't perfect. Bluetooth headphones are usually more expensive compared to wired earbuds, and the pairing process can be frustrating if you're using your headphones with multiple devices. Unless you're willing to pay a premium for something like AirPods, Bluetooth just isn't as seamless as wired headphones.</p><p>But it's not just Apple. Many companies have followed suit and gotten rid of the headphone jack or even USB-A ports on their laptops, but Apple made the switch very abruptly. They got rid of things like the SD card reader, which a lot of people still use for importing photos or videos. And yes, Thunderbolt 3 does have a huge bandwidth and tons of features, but a lot of devices still use other ports. Most monitors are HDMI and devices like mice, card readers, and hard drives still use USB-A ports. Not every laptop owner needs all of these ports, but for each one you do need, you have to buy a dongle or an adapter. If you wanted to use your new MacBook for everything you did with your old one, you would need to spend $158 to get your ports back. And if you don't buy all the dongles, your old accessories are now obsolete.</p><p>Apple has created an ecosystem where you have to pay more to add back in functionality. But there is a good side to all these dongles. It's good to have the option to connect to older devices. Apple's DVI or FireWire dongles can be really useful if you need to connect to older displays or hard drives. But no one wants to spend more money on dongles after buying an expensive device. Apple has always pushed devices forward to the next generation of ports.</p><p>One day, all devices might use USB-C. But we're not there yet. And it's caused a lot of fragmentation over the last few years. Apple needs to come up with a better option for users, like bundling multiple cables with a device. One day, we'll be able to put our dongles in a drawer with all our other outdated cables, not wanting to throw them out just in case we need them someday.</p><p><strong>Phil Schiller</strong>: Well, the reason to move on, I'm gonna give you three of them. But it really comes down to one word. Courage.</p>

Why Apple's dongle problem isn't getting any better

<p><keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword>, one of the most beloved companies in the world, has just received another impressive honor.</p>
<p>The iPhone maker received a Tech Emmy Award at CES 2013 from the National Academy of Television Arts. </p>
<p>Apple’s award is for an “Eco-system for Real Time Presentation of TV Content to Mobile Devices without the use of Specialized Television Hardware”, reports <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2013/01/11/apple-loop-app-attack-mr-cook-goes-to-china-tv-time-attention-walmart-shoppers/">Forbes</a>.</p>
<p>We don't know yet what product this is actually referring to but many are guessing that the win is for Apple's <keyword id="667357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="iCloud">iCloud</keyword>.</p>
<p>This isn't the first time that Apple has received a tech Emmy award. It took home an Emmy in 2001 for the invention of FireWire, in 2002 for video-editing software Final Cut Pro, <span>and two more in 2005 and 2006 for “Streaming Media Architectures and Components.”</span></p>
<p><strong>Don't Miss: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-apple-really-said-about-a-cheap-iphone-2013-1">Here's What Apple REALLY Said About A Cheap iPhone (We Think) &gt;</a></strong></p>

Apple Wins An Emmy Award

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ipod-touch-7th-generation-review-2019-6">The iPod</a> changed the way we listen to music and helped grow Apple into one of the biggest companies in the world.</li><li>But the iPod went from being Apple's hit product to being basically nonexistent. The iPod Classic, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-kills-off-ipod-nano-ipod-shuffle-2017-7">Nano, and Shuffle</a> have all been discontinued.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-new-ipod-touch-innovation-vs-strategy-profitability-2019-5">Apple did refresh the iPod Touch in 2019</a>, but it's clear that the iPod's days are numbered. It couldn't compete against the iPhone and the rise of music streaming services like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/spotify">Spotify</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p><em>Following is a transcript of the video.<br /><br /></em><strong>Irene Kim:</strong> This transformed the way we listen to music. And it helped turn Apple into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Apple has sold more than 400 million iPods since launching them in 2001 and over 35 billion songs. <br /><br /><strong>Clip:</strong> This is an excellent rectangle. <br /><br /><strong>Kim:</strong> But sales have been in decline for over a decade. How did the iPod go from being one of the most popular gadgets to being basically nonexistent? In 1999, the US music industry had its biggest year yet. Around this time, two things were exploding in growth. Over 40% of households had a computer. <br /><br /><strong>Clip:</strong> Welcome! <br /><br /><strong>Kim:</strong> And the internet was rapidly gaining users.</p><p><strong>Clip:</strong> You've got mail.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> A new market for digital media was emerging. CDs made up over 80% of US music revenue at the time. You could listen on a big stereo, a portable CD player, or rip an entire album to your computer. But CD players and early portable media players had a lot of issues. They were big and clunky, would often skip during playback, and neither held many songs.</p><p>Apple saw this as an opportunity. It considered the competition totally inadequate, and it wanted to create something that was smaller and more powerful. But Apple didn't know exactly what this device was. Until its former head of hardware, Jon Rubinstein, met with Toshiba at a Macworld expo in Tokyo.</p><p>Rubinstein was shown a 1.8-inch hard drive, which was incredibly small for the time. This new hard drive combined storage and portability. Exactly what Apple was looking for. Apple's new media player was now possible. The first iPod was announced on October 23, 2001.</p><p><strong>Steve Jobs:</strong> iMac, iBook, iPod. There it is, right there. [audience clapping]</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> It had a 5-gigabyte capacity, cost $399, and promised to hold 1,000 songs in your pocket. In 2020, that might sound a bit underwhelming. Compared to a 2019 iPod Touch, it had 84% less storage and, adjusted for inflation, cost almost $400 more. And it was super chunky.</p><p>But compared to other products at the time, it looked and functioned better. It held a lot more songs, and the now iconic scroll wheel made it easy to navigate a big music library.</p><p><strong>Lisa Eadicicco:</strong> Before the iPod, there really wasn't an easy way to take a lot of music with you on the go. It really set the stage for Apple to be the dominant player when it comes to mobile devices.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> But not everyone saw the iPod as the success it would become. Initial reviews were critical due to its high price and limited functionality. The New York Times quoted one analyst who said: "It's a nice feature for Macintosh users. But to the rest of the Windows world, it doesn't make any difference."</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> It seemed like an expensive product that only targeted a relatively small portion of computer users. What really made the iPod so successful, and it really boils down to one thing, was that it was very easy to use.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> The iPod did one thing, and it did it really well.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> Back in 2001, it was actually, you know, pretty sleek and portable. The iPod was almost like a status symbol. You wanted to show off your music collection.</p><p><strong> Kim:</strong> But Apple wasn't relying on just the iPod. Nine months earlier, Apple released iTunes, a digital music player for Mac.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> The ecosystem was a little bit more fragmented when you get into other companies and the way they do things. They all had proprietary software that just didn't work as well as iTunes and wasn't as easy to use.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> And the iPod's FireWire connector transferred songs faster than USB. You could put a CD's worth of songs onto your iPod in 10 seconds. In April 2003, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, which sold hundreds of thousands of songs for $0.99 each. The store sold over a million songs in its first week. But iTunes was only available on the Mac, which had less than 3% of the global computer market share. So six months later, Apple surprised everyone and released iTunes for Windows.</p><p><strong>Jobs:</strong> I'm here to report to you today that this has happened. [audience laughing] ITunes for Windows is probably the best Windows app ever written. [audience clapping and laughing]</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> Now anyone could use an iPod. In its first eight months, iTunes sold 25 million songs. And iPod sales exploded year after year.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> The iPod became kind of like the face of, you know, portable MP3 players, and it made it really difficult for anyone else to compete. And it also convinced people, you know, if you like iTunes and you like your iPod so much, then maybe you would like using a Mac too.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> But it wasn't just consumers; the music industry loved the iPod too. In the early 2000s, piracy was growing fast. Napster had gained 80 million users in just three years. The music industry saw file-sharing companies like Napster as its biggest threat.</p><p><strong>Lars Ulrich:</strong> It is clear, then, that if music is free for downloading, the music industry is not viable.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> ITunes bridged the gap between the music industry and consumers by providing an easy and affordable way to buy music online.</p><p><strong>Jobs:</strong> We're gonna fight illegal downloading by competing with it.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> In 2004, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America told Newsweek, "The iPod and iTunes store are a shining light at a very bleak time in the industry." Over the next couple of years, Apple upgraded the iPod and released more models at various price points, like the Mini, Shuffle, and Nano, which brought larger storage, better portability, and new features, like video playback.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> For the people who had massive music libraries, there was, like, the big Classic one. And then, if you really just wanted to take a few songs with you, you had the little Shuffle that you can clip onto you. They really tried to think about every type of person who was buying an iPod and what they would want from it.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> In 2007, Apple released the iPod Touch, a touch-screen iPod that had apps, games, and an internet browser. Sales peaked in 2008 with 54.8 million units sold. In an interview with Wired in 2004, Will Smith called the iPod "the gadget of the century."</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> I think anybody who grew up in the early 2000s remembers those iPod ads. It also marked this shift from being a computer company to a personal-electronics company. Without the iPod, you could really argue that, like, who knows if there would be an iPhone today.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> But the device's success wouldn't last much longer. Months before the iPod Touch launched, Apple released another product you might have heard of.</p><p><strong>Jobs:</strong> An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. This is one device. And we are calling it: iPhone.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> So, if you had all three of those things in one, you probably didn't need to have a separate device just to listen to music anymore.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> Adding insult to injury, Apple called the music app on the original iPhone, "iPod." The rise of the iPhone and the fall of the iPod have a direct relationship. IPod sales began to decline in 2008, while the iPhone's growth was massive. At the time, Apple was still releasing new models of the iPod. But it would soon abandon its own product.</p><p>In 2009, then Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said, "We expect our traditional MP3 players to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves with the iPod Touch and the iPhone." In 2011, iPhone sales overtook the iPod. Three years later, Apple discontinued the iPod Classic. At the time, the iPod was less than 2% of Apple's revenue. It was clear that the iPod's days were numbered.</p><p>On an earnings call in 2014, Tim Cook even said, "All of us have known for some time that iPod is a declining business." Finally, in 2017, Apple discontinued the Nano and Shuffle. These were the last of Apple's devices that didn't connect to the internet, which meant they couldn't use the services that Apple was focusing on, like the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV Plus.</p><p>But the death of the iPod also closes a chapter on gadget history. Single-purpose devices like the iPod Classic feel antiquated next to smartphones and tablets that are essentially portable computers. Unlike the Apple Watch, which acts as a companion to your smartphone, the iPod was just redundant. Even though it defined a product category, it couldn't save itself from its own company.</p><p>But it was also hurt by a larger music industry trend. As streaming services like Pandora and Spotify grew, people started buying music less. Even Apple is replacing iTunes with its streaming service, Apple Music. In fact, streaming is now the largest source of US music industry revenue. But the iPod isn't completely dead yet. Apple refreshed its iPod Touch in 2019 with a faster processor and more storage options.</p><p><strong>Eadicicco:</strong> So the iPod isn't totally irrelevant. It can certainly feel that way. A new iPod touch kind of just gives Apple another device that people can access their services on.</p><p><strong>Kim:</strong> And iPods still have a few uses. They're good devices for kids, going to the gym, or for people who still like owning music. But in 2020, when our devices can do everything and go everywhere, it seems unlikely that a single-purpose gadget could find mass success again.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bi-intelligence-daily?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=apple&amp;itm_campaign=bi-intelligence-daily"></a></p>

The rise and fall of the iPod

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Kevin Smith/Business Insider</p><p class="caption">3 Dongles plugged into Google's Chromebook Pixel.</p></div>This week two people in the <keyword id="6358815" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword> industry <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/adria-richards-dongle-and-forking-jokes-2013-3">lost their jobs because of jokes gone awry</a> at a conference.</p>
<p>A couple of male developers were joking around about "big" dongles. When a female developer evangelist heard their jokes she tweeted it out with their photo, complaining that they were being rude. One of those developers lost his job, and then eventually, so did the evangelist.</p>
<p>In the developers' defense, the word "dongle" is funny. It's nearly impossible to say without giggling or making childish jokes.</p>
<p>Some people in our office had heard the word before, but didn't know what a dongle is. <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dongle">Merriam-Webster</a> defines a dongle as a small device that plugs into a computer and serves as an adapter or a security measure to enable the use of certain software.</p>
<p><table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Kevin Smith/Business Insider</p></td></tr></table></p>
<p class="p1">The term, dongle, was rumored to have originated from a 1992 advertisement for Rainbow Technologies. The ad claimed the word dongle was derived from the name "Don Gall." Though untrue, this has given rise to an urban myth, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_protection_dongle#cite_note-3">we learned from Wikipedia</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">According to the <a href="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1475">University of Pennsylvania's language log</a>, the earliest citation of the word dongle began appearing in 1982:</p>
<p class="p1" style="padding-left: 60px;"><strong>1982</strong><span> </span><em>MicroComputer Printout</em><span> Jan. 19/2 The word ‘dongle’ has been appearing in many articles with reference to security systems for computer software [refers to alleged coinage in 1980].</span></p>
<p class="p1">But as the term 'dongle' became more widespread its meaning changed from strictly a scientific term to mainstream. UPenn clarifies:</p>
<p class="p1" style="padding-left: 60px;"><span>The current meaning for </span><strong><em>dongle</em></strong><span> seems to be something like "a self-contained device that plugs into a  port on a computer that is normally used for connections to a separate external device". Thus in addition to the original serial-port dongles, and the USB dongles that Suzanne (and Stephen Fry) wrote about, there are also </span><a href="http://www.google.com/#hl=en&amp;q=%22firewire+dongle%22&amp;btnG=Google+Search&amp;aq=f&amp;oq=%22firewire+dongle%22&amp;aqi=&amp;fp=2Inaafc1UxE">"firewire dongles"</a><span>, and presumably there could be dongles for any other sort of port as well.</span> </p>
<p><span>Simply put, dongles are computer peripherals that plug into your computer like a USB flash drive or a cord connecting a computer with a printer for example. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Dongles are also huge in the video game world because they allow consoles to have added features like increased audio quality.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xbox_360_Audio_Dongle.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></p><p class="caption">An Xbox 360 Audio Dongle</p></td></tr></table></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Before USB was the standard in attaching PC peripherals, there were tons of different dongles that came in various shapes and sizes.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danlockton/127449971/sizes/l/in/photostream/">Flickr/danlockton</a></p></div><br /></span></p>

What The Heck Is A Dongle?

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/techhub/6076117767/in/dateposted/">Tech Hub/flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">There are certain truths that every good closer knows.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Jay Dixit is the founder of Storytelling.NYC, where he teaches corporate workshops on how to use storytelling techniques to build relationships and drive sales.</strong></li><li><strong>Sales is an ethical pursuit, he writes - and a successful sales pitch is much less about showmanship and high-pressure tactics than it is about empathy and listening to what your customer actually needs.</strong></li><li><strong>Below are his tips for nailing a sales pitch, including selecting your prospects strategically, asking the right questions, and learning to anticipate and even welcome objections.</strong></li><li>Validating what your customer is saying is crucial: One study found that waitresses who repeated customers' orders verbatim made 70% more tips than those who simply acknowledged or paraphrased them.</li><li><strong>"People don't buy products, they buy better versions of themselves," he writes.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>Although I run my own business, I spent years resisting anything to do with sales.</p><p>I'm a creative type, I told myself. I traffic in ideas and insights. Sales pitches felt icky and vulgar. I always felt like I was above having to worry about trying to hustle people for money.</p><p>Looking back, I had no idea what a sales pitch really was. The idea I had in my head came from "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Boiler Room," and that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzo5TDfamk">scene in "The Wolf of Wall Street"</a> in which Leonardo DiCaprio sells a stock to an unsuspecting schmuck who's responded to a "Get Rich Quick" ad in the back of Hustler Magazine. In my mind, sales pitches were all about bluster, charm, and manipulation - playing on a customer's subconscious to convince them to do something that was not entirely in their best interests.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Jay Dixit</span></p><p class="caption">Jay Dixit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p>Once I started my company, I realized how wrong I'd been. All three of those movies were about scams - people swindling customers with cheap penny stocks and worthless swampland in Florida. Those men weren't salesmen - they were con artists who never cared about their customers' best interests. Since these guys weren't selling a legitimate product, manipulation and deception were the only tools they had.</p><p>I'm proud of the value I bring to my customers, so I now see that sales is an ethical pursuit. A successful sales pitch is much less about showmanship, high-pressure tactics, and psychological manipulation and more about perspective-taking and empathy - listening to what your customer actually needs so you can figure out how to help. <span style="background-color: #ffff99;"></span>As role models ranging from Steve Jobs to Harley Davidson have shown, sales is about truly hearing the people we're selling to, and helping them become greater versions of themselves. The same themes are borne out in the research, whether it's the tips servers make or the success of traditional telephone sales calls. </p><p>As I ultimately had to accept for my business to take off, being creative doesn't exempt you from the need to sell. Whether you're a founder or a solopreneur, a software engineer or a sculptor, chances are that part of your job is to get others to see your vision. With that in mind, here are some tips for nailing the sales pitch every time.</p><h2><strong>Select your prospects strategically</strong></h2><p>There's an idea out there that a good salesperson can sell anything to anybody. That's a myth. The best salespeople spend most of their time sorting through data to identify prospects who most stand to benefit from their product or service.</p><p>The flip side is accepting that some people aren't viable prospects. If someone doesn't need your product, don't waste your time trying to convince them they do. You're better off spending your resources prospecting for customers who actually need what you're selling.</p><p>"The best salesman I ever saw was a 16-year-old kid selling bottles of water in the desert after a concert," explains Wayne Elise, a conversation skills coach who runs a weekend seminar called Conversation Camp. "Because he was smart enough to sell the right thing, at the right time, to the right people."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Don't waste time convincing someone who doesn't need your product.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unicorn-startup-founder-thinks-all-ceos-should-include-this-slide-2019-7">The founder of a $1.7 billion startup shares the one slide every pitch deck needs to succeed</a></em></p><h2><strong>Focus on trying to help</strong></h2><p>Part of my original aversion to sales was that I don't like to impose. What can I say - I'm Canadian. To me, sales always seemed liked pushing yourself and your agenda onto people who would probably rather be left alone.</p><p>As it turns out, acting pushy doesn't work that well anyway. Consumers are good at spotting ulterior motives, and honesty, transparency, and sincerity are ultimately more persuasive than pressure tactics.</p><p>Fortunately, the insight that ultimately made sales palatable to me is also what's made me fairly good at it - and something that warms my Canadian heart. And it's that I have the customer's best interests in mind.</p><p>A good sales pitch shouldn't be oppositional. Yes, sales is technically about getting someone to take an action they may be hesitant about. But the best way to do that is to stop worrying about getting the sale and focus instead on trying to be helpful. Instead of wondering what you can say to get them to buy, ask yourself, "How can I help them achieve their goals by using my product or service?"</p><p>"The best sellers adopt an attitude of service," writes Dan Pink, author of "To Sell Is Human." "They believe in the value of the product and how it will impact the life of the buyer."</p><p>There's no need to push your product or service on your customers. Instead, work to help them accomplish their goals. When you genuinely care about helping them improve their lives, you'll not only offer more targeted solutions, but they'll also sense your sincerity and respond in kind.</p><h2><strong>Ask questions </strong></h2><p>There's another myth out there that sales is all about talking - that the best salespeople are chatty extroverts who can charm their way into a conversation and talk people into anything.</p><p>But <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.175.8429&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">a meta-analysis of 35 studies</a> - involving 3,800 salespeople - found that the correlation between extroversion and sales success is close to zero. "Extroverts can talk too much and listen too little, which dulls their understanding of others' perspectives," writes Pink. "They can overwhelm others with the force of their personalities."</p><p>But people who were too shy to pick up the phone weren't the best salespeople either. The best salespeople, the analysis found, were neither extreme extroverts nor extreme introverts, but people in the middle.</p><p>Many of us have a conception of a sales pitch as being like a spiel or mini-presentation in which the salesperson talks while the customer listens and makes a decision. But that's backwards. To truly help your customer improve his or her life, you need to have a deep understanding of what they care about - and to do that, you need to ask questions.</p><p>To help your clients improve their lives, you need to know what they care about. Allow yourself to be curious about their situation and their interests. <a href="https://blog.close.com/asking-sales-questions?utm_campaign=cryjwillquora&amp;utm_medium=quora&amp;utm_source=quora">Ask questions</a> that get to the heart of what they care about, what they're trying to accomplish, and what problems they face. By asking good follow-up questions, you may even uncover challenges they don't even know they have.</p><h2><strong>Listen and empathize</strong></h2><p>The single most valuable asset in any sales interaction is an understanding of what your customer wants and needs. Contrary to the old stereotype, you should actually be doing <a href="https://blog.close.com/best-sales-technique?utm_campaign=cryjwillquora&amp;utm_medium=quora&amp;utm_source=quora">more listening than talking</a>. In fact, an analysis of 25,000 sales calls found that <a href="https://www.gong.io/blog/talk-to-listen-conversion-ratio/">top closers listened 57% of the time</a>.</p><p>So worry less about getting your energy up and projecting confidence, and more about listening to the needs of your prospect. Empathize, validate what they're saying, and demonstrate that you truly understand their situation. One study found that waitresses who repeated customers' orders verbatim <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0010880404270062">made 70% more tips</a> than those who simply acknowledged or paraphrased them. By reflecting orders in a precise way, they assured customers they'd been heard and understood. By listening well, you'll not only get a better understanding of your customers' goals, needs, and desires - you'll also build trust and rapport.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Top closers did more listening than talking.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-who-gave-up-corner-office-been-great-business-2019-7">I'm a CEO who gave up my corner office and placed my seat in the middle of the room - and it's been great for business</a></em></p><h2><strong>Focus on solving the problem</strong></h2><p>When you're closely connected to your product or service, your perspective is naturally skewed. No doubt you're proud of its features, and you may have spent months helping make it the best it can be. You're eager to share your knowledge and tell your prospective customer all the details about the product and its features.</p><p>That enthusiasm is great, but when it's time to pitch, you need to leave that mindset behind. Customers don't buy a product because of its features - they buy it because <a href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/clay-christensens-milkshake-marketing">they have a job they need done</a>. Customers only care about what's in it for them, and a successful sales pitch zeroes in on how you'll make their life better. In the words of Basecamp CEO Jason Fried, "Here's what our product can do" is very different from "<a href="https://twitter.com/jasonfried/statuses/400733165964099584">Here's what you can do with our product</a>."</p><p>When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod, he didn't just talk about technical features like the Firewire port and 5GB storage capacity. He offered people a device that "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrhYBMbI-ak">puts 1,000 songs in your pocket</a>."</p><p>There's an old saying in business: "<a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1620/9ef8b881ae04fa4baf906af4a180338edb2d.pdf">People don't buy drills, they buy holes</a>." What that means is that customers don't care about your product - they only care about what they can do with it. But even that saying doesn't go far enough. In reality, people don't care about holes - what they truly want is the ability to hang art on their walls and make their house feel like a home.</p><p>This approach works even if what you're selling isn't something your customer needs in the strictest sense. Your customer may not need a new pair of designer shoes. But if wearing those shoes makes them feel sexier and more confident, then you're helping them achieve a goal.</p><p>Harley-Davidson, for instance, doesn't just sell motorcycles - they sell a fantasy. As one company insider <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2pucMiEH00cC&amp;q=%22what+we+sell%22#v=snippet&amp;q=%22what%20we%20sell%22&amp;f=false">put it</a>: "What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns, and have people be afraid of him."</p><p>To put it another way: "<a href="https://www.useronboard.com/features-vs-benefits/">People don't buy products, they buy better versions of themselves</a>."</p><h2><strong>Tell a story</strong></h2><p>As I tell my clients in my "<a href="https://storytelling.nyc/storytelling-for-sales">Storytelling for Sales</a>" workshops, sales is about creating desire. And the best way you can create desire is by telling a story.</p><p>When you're trying to sell something to someone, it's natural to think you need to make your case, presenting your argument for and evidence like you're arguing in court.</p><p>But trying to persuade someone through arguments and evidence can be a trap. When someone senses that you're trying to convince them of something, <a href="https://storytelling.nyc/counterarguing">their defenses go up</a>. The brain's automatic response to hearing arguments and evidence is to evaluate them, weighing facts and assessing merit. Scientists call this "counterarguing" - the little arguments a prospect makes in their head that they may never articulate out loud.</p><p>Storytelling is different. When you tell your client a story, you bypass the evaluative regions of the brain and activate the experiential and emotional regions instead, triggering <a href="https://storytelling.nyc/narrative-transportation">a brain state known as "narrative transportation."</a> Rather than focusing on evaluating your claims, the listener is instead transported into the world of your story.</p><p>That's not to say you never mention facts and evidence. If you have metrics that prove the effectiveness of your product, by all means mention them. But by framing them in a story, you'll help sidestep their habitual skepticism.</p><p>Think of your customer as a character struggling against an obstacle - to which your product or service is the solution. By painting a picture of a future state in which their life has improved, you'll help them see how you can help them get the results they want.</p><p>Seeing is believing, and when people hear a story, <a href="https://storytelling.nyc/visualness">they can't help but visualize it</a>. If you can get your customer to imagine themselves using your product or service to solve their problem and achieve their goals, you've already won.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-focus-on-right-type-of-customers-right-time-2019-7">An early investor in Pinterest and Uber who sold a company for $150 million says there's a specific order in which early startups need to target customers</a></em></p><h2><strong>Anticipate and address objections</strong></h2><p>Most prospects you talk to will have objections - reasons in their mind why your product might not be right for them. Since your prospect doesn't yet know everything about your product, those reasons may or may not be accurate. So part of a successful sales pitch is handling those objections.</p><p>The first step is to anticipate them. Identify the <a href="https://blog.close.com/manage-any-sales-objection-successfully">ten most common objections</a> - including reservations about value, price, urgency, or relevance - and prepare a concise response for each one.</p><p>Second, welcome objections. They mean your prospect is engaged in the process and providing information about their needs - and giving you a chance to address them. So make your customer feel safe to voice objections. Don't argue, be defensive, or try to minimize the objection. If your product or service can help them in spite of their concern, tell them how. And if you discover you can't help them, say so and ask for a referral instead.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">Be prepared for objections, and let customers know if you can't help them.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>Follow up</strong></h2><p>As important as it is, your initial sales pitch is just a small part of the process. As any salesperson will tell you, the majority of sales happen not in the first encounter but in follow-up conversations.</p><p>At the end of your initial pitch, let them know you'll be following up and ask how they prefer to be contacted. Then, follow up promptly to thank them for their time and lay out next steps. Be friendly and available, follow up when you say you will, and end every interaction by scheduling the next one. Be persistent - and above all, never interpret a lack of response as a rejection. Track every attempt to reach them, and keep following up until you either get the sale or the prospect tells you they're not interested.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-freelancing-and-earn-more-than-before-2019-7">The ultimate guide to going freelance - and making more than you did at a full-time gig</a></em></p><h2><strong>Ask for the sale</strong></h2><p>It's not enough just to present your vision. You need to actually ask for the sale. In theory that's simple, but it's often the scariest part of the entire process. Many people are afraid to ask for the sale for fear of hearing no, appearing pushy, or jeopardizing the relationship.</p><p>But when you've listened to your client, taken the time to see the world through their eyes, and used empathy and storytelling to communicate exactly how you can help, then closing is simply the next logical step. If you genuinely believe your product or service can improve your customer's life, you're doing them a service by offering it to them. Remember, the answer is always no until you ask the question.</p><p><em><a href="https://jaydixit.com/">Jay Dixit</a> is the founder of </em><a href="https://storytelling.nyc/"><em>Storytelling.NYC</em></a><em>, where he teaches corporate workshops on how to use storytelling techniques to build relationships and drive sales. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/jaydixit">Twitter. </a></em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-on-bridgewater-succession-planning-strategy-2019-7">Ray Dalio shares what he's learned from his succession plan at the world's largest hedge fund</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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