Microsoft Should Fear Apple's Buzz
Microsoft Should Fear Apple's Buzz
by , 3:40 PM EDT, March 28th, 2007
Apple has become smarter about competing with Microsoft. That and the switch to Intel should be cause for concern by Microsoft, according to ComputerWorld's Scot Finnie on Wednesday.
"The switch to Intel was just such a chess move.... It solves a performance problem Apple had. It creates a better experience for Intel-Mac owners because it better supports Windows applications.... Perhaps most significantly, though, all these advantages appeal to potentially millions of Mac-curious Windows users because it makes the Mac more familiar," Mr. Finnie wrote.
The buzz that Apple has been able to create has resulted in many IT managers slowly coming to appreciate Mac OS X instead of disparaging the Mac platform. "The Mac is experiencing a renaissance," Mr. Finnie reported. "It's about Intel inside. It's about Unix at the core. It's about virtualization technology. It's about the surprising availability of software. It's about a superior operating system, and attractive hardware. It's about serious buzz."
The net result of all this has been a certain undefinable atmosphere. To be sure, Microsoft retains vast market share and isn't likely to lose any of it very soon. However, PC users were expecting Vista to be a home run, and it was much less. Meanwhile Apple is hitting home runs with every product.
Along with this, Microsoft seems to be involved in one failure after another and shouldn't rest too easy. Mr. Finnie observed that "[Microsoft] has had huge problems with security this decade. Through its own inattention to Internet Explorer, it allowed Mozilla's Firefox to gain a bridgehead on browser market share. Even dyed-in-the-wool Windows enterprises are fed up with me-too Microsoft upgrades, the never-ending blizzard of security patches, the increasing hardware requirements for Vista, volume licensing snafus, and a litany of other complaints and sore points."
The bottom line is that it's all about perception and buzz. Apple has somehow managed to gain the upper hand in every area of marketing buzz. The author concluded, "How do you measure buzz? You don't. It's something that experienced people in this industry can just feel. And that's the condition Microsoft should fear. Because buzz can turn into something much harder to combat than sheer numbers."
That may be why, these days, whenever Steve Ballmer is interviewed, he's asked about Apple products.
Observer Comments
Translates to curiosity, and that leads to switchers.
Apple has almost doubled their market share in the last year, of course Microsoft should be worried! The Mac OS is a better OS - slicker, easier to use, more stable with fewer security problems, and easier to secure because of that.
Good article, not shrill or extreme at all.
Fortunately for Microsoft, they aren't in direct competition with Apple. Apple sales can actually drive Microsoft sales, especially with the switch to Intel and Bootcamp. Some one switching from a "PC" to a "Mac" because of these new features is exactly the type of person who will still purchase a copy of Windows. Microsoft doesn't view Apple as its main competition as Martellaro seems to think, they are more concerned about software companies like Google, whose product line and development are much more inline with the markets that Microsoft tries to capture. Mac on Intel and Bootcamp only means that Apple users can now also purchase Windows. This just means more money for Microsoft as previously Macintosh was unable to run Microsoft's flagship product.
MS is not in direct competition with Apple. They make lots of money off of MS Office for Mac and now people can even run Windows on a Mac.
But a world where most of their product sales end up on a Mac is not a happy thought for them. (I know that world is a ways off right now.) Why? Because it is a world that MS does not control. On the Mac they are just another competitor. They have no monopoly. They must write to real standards, not ones which they can change to their liking. Having to play in such an environment is what really scares Microsoft.
Over the course of the last year, we replaced every winbox in our home with a Mac.
Mac hardware and OS is vastly superior to anything I've used before, and I've used many PC's and every Microsoft OS (with the exception of Bob) until Vista. I beta tested Vista (on a beautiful 20" iMac Core 2 Duo), but quickly tired of the "are you sure you want to move the mouse now?" intrusive character of the OS.
Steve Ballmer is a putz, and he would do well to remember the days when IBM was the 800 pound gorilla in the room. In a few short years, Microsoft turned the tables on IBM.
Whether Apple gains market share against IBM is inconsequential to me, however. I chose Apple for the simple reason that they make better stuff. Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates know this, and that's why they get all pissed off whenever the name Apple comes up in an interview.
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