Comments on: Mac sales bottomed out in February, says analyst

By: BuhBah, LV, NV

BuhBah, LV, NV — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:58:56 +0000

Posted By Steve Klopp, Houston, Texas : March 11, 2009 11:03 am

…

You see I have a 16 year old daughter. In 6 months she has destroyed 2 Mac books and a touch screen Ipod. None of which was really her fault (her cat bit the edge of her screen when it was trying to get petted) but none the less resulted in $4,000 worth of junk. At the same time her friends Dell was eaten by their Lab. It was fully covered under warranty. I love Apples, I just can’t afford them anymore.

Maybe your kids aren't responsible enough to be given a delicate laptop. Delicate because all it takes to destroy one is a 3 foot drop to the pavement. I know your daughter's Macbook was chewed on by a cat and Apple rightly did not cover this damage because it has nothing to do with the laptop's performance in normal use. You can always get your home insurance to cover these type of accidental damages.

I gave my then 6 year-old daughter an old iBook and so far, after almost 3 years, (she is now 9) it still works and in one piece.

By: PaddyReagan, Naples, Florida

PaddyReagan, Naples, Florida — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:22:57 +0000

It's a dreadful chart, to be sure. But it's measuring sales growth! To obtain a clearer picture of this "bottoming out" process, use February 2007 as a comparative base with 1,000 units sold (for illustrative purposes only). In February, 2008, sales increased to 1,700 units. Then, in 2009, only 1,530 units were sold. In the midst of the worst economic downturn in memory, sales were 53% over the base year with no new hardware in the product mix. I'm sure Dell and HP would love to see such numbers!

By: PaddyReagan, Naples, Florida

PaddyReagan, Naples, Florida — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:22:57 +0000

By: Brian, Columbus Ohio

Brian, Columbus Ohio — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:21:42 +0000

Really, what good does it do to compare year-over-year numbers at this point. The reality is month-to-month is the real trend to watch now that the baseline for everyone has been reset.

By: Brian, Columbus Ohio

Brian, Columbus Ohio — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:21:42 +0000

Really, what good does it do to compare year-over-year numbers at this point. The reality is month-to-month is the real trend to watch now that the baseline for everyone has been reset.

By: Steve Klopp, Houston, Texas

Steve Klopp, Houston, Texas — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:03:09 +0000

I love Apples but they don't love me. I have owned many Macs and a few Apple IIs. I was even one of the few Lisa owners. Now we have to part company. They are just too delicate. You see I have a 16 year old daughter. In 6 months she has destroyed 2 Mac books and a touch screen Ipod. None of which was really her fault (her cat bit the edge of her screen when it was trying to get petted) but none the less resulted in $4,000 worth of junk. At the same time her friends Dell was eaten by their Lab. It was fully covered under warranty. I love Apples, I just can't afford them anymore.

By: Steve Klopp, Houston, Texas

Steve Klopp, Houston, Texas — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:03:09 +0000

By: Asher Pat, London

Asher Pat, London — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:39:55 +0000

Hey wait, haven't the Mac sales “bottomed-out” also in November 2008? Just look at the chart!

Engaging in “Technical Analysis” is always a hopeless task, whether for predicting the direction of stock prices, Mac sales figures or the level of the next wave on a beach. That is what Munster does and it is pathetic, just as is his attempts to cheer-lead Apple. Note that I have not said that he wants to cheer-lead AAPL, even though if someone predicts $180 per share in real terms, they must be either delusional or insincere. In the case of Munster, this may be both, though I don’t claim that he does it for monetary gain, rather, because subconsciously, he is afraid that Apple will not survive (the nightmares of mid-90s) and he cheer-leads the price of AAPL to make sure Apple “survives” and he adds to it by drooling over Apple products and their potential.

On the risk of being moderated by Philip, I think that he should consider modifying the motto of this column. After all, it implies that he should be critical of the cult-like adulation of Apple. Not necessarily of Apple products, that are very good, probably have the best physical design etc. No, I mean the motto implies that Philip should be ruthlessly sarcastic to people like Gene (“Ecosystem”) Munster and Shaw (“Corporate DNA”) Wu who are self-appointed priests of the Apple cult. I can't understand how their employers pay them, these guys should (and I am sure that they would) pay their employers to cover Apple, the subject of their almost religious zeal. Look at the “Technology” area on the main page of CNNfn – although as I write this, it is unusually Apple-free, usually about 3 out of 5 (and sometimes 4 out of five) links are Apple related. I have nothing against Apple but I do like pointing out the obvious that no-one sees – how can it be that Apple, with miniscule weight in the broad technology arena gets this kind of promotion, for free from the media? This is not because journalists and editors are long AAPL, this is because they are happily “inside” the “field”. Philip?

By: Asher Pat, London

Asher Pat, London — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:39:55 +0000

Hey wait, haven't the Mac sales “bottomed-out” also in November 2008? Just look at the chart!

By: Jon Walsh, Chicago, IL

Jon Walsh, Chicago, IL — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:57:30 +0000

OS X 10.5.6 is Linux based? In that case you haven't been into IBM PC "for decades", possibly "decades ago"… There's nothing IBMish about PCs these days….

Tell you what, MAc is great, bit pricey, but great, lasts for ages, there are still people out there using G2-3s and feeling absolutely happy about that.

There's no surprise in this drop, it's all this bloody recession. It'll come back. If Palm won't take over with it's Pre…

PS. For more iPhone related news pls check out: http://www.iphone2die4.com