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Dismal Apple Forecasts Are Wrong

Nutrimentia writes "Tom Yager has a new column at Infoworld disputing poor analytic forecasts of Apple's future, especially based on criticism of Apple's lack of innovation (which seems to me to be pretty easy to refute, but whatever). It's a balanced article that looks at what Apple is doing right and wrong, and he offers some good reasons to pay attention to Apple even if you aren't a Mac fan, namely that the company's approaches to the market help understand many broader trends in effect."

10 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. He's got it right about developer documentation... by Chief+Typist · · Score: 5, Informative

    He's right on target about developer training & documentation. It sucks big-time: poorly categorized and there is lots of missing information.

    When I'm looking for an answer to a technical problem, I typically find answers at sites like Mamasam or CocoaDev. The Cocoa Dev Central site is a good source of sample code, too. Many more resources are listed here

    Historically, Mac developer's have been very picky about this: Inside Macintosh is wonderful. It's an excellent technical reference presented in a consistent and easily readible format.

  2. Re:Just ignore them and they go away... by rogueroo · · Score: 3, Informative
  3. Here's why Apple has a bright future: by dpbsmith · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just take a look at this article at www.imaging-resource.com.

    This isn't a Mac bigot. This is a guy that completed a slide show project, after much struggle, using DVDit on a Wintel box. "Some helpful souls suggested we'd enjoy life more if we used iDVD on the Mac. So we did."

    He started working at 4:50 p.m. Every darn thing he tried just plain worked the way he expected. "At 6:10 we were ready to burn. ...And we'd spent the whole time -- not just a large part of it -- arranging the show contents rather than fighting the program interface.... We were done at 6:26." He said "...the only [really] aggravating part of the whole process [was] getting the blessed cellophane wrapping off the blank DVD. We can't wait to get these in spindles."

    Apple's situation has been the same as it always been. Microsoft, like IBM before it, has the hearts and minds of the corporate IT departments and wins all the top-down purchasing decisions.

    But everyone who actually has to use the things finds that Apple's hardware and software, overall, are just plain easier, nicer, faster, and more productive to use than Wintel gear.

    As long as the people who actually use computers have any say whatever in what computers they use, Apple has a bright future.

  4. Re:Just ignore them and they go away... by wchin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Ah, read it again.

    As of 12/28/02, they had 4.462 billion in cash and short term investments. Short term investments include corporate securities and bonds and so on. These are things that company can liquidate very quickly and therefore are lumped together with the cash position of the company.

  5. Re:Apple's Historical Hits and Misses by C0LDFusion · · Score: 2, Informative

    You forgot so many things, like the Apple III debacle, exploding PowerBook Batteries getting recalled...and then the recalls getting recalled.

    Just to name a few things. I'm not going to do the litany,

    --
    Only in slashdot are posts of solidarity modded at -1 Redundant, while posts of antagonism are modded as -1 Flamebait.
  6. Re:Apple's Historical Hits and Misses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    Apple 1990-1993 Apple owns the education market.
    Apple is the number one computer manufacturer by volume.
    The Quadra has SCSI, 32bit SVGA, and up to 128M of memory.
    Macintosh is the only platform for Macromedia Director, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Mosaic Browser, and Quark Xpress during this time.
    Desktop and Digital Video comes of age on the Mac with Quicktime

    Meanwhile: MS-PCs have Windows 2 through 3.1. Corel Draw, Ventura Publisher, 8 bit vga, and 8M memory limit. DOS is the most popular MS-PC operating system during this time. 8-P

  7. Re:Just ignore them and they go away... by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 4, Informative

    No way there's an iMac in a classroom of a small school.

    Schools do not buy Macs at list price. Apple has extraordinarily aggressive incentive programs for schools that want to buy Macs; 80% off the retail price of the machines is not that unusual.

    Details may vary overseas.

    --

    I write in my journal
  8. Re:He's got it right about developer documentation by WatertonMan · · Score: 4, Informative
    Apple's many mailing lists are excellent resources. The product developers are often members and can answer most questions. The quality of feedback on the X11 mailing list was, for instance, quite amazing. Same with the Project Builder.

    Check them out:

    http://search.lists.apple.com/

    Apple's ADC pages have quite a bit of source code as well I've found invaluable. No its not as nice as the initial volumes of Inside Mac were. However given the work Apple is doing on its development tools, there is too much of a moving target to have a tool like that. Apple's worked with O'Reilly to produce quality introductory materials. They also recognize that, unlike the 80's, most of us use the internet to get "how-to's." So it really is a different environment.

    http://developer.apple.com/macosx/

  9. Re:PC World needs apple by pressman · · Score: 2, Informative

    GUI - Apple popularized it... used it when noone thought there was a use for it.
    USB - Nope didn't invent it, but neither did Intel, they just bought the technology - USB didn't truly take off until Apple put it in the Imacs and B&W G3's.
    FireWire - Synonymous with Digital Video... truly revolutionary
    Good Design - Who else other than Sony is doing it?

    --
    Pooty tweet
  10. Re:Just ignore them and they go away... by selderrr · · Score: 2, Informative

    Details may vary overseas.

    You bet they do !

    20% to 30% is the max discount we get here. Dell gives far higher volume discounts for our university : I don't know the financial details, but *every machine* bought by univ money is a Dell. Project budgets can be spent anywhere offcourse, but univ techies will fix only Dells. Even if it's a dumb floppy drive install.

    The sad part is that Apple is even losing in the univ hospital : "Ghasthuisberg" is the biggest hospital in belgium (it's huge for belgian norms. It's a small city on its own) and ran 50% macs about 10 years ago. Now that's perhaps 5%, mainly due to the price and lack of support from sales.

    That sales support is painfull too : My dad, who is a prof at the univ, wanted 3 new flatpanel iMacs, standard model, nothing fancy. Guess what ? It took 4 weeks to ship them !!!!!