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Can Apple Take Microsoft on the Desktop?
An anonymous reader writes "RDM asks Can Apple Take Microsoft on the Desktop?, a comparison of recent sales and profits and the future outlook for Macs and PCs. It's the opinion of the article's author that Apple doesn't have to take a majority share of the desktop market to win. The key is to take the most valuable segments of the market. They show via a few quick financial numbers that even though Apple is selling fewer machines, they're making more money per machine than your Dells or your Gateways. Not being beholden to Microsoft gives them a big advantage when competing with traditional PC sellers. Once Apple is positioned, Microsoft will be forced to choose whether it wants to battle Mac OS X for control of the slick consumer desktop, or repurpose Windows as a cheaper, mass market alternative to Linux in corporate sales. If it doesn't make a choice, the company will face difficult battles on two fronts.""
Let's look at Apple's recent history:
Dumped by IBM and forced to scramble to find a new chip supplier. PA Semi wasn't interested, AMD didn't have the capacity, so Apple turned to Intel as their 'first choice'.
The number one topic for Mac owners is now running Windows OSes and apps on their Mac.
Apple manages to one or two models down in price once or twice a year around the time new models are released - just don't do any of those price comparisons to other x86 boxes a month or more after a Mac is released - not fair!
So Apple is pretty much a more expensive way to run Windows apps right now. Mostly targeting the more money than sense / I heart good typography crowd.
So can Apple take Microsoft on the desktop...hey how about those iPods!
Of course they do!
Their boxes are twice the prize of anyone else, how can they not make money?
If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
systems like windows. Apples hardware is over priced and too limited in choice. aka 7300 nvidia cards for that same price as 7600 cards.
Apple is a far worse monopolist than Microsoft. I don't want to see hardware and software owned by one corporation.
The only thing more pathetic than a PC user is a PC user trying to be a Mac user. We have a name for you people: switcheurs.
There's a good reason for your vexation at the Mac's holistic approach to user experience: You don't speak its language. Remember that the Mac was designed by artists, for artists, be they poets, musicians, or avant-garde mathematicians. A shiny new Mac can introduce your frathouse hovel to a modicum of good taste, but it can't make Mac users out of dweebs and squares like you.
So don't force what doesn't come naturally. You'll be much happier if you stick to an OS that suits your personality. And you'll be doing the rest of us a favor, too; you leave Macs to Mac users, and we'll leave beige to you.
Microsoft invented the "Virtualized Desktop"?
Perhaps you forgot about the webserver. It was invented on NeXTSTEP by a guy named Tim. It allows remote applications to run from a central server. NeXT built an object oriented web commerce server for Dell using it and WebObjects - the software that now runs Apple's online store and powers the iTunes Store. iTunes is a cross platform, thin client web services app that sells billions of songs. Heard of it?
Except that all the protocols of the web are open and secured by known technologies, not by "ship it!" Microsoft executives with little concern for security and a bad reputation to boot.
Perhaps you've heard of Google? They do stuff with web apps too.
And oh yeah, you're actually soaking in it right now.
Microsoft was so worried about web applications that it devoted a lot of efforts into destroying Netscape, peverting web protocols (IE-only web pages), and recently, attempts to vilify Linux. It failed to snuff out Apache with its Windows -tied IIS.
Once again, you're soaking in that failure right now, too.
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Beyond that, Apple IS an Enterprise customer.
Seriously, how can you be so ignorant? You're impressed by old technology and think the world is doing well under the thumb of an incompetent monopoly? Wake up, seriously. Windows is not a feature, it's a liability. So is ignorance.
Apple's Open Source Assault
"Your OS choice does not make you cool or special."
No shit, Sherlock. A Mac user is born, not made. We can spot a switcheur from a mile away. So again: unimaginative, linear-thinking types such as yourself would do well to keep your filthy PC hands off our platform. Pretending you understand the Mac only serves to hurt yourself, and it certainly does nothing for us.