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Apple Plans to Grow to $10 Billion
mattmcal writes "Fred Anderson, CFO of Apple, this week outlined Apple's strategy for returning to its former self as a $10 billion company. He cited portability, digital lifestyle, and music as the three pimary drivers of this new strategy. Anderson announced last month that he plans to retire June 1 of this year."
$5 billion of that will be from iPod replacement batteries...
[obDisclaimer: I own a 1stG iPod and a 2ndG iPod - batteries still as good as new. But the headphones......
And of course, they would get to that $10 billion sooner if they would release a G5 laptop.
I can personally guarantee them to get $3k closer when they do...]
Fred Anderson is the CFO, NOT CTO...
Am I the only one thats a bit skeptical that hes saying this right before retirement?...
Seems to me like a:
1.) Talk up Apple, raise share price.
2.) retire, have all options vest.
3.) Profit!
situation to me.
According to quote.yahoo.com, the current market cap for AAPL is 8.87B, so they're approaching the 9B mark already. I think Apple is well on track with the high profit margins and popularity of the iPod, and all the great things they have been doing with both Mac hardware and MacOS X the last couple of years.
The excitement that has been surrounding Apple the last couple of years reminds me of the Macintosh during the System 7 or PowerPC transitions.
Also, it should be noted that Fred Anderson is the C*F*O of Apple, not the CTO
One of Apple's major strengths lies in its design and ease of use, which isn't so much different from Microsoft, but from the majority of the open source world. Apple couples these two design principles, ease of use and configurability, with their OS and also their other products, so their products are very appealing to many customers, especially designers, drawers, and graphic people.
In the near future, I believe there are going to be more and more of such jobs, and so Apple plays a large role in the IT field. I think the $10 billion limit can be reached.
"Until you do what you believe in, how do you know whether you believe in it or not?" -- Leo Tolstoy
Any idea of what Apple's current earnings are right now?
l ts .html
...
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/14resu
Apple Reports First Quarter Results
Revenue Increases 36 Percent Year-Over-Year
CUPERTINO, California--January 14, 2004--Apple(R) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2004 first quarter ended December 27, 2003. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of $63 million, or $.17 per diluted share. These results compare to a net loss of $8 million, or $.02 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter reached a four-year high of $2.006 billion, up 36 percent from the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 26.7 percent, down from 27.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter's revenue.
It's been a very interesting turnaround in the geek/nerd market, to the extent that even CmdrTaco has a MacOS X system. It's too bad this market doesn't seem to be a significant percentage of the whole.
However, I was just managing a virus outbreak, and finally getting the Symantec Centralized Anti-Virus solution to more or less work in my company, and I can say the value of the time it took to do this would have easily paid the price difference between the PCs we have and the eMacs we could have bought instead. Add outside consultant time and Windows TCO compared to the Mac gets even more absurd.
Most of our employees use a web-based CRM system I developed for the company that's completely platform-independent, so theoretically there should be no problem at all switching.
Unfortunately, we have a phone system that forces a Windows lock-in for a variety of reasons, but if it didn't, I would think a switch to Mac for most people wouldn't be that difficult a sell. "Look, you can still get Office, and you'll have 1% of the trouble with viruses and worms. It's a no-brainer!"
If mid-sized companies like ours could be a bit more open-minded, and if they could avoid buying a phone system like we did (it was a mistake, for a lot of other good reasons), I think more companies would find major advantages in switching.
D
I think it's looking pretty optimistic for apple at this point....the ipod has helped people realize that paying a premium for an excellent piece of industrial design just might be worth it after all, the same mentality mac users have had for a while now.
That's funny, I don't need to open a hatch on my iPod to listen to my music. I thought you just touch the control surfaces. *shrug* I must be doing it wrong.
Earnings are pretty small, there aren't too many companies that earn more than 10 billion/year. He was likely refering to revenues, (hit about $6.2 last fiscal year, $6.7 last calendar year).
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
Doesn't take long for the Gammer Nazi to rear it's ugly head. Its a sign of there low esteem.
Anderson also hints that there are more alliances in the works (beyond Pepsi, HP and AOL), but that there is nothing to announce yet.
A previous rumour doing the rounds was a 100 million free song deal with McDonalds, Which you can find here.
McDonalds later said there 'Was no deal to announce', but did not actually deny the rumour.
The revenue and publicity from such a deal would certainly put iTunes further in the lead in the online music store biz.
But perhaps Coke might not be so happy with that.
...The technical trainers.
During the "good ole days" (1998-2001) when dot-com money was fluid, training centers were handing out MCSE cert training and testing and getting better than $2000 or even $3000 for it. Now, I doubt many people care as they saw what it bought them.
Enter Apple growing market share. Companies will still need someone to show the secretary how to use the Dock. It isn't that it's difficult to use, it's that she just doesn't have the self confidence that she's doing it right.
The winner (besides our favorite produce supplier) is the training company that now has a service someone will buy.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
You mean this guy?
Step 1: Press and hold the Play/Pause button for 5 seconds to turn the iPod off.
Step 2: RTFM!!!
Step 3: Gently press any button to turn it back on.
I know!
And if they would just come up with a handy way to get all of the songs from my computer transferred onto it, that would be sweet!
Oh Oh, and another thing... A handy display so you can chose a song, or see what is playing and stuff like that...
If they would put those on the iPod - that would be sweet...
You made my case. RTFM just to turn something on? Talk about terrible design. With an on/off switch, you don't have to worry about hitting the right (non on/off button) for the proper amount of seconds. Or reading a manual. The company lacks a grasp of certain basics of friendly user-interfaces for gadgets.
This guy has consistently beat the crap out of Apple management over waste. Order fulfillment has never sunk to (pre-Jobs) bad levels. Their products are competitively priced, and they sure are cool. Innovation abounds. None of this would be possible if Apple were still hemorrhaging money.
Good job, Fred! Good luck with retirement.
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
"And if they would just come up with a handy way to get all of the songs from my computer transferred onto it, that would be sweet!"
They sort of have that, but not quite. There is a kludgey feature in the software that hinders duplicating music files from computer to other computer to other computer... etc.
"Oh Oh, and another thing... A handy display so you can chose a song, or see what is playing and stuff like that..."
It does have this, once you read the manual just to find out how to turn the damn thing on.
Those type of things are going to do more to damage Apple than anyting else. Apple users expect and demand the highest quality for their $$$. Opening up your brand new 15" PB and finding that the right side of your screen is darker than the rest pisses off longtime users as well as new 'switchers'.
Apple could also use some more advertising to battle the overwhelming current thought that Macs are only for 'desktop publishing', musicians and elementary schoolteachers.
"We'll give it a rest as soon as Mac fixes the iPod battery problem."
First of all, there is no such company as Mac... (its Apple) and there is no battery problem within the iPod... as has been pointed out time and time again in these threads.
"Apple's only hope for such great growth, really ,is iMusic."
Thats a reaching statement considering the fact that they dont yet make such a product.
"That is the only thing they have that is truly competitive."
Apple makes iMusic? Never heard of it.
"The iPod bubble will burst as soon as someone comes out with something similar"
There are already plenty of knock-offs.... with similar features yet non have knocked apple off its high point.
"but with a battery hatch"
This would be an important feature if the iPod's battery was non replaceable (it is) and if the iPod battery was unreliable. (It's not)
and missing controls (like on/off switch)."
It doesn't need an on off switch. It turns off by itself.
"Likely it will cost half as much."
So, you're suggesting that this hypotheticvall competitor will ADD more and yet cost half that which Apple charges. HAH!
"Apple's desktop machine bubble already burst:"
Could have foold me. Their desktop business is doing very well.
"the Mac's appeal only to a tiny niche market"
Apple computer users make up between 10-12% of the computing market. That's hardly a tiny market by any stretch of the imagination.
You must be thinking in terms of "market share" rather than "install base". Apple's "market share" is small not because people aren't buying their computers or even because people are bying them less frequently than before. (Quite the contrary). Rather, PC users are replacing their existing machines twice as freequently. (Less longevity). Because "market share" is solely determined by quarterly or annual sales figures the "market share" number will be low while the user base continues to grow.
"which will not grow unless Apple does such things as drop the price"
I don't see how Apple could drop the price much more. They're already priced the same if not lower then PCs of comperable specs.
"and mass-market the thing."
They do this already.
A better strategy might be to simply educate the masses about business in general. If your post is an indicator or the average PC user... i'd say its an absolute necessity.
Or at least the UK for the time being. It's been years now and still no iTunes Music Store, it's getting a bit sickening, I can assure you, hearing about how many bloody units have been sold in the US. For us Apple zealots on this side of the pond, time is almost up! Come on Apple, show us what a $10B company can achieve when it really wants to. Surely opening up new markets is the key to improving profits especially when the outlay is practically zero? Not flaming or trolling, just whining.
Various companies such as the major Linux distro producers, those shareware disk copier companies back in the pre-Internet early-nineties, and even proprietary vendors such as Sun and Apple "sell" copies of Emacs in some shape or form.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Technically, all the current iBooks can drive an external display at a resolution above 1024 x 768. Apple just turns it off in software (the open firmware). For information on how to easily (without risk of losing warranty) turning this back on, look here:
Rute Moeller's spanning hack for the iBook
And yes, I fully agree that we shouldn't have to resort to this kind of solution, but it is a solution nonetheless, and one that has worked very well for me for the past two years on my 600 Mhz iBook. In fact, I wouldn't have bought my iBook had I not known about this.
Cheers.
If they wait long enough, inflation alone will bring them to their objective :P
(Sorry posted in html rather than plain text) here it is again... properly formatted
,is iMusic."
"Apple's only hope for such great growth, really
Thats a reaching statement considering the fact that they dont yet make such a product.
"That is the only thing they have that is truly competitive."
Apple makes iMusic? Never heard of it.
"The iPod bubble will burst as soon as someone comes out with something similar"
There are already plenty of knock-offs.... with similar features yet non have knocked apple off its high point.
"but with a battery hatch"
This would be an important feature if the iPod's battery was non replaceable (it is) and if the iPod battery was unreliable. (It's not)
and missing controls (like on/off switch)."
It doesn't need an on off switch. It turns off by itself.
"Likely it will cost half as much."
So, you're suggesting that this hypotheticvall competitor will ADD more and yet cost half that which Apple charges. HAH!
"Apple's desktop machine bubble already burst:"
Could have foold me. Their desktop business is doing very well.
"the Mac's appeal only to a tiny niche market"
Apple computer users make up between 10-12% of the computing market. That's hardly a tiny market by any stretch of the imagination.
You must be thinking in terms of "market share" rather than "install base". Apple's "market share" is small not because people aren't buying their computers or even because people are bying them less frequently than before. (Quite the contrary). Rather, PC users are replacing their existing machines twice as freequently. (Less longevity). Because "market share" is solely determined by quarterly or annual sales figures the "market share" number will be low while the user base continues to grow.
"which will not grow unless Apple does such things as drop the price"
I don't see how Apple could drop the price much more. They're already priced the same if not lower then PCs of comperable specs.
"and mass-market the thing."
They do this already.
A better strategy might be to simply educate the masses about business in general. If your post is an indicator or the average PC user... i'd say its an absolute necessity.
The margins are not as much as the average outraged x86 geek makes them out to be. From what I've heard, they make as much on an iPod as on an iMac. Don't forget they have to plow a lot into R&D, whereas Dell just has to order the latest chipset and case from Taiwan and load whatever MS is offering at the time and sell them together.
My hope is the next revision or two of the G5 desktop takes off like crazy, as their power and speeds will more closely match the x86 market. Motorola's inability to ramp up the G4 series fast enough was a serious blow to sales, I'm sure.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Yay! It's the "PCs are better cause they have floppy drives" argument. After lunch I bet you'll hit us with the "PCs have multiple mouse buttons" whammy and we'll all put our Macs up on eBay and head to DELL.com for a *real* machine, with a full-on serial port too I bet! Rippin!
"The rather high chance of DESTROYING the iPod (both regular and mini) just by trying to open it to get to the battery is well documented." Perhaps, but this is based on the assumption that the iPod batter is faulty and has a high probability of failure. It does not (this despite reports to the contrary)
"The ludicrously high price of the replacement battery is also also well-documented."
And it is also well documented that you can get a cheaper battery from a different supplier for a fraction of the cost.
"Before there were complaints. Apple's semi-official position was "just throw the iPod away" when the battery died."
That'd not true at all. Before there was a battery replacement program, Apple's semi-official provision was to buy an extended warrenty if your iPod was not already covered under its 1-year warrenty.
Look, Apple has a long history of crippling it's lowend models in order to attract people to the high-margin gear -- going all the way back to the LC model. The few times they've broken from this strategy (6500, original iMac), they've actually increased sales. But when it comes right down to it, Apple nearly always goes for profit over marketshare.
Just look at any PC vendor. If you want the fastest Pentium 4, or you want the best graphics card, or you even want a couple of pathetic PCI slots, you aren't forced to purchase the most expensive dual-processor workstation.
Another good example is the iBook's lack of a PC Card slot. Every single PC notebook in the same category has one, and it's a deal-breaker for some customers (like myself).
They lack viruses, worms, BSoDs, ...
"Apple has yet to solve the battery problem."
Again, there is no battery "problem".
The iPod battery lasts as long as any bettery of that type is supposed to last. I forget what the exact specs are... but they are very liberal (although it does vary depending on the number of times you charge the device).
As is to be expected, not all things work as planned... hence the reason for Apple's warenty, Apple's extended warrenty as well as its more recent battery replacement programs. Additionally, iPod batters can be purchased from theird part manufacturers for less than even Apple sells.
THERE IS NO BATTERY PROBLEM
If it fails outside of the warranty period, you can have Apple replace it for $99, or buy a replacement from a third party vendor, including tools to safely open your iPod case, for about $50.
The battery was never intended to be a servicable part. Instead it was intended to last the entire lifetime of the machine. Some batteries - a tiny fraction of iPod users overall - have turned out to last only 18 months - that's unfortunate, but as both Apple and third party vendors offer replacement services, it isn't a problem.
Apple's position is not "Throw the iPod away."
You might just as well complain about the "iPod screen problem". After all, the screen will fail on a number of iPods earlier than expected. People are used to batteries that fail after six months and need replacing because they're only designed to last that long; if other batteries typically were built to last five to ten years, they wouldn't be seen as a user servicable part.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
from popsci.com:
"where the staff told him there was nothing Apple could do: his iPod's one-year warranty had expired. But they would be happy to sell him a new model to replace it."
And it is also well documented that you can get a cheaper battery from a different supplier for a fraction of the cost.
A $50 DIY kit, also documented at popsci.com. Pretty steep.
"As is to be expected, not all things work as planned"
That's a nice spin on "busted the thing just trying to get to the battery". Better-designed devices for a fraction of the cost have a hatch, or from 2 to 4 screws.
"hence the reason for Apple's warenty"
Does this warranty cover opening the thing?
Apparently you didn't read the directions, but, you see, the battery in the iPod is rechargeable.
Just plug it into your PC with a firewire cable, or use the conveniently supplied plug-in power supply to recharge the battery.
I know, its such an amazing technology... I'm sure you're quite used to throwing away batteries once they are dead. But I assure you the iPod's battery is meant to be recharged, not replaced.
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
My screen failed when I used it to hammer stakes for my tent on a camping trip.
Imagine how dissapointed I was when I couldn't use the iPod for the rest of the trip!
Now I hear you can't easily replace the battery when it runs out of charge?
Amazing people put up with this product!
(Please note the sarcasm.)
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
"I know, its such an amazing technology... I'm sure you're quite used to throwing away batteries once they are dead. But I assure you the iPod's battery is meant to be recharged, not replaced."
And when the iPod battery dies and cannot be replaced again? That's the point at which you throw away the entire thing.
"My screen failed when I used it to hammer stakes for my tent on a camping trip."
That's a PERFECT comparison to "opening the unit to replace rechargable battery that does not work anymore".
"device that is designed so well that the battery is intended to last the entire life of the product... as the iPod does in the vast majority of the time."
The PopSci article had as an example the iPod battery lasting 18 months. Let us be generous here and inflate that out to 2 years.
Are you saying, then, that an iPod is supposed to last only 2 years? That's pretty bad. My existing mp3 players are that old, and I have every expectation that they will last much longer. Of course, I don't have to wreck them in order to deal with battery problems, either.
Uberblogger Stephen Den Beste has a post in which he raises doubts that Apple's high margins on hardware (thus, high profits) can continue. He thinks there will be a WinIBM platform in the near future. (WinNT is already running on G5s as an XBox dev platform.) Apple, in his estimation, will be forced to cut margins to compete.
I don't entirely agree with him. Apple has always commanded a premium because its software was good, not its hardware. Plus, I think he underappreciates OSX's BSD underbelly (odd, for an engineer.) But a WinG5 computer would provide an alternative to people who might otherwise make the switch.
(I thought I posted this earlier, but it doesn't seem to be showing up. Sorry if this winds up being a repeat post.)
One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
> According to quote.yahoo.com, the current market cap for AAPL is 8.87B, so they're approaching the 9B mark already.
Some random market caps for your amusement, all in 10^9 US$
- General Electric 329
- Microsoft: 284
- Exxon-Mobile: 277
- Wal-Mart: 261
- Intel: 189
- IBM: 166
- Cisco: 156
- Coca-Cola: 120
- Dell: 84
- HP: 70
- Time-Warner: 77
- Disney: 55
- Ebay: 44
- Yahoo: 29
- GM: 27
- Ford: 26
- Amazon: 17
- Sun: 17
- Apple: 8.9
- RedHat: 3.2
- McDonalds: 2.2
- Gateway: 1.9
- SCO: 0.17
Last time they almost did, Microsoft bailed them out.
And then they found the hook in the car door handle, proving that the story was true.
Google these words: apple imusic
,is iMusic. That is the only thing they have that is truly competitive.
You might learn something.
I learned that what YOU call iMusic, everyone else is calling the iTunes Music Store and that is pushing iPods, which you imply won't succeed because of the (false) statements of battery problems.
So if you're the same AC that started this thread, you've got some odd circular logic.
Apple's only hope for such great growth, really
Yet, in the next paragraph...
The iPod bubble will burst
Clarify, please.
fs
Ignore the flamebait title and read on....
It's the "PCs are better cause they have floppy drives" argument
This argument is 100% true, since the PCs that have these also have the same things that the Macs have (like dvd, cd, etc). It is just an example of "getting more". This does not mean that the PC is better overall. It just means that it is better in this regard. You can't deny that a Porsche without air conditioning is inferior in a certain way to a Chevy with air conditioning.
After lunch I bet you'll hit us with the "PCs have multiple mouse buttons" whammy
The title is just flamebait....No, this is not the same. The # of mouse buttons is an integral part of the OS. It is nothing like the question of having more or less storage options. The Mac OS does not need a 2nd button at all, and if you really want one, I've actually seen new USB mice available for $1.00.
with a full-on serial port too I bet!
Yes, this is true. It is an example of "more for the money". You get standard printer AND serial ports along with all the USBs.
Again, it is like a chevy with 3 cig lighter plugs compared to a Porsche with just one. At least in this aspect, the chevy has something the Porsche lacks. Repeat after me: having more available options is better.
Really, I've dealt with Apple, Compaq, HP, and IBM products in the past two years and Apple's 'problem' rate is as low or lower than the next guy's, the problem is that when an Apple laptop has a minor issue (like 'white spots') the whole community bitches about it.
When an IBM laptop exhibits a problem there's no 'community' to coagulate into a problem in the first place.
The G5 is a stunningly quiet machine compared to the Dell P4 machine's we've got at my current site, but Mac users still bitch about it being so much louder than their fanless iMac when they hover around the water cooler. The PC users here just shut up and take what they get and don't complain.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
That is a logical fallacy. An "appeal to authority" to be precise, IIRC. The press saying something is true does not make it true. MS bought 150,000 shares of non-voting preferred stock at $1000 a share. The deal was a show of good faith as part of a larger deal where they agreed to continue development of Mac MS Office for five years an Apple agreed to drop outstanding legal claims and bundle MS Explorer. MS did not agree to develop Office for OS X (Rhapsody, and Cocoa only at the time). The stock payed a dividend and was convertible to common stock at $16.50 after three years. MS ended up converting and selling at a market price of ~$82,IIRC. I can't remember what the dividend was. At the time, Apple had already issued their convertible debenture, sold most of their plant and some ARM holdings. They had over $6 billion in cash and cash equivalents. That is even more than they hold now. Microsoft's investment was merely window dressing. In fact, I don't see that Apple got much out of it at all. MS clearly had no plans to drop Office. They far exceeded the terms of their agreement by developing an OS X version.
It is cowardly, and a betrayal of whatever it means to be a Jew, to act as a white man
-James Baldwin
Apple didn't make the copyright laws that essentially force them to negotiate for separate licensing/distribution rights in every friggin' country they want to set up the iTMS.
Trust me, if it wasn't for the record companies, iTMS would have been global from day one. Every day they're not able to sell DRM'd AAC somewhere is another day that shit-ass WMA has to entrench itself there.
Any idea of what Apple's current earnings are right now?
More than I make.
Apple has yet to solve the battery problem.
/. has yet to solve the village idiot AC troll problem.
Yeah, and
This argument is 100% true, since the PCs that have these also have the same things that the Macs have (like dvd, cd, etc). It is just an example of "getting more". This does not mean that the PC is better overall. It just means that it is better in this regard. You can't deny that a Porsche without air conditioning is inferior in a certain way to a Chevy with air conditioning.
Actually - it's different. Air-conditioning on a car is an integral part of the car - and is near to impossible to add after-market. Thus the lack of air-conditioning is a negative. But a USB floppy drive can be had for as little as $25 for a name brand (iomega). So lets use $2000 as the average price of a Mac, and you have a little over 1% of the cost of it to add floppy capabilities without any hardware modifications. For the car version that would mean that for a $50,000 porsche you would have to add a fully functional air conditioning for just over $500. Not possible. And another benefit to the Mac - with that $25 USB floppy drive you can read PC *and* Mac floppy disks seamlessly, while PCs can't read Mac floppies. So the question is - why include a $25 accessory that is used by almost no one anymore? (I have floppy drives in my work PCs and one at home, and I have not touched them in more than 2 years). Since the bootable CD - floppies are obsolete. But if you need one, you are welcome to buy one.
Yes, this is true. It is an example of "more for the money". You get standard printer AND serial ports along with all the USBs.
It is very hard for a regular consumer to find a printer that needs a Parallel port anymore. In fact, my last 4 printers - going back to pre-1999 - have all been USB. My current one supports USB/USB2/Firewire. No Parallel. And regarding serial... What a pain in the arse that was... Configuring external serial devices on PCs was worse than a root canal given by my 2 year old... Who needs serial anymore? GPS devices come with USB now, Cell Phones come with Bluetooth or USB now, Modems and network equipment come with USB now, what is your justification for needing serial - besides supporting legacy equipment. Of course, there are USB->serial adapters for those who absolutely have to have them. You say that having more is better - so why not include ALL the old standards? Why not have an EGA and CGA video out? Why not have SCSI on every box? What about MicroChannel? Controller/joystick ports on sound cards... Networking? Why not Token Ring... Lets include everything now... Consumers LOVE to look at the back of a computer and see 129 different places they could plug stuff into. I don't even know why PCs still jave PS2 mouse and keyboard ports...
Again, it is like a chevy with 3 cig lighter plugs compared to a Porsche with just one. At least in this aspect, the chevy has something the Porsche lacks. Repeat after me: having more available options is better.
Well, that comparison doesn't work either... It is more like the chevy having 5 different ways to plug things in, and the porsche only having one. It is not important when the majority of things only need the one - and anything else usually has an adapter, or you can get an adapter... The Mac has just as many "interface" options as the PC, they just don't put them on every single Mac.
But I guess you would prefer an RV fully decked out with everything you *could* need, and I would prefer a mini-van and a couple highly specific adapters... I'll get better handling and mileage and top-speed 99% of the time, and 1% of the time I will be inconvenienced by needing an invertor to run an appliance or something... You will always have what you need at your fingertips - but will always be big, slow, heavy, and hard to park...
:) We'll both get where we are going.
They come up lacking only for those who lack the grey matter upstairs.
I see ya gotta lotta space for rent.
...the Mac's appeal only to a tiny niche market...
And since you aren't in it, that makes it a pretty good niche! Let's try and keep it that way, ok?
Now run along and play with your marbles my dear.
It is just an example of "getting more".
Damn right bub! The other day I went to Frys and wanted to get a rotary dial phone. Actually, I also wanted it to have one of those hand-crank thingies. But the salesman there said they did not carry any of those. In fact the idiot stated that they don't even make 'em any more.
Can you believe it? What's wrong with these phone companies? I want this cool hand crank rotary dial technology and they've stopped making them! I tell you, this is the end of civilization as we have known it for decades.
Later I went to the audio section and wanted to buy a music recording system. The guy there shows me some junk called CDR (or somethin') system which can write to only one track. ONE track! Now even a MORON will tell you that EIGHT tracks are better than One. When I insisted he show me the Eight Track system, he called security.
Well, I am not going there again, that's fur shore.
What are they supposed to do, shoot you and the other morons?
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
That would be a good example, but it wasn't. PC manufacturers include standard ports and floppy drives because of market demand.
Using your 8-track example.... Well, first update it to audio cassette to make it more appropriate. (8 tracks are long gone. Floppies, like cassettes, are on their way out, but are still used a lot).
It is like comparing a stereo with CD/radio/cassette to one with just CD/radio.
They come up lacking when you want to run programs, as there are hardly any programs available for it. That's why I stopped using it in the first place. This is one of the big reasons why 90% of computer users reject them: they just don't do a lot.
And since you aren't in it, that makes it a pretty good niche! Let's try and keep it that way, ok?
I used to be in it. Got tired of the "oh, you want to do THAT? Sorry, there are no good programs for that on the Mac". The "it's better because you can't do much with it" logic was bizarre.
What exactly would you need the PC Card slot for? Modem? Ethernet? Firewire? USB? WiFi?
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Nitpick: It's actually Klaus Rutemoeller.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
>MS clearly had no plans to drop Office.
I'm not so sure on this. The Mac version had languished behind at 6.0 (remember how much that sucked? I claim the last good version of MS Word was 5.1a) and MS had made no noise about updating it for a long time when that deal was made.
That said, what Apple primarily got was a public acknowledgment that they were going to be there in 3 years and a new version of office that was *much* improved. It gave the public confidence in Apple, something that isn't precisely measurable in price.
Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
Ha, just some n00bs reading stuff and posting to try to make themselves look smarter, I guess.
Personally, I don't see anything stopping from making Apple a $20 billion dollar company. We use four of Apple's PowerPCs in the studio, the 4-Mac TVR Analog Video Output, as well as iLife and Final Cut Pro software. Great products. Great company. Plus, no other mp3 player compares to the iPod.
"Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
Something that hasn't been invented yet? (looks at wifi card in Powerbook G3) Or improved versions of the above? Apple can tell me I don't need it, but then my money goes elsewhere.
maybe they can lose the 'beleaguered' moniker.
The battery was never intended to be a servicable part. Instead it was intended to last the entire lifetime of the machine.
I won't buy durable hardware products from a company that plans a defined lifetime for them. That would be like letting Microsoft say 'throw the computer away, it no longer is powerful enough to read email with' because they've retired support for Outlook Express on Windows 95.
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It's not a giant conspiracy, it's sensible regulation of costs. Is there much point in building an iPod where the battery lasts a hundred years, and costs $5,000, but the screen only lasts for two?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Air-conditioning on a car is an integral part of the car - and is near to impossible to add after-market. Thus the lack of air-conditioning is a negative. But a USB floppy drive can be had for as little as $25 for a name brand (iomega).
And said USB floppy drive is as awkward and hassle-prone as adding an external third-party air conditioner to your Porsche would be. A better comparison, really, would be the lack of a heater in the old VW Beetle. I will concede that Bill Gates is strongly in favor of the elimination of the floppy drive, so it's probably something all Apple fans want too.
It is very hard for a regular consumer to find a printer that needs a Parallel port anymore.
I can get tons and tons of printers, some of them even for free, that do a damn good job of printing. None, or very few of them, use a USB interface. Again I'll reiterate that Bill Gates of Microsoft has urged manufacturers to move away from Parallel Ports on their systems.
Why not have SCSI on every box?
It's amazing how deeply the 'latest from Apple' crowd have abandoned SCSI. SCSI used to be one of the loud crowing points of Mac zealots. The Mac old guard, and a significant portion of Apples traditional install base, haven't.
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Everything is invented at Apple first. Therefore you can remain confident that if something were to be invented, Apple would include it in your shiney new Apple system. Since you'd have to wait until later for some scurrilous copy-cat company to produce a version of it for the non-Apple market, you'd already have it on your Shiny New Mac.
Or something to that effect.
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And in the culture that I was raised in, something that's designed to have a non-replacable battery is known as 'disposable.'
What's this about the screen only lasting two years, again?
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My Windows 2000 machine has occasionally crashed (generally it's been a hardware problem), and it does get balky if I run it for a week or two and forget to reboot it, but it has never, ever, crashed in the fashion that's come to be known as the 'Blue Screen Of Death,' which is an NT 4.0 phenomenon.
You need to get outta the 90's with your criticisms, dude. Do you still refer to the Apple competition as 'IBM'?
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Judging by your email address, and your comment, you're German, aren't you?
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You don't need to read the manual, unless you are a control freak, because it does what you expect it to. It can some spiffy things that you will stumble across eventually with use, but it does what it should, when it should.
You want to use it? push a button.
You are done using it? It turns itself off. Since you weren't using it, the hard drive was off during the intervening time while it was just sitting there, so there is negligible hit to the battery.
Can't stand having it on for that extra minute or so? Yeah, read the manual and hold the stop button, but the only reason you want to do that is because you are used to other companies crappy interfaces in the first place.
That's because in the culture you were raised in, EverReady made the batteries.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
First, both are minor parts of the vehicle's functionality. Second, they're features that most people don't want or need. Third, they're features that the people who do want them really shouldn't be using in the first place, as they are harmful to your health (or at least the reliability of your data and/or your ability to concentrate on the road).
And we didn't abandon SCSI. Your firewire hard drive uses SBP2. That's SCSI commands sent over a serial tunnel. Want to know what your CD/DVD drive uses? ATAPI. That's SCSI packets encapsulated into ATA requests.
SCSI is like the force. "If you kill me, you will only make me stronger." And so, in effect, by abandoning the actual parallel SCSI physical transport (which really sucked, IMHO), the SCSI protocol (which doesn't) lives on in nearly every computer built in the past several years, PC or Mac.
But I digress.
120 character sigs suck. Make it 250.
Got tired of the "oh, you want to do THAT? Sorry, there are no good programs for that on the Mac".
Good programs, eh? I bet you wouldn't be able to find an elephant in your living room either!
Got anything like the free iLife on Windoze? The best stuff is on the Mac. So go troll somewhere else.
I own the Apple iCar. Made by the same design team who made the iPod. When it runs out of gas, I remove the license plate, scratch off the VIN, and walk away leaving the thing abandoned in a parking lot. Then it's off to Apple to buy another one.
What you steal is your business
It is technically, legally, and morally impossible to steal a thing using Usenet or p2p.
Other than stealing their music, what have you done for your favorite artists lately?
There is probably not a single person reading this who has stolen music.
"Got anything like the free iLife on Windoze? The best stuff is on the Mac. So go troll somewhere else"
Only for desktop publishing and entry-level home video. Once you "think different" and go beyond that, you have to leave the Mac.
For most types of applications, there are no Mac equivalents, or far fewer choices available on the Mac. The Mac zealot answers when this fact is pointed out:
1) You want to do THAT? It is too obscure. Since there is no mac software for it, you don't need to do it anyway.
2) Since there is no Mac app, you have to program one yourself.
"If your ears can't tell the difference between the sounds from a cassette and a CD, then by all means continue to listen to your cassettes. Just don't tell me I need to listen to it as well."
You are missing the obvious: a stereo with radio/CD/cassette is more useful than one with just radio/CD.
"Need to send someone a file? Send it by email"
How idiotic: you have to connect to a distant network just to move a file across the room. Few agree with you: market demand has caused floppies to be included with PCs and has driven sales of many dongle-drives for Macs.
" I use a floppy only when I use a coaster."
I'm ahead of you, then. I use AOL CD's for this.
Then don't. BTW, the hood is not welded shut. Since you haven't even figured out that it can be opened (safely [popsci.com"
A case of not reading the links. The popsci article details the iPod DYING during careful attemps to open it.
THe operation was a success, but the patient died.
It's clearly a design flaw. For all the money it costs, it could at least have 4 screws on the corners.
With your Rio Volt, do you think that there is any danger that it will break during the process of changing the battery? Have you ever heard of anyone damaging it just by changing the battery?
Hey, I wasn't the one asking for a final solution to the iPod Problem. It is quite obvious who is the Nazi here. Godwin's law - you lose.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Nope. Completely wrong. Nobody was talking about 'shooting' anybody for diagreeing with 'the authorities' until you brought it up.
Besides, Godwin's law only applies on Usenet threads, that can go on and on for months. This is Slashdot, where threads by design end within a week.
And what makes you think I was 'invoking Hitler' in the first place. Germany has a history of militarism that long, long preceedes Hitler's reign.
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Well, hatefilled people were talking about a "problem" only they can see, and that it has to "solved". And every fucking country, most certainly including the US has a history of militarism. And if there is one place on earth were shooting somebody has been the top choice of "solving problems" by private citizens, it's the USA.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
"But this isn't a double A battery we're talking about... is it." ...and that's the problem. This situation is like having to go back to the Ford dealer to get gas for your car.
Out of the problems I mentioned, my 15" PB is sufferring from the creaking hinges, the darkened right side and the infamous white spots.
I don't consider any of those issues to be minor or 'overrated'. Sure, Apple is fixing the white spots, but dammit, I bought this PB to use, not to send right back to Apple. My point is that this stuff shouldn't get to customers. How is that a problem? Now it's going to cost Apple zillions to fix them and ship them, not to mention damage to their reputation.
When IBM drives started failing left and right, you can be sure 'a community' sprung up around that issue. That did more to harm IBM's reputation than anything else I can think of, even after they admitted it.
As far as advertising goes - average Joe thinks exactly that about Macs. Please point out anything that Apple has done beyond their website and keynote addresses to counter that impression. I know, I've recommended macs to alot of people - and those are the responses I get.
I'd appreciate replies, rather than kneejerk moderation. Educate me. Tell me how my new laptop doesn't have white spots, a dark area, and sounds like it's breaking everytime I open it. Or you can just mod this down, and go take your 'Apple is God' shirt out of the dryer.
I never said it was not legal. I just said that something that is not theft is not theft.
if you're going to whine, at least stop exaggerating. 11 months is not "years".
Correct grammar is worth the trouble. To mock those who care should not be moderated "funny", more like "bloody moronic". If you actually check what the Nazis did, I think you'll find that calling anybody a 'Nazi' for caring about something more than the average mindless twat is extremely offensive. So stop doing it!
In honour of this message, I'll leave my standard sig as it is.
Well I plan on growing a 3rd arm...how bout them 'Apples' (I hate myself :()
I see. One of those "use of the word nazi" Nazis. A hearty Seig Heil to you! Polish those jackboots. Jahwol!
You are new at trolling, arn'tcha?
....
entry-level home video.
Yeah...Hollywood would be surprised to know that Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro are entry level
For most types of applications there are no Mac equivalents
More hand waving... got a category? Let me suggest a few:
Photo, video, music, publishing, illustration, network tools, number crunching, word processing,
Heh - even MS Word on the Mac has features that are NOT found in the Win version.
I can only think of one category of software where OSX Macs have none and Windows has many many many many more than you can count. Can you guess which category?
Clearly we'll never catch up to your unsurmountable lead. Chaps my hide to say that. [wipes grin off face]
ar fewer choices available on the Mac.
Yup, Win may 10 software titles in a catagory, 8 of them crap...Macs may have only 2 but they are the top rated ones. Feel free to gloat over your 10 "choices" in Windows.
Since there is no Mac app, you have to program one yourself.
Oh really? Another clueless moron. Bye.
I'm pretty sure Gateway acquired that monker in a recent hostile takeover. Would you like fries and a pie with that plasma TV and we'll thrown in a Gateway Profile for free? Maybe the Gateway Country stores can pipe in the sounds of crickets after their done with the next round of massive layoffs.
$10 billion? By selling iPod minis?
People certainly have their daydreams.
And last I looked, the corporate world still thought Apple were a bunch of asses.
Its not just about stability, its the way OSX has been designed, its layout follows guildlines with a logical and a clear UI, more that can be said for windows2000 or any other version of windows. The first niggle I have with windows is going to the start menu and shutting down, that doesn't make sense for starters. But generally its little things like that rank OSX as being superior in more ways than just stability because OSX can crash as well.
Jonathanjk.com
Thanks for proving my point. BTW, you should dry that shirt on low, otherwise it might shrink.
Get real. Go to any store. (oops, sorry, stores do not count). Go to software archives (oops, do not count either). There is hardly any software at all for the Mac, and most specialized applications just have no Mac versions.
"Macs may have only 2 but they are the top rated ones".
There are many many more applications for PCs than for macs in every single area. The virus problem you refer to comes with the territory of having a platform developers make stuff for.
No. Sturgeons law applies to everything, even software. If there are 8 programs for something on Windows, there is a small chance one of them is good. If there are 2 for the Mac, it is likely both are crap.
You are the clueless moron, having apparently done nothing but a few common "least common denominator" applications.
This is just the facts, not trolling.
Stop pretending to give a shit about computers and become the new IKEA.
The "Macintosh in the schools" thing is not a good idea. The kids learn to use Macs, and then they go out into the real world, which is pretty much Macless.
It's like teaching steam-cars in drivers ed, or convention-ovens-only in home ec.
"Taking something that does not belong to you and using it without paying fair compensation is not theft"
Correct. However, this has nothing to do with copying. Copying does not meet the definition of "Taking" as you leave it there. Otherwise, you can claim I stole your car even though I never touched it and it is in your garage.
Copying never comes anywhere near the definition of theft.
The only "new speak" is when guys like you use the word "theft" to describe situations where nothing is stolen, just to arouse emotions.
For each of these, you have many PC programs to help your hobby or business, but only one or two (if any) for the Mac. I've pointed this out before, and the Mac zealots always say the following
you don't need to do this anyway
you can always write a program to do this on the Mac.
These are just 3 examples. There are countless others that show that the Mac only runs a few most-common and niche applications, and if you "Think different" you have to get a PC.
I learned this myself when using a Mac, and I needed a good terminal program. Sturgeon's Law applied: i went through a several, and all of them sucked. I went to the PC, and found a huge number. Almost all of them sucked, but I did find a pretty good one.
That's the fack, jack.
Another example: software to run the video store. Several out for the PC, none for Mac.
Oh. I know the answer: "No one needs to run a video store!" or the other one "with a mac, the video store owner can program the app himself!!!"
With wonky logic like that, and a threadbare software base, no wonder that the Mac does not meet the needs of 9 out of 10 microcomputer users.
"the Mac's wouldn't appeal to tiny niche markets."
....Yeah, I know you'd have to (heaven forbid) program it."
The Mac does appeal to tiny niche markets: that explains its small market share. However, it appeals to few tiny niche markets. The PC, in contrast, is so versatile, that it appeals to many, many niche markets. Hence the large market share.
There's plenty you can't do with it that you can do with the PC.
"Got a PC software that does that?"
There are likely 100 times as many GPS programs doing a much wider variety of things on the PC.
"And what exactly is this fishing s/w supposed to do? Fish?"
How predictable. This is the "if you can't do it on the Mac, you don't need to do it" line.
"There we go again. "threadbare software base". So you can't find a specialized app and hence there is the hasty generalization for 9 out of 10 users and the rest of the Mac s/w market etc."
It is this way across the board, not a generalization. I did not mention games: the typical zealot response is "Games don't count".
"As I see it, these 9 out of 10 micro computer users do nothing more than browse the web, email, some word-proc and manage some digital content (mp3/jpg/avi)."
Yet only 1 out of 10 finds the Mac suitable for even these.
"Geez - there are limits to spreading FUD "
Yes. Practice what you preach.
"As for the flower store/video store
So much for ease-of-use. This has been covered before; the answer that amounts to "it does not exist on the Mac, but it would if you WROTE IT YOURSELF".
"Again, in the consumer space (for your mythical 9/10)"
It's not mythical.Check the numbers.
"I have given enough examples that there are many applications for the Mac "
No, you have done the typical cop-out of "if it can't be done on the Mac, you don't need to do it" or "the app exists because you can write it yourself".
"But you have a shifting end-zone for your argument and it is getting tiresome"
The endzone is the same: there is hardly any software for the thing, and it is a lot less useful as a result.
And that's the last word. Hope you enjoyed spending a lot more for a slower machine that does a lot less.
"And what exactly is this fishing s/w supposed to do? Fish?"
I'll bite. From description of "Fishing Expert 4.0": (I'm leaving out games; it is already admitted that the Mac is not good for them)
"Fishing Expert contains a database that queries your fishing conditions, then provides you with one of over 400 proven fishing methods or patterns. It takes into account weather, time of year, type of water,wind, spawning conditions, high/low pressure systems, and more."
Here's "Fishing Calendar 1.42"
"Shows in calendar format the best fising days of month and best time of day based on solunar tables. Print out data in report or calendar format. Integrated database for entire year with search capabilities."
Here's "Fishing Log Pro 2.1"
"Fishing Log Pro is a complete fishing database and image collection for fishermen. It covers catches, fishing trips, boats, reels, maintenance, repairs, contacts, and more - all in a single installation"
From "BassTime 2003":
"The new BassTime 2003 has many new features. Like the past version, it can calculate the best moments of the day for fishing, through the Water Temperature. But now through the date, the Moon Phase (self computed) and other optional variables like Weather Tendency and Water Height, it can also estimate how good the fishing day will be."
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Oh I get it. No one ever fishes, so the lack of such software on the Mac is no problem at all.
You said "And yes, on my Mac, there is no s/w to keep track of my smelly socks either"
Which smells worse: socks or fish? In any case, your point seems to be now that versatility and a large software base is a bad thing. Something stinks here: I think it is your argument that "the ability to do more things is BAD". If everyone believed this way, Macs would outsell PC's 9 to 1.
I fail to see how a $150M restricted stock investment for a company that had $4B in the bank is a "Bailout".
To call this a bailout is just to repeat the pro-microsoft zealot's urban legend.
Plus that $150 was a small payment comapred to the Billions Microsoft has paid Apple in their cross-licensing agreement (announced at the same time, but downplayed because MS did not want to admit that it was paying apple for stealing Quicktime technology.)
But people just want to believe that Apple is weak, and so they repeat stories like this.
Despite the fats. This ranks right up there with the "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet" in most widely believed lies.
Well, maybe "Social Security helps people" is more widely believed. (If people were able to keep the money they paid into social security in even a savings account, they would be better off.)
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
You're welcome. Over the years, I've noticed that without such clues you guys often misunderstand what I'm saying.
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
"Despite the fats. This ranks right up there with the "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet" in most widely believed lies."
Check the actual CNN transcript. He did claim this. The actual word he used is "create", which means the same thing in the context of his statement: He falsely took credit for bringing the Internet into being.
To call this a bailout is just to repeat the pro-microsoft zealot's urban legend
It was a bailout; it was described as such by the tech press and "Secular" business press, including O'Reilly and Mac journals: hardly "Microsoft zealots"
This would be so simple if apple just bought sun. They have 4 billion in cash lying around, they could easily get the 9 billion in sun shares to get 50% of the company. Considering apples commitment to java and the crappy job sun is doing as java's steward apple should buy sun and its market cap will be ~$25B. Oh yeah and java will stop sucking so hard!
I tried for 5 years to come up with a clever sig...only to realize that I am not clever.
"he certainly wasn't claiming that *HE* invented the internet"
Yes he did. Read the transcript.
"you have to be pretty desperate and pretty stupid to think that Al Gore thinks he personally created the internet."
I don't think he believes it. He told a huge whopper in claiming he did. Likely a mistake, but his supporters (and others like you who did not read the transcript) keep his whopper going.
"But to pass on the lie that he made the claim you just have to lack integrity"
He made the claim. It is in the transcript. It is a lie to say he didn't make the statement.
P.S. You really should read it. He never used the words "we helped" or anything like it. You apparently have no idea what he said.
"According to Snopes.com, Gore did not claim to invent the internet"
Ignore Snopes. Go to the source. The actual statement is on CNN. Gore used the word "create", which means the same in this context as "invent".
" but rather claimed to have taken the initiative in creating a legislative environment that fostered the internet's growth."
Snopes it out to lunch on that. What spin that is! He did not say this. He did, however, that he took the initative in CREATING the Internet.
Your summary of what Gore said is actually accurate in terms of what he really did do. It has nothing to do with what he actually said.
Even Gore knew he blew it. When asked about campaign mistakes, he said the worst one was saying that he invented the Internet. His words.
I wonder how much the Gore campaign paid Snopes to lie about Gore's statement.
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