Analyst: Apple is a full year ahead of competition
As Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster walked the floors of the 2008 Consumer Electronics show he, like many other attendees, found himself thinking about Apple (AAPL) and Steve Jobs.
"While Apple was not at the show," he writes today in a report to clients, "the company's impact is felt at CES."
Signs of the company's influence, he says, were evident in three broad areas:
- Hardware design. "The simple, industrial design that began with the iPod and has carried over to Apple's Macs and the iPhone, is a general trend that we see in CE devices. iMac-like all-in-one desktop computers from Dell and Gateway, for example, are two instances of other device makers following Apple's lead."
- Touchscreen devices. "Apple's iPhone represents a consumer-ready level of maturity for touchscreen devices… Touchscreen device makers like Samsung are following Apple's lead, but we believe Apple is significantly ahead of other device makers (except perhaps Microsoft)."
- Ecosystem connectivity. "Apple's closed iTunes+iPod ecosystem has enabled the company to set the bar in terms of hardware and software integration… This year at CES several companies are pushing to catch Apple in terms of connectivity. Such products included the Sandisk Take TV, wireless streamers, and other connected entertainment devices that offer a non-iTunes competitor to Apple's entertainment ecosystem."
Like CES 2007, when the buzz of the show was the soon-to-be-unveiled iPhone, much of the talk this week in Las Vegas was about what might be coming next week in San Francisco.
As Munster puts it:
"We expect Apple's Macworld announcements (1/15) to set the bar for CES '09 — in other words, we see Apple as effectively one year ahead of its competition."
hah, ignorant people. You think mac's don't get viruses? wow… Mac… It just works, but for some reason they still have a support site. Come on, shut up with your retarded biases… face the facts, macs aim at the "cool" market, they suck in the workplace. Once I heard about their new laptop I sold all of my stock I had in them. You can't change the battery on your own, no rj-45… Sick…
OH YAH,
WINDOWS CAN DO THOUSANDS OF THINGS MACS CAN'T!!! GET A VIRUS! Retire and close shop, BILL!
18 Year mac user, at home, pc user at work(nightmare)
DESMO,
I saw a video of Steve Jobs once where he said something like "people who love to make software should make their own hardware"
Apple doesn't just make part of the solution and palm it off to hardware companies to figure out how to make it work.
You can't buy a Microsoft computer, or phone, just other companies stuff that runs their OS.
Apple is not only innovating in the software but also in the hardware that supports it.
They are far more than a year ahead.
OSX Tiger is still ahead of vista, and Leopard is even better again!
A friend of mine built his own "ultimate" PC with all the bells and whistles and my macbook blows it out of the water in terms of usability, reliability and speed.
When you're due to buy a new computer don't look at specs or price….go and use them, try them out.
You'll go home with a mac and a smile!
I'm a systems admin at a large national non profit… we are a 100% windows and HP shop, I just bought an I,ac for my personal use at home due to my dislike of Vista and it is the best thing i have EVER done!!! I may buy windows at work but i will never agian for myself – EVER
Take a look at how they changed the meaning of "cool" in cellphones.
http://humanvoice.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/iphone-changes-everything/
Destructive relationships don't help anyone in this industry, that's why Apple and Microsoft will sometimes work as partners on specific projects. Back in the days there were some patent disputes between Apple and Microsoft which brought the two companies closer together. Take the Apple II for example, Steve Wosniak (Jobs's X partner) wrote the best basic code for this computer, but the problem was it was all fixed point. At that time Apple turned to Microsoft, because MS had a very popular and very good floating point basic, which Apple ended up using. By the way, it was Bill Gates who started a software company before anyone had any idea what a software company was. Microsoft and Apple worked very closely together to develop the software for the Apple II computer, and to this day both companies are still turning to each other for help. Take the XBox 360 for example, Microsoft put in the biggest order of G5 Mac Pros, which were used as a platform for the console development. So, both companies being extremely successful is because of cooperation and not bashing each other as many readers seem to be doing here 
We just got an IMac in August! $ for $ it far outstrips any PC we've owned. For cost, speed, and ease of operation! Our Daughter in Law has used Mac's forever as a Catalogue Designer and wondered why it took us so long to buy one!
Bill
Funny how none of you know how to spell Porsche.
ex ped: That tells you something. I know how to spell Dodge Caravan.
What jimmx said was
Sorry Frank. Apple PAID Xerox to go through their UI lab in 1982(???).
As for MS ripping off the Mac interface – you got it right there.
Paid is the operative word where as stolen ripping off copying = microsoft
I am a long time Windows/PC "AND" Mac. Windows makes me madder than h$$$ on most given days but on the same note so does Mac. I do a lot of graphic design on both PC and Mac and have little complaint on either machine. When it comes to productivity, network integration, programming and business related tasks, I can't even look at my Mac as an option. On the same note when I look at graphic design, video and ease of use I won't even consider looking at my PC (well actually my new Dual Quad Core Machine is seeing more Adobe action right now) My point is everyone just needs to stop with the really pointless arguments. The bottom line is this; Both Mac and PC are lacking, both Mac and PC have a lot that they could do better. This whole Mac, PC argument is nothing short of stupid. The enlightened users are those who realize that both machines have a ton to offer. I have noticed that a lot of the comments here talk about users who have dumped PC for Mac but there is nothing on the opposite (and please don't think that's because that never happens) I am a prime example of a Mac user who went to PC because for what I need PC is just better. (I am a programmer) HOWEVER I still do use my Mac. There is good and bad on both fronts.
Why is this news? Apple has almost always made the top of the line product, and then Microsoft and others make cheap imitations that they sell for less (and "perform" poorly). Since businesses almost always go cheap, they settle for less, and get mediocre (at best) products. I mean, it is unfair to try and compare a PC to a Mac or Zune to an iPod; there is NO comparison.
Not everyone can afford Apple products, or the Mac. for many, PCs are "good enough", and that is fine. For higher end users, many are upgrading to the Mac, especially now that a Mac can run Windows when they have to, on the same machine.
Apple is the standard. Period. But not everyone needs a Porsche when a stripped Chevy will do.
It's a fallacy when you said indirectly that microsoft is ahead of apple in device making. What are you? Bill Gates' Girlfriend? like what device? microsoft doesn't give consumers what they need. They're just money grubbers! The zune is a rip-off!
@Frank Trinkle
Sorry Frank. Apple PAID Xerox to go through their UI lab in 1982(???).
As for MS ripping off the Mac interface – you got it right there.
im a graphic designer, without Macs i could not meet deadlines. you need the power behind you for running apps like photoshop. even if you have a powerful PC, its just not the same.
However i dont use Macs for music and other media. When i buy a song online, i want to do what ever i want with it, play it where ever i want on any machine or portable device.
you cant do this on a mac! sort it out apple!
The comments here are illuminating! This Apple vs. MS debate is just one of the many battles and arguments we have experienced both historically and currently… like VHS vs. Beta / BlueRay vs. HDTV / USB vs. Firewire / film vs. digital / Plasma vs. LCD vs. Rear-Projection/ CPM vs.DOS / and on and on….
With regards to the Apple vs. Microsoft debates… there is one significant factor that all here have seemed to miss: BOTH operating systems (Windows and Mac OS) were plagiarized from the very beginning.
Gate's DOS was stolen from a small company that didn't have the means to effectively protect their patents and copyrights. Gates is now the richest man in the world as a result..
Apple's GUI system was a ripoff from XEROX's Star system… and then later further stolen from Apple and Xerox by our aforementioned friend Gates.
The biggest loser today is XEROX. Had they properly patented and protected their icon-based Star system, they would have reaped hundreds of billions of dollars… if not trillions over the last 25 years. Instead, they didn't realize the value or the uses of their system beyond copier control, and lost big time! They still make copiers though… whoopee!
There is no question that innovation continues in the development of more powerful and useful computers and operating systems, but the historical facts remain that these two operating system giants are RICH all due to plagiarism!
Windows and Microsoft will always be a few years behind as long as Windows developers' and users' mentality is that the need to modify and secure an operating system through add-on software and heavy-handed copy protection are features and benefits of the system. "Cool! The new Norton SystemWorks is out!" Great, now your PC will run like a lame dog because you've got their anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and disk watching and disk repair tools running all the time. Or maybe it's the McAfee suite. Or MS's suite. Whatever. This crap shouldn't have to be added on and weighing down a system, but Windows geeks think it's cool that you CAN have such software to do such things.
They're not features. They're flaws, liabilities… they're anchors.
Apple stock tanks? do some research. last Jan vista was released. How much has Msft stock grown. $29 on Jan 5 2007 it is $34.00 on Jan. 4 2008. Compare to apple stock that is "tanking". $85. Jan 5 2007 and it is at $180. Jan 4 2008. Ya I guess you are right Apple needs to spin this stock "tanking" quickly. Flood the media with Apple news.
interested to hear john's comment re Unix OS. MS may be huge but, they are a very diversified company. They would appear to struggle to release OS driven by their own machine code far-a-less re-write the whole system using an open source kernel. Besides the whole model of MS has always been to plough their own furrow, doesn't matter how good it is, just make it deep enough that no-one wants to cross it. IBM did the same thing, dont think they were at CES!!!
So nice to read intelligent comments. My Bondi Blue original iMac (1998) still works great, my four year old uses it. I use a (lowly) 13 inch MacBook. Like all the Apple products I've used over the years, it is reliable, easy to use, exceeds expectations and never fails to elicit a WOW from windows users. I look forward to 1/15/08, even if there is no great new product this year, I sure hope we'll get a preview of the great new product that will no doubt debut next year.
I am sitting here in 3rd world africa in Botswana with a Dell Intel Core2 running XP on my left and a 2 x 3ghz Quad Core Mac with OSX on my right, and let me tell you the Mac and its OS are about a few light years ahead. I have worked on both paltforms for over 10 years in the garphics industry and the MS platforms are always playing catch up. My advice from the third world to all MS users is SWITCH TO MAC AND BE PART OF THE FUTURE
I would not say they are a year ahead, some thing like 6 months. The dell one and the lg voyager only came out a short time later. It's all just Apple hype.
SkinnyG: "Could anybody on this thread explain to me why a HUGE corporation like Microsoft could not release a UNIX based OS with their “Windows” GUI in something like 2 weeks time?"
I used to think the same thing myself a few years back, albeit it might take more than a few weeks. The reason you don't see it and will never see it is that MS owns DOS. It's the only trump in their hand. Without DOS, MS would be obligated to compete on an even playing field with the rest of the industry. And we've seen how well that works for them.
It'll be interesting to see whether or not Apple does come out with something grand and spactacular as the iPhone this year at Macworld. I love Apple and think it's a great company, but I wonder how much hype we're all putting on Macworld next week. We'll just have to wait. =]
For correction: The Mac Plus was introduced in January, 1986. Had one. In fact, virtually every Mac that was created from the first one in 1984.
Major exclustion now, the new quads. No need now that I have retired from the high end graphics industry.
Before I retired I used and taught both PCs and Mac platforms. From the beginning I knew Apple was superior to DOS (ugh) and Windows. Apple is innovation, imagination, etc. I find people who dis Macs either haven't used them, or have very little experience with Macs.
I like Macs, too, because Mac users seem to have a great sense of humor, so we actually get a kick out of Windoze users trying to tell what a Mac is or isn't.
Could anybody on this thread explain to me why a HUGE corporation like Microsoft could not release a UNIX based OS with their "Windows" GUI in something like 2 weeks time? Why not? They have smart people there, one would think , why is this? What is preventing this from happening? Bill's ego?
If MS was also good a hardware design then you would have great products coming from MS then what hardware is coming out at the moment. In order for design to win at MS you have to make it a priority. At the moment the priority at MS is effectively getting product out period. Design is an afterthought.
I will preface the following with the fact that I am a new convert.
To all those people who wrote here commenting that Vista is built on XP, Me, 98, 3.1 etc. I should remind you that Longhorn was built on Xp, from NT. The final version of Vista is line for line a new OS. This is a lot harder to do than buying a unix foundation and creating a GUI. Please do your homework.
The only reason I am using mac is because it is the nicest Unix/Linux base for programming that can be installed on a laptop.
There are reasons to use each OS, Vista for office environments, XP for gaming, Mac for Programming, Linux for servers, dedicated and unique applications.
response to Adam, Sacramento, CA What does Market Share have to do with innovation? Does BMW have 92% of the car market share? Apple is clearly the innovation leader in technology. BTW – MS did not give anything away – back in the 80's a license fee was paid to MS for every IBM PC sold
"Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one"
right… but then there was the Macintosh before that… think before you comment
Good evening,
The first all in one computer was the Lisa January 1983. The Macintosh was a in January 1984
ADAM: this article is not necessarily about user functionality, but rather profitability. "ecosystem" clearly describes the life-long stronghold apple has on you between the ipod and itunes… it is how ahead apple is in marketing.
Only a Year? Wow I'd give it a more generous estimate of say 2-3 years.
Apple's people have their fingers on the pulse and are light years ahead of what your standard Windoze offering is considering.
Quote (very common quote)
but it has more than 92% market share!!!
That share is mostly (largely) corporate – easy management of large numbers of corporate computers. Computers behind firewalls. Computers managed by an IT management staff. Computers that use very limited applications. Applications approved by IT management
OS that has all the ports opened by default for easy corporate management. Home users, not so much.
IN this world there are 2 types of people, THOSE THAT DO and those that talk about it!
Apple is a DOER and always have been.
When i went to buy my first Graphics system in the late 80,s i had 2 choices.
A pc running dos and menu's driven by f keys and a single colour display.
Or a mac with full colour a GUI and adobe illustrator 3. If only i had known just how far in front of everyone i really was back then. As it was i was scanning and tracing bitmaps and outputting signage with vectors and bezier curves.
The pc opposition was SOOOO far behind it was crazy, even to the point they were using nodes and point technolgy ( essentially a zillion control points and straight lines to mimic curves).
To me the mac has ALWAYS been in front of the pc, apple has always produced a better looking product than that of its competitors, they have always been INNOVATIVE, and i have always been more PRODUCTIVE because they just work more reliably full stop.
I have watched all my competitors sheepishly admit over the years they SHOULD have followed the mac and Adobe path, but didn't because they were a bit more expensive.
Rather ironic that their money was spent on constantly trying to FIX and maintain their pc's.
Apples business sense may not have won the race, but they are still fighting the war, and i still believe that i want to be with an innovative company NOT a follower.
PC users will always do their best to defend their decision to be a follower, and we will always defend our choice.
I don't want to get into code and stuff around behind the scenes , i just want to do my job simply and easily with a minimum of fuss and agro, the mac hasn't let me down in 18 years and i don't see it doing it soon.
But at the end of the day the mac platform its os and the products that apple build are still ahead of the game.
It comes and no surprise to me at all.
Reading some of these comments I wonder if anyone has lost the focus. Let's be subjective and stop bashing companies here. If you haven't already done so, download the D5 Conference 2007 Podcast with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, it will surely make you smile, considering what a long standing history Microsoft and Apple have and the many cooperative projects they've worked on together.
One reason Apple stands apart from competitors is because of their software! Humans should not have to follow the technology but rather technology should follow the human, such as the iPhone for example. It may not have some of the technologies other mobile devices have, but the device is the most user friendly and most ergonomic, thanks to software! Apple has always focused on what can the end user get out of this, where as most other competitors think "what can the company get out of this". Sad but true…
There's no doubt that Apple products are at least a year ahead of the competition in both quality, performance and sheer coolness. Fact of the matter is, no one comes close. All those hardcore enthusiasts using their Dell's, HP's and whatever brand PC's & the Vista operating system would do themselves a favor to walk into the nearest (or travel 100 miles if they have to) Apple store and find out just how far ahead Apple actually is. The experience alone is worth the trip, but once they get past the ambiance and helpfulness of the knowledgeable staff, and actually begin to play around they'll find that all the hype isn't hype at all. It's just a matter of time until Apple and its expanding line of consumer electronic devices including the finest, most intuitive and beautiful computers, operating system, mp-3 players, phones and accessories becomes the dominate and most recognized name brand in the world. Oh wait a minute – has that happened already? Let me check on that after the up coming Macworld.
@ Darrel- Amen! Got tired of my Compaq laptop with XP crashing every single day and bought an iMac. By far the best computer ever made.
Darrel, that made me laugh, I am a switcher too, 4 years I think some how would find a way to use the HP/Del Vista thing ( ouch ! ) and take the $1000 dollars so that i could get my 12 year old daughter an iBook and use my Powerbook in secret backing up the HP/Del, Mac rocks !! Get it to our kids and allow then to explore being creative, not stuck in the wintel cloud of disappointment at loosing everything they have ever done on the darn wintel thing one day in the future, save them the pain all switches eventually had than made them move. Get Apple in UK schools somehow.
These comment have been a great read i just had to add.
"this Apple zealot lives in fantacy world. It is right that Windows is the only non-Unix OS, but it has more than 92% market share!!! Microsoft does not want to get into the hardware area by design, but still you can do so many more things with Windows Mobile than you can do with iPhone. Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one. I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago."
This Troy guy definitely needs to do more homework.
The only reason MS has the hold on the market is they gave away their "drugs" for free to get everyone hooked.
Once everyone was hooked on MS Windows, they pretty much figured they could do as they please.
If MS had actually done what Apple did when designing OS X, then Vista would have been much better. But no… MS, in their infinite wisdom just piled Vista trash on top of XP, ME, 95, 3.1 trash. The foundation of Windows is so overloaded that MS newest OS still will never be as robust as OS X. If MS had bothered to trash their old OS's and gone Unix Based with emulation for XP like Apple did for Classic, then they would have done a hell of a lot better. As it is they didn't and that is just another reason why so many are switching.
TROY… Try reading more.
Apple products are da bomb, but how much of Apple is Apple and not just Steve Jobs? Remember his cancer scare a few years back? From what I read, no matter how much work the development teams at Apple do, Steve's fingerprints are all over their work, and I shudder to think of Apple in the post-Steve era. How much key man life insurance can you buy on an individual, anyway?
I would say The MacPlus In 1984 WAS the best all-in-one that made Apple, Apple. And dont know if you have problems with numbers ? Introduction of G3 IMac = 1998. That is 10 years ago ok (I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago). 2008-1998 = 10 Hello
But The Mac Plus Was the one (1984)
Check the original video its all over the place.
Hi again,
About the Osborne, sorry I mistyped it was SuperCalc that I was using not Multiplan. I just opened it up to check the program disk.
Long time Mac user starting with the 512, but the computer I had before that was an Osborne 1, an all in one and transportable as well.
Introduced: April 1981
Price: US $1,795
Weight: 24.5 pounds
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 4.0 MHz
RAM: 64K RAM
Display: built-in 5" monitor
53 X 24 text
Ports: parallel / IEEE-488
modem / serial port
Storage: dual 5-1/4 inch, 91K drives
OS: CP/M
I upgraded in '83 to an Osborne II, still have and still works. Used to take it to corporate meetings in NYC and wow the CEO/CFOs with its ability to do 'what ifs' on complex financials, with Multiplan. While the accounting guy on a ten-key tried to keep up…
I just realized that the only reason the writer quoted "one year" was so the PC people would not get all pissed at how behind they are.
Before anybody else craps all over Munster's "all-in-one" comment, they should keep a couple of things in mind.
Firstly, Munster is no ignoramus when it comes to Macs and its history.
Secondly, he is well qualified and thus well respected in his vocation. More so than many of those here.
And finally, read the statement in full, i.e., "iMac-LIKE- all-in-one desktop computers from Dell and Gateway, FOR EXAMPLE, are two instances of other device makers following Apple's lead." He didn't leave anything out and what he did say was absolutely accurate.
And by the way, the first all-in-one desktop was the HP 9830 introduced in 1972.
I still have my 1984 toaster box Macintosh. Still works! I am a software consultant specializing in the development of RIA using Adobe Flex and Java. I was on the curve of Client-Server with Powerbuilder, then moved into Java development with application server technolgies. All the while I owned at least one Mac. Each of my kids have iMac's and my wife has an iBook. When Apple finally converted from the Motorola chip to Intel, I was dancing in the street, bought the PowerBook, and gave away every single Dell computer running Windows I had. So I guess I like Mac's. Here is why.
They just work. I don't have to mess around at the OS level to do what I need to do. But if I have to, and sometimes I do, I am in Unix. Unix predates DOS by some 10 or 15 years.
I recommend Mac's to everyone. And everyone that has taken my advance has thanked me. Most have even upgraded to new Mac's.
As for the iPhone, I would have one today if they worked with Verizon. Apple's problem is not ingenuity it is their business sense. If the iPhone was available on every cell phone carrier, Samsung, LG and Motorola would have layoffs in their cell phone divisions.
The iPod has continually evolved since generation 1. Each generation has expanded on the previous functionality and capabilities.
Apple has now expanded the iPod functionality into the TV with AppleTV. My only wish is that they would incorporate a digital recorder with the device – like Tivo.
One of my old clients was Warner Music Group. We were looking at how to do digital downloads 8 years ago. Apple had been looking at this solution then as well, also looking at the issue was Real Audio. Microsoft was not a player in the digital rights game at the time.
In my 20 years of developing software using leading edge technology, I found that most "applications" are not stable until version 3. So what will the market look like when Apple 3.0 roles out?
While it is amusing that Gene Muster, an obvious Apple acolyte (rightly or wrongly, he BELIEVES in the company) sees CES in the backlighting of Apple, a simple look at the company's market share over the years serves to show that SOMETHING IS GOING ON HERE.
After a glorious start, bringing today's GUI to the masses (which it can be argued might never have occurred in the way it has without Apple (and Xerox) — just look back at Windows 1.0 or IBM's TopView to see the likely alternative directions), Apple slid steadily downhill in terms of market share, coincident with the steady stream of visionless and/or incompetent leaders that almost sank the company while Steve Jobs was out learning to be a proper visionary CEO (instead of a visionary idiot).
Upon the return of Jobs to Apple, at a time when it was on Death's doorstep (Gil Amelio was actively shopping the company, looking for someone to purchase it) and with a market share of less than one percent, things began to change. Apple got direction and focus, and began honing itself into the engine of sales revenue that it is today. If you map the growth in market share from the time of Jobs' return, you see a steady increase, with a few bobbles here and there when they made missteps that were promptly corrected. The trend is unmistakable.
Today they are the most profitable computer company in the world, in terms of profit margins, and are one of the top handful of companies in terms of market share, having climbed over the competition one by one.
THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT, especially against the tide of a near-complete Windows monopoly, with a uniformity of system and application software on all the competing machines. It simply does not happen by accident that a company on the verge of extinction grows its market share over a ten-fold multiple in about a decade.
And we're still in the early stages — look at how much of the PC market, let alone the rest of the consumer electronics market, that remains to be conquered.
I repeat, THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON HERE.
Er, Apple's first all-in-one computer was the Lisa, released in 1983, a year ahead of the Mac.
A history of the Lisa can be found here.
The Apple Lisa was all-in-one. Announced Jan 1983, predating the 128K Mac in 1984. The Sharp MZ-80K, 1979, and Commodore PET 2001, 1977, are all-in-one machines predating both.
Who came first? Well, my first "all-in-one" was a Heath H-89 (1979) 180k SS floppy, Amber 25×80 screen, CP/M OS, 16k memory. What a machine! (Of course I much prefer my Macbook).
I love the comments! Funny! This article is dead on in it's story intent… Apple is consistently setting the bar for the industry with technology and design. My goodness… CES is almost a joke in innovation yet everyone is on the edge of their seats to see what Apple has to say next week. Last year was the same… CES was "ho-hum" and MacWorld was "OMG look at that!" For what it's worth… next week is when the real "buzz" will be announced for 2008.
to Darrel
you are speaking right from my heart Apple is the best im their huge fan and never regret switching to mac. and who cares about market share does Ferrari or Aston Martin got the same market share as VW no because it'a higher class and apparently not everybody has it. and steve is just the greatest!!!! that'it
Quote from Troy:
"Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one. I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago."
Not true at all. Apple has made all-in-one computers since the first Mac ever released, the Mac 128K in 1984, 24 years ago. Even the LISA, released the year prior, was an all-in-one. Furthermore,
Apple released many more all-in-one models since then. Most notably the iMac, which was introduced in 1998, 10 years ago.
Steve Jobs has long been a believer in the all-in-one, consumer friendly computer.
…keep dreaming windows users.
Yes Microsoft is on a roll…and if the stock quadruples in price, it will catch up with Apple stock prices. Analysts are predicting that apple will eclipse microsoft's over all value within 10 years if not less. My money is guessing less. Can't fool people forever!
hey hey the very first macintosh was all in one and that was in 1984 so get your facts straight dude
Someone else needs to get his facts straight, Apple's first all-in-one desktop computer was the Mac 512, in 1986. I think that is a little while before Dell, Gateway or any of the other PC companies even existed!
I agree with you Tom. Apple is one of the most forward looking companies ever created! Their OS is unbelievable and the ingenuity and flexibility of the iPhone and iPhone OS is FAR better then any Win Mobile device (only someone who has never used an iPhone or is still in the "I can never say anything good about Apple" camp could disagree with that). Furthermore may I note to Troy that while All-In-One designs like the "Gateway Profile" he mentions have been around for some time now Apple did pioneer the idea of All-In-One and were the first to successfully sell an All-In-One machine. The iMac was debuted in 1997 (far before the Profile) and thats not to mention the now ancient and extinct but definitely Apple's first (successful) All-In-One – the Mac Original (1984). Oh and before and Len before you comment on Apple stock "tanking" you might want to check the stock reports – go back maybe a year and see if you want to say that Apple's stock is really "tanking" then. Apple is ahead of the game and I expect great things from them at Macworld '08.
Re: 'Profile' all-in-one… I bought a Mac LC575 in 1994 that's an all-in-one…it was preceded by the LC520 and an all-black MacTV (also an all-one that came out around the same time)…14 years ago.
"Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one. I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago."
Are you serious? the very first iMac was released in 1998. And the first Mac all-in-one was the original Macintosh in 1984. Oh yeah… Gateway came WELL BEFORE with its Profile 5 years ago…!
And it's "fantasy" not "fantacy". As in "who's living in a fantasy?".
@Troy,
Come on man!
"Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one. I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago."
Was that a joke? The first Mac ever announced was an "all-in-one" to be technical. The original iMac came out in 1998 (more than 5 years ago).
If your are going to post, get your facts straight!
Its sometimes more fun to read the comments than the stories, especially the part about market share. 92% wow. I think Apple should just give up! Windows lovers out there would never have to learn how to use a better computer.
Yea, and Apple stock is the only own tanking…
Micro$oft and the likes are riding high on the stock market now.
To troy-
I use both PC and Mac – Mac run better… Vista is horrible…
the gateway pc was a bite on the original imac….
lay off the coffee – Bill
Good Call Tom! Its also worth mentioning reliability. Microsoft unwillingness to enter the PC hardware world is a surprise. Windows simply doesn't work because it is let down by having to cope with an infinite amount of hardware configurations it has to deal with! You'd think that they would want to highlight this by producing a machine that is the solution to this problem. Maybe there is more to Windows problems than having to deal with the different configurations and they don't want to lose their fall back excuse!
WAKE UP NEO – I am so glad that Apple doesn't pay any attention to "analysts" or techie bloggers. Apparently, Apple actually pays attention to what their customers want/need and surprisingly enough – delivers, stable, secure, attractive products that are reasonably priced. "Wake up Windows Users – the Matrix has you!" My story is simple – I'm 42 years old, and currently run a technical consulting company. I have been using Windows/OS professionally since 1991. 18 months ago, and in the middle of major proposal – my 2 year old XP machine died on me. After several days of fruitless tech support, I decided to save what files I could and move to my sons Mac Mini ( PPC ). It turned out to be the best day of my computing life! Shortly there after, I purchased a Mac Book Pro ( Intel ) and effortlessly ported my user environment to my new machine. It couldn't have been any simpler or more flawless. Since then my Mac has ALWAYS exceeded my expectations in every way over my Windows experience. By my own conservative calculation I have SAVED 1 hour a week in time that I have not had to devote to crashes, viruses, software problems, tech support calls, etc all due to OSX and Apples rock solid hardware. That's at least 52 hours of massive frustration and non-productivity that I have avoided thanks to Steve Jobs and Apple's Engineers just giving a damn about little old me and working real hard to make my computing experience better and better. My Mac Book Pro is slightly more than a year old. If you offered to give me a top of the line HP/ or Dell Vista laptop with all the bells and whistles today – with the only condition being that I had to only use that Vista machine for one year – my answer would simply be – NO. Even if you threw in an ADDITIONAL $1000 dollars cash to do what I wished with but with the same condition of not using anything but Vista for a Year. My Answer would still be NO. It is literally true that you couldn't PAY me to switch back to Windows. Thank you Apple
Envy Gene "Ecosystem" Munster – covering the object of one's worship and desire is a true "labour of love"!
this Apple zealot lives in fantacy world. It is right that Windows is the only non-Unix OS, but it has more than 92% market share!!! Microsoft does not want to get into the hardware area by design, but still you can do so many more things with Windows Mobile than you can do with iPhone. Also, the article misses that there had been several PCs in the past, well before the iMac that offered an all-in-one. I had one from Gateway (called Profile) more than 5 years ago.
The more the stock tanks the more Apple 2.0 spams the financial news with outlandish forward looking statement.
How thinly veiled…
A lot more than a year, actually. Apple is at least 10 years ahead of MSFT in OS technology. Windows is the ONLY widely used OS that still isn't UNIX-based and, thus; has has unsolvable performance and security issues. Win Mobile has been out– what?– 6-7 years and it's nothing like the iPhone. There are no emerging competitors in the MP3 player space. And Apple may well own the downloadable MOVIE space before anyone realizes. Look at how clueless Apple's competitors are. AMZN's Unbox movies don't even play on portable devices. Walmart just gave up on downloadable movies, and Netflix is feverishly– but incompetantly– trying to get into the game.
Retarded in San Diego?IF you owned Apple stock, you just told everyone how stupid and ignorant you are. Write this down…. Some day I will own a MAC.