peter02l

Apple Musings: Disappointing Disappointment

"I haven't had time to have super deep thoughts yet on the conference today, ... "

And it really shows!

Microsoft: Whistling in the Dark

" Microsoft works fine as a monopoly and it has been skilled in maintaining its monopoly with intelligent and innovative monopolistic practices."

A great way to put it.

Back to School on the Cheap: Another Round of Mac vs. PC

"We do not, say, like Apple, believe in low volume, very high prices"

They believe in high volume, very high prices. Why is Microsoft WIndows OS so much more expensive?

Back to School on the Cheap: Another Round of Mac vs. PC

I didn’t get my free iPod Touch with the purchase of a new iMac from Apple - but we weren’t necessarily looking to buy an iPod Touch either ..., it just felt like we’d be spending money today that we really didn’t want to spend.

You just said it's free!

Microsoft May Be Able to Halt Apple's Music Monopoly

Microsoft's estimate of $30000 or 30000 songs that they say it takes to fill the 120 GB iPod is wrong. Those numbers are based on pre-iTunes Plus music. It should be $15000 or 15000 songs. Now, does that mean that Zune music is 128 bit?

Does Palm's Pre Have Anything on the iPhone or Storm?

On May 12 11:33 AM Marco Hickey wrote:

> Okay, I apologize for making a couple of typo's... Instablogging
> at 2:30 AM certainly has its downfalls. My article was aimed at getting
> the opinion of the readers... I think if the webOS is a success,
> Palm will have an iPhone competitor in no time... What good does
> it do to get so angry? ;-)

Do you realize how silly your statement is?

"I think if the webOS is a success, Palm will have an iPhone competitor in no time... "

For the WebOS to be a success - as it is only available on the Palm Pre - Pre must sell very well, with sales rivaling the iPhone.

There are other factors that determine whether Pre will sell well however: Will there be a viable infrastructure for putting music and video content on the Pre? Will there be enough developers writing applications and will there be an easy way to purchase and install them? I know there will only be web apps, but how can you monetize them? Developers want to sell their apps. Also, will people dump their Blackberries and iPhones and switch to Sprint?

Palm has enough cash to last a few more months, perhaps not even to the end of 2009. If this thing doesn't sell like hot cakes, they will be in major trouble since they have already given up on all their other products. Pre has to sell at least a couple of million in the next six months for Palm to return to the market share and the revenue they had just two years ago. I think that's a tall order, especially in this economic condition.

By the way RIM is the big dog here. Why does everyone uses Apple as the yardstick.

Does Palm's Pre Have Anything on the iPhone or Storm?

It's attitudes like this author's that run most companies to the ground. Apple doesn't sell a trend. It sells a product that has painstakingly been designed for utility, simple operation, and elegance. It is very hard to make the right compromises for a product to be successful. On top of all that, Apple has taken care to make the negotiations necessary and to build the infrastructure for selling content in a simple straightforward and relatively inexpensive manner. Too much has gone into the iPod and iPhone to simply call them trends.

And if you think having a bimbo handle a product will mean success in the marketplace, I really feel sorry for the guy who takes your advice.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn in the War for Mobile Developers

"The App Store has a lot of me-too applications so the competition is fierce."

The only me-too applications on Windows Mobile store will be from Microsoft.


Here is the latest innovation from Microsoft:

www.electronista.com/a.../

Microsoft put the best minds in the business to design it.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn in the War for Mobile Developers

"developer relations are Microsoft’s real secret sauce anyway."

Like stringing them along for years over new technologies that never materialize. Like waiting to see you develop a market and then moving in to take over it.

Who Will Win the Home Entertainment Battle?

You forgot to tell us how your mom likes her XBoxes.

Apple-Microsoft Ad Wars Heat Up Again

To illustrate the effectiveness of Apple's advertising, consider that Apple's ads are generally serve to differentiate it from other PC manufacturers. So you should really compare against ad budgets of Dell, hp, Toshiba, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, etc. in addition to Microsoft's. In that light, Apple advertising is tremendously successful.

Apple-Microsoft Ad Wars Heat Up Again

Still, Microsoft's SG&A is 5 over times Apple's. So Apple is spending less than 20% of MS but with much better effect. I don't know how much goes toward ads but 10% does seem unreasonable. Microsoft's $350 million budget for their new round of ads represents about 2%. I seriously doubt Apple is spending $350 million (10% of their SG&A) on advertising. Since 2% represents an increase in Microsoft's new ad push, my guess is Apple spends about $50 million which is still a lot of money.

Another Salvo in the Apple vs. Microsoft Ad War

You won't find a mac user claiming he is a mac, apart from the actor playing the part.

Another Salvo in the Apple vs. Microsoft Ad War

If you are a PC, you are not a human being, or wear headbands, or wear glasses. PCs don't study the law nor do they challenge the law.

Consortium To Standardize Digital Rights Management, Take On Apple

DRM is one thing, the digital format is another, but more important issue. As long as movies are available in a non-propriety good quality format, Apple will be happy to use their standard. That is, as long as microsoft can't embrace and extend it.