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A Six-Step Plan for Apple
An anonymous reader writes "Open letter from Alex Salkever to Jobs. One thing in particular strikes me: 'The latest round of attacks on Microsoft software is terrifying. If using a Mac means servers in Russia are less likely to harvest my passwords and offer my identity to the highest bidder, I think that's an offer I'd like to hear more about.' I think he's got something there."
There it is! The elusive Step #2:
servers in Russia are less likely to harvest my passwords and offer my identity to the highest bidder
Step 1: Create Server (in Soviet Russia no less!) that harvests passwords
Step 2: Offer harvested information to highest bidder
Step 3: Profit!
Now, to create these password harvesting servers... off I go! Oh wait, he said something about a six step plan! Damn't!
Casual Games/Downloads
Macs are not immune either...
As I type from within one I must say!
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
apple really isnt the only alternative....
All units move into Phase III battle positions! Commence Apache vs. IIS flamewar!
Do you think that when Apple talks about 'superior design', they aren't talking about color, but the OS and user interface? When Alex says 'technology', and Apple says 'design', I think they are talking about the same thing.
People don't pay premium prices because of a Mac's color, or shape, but for the OS and interface. They expect the nice 'design' (in the "looks-nice" sense) because of the premium price, but are not paying premium solely for its looks.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
As if the people who buy the servers really care about whether or not their customer's information is stolen.
It's been a few months since we've had a self-styled "expert" come along and tell Apple what their doing wrong and how they can fix it, else they will shrivel up and die.
Story contains the same thing over and over and over and over we've heard now for what...20 years now? Lower their prices, focus on what they do best, lower their prices and lower their prices.
The only thing new here is focus on security, which seems like a good thing to focus on, but only if Apple can TRUELY deliver a resonably secure system. Hopefully they can.
But it's good to see some things never die, like these articles that try to show Apple the error of their ways.
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
Price trumps style? How else do you get identified in a crowded marketplace. It's not just external style, but for the last five years the internal design style is something I hear nobody talk about. Make 'em cool and cheap. If there's no style, how can you make them cool? Cheap? How do you stay in business and be cheap? I'm not saying I want them expensive, but if they're viewed as expensive, it's because of poor marketing. USB, Firewire, etc. are all included. Ditch the all-in-one. Simplicity is what new users need...people who need space saved. What is a laptop, except an all in one computer? Sell the soap? Give away a discount on the most popular MP3 player? If you're on top, why would you do such a thing? Soap II. This is the best idea I've heard of. Except of course the people who do return it...leaves you with stock that is difficult to resell. But I do like the idea. People will get upset though, at a restocking fee. Security. This is something apple's marketing misses Really. So, that makes him 1 of 6 in my book.
If you want an actual secure, usable operating system, wait for Windows XP Service Pack Two...
Vaporware isn't usable. Perhaps I should look for a leaked copy of SP2 on my favorite p2p system?
Price trumps style?
There's nothing new or interesting in the article.
It's just the same old mantra of cheaper, more modular, etc.
Jobs would read this, rightly conclude that it's just another tired summary of the market forces and contray opinions he's been aware of and dealing with for his entire career.
I understand why it's news on Slashdot; I just can't figure out why it would be news anywhere else.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
So, my gut reflex was that this program would be a good idea. But then again, 2004 isn't the mid-80's. Back then, the program was a great idea because virtually no one knew about Macintosh. Now, you would be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn't know a Macintosh owner. These potential converts already have a "test drive" program: They just go over to their friend's house. And Macintosh owners have no shortage of enthusiasm for showing off their computer....
Are we phishing for passwords? Yes. Are we preying on the gullibility of millions of computer users? Yes. Are we using the information that we're receiving to access as much cash/credit from the end-users as is possible, probably ruinging their credit and their lives? Yes.
But we're doing it all to fight terrorism. Didn't anybody watch our recruitment movie, Swordfish? We're the good guys. Now give us your passwords and leave us to fight the good fight.
Offer a $200 bounty on a PC exchanged for a new iMac or iBook. Buyers get the $200 discount only if they bring a PC that's two years old or less. And they must have a valid receipt.
What an stupid idea. All but the crappiest two-year-old computers are still worth more than $200, especially laptops. Only a complete idiot would take advantage of that offer.
This space intentionally left blank.
Is that why about 50% of the laptops at the USENIX Advanced Technical Conference last week were Macs?
Seems like lots of geeks, at least the ones that go to USENIX (people like, er, Rob Pike, who might know something about innovative software) use Macs.
Hence, my critique of these points:
My 2c.
I've come to the conclusion that Apple must have some sort of market share that defies the natural laws of the universe. For years now, Apple's market share has always been reported at ~4% with numbers as low as 2% in some places and as high as 10% in others. But the one thing that has remained constant throughout these reports is that it's a dwindling market share and it's falling rapidly. Now, how is it that 6 years ago, they could have 4%, 5 years ago they had 4%, 4 years ago they had 4%, 3 years ago they have 4%, 2 years ago they have 4%, one year ago they have 4% and this year, they still have 4%, yet every year it was declining?
This leads to the conclusion that Apple must have invented purpetual self sustaining marketshare, a graph of which could make MC Escher proud, and that they must patent this immediately so that they can increase their marketshare to -pi
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Failing of course to realize that for most users (you know, the ones that actualy don't give a shit if they can look at the kernel source) that 1 user that would be wiped out is them. And All of their files. Having the core of the OS means jack shit if all your files are gone. The core can be reinstalled, the files are gone forever.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
His first 4 recommendations are basically to be like everyone else:
So basically, he's another of those people who thinks that, of course, Steve must be trying to maximize his market share at the expense of everything else! And, of course, the best way to do that is to make Macs cheap, like Dells. Because Dell sells a lot of units! ....Which is true. But it's not the point.
Apple's purpose is not to maximize marketshare but to maximize money. They do that by selling with high margins. Removing the high margins would make Apple unable to function, basically. They are not another assemble and resell outfit. They are not another Dell.
Why do so few people realize that?
As for making a headless "iMac," first, that wouldn't be an iMac, and second, that's not what Apple needs. They have a whole bunch of headless machines--what the heck do you think a PowerMac is??? And if I'm not mistaken, the PowerMacs come with iLife installed. So....he wants them to make a PowerMac. Yay! They're already doing that!
Why do people keep insisting that the way for Apple to dominate the market is to become another low-margin box-assembler? They're doing just fine the way they are. They're not in any trouble. Their stock price is higher than it's been in years--granted, it was higher a couple of weeks ago, but it always rises before and tanks after a major show.
My six steps for Apple?
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Ditch the 1-button mouse already! Seriously. It's a cliched criticism, I know, but that makes it all the more inexcusable. Give us a damn scroll wheel, 2 or 3 button mouse.
Yeah, I can buy one, but I shouldn't have to for what I'm paying. And what about for my Powerbook? $3000 and no means to add a button to the touchpad = annoyed me.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Apple: Proudly going out of business for over 20 years.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
I have a couple of friends (Ely and Annette) who've been brought to their knees with security intrusions into their MS PC. They're both very ordinary people with ordinary jobs and neither of them are particularly computer literate, and treat their PC very much like any other home appliance. They don't read computer publications or news bulletins, so they mostly remain unaware of the latest security holes, only discovering they should have updated something when their PC starts misbehaving.
They're totally sick of the computing experience they've had so far. So when I popped in to see them one day I took my PowerBook with me and spent a few hours showing them what it could do. They were really impressed, but what totally got their attention was when I told them I didn't need to run any anti-virus software because a) there are no known viruses out the for Mac OS X, and b) the system is inherently more secure than MS Windows by design. Right away they wanted to know where they could get one and how much it would cost.
(NB: My domain/mail hosting company anti-virus scans all email for me, so I'm still being a good neighbor to my MS using friends)
I showed them the range, asked them some questions about their budget, and then advised them to get an eMac because that best suited what they could afford. But they didn't want a large CRT based system and were really taken with the iMac design.
That was 4 months ago. They've still not updated their PC and still haven't' brought a Mac. The reason why? They just can't afford it at the moment. Various other things keep cropping up in their lives and home that stop them from accumulating enough cash to buy the system they want.
Apple really needs to cut the prices. If they can't do it on existing systems, then they need to produce a bare bones design that can initially be pitched at those people with smaller budgets, and then later expanded and upgraded if people need the extra functionality.
I'm a Mac switcher of 2 years who has no intention of going back. And I've met SO many people in that time who've never seen a Mac up close before and have left, lusting after mine when they see up close and personal just how good it is. But they're always put off by the perceived high price. I know that you get so much more for your money with a Mac, but it seems difficult for people to relate to that (don't ask me why).
This is a bullet that Apple are just going to have to bite on if they want to grow their market share some more. Do they have the corporate courage and desire to make this happen? Time will tell, but I sure hope so.
That's not going to happen, and it's not going to work either. Just think about it....
OS X is a very nice OS, and has some very nice software running on it, and it's got a great API and IDE. As a niche player, it's working great.
Now you make it instalable on any old PC. You're a PC developer and you've got the choice of developing for windows on PC or OS X on PC. Are you going to change your development practises to something new and untested, or are you going to go the safe route with the devil you know and keep on developing for windows PC?
Now, just imaging Apple put something like WINE in with OS X on PC, so that you can run your PC apps as is, but under the new GUI. Now there's no incentive to write specifically for OS X on windows, but without the ability to run existing PC apps, there'd be no sales of OS X for PC.
It would be a disaster for Apple and anyone who bought it, and would only strengthen the Microsoft monopoly. Jobs has more sense than that.
BTW, Macs are not 3x the price. Price up a new G5 and a comparable PC from a decent manufacturer and you'll see that the G5 is really a bargain in the computing world.
What Apple really needs is an affordable entry level machine with no monitor, but can be bought bundled with a lovely flat screen. Fill the hard drive with lots of easy to follow video tutorials and apple will cash in big - especially if they do a "test drive an iMac today" type program.
-- oldthinkers unbellyfeel ingsoc
Surprisingly a lower price than other light weight notebook competitors. With her student discount she will get a 1ghz G4 ibook with 12" screen, 512 megs of ram, 60 gig drive, combo DVD-ROM/cd burner, 802.11g, firewire, usb, etc. for just over $1200. It's unfortunate that Apple doesn't have competitive pricing for desktop models and other notebooks like they do for the 12" iBook. It's really the best bang for the buck in the light weight market now.
Less aggravation and thus lower TCO- On her current aging PC I had to clean viruses and spyware off at least a half dozen times. She just can't get it on the iBook(at least not yet at any rate). My experience with modern macs has been that once they're configured they work and stay that way. Her sister's iBook from three years ago is heavily used but still works just as good as it did on day 1.
Awesome MS Office ImplementationThe latest Office edition rocks and it's cheap for students too ($149). Completely compatible, and a lot more slick too.
It runs Unix :)
Apple would be best advised to begin touting the fact that these machines are really immune to the tons of crap that are being heaped on Windows units. If they can get their prices in line with the market, they'd have a slam dunk on their hands.
www.lonseidman.com
I talked to the marketing head of Apple in Norway about why they did not use the awful track record of Microsoft as an advertisment opportunity. He stated that it is not that easy, and if a similar problem was to surface in MacOS X, they'd lose any credibility they had harvested from the PC community.
From: Joe (You know who I am)
Re: Expanding the Ferrari market
Dude. You don't sell that many cars.
Here is my "Six Steps to a Bigger Ferrari Market."
1) Price trumps style in the car market
I know this may be hard to admit for a guy as innovative and design-conscious as you. But Ferrari charges too much for its cars. The car market's benchmark price level is sinking quickly below the $21,000 mark -- turf where Ferrari has been loath to tread.
2) Make 'em cool and cheap
You've been to Target (TGT ), right? You probably seen the terrific product designs such as well-known architect Michael Graves' line of stylish housewares -- offered a budget prices. Heck, Blue Light Specials at Kmart (KMRT ) haven't been the same since Martha Stewart's line of kitchen gear, sheets, and towels hit the aisles several years ago. Dumpster-diving debutantes can't get enough of them. Even sportswear designer Mossimo makes great threads for fiscal lightweights.
We're in the era of cheap chic, Maurizio. And I have no doubt that Ferrari can play that game with the best of them. Give us a really cheap, really cool car, and watch them fly off the lots.
3) Ditch the all-in-one mantra
Your expensive convertable sports cars have never taken off compared to sedans. You should make sedans.
OK, thats enough you get the point.
This guy is a fucking idiot.
What if my old hardware is a mac? Or, what if I don't want to use my old hardware? Or what if I'm sick of dealing with windows and virus scanners and ad aware and all that bullshit? What if I don't want to have to seach for drivers just so that I can INSTALL linux? What if I'm not a gamer?
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
I love trolls like you...
...and in all likelihood, would spend the majority of the cash on developing some nice new injection moulding techniques for the cases, rather than REALLY innovative software (yes yes I know about iTunes - but innovative SOFTWARE rather than just a shiny new UI would be nice. I've been able to play MP3s since before 1995 on my PC)
It's HARD to upgrade when you want to add a little more zip to the machine.
What, exactly, would you want to upgrade? RAM? I think it's easier to install RAM on an iMac or eMac than on a PC. I don't have to take the case off my Mac and fumble through ribbon cables to get to my RAM slots, just take the cover off the bottom.
If something goes wrong (and yes, even Macs go wrong from time to time), my folks won't have a bunch of friends around the corner who know exactly how to fix that problem, or a friend with a CD crammed full of useful little fixer applications.
I don't want a friend around the corner who "knows computers" to come fix mine. I'd rather have Apple's phone support do it. And considering that Apple has the best support, says Consumer Reports, i'm even more comfortable with them.
At the end of the day, I just don't see how a Mac can be any less prone to attacks than a PC with Zonealarm, AVG Anti Virus, Firefox and Thunderbird installed.
Because I don't *want* to have to install ZoneAlarm, AVG, FireFox and Thunderbird? Don't forget Ad-Aware and Windows Update every week!
I love the fact that I can regularly install little upgrades and bleeding edge software onto my Linux box.
And you can't do that on a Mac?
I love the fact that I can check out the code and see exactly what makes it tick.
Apple has open-sourced it's core OS, not to mention that any UNIX-based apps you have can be installed as well, straight from the tarball.
I love the fact that if I pay for any of this, it is usually through choice, and a project's little Paypal tip jar. I love the fact that the money I pay is going directly to the developers that write the applications that improve my life, rather than to a company that holds one hand with the RIAA behind it's back
Just had to get that shot across the bow, right? Well, Apple isn't the only company doing a Music Store, and they're not the only ones who had to deal with the RIAA and license fees. Apple has stated that the artist does get a chunk of money for songs sold.
Wow, you *really* haven't used a Mac. I can only begin to list the innovative apps that Apple's created: iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, Final Cut Pro, all the way down to iCal, Address Book, Safari and Mail. Each of these apps has so many features that make it more than just your basic app.
And I smile when I see that Linux desktop share is projected to overtake Apple's within a couple of years.
Aww, that's cute. Too bad people like your mom and pop won't be those people switching to Linux, they'll be too busy installing FireFox and AVG on their PCs.
To be honest, I feel that for Apple to succeed, they need to learn how to cut the elitist attitude.
The elitist attitude comes from knowing exactly what the customer wants then developing a product to fit that need. Example: iPod!
Stop producing overpriced machines in funky colored perspex!
eMacs start at $799. Find me a $800 PC with a 17" CRT, USB 2, FireWire, Combo Drive and video editing software, then I shall bow down to you. SuperDrive eMacs start at $1,000, so find me a $1,000 with a DVD-R/CD-RW. Oh yeah, Apple hasn't done colored computers in a while. so you might want to get a new MacMall catalog that's not from 2000.
Stop loading your desktop PC equivalents with a million and one interfaces that the average Joe will never use.
In fact, this is so tempting a strategy that we must wonder why they have not already done so. There are some practical factors...
1. There is a stunning variety of hardware devices out there with no mac os drivers for them. One solution would be a driver compatibiliy kernel plug-in that would let windows or linux drivers work, but this would take some time and effort to get right. Apple should have started on this years ago.
2. MS invested several hundred million in Apple a couple of years ago, at a dark time in the company's history. I have to wonder if there are some strings to that investment, or similar conditions tied to MS's continued support of Office on macs. If MS pulls the plug on Office for MacOS X, most corporations will stop buying macs. End of story.
3. Jobs is biding his time because he has some very specific marketing information as to why this would not be a financial success for Apple and is waiting for conditions to change before doing another "bet the company" initiative.
4. Jobs is just touchy-feely and can't get over his preference to sell actual hardware at $2000 a pop over $100 boxes of Mac OSx86 to 20 times as many people.
5. Microsoft would use every last employee, dollar, and lawyer to destroy Apple if this were to pass.
Discuss.
If you needed outlook that bad, why did you buy a machine that doesnt run outlook. And same thing for quicken or money. If you really wanted to make the mac thing work, get a copy of virtual pc or whatever it's called and run that.
Once again a day dreamer that knows nothing of consistant business models.
Apple is a hardware company. They make money of their hardware. iTunes for windows exists solely to sell iPods.
If they start opening their software, they will kill their primary source of revenue. The same way that Microsoft by enhancing too much IE almost killed its OS service. They were creating a universal thin client, putting in danger their OS business.
But back to the point. The web is full of articles explaining why this is a bad idea. Read them first. I don't understand how this is rated 3. Moderators should know...
Sneak teach kids Algebra using a game
Apple wants to sell niche. They do not want to sell mass. I don't know why, that's just the way it is. But still, if they take their i/eMac line to all G5s, then they could bring back the cubes at the low-end. A G4 cube for $700. Seems easily doable. It does not violate their niche philosophy. It could happen.
Unfortunately Alex seems to like making mileage out of a couple of old ideas.
Cheap Points one and two are redundant. People want cheap and they find it at Target. But Alex overlooks Apple's method of compensating for lower volume sales (than say Dell) - gross margins. Apple's healthy margins are what have helped it accumulate is near $5 billion cash. If you try to play the "cheap" high volume game with Dell, you'll end up like Gateway - bleeding to death.
Point three is synonymous with points one and two. To sell something cheap, its typically no-frills and as basic as possible. Selling a headless iMac just pushes the display revenue into someone else's pocket and kills your consumer-oriented style. But I concede that a product reminiscent of the LC may spread appleseeds into non-BMW families. But all in one is much simpler than headless for newbies - the tradeoff may be worth it, but its hard to say.
Dell's move with the iPod bounty almost screams "product failure". If the DJ isn't selling of its own merits, then why would I want to swap my well-loved iPod for one? Apple's position is more healthy with its desktops than Dell is with its DJ. An interesting competitive upgrade idea but more of a last-ditch effort.
As for try before you buy, what the hell do you think the Apple Retail Stores are for? Salkever must not be hanging around his local Apple store enough. The one here has a steady stream of people just coming in to play with the machines. But the stores don't have to worry about sending out 10+ iBooks everyday to people who may never return them, and if they did return them, they'd certainly have to be in non-mint condition and have to be sold at a discount to someone else. I know I never want to buy a non-mint Apple if I'm paying the Apple-premium, and I don't expect anyone else to.
Businesses aren't going to just disappear with xServes like consumers will, and any unpurchased trial machines being sold at a discount will negatively impact gross margins.
Any prideful statement about a lack of viruses and exploits is nothing more than a HUGE invitation to be attacked and exploited. Security through obscurity is wrong, but so is inviting mayhem if you're not absolutely convinced that you will be able to withstand the attack. As the user-base grows, the level of security confidence should also increase, but don't set yourself up for a potential black-eye.
Has anyone RTFA? This guy is a complete loon. "If Apple only charged me less, gave me a trade-in on my uselessly outdated PC hardware, didn't charge me until I had had the computer for a while, and didn't try to bundle everything together, they'd be doing much better!"
No, they wouldn't, you idiot. They'd be dell. Apple's bundling allows them to hide how much they charge for commodities like RAM and hard drives. Their high prices let them survive with a small marketshare (R&D is NOT CHEAP!). This is what makes the company what it is.
I own an iBook. It cost me $1200 or so. PC laptops are probably cheaper. I would never, in a million years, bother with one. The iBook was worth every dollar because of its fantastic software, ease of programming (yes, that's key for me), reliability, good tech support (remember, you don't just buy an iBook, you buy an Apple), small size, durabilitiy, battery life, and a million other things I won't even mention.
Apple knows what is best for Apple. They have known what is best for Apple for a long time, which is why they continue to have large amounts of money. This guy does not know what is best for Apple. Of course, looking back, that should elicit nothing but "Duh?"
Where can I get one? Will you email it to me?
You're obviously a troll, but hell I'll bite.
1. Microsoft ships there entire Office suite for MacOS X (this includes Outlook, although it has been changed slightly in a few ways... 1. it works a lot better 2. it's called entourage)
2. Mac's still ship with IE- I suggest using that to connect to your Outlook Web Access
3. If you still feel the need to manage your money with a program like quicken find a more open alternative- GNUCash works really well for most simple operations.
4. The next time a large worm or virus decides to rock the corprate (read: windows) world sit back and laugh as your colleagues scamper about.
transmission_err
1. Reintroduce the Newton with modernized hardware. Really. The newton form-factor is PERFECT for handwriting recognition. Large enough that you can write more than one word at a time, but small enough that it doesn't weigh too much. If they introduced a new Newton with a slimmer-down body, color screen, LiPol battery and other new features, but with Newton OS and Apple HWR, it'd reinvigorate the PDA market. Right now, smartphones and cellphones are destroying the PDA market because they are essentially PDAs with phones- about the same size, same functionality. A new Newton would add a new class of PDA and inject some hope into the market.
My Systems
they dont have much of a market share, so hackers dont spend that much time making viruses for them.
... and a good flaw in the OS. You've got two choices to write a good virus, as I've pointed out. Either socially engineer something that looks clickable and start sending out spam, finding enough suckers that click to keep things going, or find a flaw in the OS to exploit to save on social engineering. So either the numbers have to be massively high, as you point out, or you have to have a virus that infects passively, as all the great viruses do.
The lack of viruses was almost bad enough that I thought I should write a virus that'd execute on the Mac just to say we'd had a good one (other than that silly "bootable CD" scare under OS 8-9). It's not like it'd really take any time. Most viruses seem to be ones that people are silly enough to click on in their email to start the infection. You'd have a harder time writing one that exploited a flaw [without taking that extra time finding one, which is where the real genius comes in, of course], but just so that Mac OS X could say there was one, I thought I'd hack a quick REALbasic or Java or Applescript dohicky and "socially engineer" it to look all clickable in an email sent from the infected box. Heck, I get enough free spamable addresses in the spam I get myself these days even finding the first few hundred hosts wouldn't be a problem.
But your position then is something akin to malaria in someone with sickle cell -- you have to find enough hosts, not only initially but continually, to keep you alive to keep finding more hosts. Without them, you die out.
How many Mac users themselves have a large percentage of Mac users in their address book? Most of my friends use Windows. Even if I got a few Mac users to click and execute an application-virus, giving me pretty free reign on their system, what are the chances that sending the bugger to every email I could cull off their system would keep the outbreak alive? I've got to think pretty small.
So there's more to a virus than just lack of hackers -- what's the payout, even for a good virus? Pretty small as long as, as the original post points out, the market share is too.
Which brings us to...
If everyone gets the same idea to move to a mac, virus wirters will shift their attention to macs.
I'm not saying the Mac doesn't have these flaws -- nor that it doesn't. But OS X'd have to have the flaw in addition to the market share to really cause the havoc Windows has.
It's all 0s and 1s. Or it's not.
...you must also remember that market share and sales may be quite different. Declining sales and constant market share might indicate that the average lifetime of a Mac is increasing. As OS X has, in my understanding, become faster since its release, it may lead users to keep their machines longer. Perhaps the cruft and spyware that crop up on Windows and make many users buy a new PC, isn't as strong a drive on Mac?
Of course, you rarely get "well paid" for that sort of thing. IBM used to make PCs like that in the 80s, PCs that could last until today. Every clone maker in the world underbid them. Hell, most other consumer electronics too. My parents' last washing machine died after what, 25-30 years? If you want to bet on their current one lasting that long, you'll get good odds. Say 5-10 maybe.
Anyway, I think the Mac desktop share will remain low. They stand a much better chance in the laptop market, where the mark-up is already high. Desktops are for some reason, even to people that blow off $$$ on all other things, something you're looking at the last 2$ you can save. Don't ask me why.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I bought AAPL at 21, it's at 30 today. Get this dumb-ass away from my portfolio.
Seriously, every couple of months we get another MBA-bot posting his (never her) Grand Unified Plan for "saving" Apple, usually based on dumb ideas that have already failed (competing against Dell on price - look how well that went for eMachines and Gateway), are failing (tablet PC's do everything users want... really shittily), or are obviously going to fail (taunt virus/worm writers and script kiddies with boasts of Mac's invulerability).
Enough of the madness. Seven years ago, Wired ran a piece called 100 Ways to Save Apple, most of which were stupid (#76, "Make damn sure Rhapsody runs on an Intel chip"), fucking stupid (#81, "Merge with Sega"), or so fucking stupid it blocks out the sun (#61, "Ink a promotion/development deal with Shaquille O'Neal"). The item that looks best in retrospect is #101: "Don't worry. You'll survive. It's Netscape we should really worry about."
Slashdot and other sites with a collective IQ greater than that of a turnip should pass on these articles in the future. They're utterly garbage, have been for 20 years, and probably will be in another 20.
--realinvalidname
That may be a minority of thier sales, but don't put too much faith in the consumer.
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
The key to Apple's success has been integrating both of these things -- user interface and "cuteness" factor. They are both aspects of "design" in the overall sense, and both are reasons for their success. Your teen sister may dig the purple and may just use AIM, but there is no question that her experience of using AIM is more inviting, comfortable, and "fun" for her because of the user interface features that set Macs apart, and not just because of the purple (which actually should be called blueberry I believe...). The color of the computer and the slick user interface -- on the iPod as well as OS X -- are all part of the user experience, and Apple understands this in ways the Wintel world never will.
Statements like that are proof positive that those hard working FUD machines can be successful!
Don't you feel proud!
seSales, Point of Sale software for OS X.
Peace
The other day I was in Boston (Davis Square, ~10:00pm) and walked by a coffee shop where there was a pretty good looking chick with a 15 inch Powerbook. Normally I wouldn't try to talk to a random girl, but it just so happened that I had my own Powerbook with me (in my backpack). I'm sure you will all believe me: had I not been in a rush at that minute, I would have gone in there to sit down next to her, open my own Powerbook to do some work, and comment on hers. And I probably would have at least got a decent conversation going. ("I've got a 17-incher"... :-D)
My point? My Mac opens up all sorts of interesting social scenarios, because they're rare enough that you instantly have something in common with someone else who's using one, and it's easy to tell when someone's using one. I wouldn't walk up to someone in a cafe with an Inspiron or Thinkpad or some crap and comment on its "design" or how 'awesome' it might be.
It was all laid out in Robert Pirsig's "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance". (you did read it, didn't you?... Oh well, I understand). PC people (and maybe Linux heads, too) just love to get in there and get their hands dirty trying to get an old British sports car or T-Bird or air-cooled VW to keep on running. Mac people own a sleek Beemer, and wouldn't dream of letting anyone other than factory-authorized techies mess with the thing, no matter what the cost/headache. Both comparisons are equally valid and appropriate in the end.
McNealy would go to convention after convention and other speaking engagements. He would go off on the Microsoft rant, talking about no viruses in Java and go on and on about the evils.
It did nothing, changed nothing. He lost more and more mindshare until he got bought off to stick around on life support and keep his mouth shut.
Jobs is smarter than McNealy. He won't push Apple marketshare by basing Microsft security, and he knows it. He will do it by expanding what Apple's are. By going heavily into the portable computing space, making ergonomically pleasing Apple appliances, under the iBook, iPod and other product iMonikers. Video playback, capturing, music players. He knows to become strong, his competition is not Microsoft, but Sony. There is nothing to be gained by jumping on the open source bandwagon, there is much money to be made in licensing content distribution methods.
If I'm a distinguished engineer at Apple (and I'm not) I would be working on a movie projector that can download films in Quicktime format and display them with the quality of movie film projectors. I hook these projectors up to theater chains with broadband, and start competing with Sony, who invented this technology but only have penetrated a limited market with it.
But, hey what do I know...
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
She was initially opposed to the mac until she looked at the following benefits
Before you buy, consider this. My girlfriend recently switched from PC to Mac, too. She had about $1300 and got an old-model refurbished (they call them "refreshed" at the Apple Stores) 12" Powerbook. Faster bus, better screen, and same 60G/512MB as the iBook your girlfriend is contemplating.
When you get to the store, make sure to ask about the refreshed units in stock. They, too, qualify for the educational discount and have the same standard 1-year warranty. With the money she saves, she can get 2 years of AppleCare if she's nervous, or a copy of Office or something.
As a side note, one of my friends got a 15" PowerBook from the same Apple Store. It was the model before the 1.5 GHz speed bump, so it was like $200 less. The Apple Store also knocked an additional $100 off because, get this, the packaging was damaged.
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You can easily set up permissions so that only certain users can install programs, or only power users, and so on. Modern applications are also written so that they don't require admin privileges to be run, though you still run across the shitty app once in a while that absolutely has to run as admin. You can go to the program's properties and tell it to log you in as an admin for just that program.
I have a multi-button ,ouse at home that I use all the time with my Mac.
But I have to say, that on a laptop, a single button is greatly preferrable to mutliple buttons. I've used a lot of differen PC laptops over the years and right clicking has almost always been a pain, or even worse the buttons were not very distinct and I'd hit the rwong one by accident.
Since your hands are already all over the keyboard on a laptop, I like chording to get a right-click effect a lot more than an awkward button somewhere. It's more convienient to hit and really works a lot better for me. With a Powerbook I don't feel like I need an external mouse, which I could hardly use a PC laptop for any real work without.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I need your root password and IP address for it to install correctly.
The idea is that we break the monopoly to open space for OS competition. A heterogenious market is less prone to attack- ...
if 5% of the world was using linux, 5% using openBSD, 5% using beOS, 5% using plan9, 5% using macOS
a new exploit would affect SOME things, but we would never again see things such as slammer taking down the net
Buttsex.
At our University, I just heard preliminary estimates from a scientific poll that about 10% of undergraduates use a Mac. That's up dramatically from the last poll a few years ago (~5%, IIRC).
It's NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS that are buying Macs. So what if pointy haired bosses stick with Windoze...
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Price is only one-third of the reason regular people buy PCs over Macs.
The two others reasons are (1) lack of games, and (2) lack of compatibility with common Windows software and file formats.
If Mac OS X had something like Wine/WineX, but it was brain-dead simple to set up and worked with like 95% accuracy, AND it were advertised as a key feature of the Macintosh, then people would buy Macs instead of PCs. Unfortunately, the problem is not just that it's a different OS, but that it's a totally different hardware platform as well, so you'll never get something like Wine/WineX running at equivalent PC speed on a Macintosh.
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
Apple has a different business model, "building the whole widget". Building the whole widget is pretty incompatible with cutting prices, giving up control, etc etc. They can't change things about themselves without making... changes....
I think your six points are actually two repeated many ways - "make it cheaper" and "sell it"
Point 1: Price trumps style in the computer market
If you WANT style, you have to PAY for style. Without the style, Apple is just a little Dell. Buy a Dell if you want cheap. You will be happy with the bang-for-the-buck.
Point 2: Make 'em cool and cheap
Didn't You just say this?
Point 3: Ditch the all-in-one mantra
Buy a PowerMac. The $5,000 kickass flatpanel definitely is not included in the PowerMac price, if that's what you want. Is this a sideways way to say "Make 'em cool and cheap?" But more importantly to Apple's marketshare, Apple should allow users to customize their laptops A LOT MORE. I've never SEEN Gigabit ethernet, I don't have any Bluetooth, Firewire, or USB2 devices, I don't use my 56K modem, etc. BUT I PAID FOR ALL OF IT. Like "Linux is only free if your time is worthless", "Apple prices are only competitive IF YOU WOULD HAVE BOUGHT ALL THAT BUNDLED CRAP ANYWAY". I wouldn't have, I could have slimmed my PB down to $1000 by cutting out the features I don't use, don't want, and weigh down my computer unneccessarily.
Point 4: Sell that soap
Point 5: Sell that soap II
Point 6: Sell security
You got it right there. Apple should do something to get their name --no, not their name, their -product- out there. Believe it or not, the most overhyped company on the planet is still basically unknown to many people. Everybody knows how COOL and TRENDY Apple is, but people don't even know they have icons and a mouse (I'm not kidding, the people at work ask me what it cost me to get the internet for my PowerBook). But to know them (the product) is to love them, so it basically sells itself once I reassure people Apples don't have many hidden flaws. "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is..." except in this case. They ARE very good, depending on who you are and what you're doing with it. But yes, Apple certainly blew it by not having ads showing off OS X. I mean, just 30 seconds of the Dock maximizing as you roll your mouse* over it is worth 2% of the market.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that as a user, there are some things about Apple that piss me off -- namely, the other Apple users. But lowering the price on a Mac will only open the floodgates to loserdom, and the day I see a Mac in a trailerpark is the day I'm buying a Dell.
And I will run Linux on that Dell, just because I can. And because it seems nobody else can. There's a built-in IQ cutoff point below which running Linux is not permitted. That makes Linux even cooler, more 733T, and less trailerpark-friendly than the Mac is.
* The crippled Apple One-Button Mouse should not be shown on tv, as it is the computer equivalent of a one-legged handicapped semi useless single-buttoned mindless POS and a glaring example of Apple's stubborn insistence that the masses are wrong and Steve is right. Don't show that on tv. It's bad. And yes, I know I can buy a USEFUL mouse, but I and everybody else will complain until you can get it as an option on your PowerBook. See my notes on Point 3.
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
actually i've found that's often not true. mac users, in my experience, are either professionals (doctors, graphics, publishing, video, engineering) or highly computer technical (IT, web design, computer science). i don't know where the "mac users are idiots" stereotype came from. probably because macs are easier to use, people automatically assume it means the person is also automatically less intelligent. i believe it's quite the opposite. it takes the more intelligent people to realize that the mac lets them get work done easier and faster.
- tristan
I think the letter is naive. It shows a total misunderstanding of Apples market placement or business.
Apple play to the high end of the market. They don't make their profit by selling lots of machines, they make it by selling few machines at a higher margin. Selling to the lower end would kill Apple for sure. They're smarter than that!!
Uhh dude, I hate to break this to you, but if the coffee shop in question was "Diesel," she was undoubtedly a lesbian. ;D
I hate Grammar Nazi's
1 - price trumps style
The only reason to lower your price-point is to increase market penetration or that higher volume more than makes up for the price-difference. I doubt that either of those is going to happen, as the volume has been pretty consistent for the last 5 years or so (~3%) with gains occurring slowly.
Dell gets away with lower price-point because they aren't developing major software, and they have their suppliers by the balls.
2-Make 'em cool and cheap
That's way the iPod has only penetrated 40% of the market? This reminds me of all of the ugly-ass laptops that followed the Apple laptops, where all of the cool design stopped at the meaningless plastic add-ons on the case.
With apple you do pay more, but you pay for value.
3-Ditch the all-in-one mantra
I agree that the iMac may not be the hottest seller in the world, but I think that its just crazy to suggest that this has somehing to do with the all-in-one mantra. I mean, Apple BROUGHT BACK the eMac, which I am assuming is still selling strong.
The reason IMHO for poor iMac sales are that they don't really fit into any niche. Its like a high-powered laptop without the capabilities of a laptop, or all thepower of the desktop machines. However, their footprint is nice. 200K units/quarter, though, isn't bad for a machine that hasn't seem major upgrades.
I think that sales in all-in-ones will continue to wane, however, as it becomes more attractive for scales to by inexpensive iBook's.
4-Sell that soap
WTF? Awesome, just throw away money. Its more than a bit insulting to anyone who needs to use a M$ box, as well, or who wants/needs a separate Linux box?
5-Sell that soap II
If you don't know the advantage of buying the Xserve's you probably shouldn't be buying one. I'm not exactly sure what type of "tests" you would be running, as installing a pseudo-server is a major endeavor/commitment.
6-Sell security
I think that 95% of the posts already allude to this.
I can't believe I read this. I can't believe I wasted my time writing this.
Wired Magazine's cover story of June 1997.
100 ways to save Apple.
Let's go through the top 20, shall we?
1. Admit it. You're out of the hardware game. Okay, this didn't happen.
2. License the Apple name/technology to appliance manufacturers and build GUIs for every possible device. Or build the killer app for listening to music, the iPod.
3. Start pampering independent software vendors. The open-source roots of most of OSX and related items fills this need quite well.
4. Gil Amelio should steal a page from Lee Iacocca's book - work for one year without a salary, just to inspire the troops. Jobs' salary is still only a dollar a year.
5. Straighten out the naming convention. eMac, iMac, iBook, Powerbook, PowerMac. Done.
6. Apologize. You've let down many devoted users and did not deliver on the promise of the Macintosh platform. Hmmmn, hard to call this one.
7. Don't disappear from the retail chains. Two words: Apple Stores.
8. Buy a song. Or build the first sucessful online music store. Whatever.
9. Fire the people who forecast product demand. Still a problem, given the recent iMac troubles.
10. Get a great image campaign. Switch. The colored iPod ads. The spinning iMacs. Done.
11. Instead of trying to protect your multicolored ass all the time, try looking forward. Done.
12. Build a fire under your ad agency. Given the Clios and other awards that recent Apple campaigns have one, I feel safe in calling this one done.
13. Exploit every Wintel user's secret fear that some day they're going to be thrown into a black screen with a blinking C-prompt. Advertise the fact that Mac users never have to rewrite autoexec.bat or sys.ini files. See: Switch campaign.
14. Do something creative with the design of the box and separate yourselves from the pack. Done. Oh boy, is this one done.
15. Dump (or outsource) the Newton, eMate, digital cameras, and scanners. Done.
16. Take better care of your customers. You need every one. Make customer service a point of pride. Many Mac users feel alienated and have jumped ship. Done.
17. Build some decent applications that the business community will care about. Maybe not business-related, but the iLife series trumps anything out there in the Wintel world.
8. Stop being buttoned-down corporate and appeal to the fanatic feeling that still exists for the Mac. Power Computing's "I'll give up my Mac when they pry it from my stiff, dying fingers" campaign hits the right note. In the tech world, it's still a crusade. Support the Mac community, and the Mac community will support you. Done.
19. Get rid of the cables. Go wireless. Done. 802.11, Bluetooth, you name it.
20. Tap the move toward push media by creating a network computer with state of-the-art technologies, e.g., videogame support for Nintendo 64, top notch graphics such as QuickDraw 3D, and the best possible bandwidth. Okay, is anybody supporting push media now? Let's just cross this one off the list, k?
So, all in all, they've done 17 of the first 20, with 2 maybes and a no. Not bad.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Uh, you mean I should just drag it into "drwxrwxr-x 40 root admin 1K 16 Jun 10:54 /Applications"?
Nothing magic about this, just good old unix permissions. The closest thing to magic is that if I attempt to drag something in there as a non-admin user, the Finder won't just fail with an error; it will pause, ask me for an admin user's auth, and proceed if I can supply it. Which of course is not technically groundbreaking, just good design.
I know this is probably too late to be posting this, but here goes:
Step 1: State that Apple's small market share is a sure sign of impending doom.
Step 2: Suggest that apples competitors have the right idea and that Apple should also make low cost, shitty computers that crap out in a couple months just like everyone else.
Step 3: Complain that apple won't sell you a really cheap computer like you want them to, point out several other complains that make shitty products and again state that Apple should do the same.
I've been hearing this crap like this for more than 10 years, and I'm only 22. I can't believe that pompous assholes like this continue to believe that they know how to run the company better than Apple. People are always complaining "why can't I buy an Apple for the price of a Packard Bell/ Compaq / Dell?". I'll tell you why, those companies make shitty computers and Apple makes quality computers, that's why. And you know what? Apples plan worked a lot better than did Packard Bells or Compaqs(both bought out when they hit hard times). That fact is that business plan only works until everyone has bought one and realized how crappie the computers are. I'm sure that Dell will eventually suffer the same fate, I know about a dozen people that have Dells, and none of them are happy with their purchase. On the other hand, Apple users love their computers, and will continue to be loyal to the Apple brand as long as they live. To bad they only replace their computers every 5 years or so.
Apple isn't playing to the masses anymore. They've realized this and are now exclusively niche targeters. Once one niche is saturated with Macs, Apple targets the next.
Take the photoshop, biotech, scientific computing, pro video, pro audio, and pro visual effects crowds. Alias came out with Maya unlimited for mac because they believe there is a large market in the Mac sector for it. Apple is slowly drawing niche markets that will probably be unwilling to switch from a *NIX operating system to windows.
When Black Friday came about (okay, I forget just which day of the week it was) we were humbled by something Mike Markkula said -- "They (IBM) make more off the interest in their petty cash accounts than we turn over in a year, and you're making a Duck Quack Synthesizer?". After we moved to Australia, we bought a new LC II and discovered "Quack" was one of the options for the system bell. Laughed so hard i hurt myself.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear