MACWORLD is over. The company’s product line is better than it has ever been before. Mac OS X is progressing about as well as we could hope. Wes George has been breaking down Apple’s most recent analyst conference at WorkingMac.com , and there is a lot of good information he has mined from that event.
It seems to me that Apple is right on track for transitioning past the supremacy of today’s PC, and in fact is the only company that is so positioned. Sony would come next on my list.
I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘transitioning past the supremacy of today’s PC’, but if you mean in bleeding edge technology, I am not sure if Apple are quite ready to do it.
I think Apple are going to survive the current economic downturn call-it-what-you-will better than many other manufacturers because they are not giving their stuff away - I understand mark up on macs is quite high.
When it comes to the technology within, the PCs have the edge at the moment, although I prefer G4s over Pentiums maostly becasue they seem to be more efficient. But Apple don’t seem to be adopting DDR RAM, and most the the machines they sell are G3s - excellent proven technology, but not cutting edge.
I do sometimes wonder if Apple do actually have the technology, but don’t want to hurt their other sales. Maybe they could have made a flat panel iMac with a G4 for a reasonable price, but it would not have fitted into their product line.
Sometimes though, you don’t win the race by being the fastest I guess.
Bryan, I think that Apple is on the right track. Their machines are faster, seem to be much more stable, the prices are more friendly. and they are catching the attention of others.
Here are Brett Larson’s thoughts on the PowerMac G4 867 MHz. Note that it is two pages long. This is from an August 17th Tech TV web site article
Of course Apple is in good shape. comparing itself to Micro$oft. Innovations.
The Wintel folks are still having USB problems, lack of integrated software to RELIABLY get the tasks done, and slow response from fast PC’s - all due to the poor quality of software that MS produces. The TYPE of person who lives with the PC has the bar set very low.
Sony can’t compete with the VAIO because it cost too much. NOBODY has a laptop like the G4 except Apple, and where else cn you get an integrated DVD authoring platform OF THE SHELF??
Comparing the presentation skills of Jobs & Ballmer?!?! LOL At least Steve looks like he took a shower before his talk.. Both Gates and Ballmer are noted for ‘poor hygene’ . Kinda like their products.
I personally think is on the right track though, I think that it still needs to do a few things before it can really make a huge impact.
1)They need to add DDR Support in all their computers.
2)They need to work with Moterola and IBM very closely on the G5 Proceesor.
3)Drop Prices on monitors (LCDs) so anyone could buy one with there G-4.
Just a few things they need to do, to get an edge over the rest of the PC market. I think they are in a good position for many reasons.
1)OS X Delevlopment has been going fairly smoothly.
2)Nvidia Cards across the G4 line.
3)They recently joined the Hyper Transport Consortium.
4)SuperDrive
5)Combo Drive
6)iTools
7)The excellant Apple Software that they have intregrated so well.
8)Bought powershool (is that the name), gives them and edge in Education market.
9)QuickTime is most used media player of movies over and media on net.
10)With OS X having a Unix core it is a great server OS.
11)FireWire has become a standard for Digital Devices(mostly in media)
There are many other reasons, I am satisfied with the progress though I think they can and will do more.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Britton on 2001-08-20 11:04 ]</font>
Apple is in a good position. They’ve got machines that lend themselves well to new technologies, an OS that is bleeding edge (some will debate this, I’m sure), and an industry name that’s synonymous with innovation and quality.
The only problem I see is whether Apple can take full advantage of its hard won position. Technologies come and go like the seasons. This year DVD-RWs are the hot ticket, next year who knows. Apple should know and be ready to move when the time is right.
Apple has to walk a very fine line between being an industry leader and being an industry player. We like to think that Apple innovates and gives us bleeding edge stuff. While it is true that Apple does a lot of innovation it is also true that it can’t afford to be the first on the block with new technology every time. Witness the recent decision to go with an all LCD display lineup. While this move may be ok for the high end buyers, bargain basement shoppers are pretty much out of luck unless they buy non-Apple tube monitors. Apple seemed to have realized this when it came time to update the iMac. This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the prices of LCD displays just didn’t make the numbers dance in Job’s eyes. Oh, I’m sure Apple could find LCD displays cheap enough, but remember, this is Apple, cheap is not the only variable. An Apple display must be very good AND cheap enough to make a profit and not scare customers away. (The Cube was a good lesson.) So, we now have the iMac that is fairly ho-hum technology wise, but still a good buy. No innovation there, yet.
On the other side of the house we have the iBook which, at first glance, looks like an R&D department’s dream come true. But is it? The only true innovation in the iBook is its compactness and sturdiness, and even these are borrowed technologies and engineering. The real innovator was the Cube and later, the TiBook. And it can be argued that these are not as bleeding edge as they appear. What Apple has done, and continues to do, is take the very best of current technology and bring it to the masses. That was the case with the iMac and now the iBook.
Still Apple cannot afford to lose the image of being an industry innovation leader. It has to occasionally shake things up. So what I think we’ll see is two things; Apple incrementally improving its bread and butter lineup, iMacs, iBooks, and pro models, and Apple releasing a “Cube”, something really different that pushes the envelope. The envelope pushing is a gamble. It paid off handsomely with the iMac, not so with the Cube. The lesson Apple learned here is that it should not depend on revenue from its envelope pushing ventures, it should be prepared to take a loss and learn from mistakes, or reap the rewards and learn from the mistakes. Apple is the only company willing to do this, and that’s why they will succeed.
Apple is certainly on the right track. They’ve got top notch products, their prices are coming down (margins are not!) and they’ve got a lot of buzz going for them. Even some of my hardcore PeeCee friends are giving serious consideration to buying an Apple. Apple has somehow managed to simultaneously come across as a company that’s got easy to use / dummy proof products while also appealing to the hardcore ‘I want to dig into my computer’s guts and see what makes it tick’ crowd with their raw, pulsating UNIX core. It’s a good time to be a Mac geek..
I think Apple is on the right track. They seem to be doing things well in just about every area:
* Laptops that are either tres cool on the high end (TiBook) or acknowledged as great value for money on the low (iBook)
* Moved to a stable, scalable OS (BSD) that will allow them to move into the enterprise area when the time is right
* Put a great GUI on Unix, something that many put in the category of reforming a congressman or finding honesty in a personal injury lawyer
* Desktops that are good in a bang-for-your-buck way, and are very well designed. Yes, the iMac is ready for a refresh, but certainly no more than a beige box would. The tower case hasn’t been redesigned for a while, but it’s still the best case going. The hardware is largely off-the-shelf hardware, but quality off-the-shelf hardware.
* Great software, much of it best-of-breed: iTunes, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, not to mention OS X.
* Tapped into the Unix/Open Source community with Darwin/OS X. This has already born fruit (see OmniWeb for Exhibit A, mlud) and the blooms keep popping up
* Gone into retail with a smart strategy. Here I think Apple has learned from Gateway’s mistake of getting too big too quick. When you limit yourself to a couple stores initially, then any mistake you make costs only at two stores, not two hundred. Then you apply that lesson to the other stores. Also, Apple is obviously different from the other computer companies (like I need to tell you that), and what they offer is truly different in hardware, software, philosophy, etc, from other companies. Apple has had a low profile for a long time, and their 5% market is really surprising, in that light.
* Re-focus on education and the purchase of Power School. This has already paid off and should only improve in the future.
* Still has a lot of money in the bank. This is not to be sneezed at, because money allows you to get through tighter times and to invest in R&D, which pays off in patents, etc.
(BEING EDIT)
One thing I forgot to mention is that, even when Apple has a failure, it’s an interesting failure, like the Cube. I’m willing to bet that they learned quite a few things in developing the Cube that will be applied/avoided in the future.
_________________
“Scene 1.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen one, too.”
- I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, “MacBeth”
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: tbone1 on 2001-08-20 17:11 ]</font>
Come on, the Mac hords are practically begging for it. Palm and Handspring are sagging. Lets have Newton II or Newton2 or New Newton or iNewton or whatever.
Overall, yes, Apple is doing fine. However, the product line up could do with something really different and new. Laptops and desktops and monitors are cool and Apple does them well, but I miss some of that innovative risk taking they used to do.
When OSX is “mature” and is a viable (for average users) stand-alone OS, and the G5 and great flat panel displays are all combined with the rumored updated technologies in stylish new cases, then there will be no doubt at to which computor is #1.
When this time comes, in a few months it is said, then begin to act like the top dog and lose the “think different’ ads. Time to show some bad dudes using the power, huge amounts of power and unnecessary and excessive speed.
Forget the Saab buyers, vegetarian artists and odd-balls now depicted as Mac users. Young men do not relate to this. They do not like to be thought of as “different”. I have tried to get my young adult male kids and many of their friends to at least consider a Mac, but they have almost an aversion to them. I find this to be true even in my office situation. The women might buy a Mac, but the men most certainly will not.
Maybe in the past Apple had to go after niche markets, but it is time to move on.
On 2001-08-20 18:13, Ahnyer Keester wrote:
Two words: Handheld Device.
Three words: No way. (I’d supply the word in the middle but I’d get kicked off these boards very quickly.)
Take a look at the handheld market right now. Margins are low, sales are down, prices are dropping, the market wasn’t as big as everyone thought, ... in other words, that would be a very poor business decision. No company has unlimited resources, and it is best to use those resources in areas where 1) you have expertise and 2) can make a profit.
I almost totally agree with Britton up above. Apple is shaping up nicely, but they still have some things they need to improve on.
Before I start, don’t get me wrong, i am as much of a Mac Fanatic as the next guy on these forum’s, but Apple has a way to go still.
1) Fully developed and supported OS X. This is coming, and they are doing great with it, but it will take time, like another year or so. I am a print graphic designer, and I am forced to work in 9.1 still due to hardware and software compatibility, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
2) Laptops. They rock. Nuff said.
3) Desktops. iMac needs to die. Everyone is over it. I am glad that they at least didn’t try a new molded injected candy color.
4) PowerMac. At first I wasn’t sure what I thought about the Quicksilvers, then I saw one in person. WOW. Gorgeous. Way better looking then I thought. But a few things are missing that must be addressed soon…
a- DDR. This is number one. Nvidia has said that apple could double the performance of the Geforce 3 if they used DDR in the system, and upped the system bus. Ram is so CHEAP these days, I don’t see why they don’t do this. From what I have read, this would give the biggest performace increase for any one upgrade.
b- G5 processors, or G4’s over 1 Ghz, available as duals or quads in a realistic price. I know the megahertz myth thing, and I love the Mac, but there are a lot of areas where PC’s still stomp all over the mac.
With the following hardware upgrades, and a more complete OS X with more complete software/hardware support Apple will be in a postion to KILL the compition. Untill then, they are still playing catch up.
It isn’t the technology. It’s the design. Apple have achieved more market share with the iMac’s external design than with anything that’s under the hood. People buy products for all kinds of crazy reasons. It’s a relationship thing. They need to *love* the object. Apple understands the importance of design. That’s always been the thing that makes the difference.
Of course, it helps if the computer is also nice to use
Here’s why Apple won’t make a handheld any time soon: G4 Cube. They tried it and it didn’t work. Like any good company, they will not rush such a risk again. I’m not saying Apple will never create a handheld in the future. I’m just saying, “not yet.”
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