You can't blame Tim Cook for that. In my eyes, Apple started being a lifestyle company with the release of the original iMac. I remember how much people complained about the lack of upgradability and the lack of a floppy drive. Deja vu...

I think the transition was complete with the release of the iPod and iTunes and the way they advertised it.

The first iPod even.

"It doesn't even have a memory card."

Not really. Memory cards were what back then? 128 MB at best? The iPod had 5GB storage build in.

Not my comment, just referencing the common sentiment that people, especially non-Apple users, made wrt it being a closed box without expandable storage.

I understand, but I can't remember that anybody - esp. outside the very small Apple bubble - cared about the product itself or extensibility in particular. I would completely dispute that extensibility was a common concern.

At the time PowerMacs came with 40 GB of storage so 5 GB was a lot. Absolute size wasn't a hot topic. And practically nobody else had an Mp3-player so swapping with friends wasn't a thing either.

Thanks for adding your thoughts. I don't have more time to dedicate to this thread today, but the information I mentioned is accessible in Google by filtering back to that time period should you feel inclined. I'm surprised that you insist otherwise, as it was mentioned often especially when the drive size didn't change much with the first few generations.

> The first iPod even.

I was specifically talking about that device. Taking later years into account the situation may of course be somewhat different.

Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Apple has pretty much always been a lifestyle company as well as a technology company. Technology + Liberal Arts. For a long time that seemed to pigeonhole them in a precarious niche in the industry. How times change.