Dan Poarch

Steve Jobs Presents Apple's Green IT Strategy; Blasts Dell, HP

You know, my brother is as green as they get and he refuses to use Macs for some crazy reason. I feel like Greenpeace is in the same boat. They know their ilk are Mac users so they rebel against themselves to create a buzz. If Greenpeace were smart, they'd work out a partnership with Apple and go after Dell, HP etc.

Instead, as with most of left-wing brethren, they think it's more effective to shoot oneself in the foot and cry for gun control than to tackle an issue head-on, work hard and be aggressive and tactical. Whoa... is this a soap box I'm standing on... My apologies...

Why Apple's Mac ASPs Are Likely To Climb - At Lenovo's And Dell's Expense

Enjoy your Mac. It's the new Darkside. ; )

Could a Dell/Apple Partnership Work?

I have to coattail here on the consumer experience tip. The post I'm responding to is absolutely on point.

It is completely unnoticed that Apple launched their stores in the shadow of Gateway's udder failure in the retail market. They were on the wrong teat. Think about Apple's strategy. Libraries aren't organized based on book height or binding width. They're organized based on a reader's [user's] needs. I know a library might feel like a long stretch for a consumer experience metaphor but think about it, computers are about information access.

Technology companies that think about technology more than user experience are doomed to fail. When computers were cool for computers' sake you could make a case for marketing chips or OS capabilities. Now it's about experience and a 15GB Vista install is an insanely bad experience. Michael Dell drinks the stale Kool-Aid and discovered that he doesn't like the taste way too late.

FWIW: I looked at every laptop screen on the Amtrak from DC to Baltimore tonight and do you know what I saw on 5 of 5 [no exaggeration, 5 of 5] Windows screens? iTunes. So even when people are using a PC, they're experiencing Apple.

Could a Dell/Apple Partnership Work?

Well, with all due respect, you need to be more aware of the Apple/Dell history. When asked in 1997 what he would do with Apple, he said, "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." Admittedly, Apple was in a tough spot in 1997, but it had potential [clearly]. Perhaps this was just competitive bravado, but it's emblematic of his lack of vision.

As well, Dell makes horrible hardware. I could make a longer lasting PC with off-the-shelf electronics and LEGO bricks. They are nothing more than the market-leader in the consumer PC cul-du-sac. A feedback chamber of more oblique options, less quality, that features the overwhelming-website-a... Sorry to be so critical, but I'm convinced that the desktop market will collapse when it's discovered that the PC industry is in a self-destructive race to the bottom. This won't be good for any of us.

How Michael Dell could do anything for Apple, without licking Steve Jobs' boots first, I don't know. They are just plain incompatible. Even Steve's love of surprises isn't enough to tempt him, in my humble opinion.