Mac'em X

Microsoft Understands Making Money the Hard Way - Earning It

There are some interesting points in the article, Joel, and overall nothing wrong. Except for the title. Other than the passing comment that Windows 7 isn't so bad (compared to the reviled Vista, presumably), there's not a single note to suggest that Microsoft does (or doesn't) understand making money the hard way (or any other way). Did the part of the article about Microsoft get cut out somehow?

Do Mac and Windows Users Read Blogs Differently?

"Do Mac and Windows Users Read Blogs Differently?"

Yes. Windows users move their lips.

(Ba-dump-ching. Just a joke, all.)

Seriously, the data is interesting, yet not surprising. I have no doubt that Mac users will on average be heavier users of new services. I think the reason's simple: They're highly represented by individual purchasers who chose the Mac on their own, and have the freedom to use it how they like. Whereas while many Windows users will also fit a similarly independent profile, many, many more Window users will be using a machine chosen, owned, and managed by an organization, with accordingly less freedom of use.

That's not a dispersion on the Windows users, just an obvious nod to the platform's overwhelmingly huge presence in corporate deployments and other managed organizational settings.

Microsoft's Windows 7 Is a Threat to Linux - But Watch Out for Google

@Fritzair: "You all rejected Vista because it was too much and too soon"

Huh? Of every 100 comments about Vista I've heard, about... oh, 100... have said that it was too little and too late.

Apple's Leap from Mediocre to Marvelous

I hear you, mollytjm, on the claim that IT people resist Macs because Macs need less IT support... but then again, if IT people prefer high-maintenance products, shouldn't Vista be riding a wave of IT love, not shunned and shut out?

Apple's Leap from Mediocre to Marvelous

Yikes, look at that mess at the end... A couple of my sentences should read:

...when it's time to plunk down...

...concepts of 'productivity', 'value', and 'bang for the buck'.

Apple's Leap from Mediocre to Marvelous

gmel, as someone who actually buys Apple products, and is surrounded by so many people doing the same, I have to disagree. "Emotion" might have its moment when people watch commercials or waste time in forums, but when it times to plunk down a hard-earned grand or two, people lose "emotion" and become hard-nosed realists. Really fast.

Maybe it's different with some college kids – I wouldn't know – but among the people I see buying Macs, the sale is pretty much centered around the concepts of "productivity", "value", and "bang for the buck".

Just another subjective observation, FWIW.

Apple's Leap from Mediocre to Marvelous

Wow. I'm all behind the *title* of the article – but the rest of the Apple history is so off-target.

The "secret" behind Apple's surge is great products. Marketing and sales forces provide nothing here but a little tail wind. (Case in point: a growing Apple presence in enterprise, despite all observations that the company's enterprise-oriented marketing and sales force amount to diddly in the industry's bucket of squat.)

Any discussion of iPod success that misses out on the "whole integrated experience" of iPod + iTunes has really missed the boat. (Quick tip for anyone seeking to write on the topic of iPod success: your ratio of "iPod" and "iTunes" usage should be close to 1:1.)

Likewise, the Mac's resurgence is almost entirely a story of Apple's relentlessly building a better product than the competition over the last 10 years. Not marketing, not sales force, not "cool", not "cult", none of that. Simply a far better product, one whose superiority all the Vista and Dell and HP marketing just can't hide.

Sorry, gotta file this story under "way off the mark".

Google's New 'App Engine': Why Microsoft Should be Shaking in Its Boots

Interesting article, but one nit to pick: "The ubiquitous Macintosh was the only computer you’d find in offices, schools and homes."

Not remotely true. Macs were never close to being a majority platform; in its heyday, Apple's share of the US PC market peaked at around 20%, if what I've heard is correct. Always a minority.

(So far. : )