Sonia Mirza

Microsoft vs. Apple: Monopolist vs. Innovator

True Re: the Apple shopping experience in KoP - had to get an iPhone and was completely astonished by the willingness to help. Made me want to buy a Mac :)




On Mar 31 08:56 AM mollytjm wrote:

> it's not just that Apple consumers are better educated (though by
> % as a group, they are) or friendlier...hard to gauge that except
> that the staff in the Apple stores are VERY warm and friendly...and
> smart.
> But Apple always wrote very tight code making for fewer holes for
> the hacker to explore. probably because Microsoft had such a big
> platform to write for, all their programs are bloated and messy,
> even the ones that work very well. This makes it easier to hack.
>
>
> There is another difference...the attitude at Apple...they actually
> really like their customers and want to keep them happy.
> I've used the big King of Prussia Mall Apple store since it's first
> day and have never encountered a surly, crabby or arrogant staff
> person...not in sales or tech. Obviously there are no perfect people
> on the planet, so there must be some working for Apple... but as
> much as Apple was exclusive about it's OS, it has always been inclusive
> about it's customers and users. To Apple, if you use their products,
> there's no 'them and us'...it's just 'us'.
>
> It's hard to explain this, but you feel it. When my PC friend asked
> me to take her to the Apple store for her first iPod, she was so
> astonished at the level of service. When we left she said 'i LOVE
> it in there!'. Apple just knows how to do it better than anyone else
> which explains why they have the most profitable retail space per
> square foot in the country.
> Long APPL

Fast Money Recap - A Trader's Market (3/13/09)

"Pete Najarian comments it is a traders market, whether bullish or bearish."

Does this add any value? Reminds me of a rally I saw in Africa where someone asked which direction the cars would come from and received the response "I believe they will come from the left, or the right".

Apple, Google: Avoiding the Overvaluation Trap

I doubt the author was stating that GOOG or AAPL are overvalued right now. His point was rather that they 'may or may not be'...you decide. Just make sure to include all factors (fundamental+mkt changing innovation - ie factors not traditionally quantified/recognized in val calx) in your valuations rather than depending on 1 media celeb stating "it's a good co, own it" a la kramer.