(no subject)
Jan. 10th, 2006 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reldnahkramI'm struggling with what to write about the new Macs. I care because Apple is better positioned now than it has ever been to be influential in the computer field. Everyone in the industry is looking at Apple because they do things differently. And if they can push the industry in new directions, that's a good thing.
But I don't think this is it. Apple has huge mindshare right now with the iPod. But most people don't know about much else Apple. New computers aren't going to change this. It's going to be very hard to convince people that iLife and iWork and the like are worth $1000 more than a $999 Dell laptop to get an iPod-like user experience. And I've heard a few diehards grumble about being concerned about Rosetta, so these machines may not be for the faithful, not yet, anyway. So who are they going to sell these too?
Apple is at a crossroads. They have new hardware, a different OS, and a phenomenally popular gadget. One of the three may have to go. They could dump the OS, make high-end Windows boxen and laptops and churn out iPods. But I don't think there's much in being the luxury manufacturer in an industry where low price rules. They could drop the hardware and just sell the OS and iPods. But losing control of the hardware would sacrifice most of the ease of user experience. Dropping the iPod would be dumb.
I think Apple's future is as a gadget company. Develop a few more great devices that work the way they're supposed to and are easy to use. Maybe try a handheld, a real Apple cell phone (not the ROKR), etc. But for these devices to succeed, they'll need to work with a majority of the computers out there. And with the gadgets running the show, how much sense will it make to devote lots of resources to making niche systems that have their own software demands? I dont' think Apple will (or should) drop the hardware line completely, but I think it's unrealistic to think that it will ever pick up much market share.
But I don't think this is it. Apple has huge mindshare right now with the iPod. But most people don't know about much else Apple. New computers aren't going to change this. It's going to be very hard to convince people that iLife and iWork and the like are worth $1000 more than a $999 Dell laptop to get an iPod-like user experience. And I've heard a few diehards grumble about being concerned about Rosetta, so these machines may not be for the faithful, not yet, anyway. So who are they going to sell these too?
Apple is at a crossroads. They have new hardware, a different OS, and a phenomenally popular gadget. One of the three may have to go. They could dump the OS, make high-end Windows boxen and laptops and churn out iPods. But I don't think there's much in being the luxury manufacturer in an industry where low price rules. They could drop the hardware and just sell the OS and iPods. But losing control of the hardware would sacrifice most of the ease of user experience. Dropping the iPod would be dumb.
I think Apple's future is as a gadget company. Develop a few more great devices that work the way they're supposed to and are easy to use. Maybe try a handheld, a real Apple cell phone (not the ROKR), etc. But for these devices to succeed, they'll need to work with a majority of the computers out there. And with the gadgets running the show, how much sense will it make to devote lots of resources to making niche systems that have their own software demands? I dont' think Apple will (or should) drop the hardware line completely, but I think it's unrealistic to think that it will ever pick up much market share.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 04:21 am (UTC)Windows Vista is Mac OS X in a different suit (and with cancer); everyone's jumping on the iPod bandwagon; and Dell and HP wish they could get the hardware-software synergy going.
I had one comment that started about the stock photos and video The Steve always uses in his keynotes: they always find models that appear intelligent, cultured, and gorgeous - just like a Mac.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 11:09 am (UTC)I'd assume (hope?) that the similarities between Longhorn (vista = dumb) and OS X are mostly skin deep.
I'm not going to so say anything about this last point.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 04:41 am (UTC)Apples really only a middle man for hardware, they pay other people to make it... then assemble it and sell it for more. Why'd they get rid of that it makes good profit (if not as much as iPods).
Their OS is good, it sells, and drives the sales on the hardware. Not to mention that all their infrastructure is software/os engineering. If they got rid of the OS they couldn't justify being the middle man in selling the hardware so they'd have to ditch that too. Why would they?
no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 05:05 am (UTC)As for who they're going to sell the new machines to, you'll notice the complaints of the diehards more, but there will be a lot more people buying them just because they're fast — especially the notebooks, which have been lagging farther and farther behind Apple's desktops for a couple of years now (the current 12-inch PowerBook is only 50% faster than the one I bought in 2003). There are some people who are concerned about Rosetta, but there are just as many who aren't worried, and just as many more who simply aren't planning to run legacy software that much.