Views from the Ivory Tower -

 

May 2008

 

By Ted Bade

 

The state of the Mac is today a lot better then it was when I first began writing these articles. We have moved from base hope and some nice indicators to significant increase of market share and revenue for Apple. We have seen the deliver of the iPhone and the iPod Touch, giving people more and more interesting and creative options from Apple to use in their daily lives.

 

At the same time, Apple has moved forward its computers and the Mac OS. We have seen the move to Intel chips, which don’t have a known horizon, unlike the fading PowerPC chip. We have seen Mac OS move from a mostly 32-bit OS to a full 64-bit OS. And we have enjoyed some nice new features as well.

 

I can only imagine what Apple will come up with next. I expect it will be interesting.

 

Who is the #1 Music Retailer - I have read a lot of media lately that touts Apple as being the #1 or #2 retailer of music. Apple thinks they are number one, according to a brief article on the Mac News Network site. This is confirmed on a CNET blog article (According to these articles, The NPD group , a marketing research company, indicated that Apple has passed WalMart in music sales, putting them in the lead.

 

Whatever their position, I know one thing, Apple sells a lot of music and has revolutionized the way we buy music. I have heard that for the past several years, the sales of CD are decreasing. There are two schools of thought. On one hand it is said that buyers are getting back at the RIAA for how they handled the Napster days, their attitude toward digital music, and other less then friendly ways of the RIAA. The other school of thought is that digital formats are the preferred format for the younger crowd. I tend to personally fall into both categories!

 

21%?!? more likely 6.6% - I have read a couple of articles that say that a research firm, Piper Jaffray, has said that Apple has 10% of the market share world wide and 21% in the US. It appears that the commercials (everybody talks about them and how great they are), the iPod “halo” effect (there are what two or three people in the US that don’t have one?), and Microsoft releasing an update to Windows that wasn’t very well received (and I might add, that runs faster on a Mac then a typical PC), have all added up to more and more consumers buying Macs. The current lack of a virus for the Mac OS might have helped as well.

 

I am happy for Apple. I truly hope the bean counters don’t try to start maximizing profits in the short term and force Apple to fall into the same stagnation trap that Microsoft have fallen into. They would never force their users into a new OS format, or a new processor. And while these are definite inconveniences for Mac Users, they have make us learn to embrace new technologies.

 

As much as I loved the Apple ][, I am very glad we are now running our Macs on Intel chips. I expect that we ill see some amazing changes in the processors over the next few years. I believe by Intel working with Apple, it will infuse them to innovate in newer and better ways.

I then read another article on the Mac News Network site that said Apple has about 6.6%. They quoted an article published by the Gartner Group, a popular research company. You can read the article directly by visiting the Gartner web site.

 

In a related series of articles, the same research company indicated that the Windows Market is collapsing. According to one article I read, the Gartner group said:

 

“Microsoft needs to make radical changes to its Windows operating system, as Gartner warns that it is "collapsing"”.

This article was posted on the OneStop Click site - With People not sure about Windows and more sure about Macs, this can only mean more increase in market share for the Mac. However, I don’t expect that Microsoft will just quit trying. I expect they will try some desperate move, such as Steve Jobs did to bring Mac OS out of Mac Classic days and into Mac OS X! I have two questions here;

 

Can Microsoft do it, since they are famous for making minor changes, not radical ones?

 

The second question is, if they do make the radical changes needed to move them onward, how will the market respond? Will this make people move back to them or create an opportunity for companies to consider other systems such as Linux and of course Mac OS X?

 

For a long time I have considered this was going to happen. IMHO, that is why Mr. Gates pulled away from them. (Or will he do the typical Tech company leader thing and suddenly come back onto the scene to save the company, as did Mr. Dell and Mr. Jobs?) We will have to wait and see.

 

Well done Apple and Steve Jobs, just don’t let it go to your head! ☺

 

IBM offering Mac option to Employees - Computer giant IBM has begun allowing its employees to use Macs as an alternative to Windows. Apparently IBM would like to move away from its dependence on Windows and has begun a pilot program to allow users to use Macs and Linux based machines.

According to the web site Roughly Drafted, IBM has begun a pilot program to allow employees to use Macs and Linux machines - It seems like every Mac related web site has been publishing this, but I am skeptical.

 

I did a lot of searching on this one and found only one article that said that IBM denied any mass migration to the Mac (although I don’t think any of the articles I read suggested a mass migration, but a pilot program to try them). However, they admitted that they are trying to see if IBM software products work well on Macs.

Who knows what really happened, but I have a feeling that IBM just might be allowing employees to use Macs or Linux PCs instead of Windows. Who knows how the IT people will respond to this? Will they be happy or vexed? Will the change mean more or less work for them? We will follow this item and report any more if we find it.

 

Return of the Clones? - (Sorry for the obvious title, but I couldn’t resist!) Well, there is one company that is attempting to compete with Apple by releasing Mac clones. Most of us recall how badly Steve Jobs dislikes them. Back in the ending days of Mac OS Classic, there were a couple of legal clone companies, which Steve Jobs, once again the CEO of Apple, almost immediately stopped once he took the position.

 

Recently, company PsyStar has begun offering a Mac clone. The base model of this computer is sold for $400, without keyboard, mouse, or and OS. You can choose any of a variety of OSs to be installed by the company, including Windows XP, Vista, Linux, and Mac OS X (Leopard)!

 

Their computers are being called, the Open Computer, I guess because it can run several different OS’s. I haven’t heard, as I write this, any word from Apple concerning these machines. I am sure their legal people are working out their options. The machine can be purchased without an OS and you can install your own. However, for $155 extra, they will install Leopard on it for you.

 

Take a look at their web site to see the options. It seems to me that this computer, is a little more powerful then a Mac Mini. However, since it has a larger case, other items can be installed in it.

Several people, including myself, believe that Apple really needs to offer a mid-range computer without a built in monitor. Something that is more powerful then a mini, (perhaps as powerful as the iMac), but with a case that allows the user to add various options, either at the time of purchase or later in its life. Obviously, this company has seen this gap and is making a go at it!

 

We will have to keep our eyes on this interesting story!

 

Apple Q2 financial report - April 23rd Apple had its second quarter financial report session. We are pleased to see that Apple reported their “strongest 2nd quarter yet”!

 

Money-wise they reported a revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion. These numbers compare to a revenue of $5.26 billion and net quarterly profit of $770 million of last year’s second quarter. This quarter represents a 43% revenue growth! They also reported a cash balance of $19.4 billion.

Apple shipped 2,289,000 Macintosh computers. which is a 51% growth and 54% over last year’s second quarter! However, they sold only 10,644,000 iPods, which is only a 1% growth and 8% growth over last second quarter.

 

In their financial statement, they indicated that: “...we have strong momentum to launch some terrific new products in the coming quarters.” Which can only mean new toys for Mac and Apple fans!

This is good news for Apple, since it indicates a strong company that is making enough money to continue to grow, create new products, and money to spare to put into research and development of even more interesting technology.

 

The stock value rose only a few percent after this statement, due, I believe, to the fact that the iPod numbers didn’t increase significantly. But tell me, what does Wall Street expect? Who is the US doesn’t own an iPod? We can’t all own two or three, ☺

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What this does mean is that Apple needs to create something new and creative that will take the sales place of the iPod. Something people will really, really want. Apparently, the iPhone isn’t it. But then that makes sense. The phone is tied to a particular carrier.

 

People are particular about carriers. I know our household would have one if it wasn’t AT&T only! So what could be next for Apple, or will they stop the innovative products? A PDA, gaming box, or what?

 

If you have any ideas or dreams, let us at MacCompanion know!

 

Until next month, keep in using your Mac!