YaPeBe

Smoking gun? More like steaming divot.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

2010: Apple Sells Only Software(?)

Five reasons why there will be no new Macs in 2010:
  1. Vista adopts all the niceties of OS X and is secure
  2. No more cool cat names
  3. Can't justify better performance with Intel inside (vs. PowerPC)
  4. iPod is a cash cow--makes more money than selling Macs
  5. More money to be made by selling OS X and other Apple applications to 90% of the world instead of 3%
What say ye?

posted by Michael G @ 11:37 PM  

8 Comments:

  • At 9:40 AM, March 16, 2006, Blogger isaac said…

    1. Windows has been "adopting the niceties" of Mac since the beginning and has never been secure and we're still here.

    2. How about "tabby cat"?

    3. Last time I looked, speedy code and entire system architecture produce fast computers, not just a pretty Intel Inside logo.

    4. Ah yes, the either/or fallacy.

    5. Lest we forget controlled hardware and software integration and the lack of it in the Windows world. Generic OSes run on generic hardware produce....well, generic results. (Linux not included, it's way to geekily customizable)

    Have you been reading that John C. Dvorak? again? Shame on you.

     

  • At 1:14 PM, March 16, 2006, Blogger luzio said…

    mmmm.... John C. Dvorak....

    too bad he's right (Dvorak, that is)

     

  • At 1:39 PM, March 16, 2006, Anonymous mr. books said…

    Ipods. cash cow. true. true.

     

  • At 2:20 PM, March 16, 2006, Blogger Michael G said…

    First of all, it ain't Dvorak: it's this guy.

    And now for the rest of the story.

    1. Windows has been "adopting the niceties" of Mac since the beginning and has never been secure and we're still here.

    Is OS X inherently safer, or is Windows a bigger and easier target (3% vs. 90%)?

    3. Last time I looked, speedy code and entire system architecture produce fast computers, not just a pretty Intel Inside logo.

    The Mac community has long claimed that the PowerPC architecture was "superior" to and a better performer than the Intel architecture. If that's so, then how did we get here? In retrospect, the denials were really quite laughable.

    4. Ah yes, the either/or fallacy.

    Not necessarily either/or but simply a business decision. It's got to cost significantly less to develop new music/video players than new computers. Apple's gross margins on iPods are anywhere from 35-50% (compared with 15-25% on Macintoshes) and they'll thus cover their fixed costs much more quickly from iPod sales than iMac/MacBook sales.

    5. Lest we forget controlled hardware and software integration and the lack of it in the Windows world. Generic OSes run on generic hardware produce....well, generic results. (Linux not included, it's way to geekily customizable)

    The other side of this, however, is that Mac users have more limited choices. For example, if a guy wanted to get wireless Internet access on a G3 iMac, his only option is a $100+ AirPort card (available only on eBay at this point) while his Windows-using buddy runs down to Circuit City and gets a $30 NetGear (or LinkSys or Belkin or ...) USB wireless card. For the most part, Windows works and at a significantly lower price than a Mac. To be sure, tightly integrated software and hardware has its advantages but it doesn't guarantee trouble free operation, does it Evil Genius?

     

  • At 3:38 PM, March 16, 2006, Blogger isaac said…

    First, I know it's that guy. I'm alluding to Dvorak's opposite claim several weeks ago that Apple would ditch the OS and only sell hardware. I thought a debutante such as yourself would find humor in the juxtaposition; perhaps that was too much to ask. :-)

    Now, #1.
    You are only as "inherently" safe as the operator of said computer. I'm growing weary of security stories that are essentially about the stupidity of end users, and why we should create "padded" OSes where you can't get anything done (like say, install ANYTHING without filing 42 forms and waiting three weeks).

    #2.
    No response to tabby cat? Come on!

    #3.
    In the 90s and early 00s, IBM chips were the cats pajamas (insert allusion to cat names for Apple OS X operating systems, if you need to). But when they fail to deliver, doesn't it make "good business sense" to dump them for something faster?

    #4.
    We must remember that the iPod was essentially an extension of the Mac ethos itself. While the Mac may not have the snappy numbers of the iPod, it is the core from which innovative products like the iPod are formed. And the Mac has and continues to make money for them (in fact it brought them back to life).

    #5.
    When you're running a 5 year old computer (as is your case), "choice" becomes a somewhat interesting notion. But, since you didn't look very hard, here's a solution for Mac for $39. I'm sure the AirPort card would give you trouble free operation, but a third party USB wireless on ANY platform is rolling the dice.

    Evil Genius out.

     

  • At 10:01 PM, March 17, 2006, Blogger Michael G said…

    Well I posted a point by point rebuttal to iZak's rebuttal and it was lost in the ether. Stupid Inkernet.

    So--this discussion has become tiresome. Now is the time on Yapebe when we dance.

     

  • At 10:41 PM, March 17, 2006, Blogger isaac said…

    I think it's fair to note that you were posting from a Windows machine.

     

  • At 10:44 PM, March 17, 2006, Blogger Michael G said…

    But the Inkernet is platform-independent. At least that's the story that I'm sticking to.

     

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