While the consumer might not care too much, business will. I've been reading a lot about that very issue the past few days. Business will want someone to step up, and take responsibility. It could be that the bigger, commercial VARs will do that. But, it remains to be seen.
Without SOMEBODY supporting it, it's only going to have impact with enthusiasts. NO way will businesses get involved. Boot Camp is generating a lot of buzz though. On CNN(tv) they had a blurb on it.
Honestly, I think boot camp is more for the professional / business world than for "pc gamers to game on macs" or "home users to use their pc software". Can home users do that??? Of course... but I think this is a strategy to CONVERT BUSINESSES TO APPLE. Think about the type of users that are least likely to convert... BUSINESSES. It's a fact. Some businesses are still using dos machines, or old unix machines to carry out tasks. Some still run windows 98 or windows 3.1. Needless to say I think there will be a lot of businesses upgrading in the near future because their hardware is getting so out of date and non supported.
If apple can grab some of these businesses, it would definitely help them in the long run. Losing the businesses in the world is why they lost so much market share.
And think about it. These cheap businesses that are running windows 95 and an old version of office, aren't going to want to buy a bunch of software. So what do they do? Dual boot into it when they NEED it. Sounds like a much better reason to release bootcamp than for home users.
Dude, that's exactly what I said in a few posts above yours....
"There's something Steve is targeting and a game plan we're clearly not seeing. Something up his sleeve. A big risk perhaps but maybe his goal is to take on the Windows-centric business world and triumph by increasing Mac market share in the business environment."
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)
Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
...Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
Seems a natural extension of fast user switching and the cube transition, does it not? While it would be cool for Apple to build into the Mac OS support for running multiple OS' Boot Camp might be as far as they would want to go. After all, third party developers do need something to do.
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)[/B]
I can see it. I can almost imagine OS X turning into a key virtualization OS. I mean... hell. Why not virtualize windows, solaris, linux.. etc etc... and that way NO other computer would be thought of for business besides an apple. I condemned virtualization a few pages ago... and in current status I agree. But what if apple could find a way to give OS X pure control over hardware but "lease" the hardware to the virtualized OS's without using communication back to OS X? Could prove very useful in a business environment.
Either way, I picture this move as totally towards business. Sure gamers are happy. Sure home users are happy. But honestly, how much does it help apple to sell their computers to just run windows on them all the time. Does it REALLY improve marketshare? Not really.
I've always said this...
If apple would advertise why the OS is so great, they would sell more computers. Fact is, many people don't know why OS X is cool. They hear mac and shrivel. But if apple would spend more in advertising the OS... i believe pc users would see why Macs are easier to use, and why they should switch. Hearing #'s (ghz, ram, etc) doesn't always sell a computer. Consumers pretend to know what these things mean... but really they just hear the # and know bigger is better. Give them a visualization of the machine and watch it sell faster.
Point being... apple needs to sell these machines for the OS. If they can sell these machines so business start dabbling in OS X... they just scored some good points in the business world.
If apple would advertise why the OS is so great, they would sell more computers. Fact is, many people don't know why OS X is cool. They hear mac and shrivel. But if apple would spend more in advertising the OS... i believe pc users would see why Macs are easier to use, and why they should switch...
It is one of those great Apple mysteries, like the one-buttoned mouse (which thank heavens has changed, but only relatively recently). The promotion of Mac OS X has been poor, to say the least.
I don't believe that trumpeting a change of CPU while simultaneously insulting the user's choice of OS is a very good marketing strategy. The average computer user doesn't give a monkey's what the processor is, so long as it's fast enough to get the job done. But they most certainly will object to calling the Windows OS and planet of Windows apps as "dull". Suggesting that the PC boxes themselves are "dull" also suggests that the appearance of the case is an important consideration for most people. It's not. Sure it's nice to have good-looking hardware, and Apple have to be one of the best in creating that 'wow-factor'. But it's not top of the list of hardware requirements. Therefore it should not be top of the list of marketing angles.
Yet Apple have created this amazing OS which is hardly ever promoted. This is what people will be looking at while they're working - not the flipping box! It's the main selling point of Macs. A simple inexpensive ad showing off what Tiger can offer is long overdue. Hell, even Jaguar was ready for primetime.
You can rest assured that Vista will be promoted to death (well, literally I hope! ). So please Apple, create a great ad for Leopard. It's so obvious. So essential. So overdue. I cannot for the life of me understand why it's kept so hidden.
The real question is...how is Placebo feeling right now?
Probably no different...his main reason for leaving was that he is a "geek at heart" and likes to tinker inside computers...and price was also a big factor.
So I think he'll be better off using a PC and suffering all the consequences that come with it. He won't mind the consequences though.
So please Apple, create a great ad for Leopard. It's so obvious. So essential. So overdue. I cannot for the life of me understand why it's kept so hidden.
Anybody here a shareholder and lives in the Bay Area? Someone should go to the shareholders' meeting and ask Jobs that question. I have always wondered why nobody ever asks him that. There may be a simple and sensible answer, such as:
- Part of the deal with MS was not to advertise Mac OS X.
- Focus group studies of people viewing commercials of OS X revealed that they thought they were seeing a demo of Windows
- Advertising OS X would result in MS launching a huge multi-bazillion dollar XP campaign which would show XP doing photos, video, music, etc - all the things that the OS X ad would have highlighted. And of course at the end it would say "Windows. Used by 96% of all the computers on earth.", or something equally un-refutable.
Who knows?
Do we have a volunteer to attend the shareholders' meeting (no, I don't know offhand when it is)?
The real question is...how is Placebo feeling right now?
Why don't you ask him? I wasn't planning to buy a computer until June anyways since that's when the AM2 chipset was coming out, and now I'm considering buying a Powermac-equivalent Intel Mac when they are announced in August (which is my suspicion, mirroring the Powermac G5 launch). So far Conroe looks like an extremely capable processor, Bootcamp has been announced and the XP graphics drivers don't suck, and numerous Intel Macs have been proven to have upgradeable processors.
Quote:
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Probably no different...his main reason for leaving was that he is a "geek at heart" and likes to tinker inside computers...and price was also a big factor.
So I think he'll be better off using a PC and suffering all the consequences that come with it. He won't mind the consequences though.
1) You're still an idiot. 2) I'd stick with a PC if being able to run Mac OS X and Windows on one box with graphics accelleration supported on both wasn't being offered so temptingly by Apple.
Anybody here a shareholder and lives in the Bay Area? Someone should go to the shareholders' meeting and ask Jobs that question. I have always wondered why nobody ever asks him that. There may be a simple and sensible answer, such as:
- Part of the deal with MS was not to advertise Mac OS X.
- Focus group studies of people viewing commercials of OS X revealed that they thought they were seeing a demo of Windows
- Advertising OS X would result in MS launching a huge multi-bazillion dollar XP campaign which would show XP doing photos, video, music, etc - all the things that the OS X ad would have highlighted. And of course at the end it would say "Windows. Used by 96% of all the computers on earth.", or something equally un-refutable.
Who knows?
Do we have a volunteer to attend the shareholders' meeting (no, I don't know offhand when it is)?
I'm a stockholder, but I live in NYC, and that amount of traveling for a stockholders meeting has always seemed to be a waste of time.
They won't answer that question anyway.
Apple has no deal not to advertise X. They simply choose not to.
It's a flaw in their strategy.
They don't conduct focus groups, thank god, as those are useless, as I can attest to from my own time in the ad business.
MS already has a couple of GREAT ads on tv, and has for some time now, showing that very thing. When I first saw the first ad, I thought it was a great ad that Apple put up, and was thinking that it was about time Apple did so. Then, at the end, it said that you could do so many things with MS software! I was floored! And Apple had those asinine switcher ads. Or, their brilliant ad where some kid gets a G5, and it blows a hole in the house. Wonderful. That'll do it!
MS has already said that they will spend, and this is NOT a typo, $500 million to advertise Vista.
Honestly, I think boot camp is more for the professional / business world than for "pc gamers to game on macs" or "home users to use their pc software". Can home users do that??? Of course... but I think this is a strategy to CONVERT BUSINESSES TO APPLE. Think about the type of users that are least likely to convert... BUSINESSES. It's a fact. Some businesses are still using dos machines, or old unix machines to carry out tasks. Some still run windows 98 or windows 3.1. Needless to say I think there will be a lot of businesses upgrading in the near future because their hardware is getting so out of date and non supported.
If apple can grab some of these businesses, it would definitely help them in the long run. Losing the businesses in the world is why they lost so much market share.
And think about it. These cheap businesses that are running windows 95 and an old version of office, aren't going to want to buy a bunch of software. So what do they do? Dual boot into it when they NEED it. Sounds like a much better reason to release bootcamp than for home users.
Dude, that's exactly what I said in a few posts above yours....
"There's something Steve is targeting and a game plan we're clearly not seeing. Something up his sleeve. A big risk perhaps but maybe his goal is to take on the Windows-centric business world and triumph by increasing Mac market share in the business environment."
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)
Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
I think you should read this.
John is not only an expert in computing (his degrees are in computer cpu, and systems design), but he is a heavy Mac user for a ways back. His articles are always goo. Also, check out the article by Gruber (and join his site!) he refers to. I agree with what he says here.
I'm sure a lot is riding on Vista for them. They need it to be another Windows 95. MS stock has been pretty stagnant and they need a hit.
I read MS expects (or hopes) to sell 400 million copies of Vista in the first 18 months. Many analysts don't expect business to heavily adopt Vista for a couple years. The general consumer base doesn't even know it exist. With a likely price tag of $150 to $300 most people in the general public are likely to be rather apathetic when its shipped.
So $500 million will be spent to prime excitement and sales. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
John is not only an expert in computing (his degrees are in computer cpu, and systems design), but he is a heavy Mac user for a ways back. His articles are always goo. Also, check out the article by Gruber (and join his site!) he refers to. I agree with what he says here.
Consumers don't compete for developers. It's the other way around. Any developer who wants any significant presence among Mac users needs to release an OS X version. That is never going to change, and any developer who thinks that will change, might as well just write off all their Mac business because some other developer will come along and take advantage of the fact that they have just left the door wide open for competitors.
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
Sometimes I wonder if apple DOESN'T WANT a large uprising in users. Perhaps they couldn't handle the support? Maybe this was part of the reason they moved to india for tech support? I don't know... just something I was thinking. But what would happen if their userbase grew by 100% in 6 months. That could prove to be a headache no? Trying to keep up with hardware sales, trying to keep up with support... *shrugs*.
Yes the Daring Fireball article goes along with what I was thinking.
He says that Apple may only have 2% of the market but its has 2% of the best part of the market. Meaning these people are educated and somewhat computer savvy. These people wanted a Mac and chose to use it.
I know it sounds elitist but it doesn't seem Apple wants to spend advertising money and energy to attract the less educated and less computer savvy.
I'm sure a lot is riding on Vista for them. They need it to be another Windows 95. MS stock has been pretty stagnant and they need a hit.
I read MS expects (or hopes) to sell 400 million copies of Vista in the first 18 months. Many analysts don't expect business to heavily adopt Vista for a couple years. The general consumer base doesn't even know it exist. With a likely price tag of $150 to $300 most people in the general public are likely to be rather apathetic when its shipped.
So $500 million will be spent to prime excitement and sales. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
The first thing to remember is that Vista WILL be a success. Most of the 250 million computers shipped next year will come with Vista installed. We can't get away from that. Business will eventually move over as well.
Yes the Daring Fireball article goes along with what I was thinking.
He says that Apple may only have 2% of the market but its has 2% of the best part of the market. Meaning these people are educated and somewhat computer savvy. These people wanted a Mac and chose to use it.
I know it sounds elitist but it doesn't seem Apple wants to spend advertising money and energy to attract the less educated and less computer savvy.
Huh? I think Apple is in the business of business. They would love any sales. And either way more sales also means more developers (= more apps to choose from for the current Mac users)
Huh? I think Apple is in the business of business. They would love any sales. And either way more sales also means more developers (= more apps to choose from for the current Mac users)
Yup!
One thing I find myself scratching my head about, is Mac users saying that Apple doesn't need a greater marketshare. That's nonsense. Apple MUST have a greater marketshare.
When Apple came out with the (then) new G5 PM's, one guy in my usergroup had just bought a 1.6GHZ. I said that I hoped that the increased performance of these machines would lead to adoption by pc users, and so increase Apple's marketshare.
His response was that he didn't care, and that it didn't matter to him if Apple;'s marketshare went down even further, as long as Apple kept making "great machines".
I'm always amazed that people who have never had experience in business have so little understanding of the real world.
Apple's marketshare does need to get bigger; but not too big. Around 20-25% would be the perfect spot between Windows, Linux + Others covering the rest of the market. You don't want dominant status anyway; you stagnate a lot.
Comments
Originally posted by melgross
While the consumer might not care too much, business will. I've been reading a lot about that very issue the past few days. Business will want someone to step up, and take responsibility. It could be that the bigger, commercial VARs will do that. But, it remains to be seen.
Without SOMEBODY supporting it, it's only going to have impact with enthusiasts. NO way will businesses get involved. Boot Camp is generating a lot of buzz though. On CNN(tv) they had a blurb on it.
Honestly, I think boot camp is more for the professional / business world than for "pc gamers to game on macs" or "home users to use their pc software". Can home users do that??? Of course... but I think this is a strategy to CONVERT BUSINESSES TO APPLE. Think about the type of users that are least likely to convert... BUSINESSES. It's a fact. Some businesses are still using dos machines, or old unix machines to carry out tasks. Some still run windows 98 or windows 3.1. Needless to say I think there will be a lot of businesses upgrading in the near future because their hardware is getting so out of date and non supported.
If apple can grab some of these businesses, it would definitely help them in the long run. Losing the businesses in the world is why they lost so much market share.
And think about it. These cheap businesses that are running windows 95 and an old version of office, aren't going to want to buy a bunch of software. So what do they do? Dual boot into it when they NEED it. Sounds like a much better reason to release bootcamp than for home users.
Dude, that's exactly what I said in a few posts above yours....
"There's something Steve is targeting and a game plan we're clearly not seeing. Something up his sleeve. A big risk perhaps but maybe his goal is to take on the Windows-centric business world and triumph by increasing Mac market share in the business environment."
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)
Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
Originally posted by sunilraman
...Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
Seems a natural extension of fast user switching and the cube transition, does it not? While it would be cool for Apple to build into the Mac OS support for running multiple OS' Boot Camp might be as far as they would want to go. After all, third party developers do need something to do.
Originally posted by sunilraman
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)[/B]
I can see it. I can almost imagine OS X turning into a key virtualization OS. I mean... hell. Why not virtualize windows, solaris, linux.. etc etc... and that way NO other computer would be thought of for business besides an apple. I condemned virtualization a few pages ago... and in current status I agree. But what if apple could find a way to give OS X pure control over hardware but "lease" the hardware to the virtualized OS's without using communication back to OS X? Could prove very useful in a business environment.
Either way, I picture this move as totally towards business. Sure gamers are happy. Sure home users are happy. But honestly, how much does it help apple to sell their computers to just run windows on them all the time. Does it REALLY improve marketshare? Not really.
I've always said this...
If apple would advertise why the OS is so great, they would sell more computers. Fact is, many people don't know why OS X is cool. They hear mac and shrivel. But if apple would spend more in advertising the OS... i believe pc users would see why Macs are easier to use, and why they should switch. Hearing #'s (ghz, ram, etc) doesn't always sell a computer. Consumers pretend to know what these things mean... but really they just hear the # and know bigger is better. Give them a visualization of the machine and watch it sell faster.
Point being... apple needs to sell these machines for the OS. If they can sell these machines so business start dabbling in OS X... they just scored some good points in the business world.
Originally posted by emig647
If apple would advertise why the OS is so great, they would sell more computers. Fact is, many people don't know why OS X is cool. They hear mac and shrivel. But if apple would spend more in advertising the OS... i believe pc users would see why Macs are easier to use, and why they should switch...
It is one of those great Apple mysteries, like the one-buttoned mouse (which thank heavens has changed, but only relatively recently). The promotion of Mac OS X has been poor, to say the least.
I don't believe that trumpeting a change of CPU while simultaneously insulting the user's choice of OS is a very good marketing strategy. The average computer user doesn't give a monkey's what the processor is, so long as it's fast enough to get the job done. But they most certainly will object to calling the Windows OS and planet of Windows apps as "dull". Suggesting that the PC boxes themselves are "dull" also suggests that the appearance of the case is an important consideration for most people. It's not. Sure it's nice to have good-looking hardware, and Apple have to be one of the best in creating that 'wow-factor'. But it's not top of the list of hardware requirements. Therefore it should not be top of the list of marketing angles.
Yet Apple have created this amazing OS which is hardly ever promoted. This is what people will be looking at while they're working - not the flipping box! It's the main selling point of Macs. A simple inexpensive ad showing off what Tiger can offer is long overdue. Hell, even Jaguar was ready for primetime.
You can rest assured that Vista will be promoted to death (well, literally I hope!
(rant over)
Originally posted by mynamehere
The real question is...how is Placebo feeling right now?
Probably no different...his main reason for leaving was that he is a "geek at heart" and likes to tinker inside computers...and price was also a big factor.
So I think he'll be better off using a PC and suffering all the consequences that come with it. He won't mind the consequences though.
So please Apple, create a great ad for Leopard. It's so obvious. So essential. So overdue. I cannot for the life of me understand why it's kept so hidden.
Anybody here a shareholder and lives in the Bay Area? Someone should go to the shareholders' meeting and ask Jobs that question. I have always wondered why nobody ever asks him that. There may be a simple and sensible answer, such as:
- Part of the deal with MS was not to advertise Mac OS X.
- Focus group studies of people viewing commercials of OS X revealed that they thought they were seeing a demo of Windows
- Advertising OS X would result in MS launching a huge multi-bazillion dollar XP campaign which would show XP doing photos, video, music, etc - all the things that the OS X ad would have highlighted. And of course at the end it would say "Windows. Used by 96% of all the computers on earth.", or something equally un-refutable.
Who knows?
Do we have a volunteer to attend the shareholders' meeting (no, I don't know offhand when it is)?
Source.
Originally posted by mynamehere
The real question is...how is Placebo feeling right now?
Why don't you ask him? I wasn't planning to buy a computer until June anyways since that's when the AM2 chipset was coming out, and now I'm considering buying a Powermac-equivalent Intel Mac when they are announced in August (which is my suspicion, mirroring the Powermac G5 launch). So far Conroe looks like an extremely capable processor, Bootcamp has been announced and the XP graphics drivers don't suck, and numerous Intel Macs have been proven to have upgradeable processors.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Probably no different...his main reason for leaving was that he is a "geek at heart" and likes to tinker inside computers...and price was also a big factor.
So I think he'll be better off using a PC and suffering all the consequences that come with it. He won't mind the consequences though.
1) You're still an idiot. 2) I'd stick with a PC if being able to run Mac OS X and Windows on one box with graphics accelleration supported on both wasn't being offered so temptingly by Apple.
Originally posted by lundy
Anybody here a shareholder and lives in the Bay Area? Someone should go to the shareholders' meeting and ask Jobs that question. I have always wondered why nobody ever asks him that. There may be a simple and sensible answer, such as:
- Part of the deal with MS was not to advertise Mac OS X.
- Focus group studies of people viewing commercials of OS X revealed that they thought they were seeing a demo of Windows
- Advertising OS X would result in MS launching a huge multi-bazillion dollar XP campaign which would show XP doing photos, video, music, etc - all the things that the OS X ad would have highlighted. And of course at the end it would say "Windows. Used by 96% of all the computers on earth.", or something equally un-refutable.
Who knows?
Do we have a volunteer to attend the shareholders' meeting (no, I don't know offhand when it is)?
I'm a stockholder, but I live in NYC, and that amount of traveling for a stockholders meeting has always seemed to be a waste of time.
They won't answer that question anyway.
Apple has no deal not to advertise X. They simply choose not to.
It's a flaw in their strategy.
They don't conduct focus groups, thank god, as those are useless, as I can attest to from my own time in the ad business.
MS already has a couple of GREAT ads on tv, and has for some time now, showing that very thing. When I first saw the first ad, I thought it was a great ad that Apple put up, and was thinking that it was about time Apple did so. Then, at the end, it said that you could do so many things with MS software! I was floored! And Apple had those asinine switcher ads. Or, their brilliant ad where some kid gets a G5, and it blows a hole in the house. Wonderful. That'll do it!
MS has already said that they will spend, and this is NOT a typo, $500 million to advertise Vista.
Originally posted by sunilraman
Originally posted by emig647
Honestly, I think boot camp is more for the professional / business world than for "pc gamers to game on macs" or "home users to use their pc software". Can home users do that??? Of course... but I think this is a strategy to CONVERT BUSINESSES TO APPLE. Think about the type of users that are least likely to convert... BUSINESSES. It's a fact. Some businesses are still using dos machines, or old unix machines to carry out tasks. Some still run windows 98 or windows 3.1. Needless to say I think there will be a lot of businesses upgrading in the near future because their hardware is getting so out of date and non supported.
If apple can grab some of these businesses, it would definitely help them in the long run. Losing the businesses in the world is why they lost so much market share.
And think about it. These cheap businesses that are running windows 95 and an old version of office, aren't going to want to buy a bunch of software. So what do they do? Dual boot into it when they NEED it. Sounds like a much better reason to release bootcamp than for home users.
Dude, that's exactly what I said in a few posts above yours....
"There's something Steve is targeting and a game plan we're clearly not seeing. Something up his sleeve. A big risk perhaps but maybe his goal is to take on the Windows-centric business world and triumph by increasing Mac market share in the business environment."
This is a move by Steve to assault the business market...!! Cool someone agrees with me 8)
Remember it may not be dual-boot but also Apple-made virtualization that would be the key for these businesses. Like I said, imagine you get an Intel iMac instead of a Dell, run Outlook (bleahh), easily flip over to the OS X side and write on some Dashboard stickies at the same time. Beautiful. Seamless. The Mac takes on the business world, gains traction and market share.
I think you should read this.
John is not only an expert in computing (his degrees are in computer cpu, and systems design), but he is a heavy Mac user for a ways back. His articles are always goo. Also, check out the article by Gruber (and join his site!) he refers to. I agree with what he says here.
http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits.ars/2006/4/8/3524
$500 million to advertise Vista
I'm sure a lot is riding on Vista for them. They need it to be another Windows 95. MS stock has been pretty stagnant and they need a hit.
I read MS expects (or hopes) to sell 400 million copies of Vista in the first 18 months. Many analysts don't expect business to heavily adopt Vista for a couple years. The general consumer base doesn't even know it exist. With a likely price tag of $150 to $300 most people in the general public are likely to be rather apathetic when its shipped.
So $500 million will be spent to prime excitement and sales. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
Originally posted by melgross
I think you should read this.
John is not only an expert in computing (his degrees are in computer cpu, and systems design), but he is a heavy Mac user for a ways back. His articles are always goo. Also, check out the article by Gruber (and join his site!) he refers to. I agree with what he says here.
http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits.ars/2006/4/8/3524
Consumers don't compete for developers. It's the other way around. Any developer who wants any significant presence among Mac users needs to release an OS X version. That is never going to change, and any developer who thinks that will change, might as well just write off all their Mac business because some other developer will come along and take advantage of the fact that they have just left the door wide open for competitors.
BINGO.
Originally posted by TenoBell
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
Sometimes I wonder if apple DOESN'T WANT a large uprising in users. Perhaps they couldn't handle the support? Maybe this was part of the reason they moved to india for tech support? I don't know... just something I was thinking. But what would happen if their userbase grew by 100% in 6 months. That could prove to be a headache no? Trying to keep up with hardware sales, trying to keep up with support... *shrugs*.
He says that Apple may only have 2% of the market but its has 2% of the best part of the market. Meaning these people are educated and somewhat computer savvy. These people wanted a Mac and chose to use it.
I know it sounds elitist but it doesn't seem Apple wants to spend advertising money and energy to attract the less educated and less computer savvy.
Originally posted by TenoBell
I'm sure a lot is riding on Vista for them. They need it to be another Windows 95. MS stock has been pretty stagnant and they need a hit.
I read MS expects (or hopes) to sell 400 million copies of Vista in the first 18 months. Many analysts don't expect business to heavily adopt Vista for a couple years. The general consumer base doesn't even know it exist. With a likely price tag of $150 to $300 most people in the general public are likely to be rather apathetic when its shipped.
So $500 million will be spent to prime excitement and sales. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Apple's lack of advertisement tells me they aren't really all that interested in taking on Dell or MS directly. They are pretty satisfied with the momentum of their user base and their current growth.
The first thing to remember is that Vista WILL be a success. Most of the 250 million computers shipped next year will come with Vista installed. We can't get away from that. Business will eventually move over as well.
Apple can't afford to be satisfied.
Originally posted by TenoBell
Yes the Daring Fireball article goes along with what I was thinking.
He says that Apple may only have 2% of the market but its has 2% of the best part of the market. Meaning these people are educated and somewhat computer savvy. These people wanted a Mac and chose to use it.
I know it sounds elitist but it doesn't seem Apple wants to spend advertising money and energy to attract the less educated and less computer savvy.
Huh? I think Apple is in the business of business. They would love any sales. And either way more sales also means more developers (= more apps to choose from for the current Mac users)
Originally posted by Anders
Huh? I think Apple is in the business of business. They would love any sales. And either way more sales also means more developers (= more apps to choose from for the current Mac users)
Yup!
One thing I find myself scratching my head about, is Mac users saying that Apple doesn't need a greater marketshare. That's nonsense. Apple MUST have a greater marketshare.
When Apple came out with the (then) new G5 PM's, one guy in my usergroup had just bought a 1.6GHZ. I said that I hoped that the increased performance of these machines would lead to adoption by pc users, and so increase Apple's marketshare.
His response was that he didn't care, and that it didn't matter to him if Apple;'s marketshare went down even further, as long as Apple kept making "great machines".
I'm always amazed that people who have never had experience in business have so little understanding of the real world.
Just look at Windows.