WriterGuy's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/66593/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/136913-sorry-rupert-micropayments-mean-microprofits?source=feed#comment-500624 500624
You're right to look at Apple, but the equivalent isn't iTunes, it's the iPhone App Store. People are discovering you can make a LOT of money selling apps that cost less than a buck, as long as you sell a lot of 'em. I recently cancelled my WSJ subscription because it was getting too pricey, and I've been enjoying my free access on my iPhone. But I wouldn't mind paying, say, a quarter for every story I read, or even a reasonable flat monthly fee ($2.99?) for unlimited access.

For every person who would give up their expensive annual subscriptions there may be 100 who would love to access the Journal's business and marketing coverage, if the price was right.]]> Tue, 12 May 2009 12:33:22 -0400
You're right to look at Apple, but the equivalent isn't iTunes, it's the iPhone App Store. People are discovering you can make a LOT of money selling apps that cost less than a buck, as long as you sell a lot of 'em. I recently cancelled my WSJ subscription because it was getting too pricey, and I've been enjoying my free access on my iPhone. But I wouldn't mind paying, say, a quarter for every story I read, or even a reasonable flat monthly fee ($2.99?) for unlimited access.

For every person who would give up their expensive annual subscriptions there may be 100 who would love to access the Journal's business and marketing coverage, if the price was right.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/110690-nintendo-wii-facing-the-inevitable?source=feed#comment-330012 330012
Just like the lack of a radio "doomed" the iPod to failure, right?

There's a reason you STILL can't find a Wii in most stores: people love them, even people who don't like traditional video games. Get over it. Even better? No "red ring of death" on the Wii.]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:15:07 -0500
Just like the lack of a radio "doomed" the iPod to failure, right?

There's a reason you STILL can't find a Wii in most stores: people love them, even people who don't like traditional video games. Get over it. Even better? No "red ring of death" on the Wii.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/97083-9-feature-comparisons-g1-vs-iphone?source=feed#comment-263730 263730
It's like those Feature Comparison Charts about MP3 players that show the iPod down in the middle of the pack, yet the iPod completely dominates the market. It's not cause Apple's "cool," it's because the user experience, including seamless interaction with iTunes software on the desktop, makes extra "features" irrelevant. I still remember all the articles that said the iPod would fail without an FM radio.

Going feature-to-feature with the iPhone is simply having the wrong discussion.]]> Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:13:05 -0400
It's like those Feature Comparison Charts about MP3 players that show the iPod down in the middle of the pack, yet the iPod completely dominates the market. It's not cause Apple's "cool," it's because the user experience, including seamless interaction with iTunes software on the desktop, makes extra "features" irrelevant. I still remember all the articles that said the iPod would fail without an FM radio.

Going feature-to-feature with the iPhone is simply having the wrong discussion.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/67825-apple-s-10-million-iphone-target?source=feed#comment-124758 124758 Sounds like you've never touch the iPhone. Because if you think Jobs took cell phone users for granted, I can't imagine what Blackberry, Treo and Nokia think of their users, with their overly complicated, underpowered phones. Apple doesn't sell luxury goods. Apple sells high-quality products at a fair price, and is often a value leader when total cost of ownership is considered. My wife has a Sidekick, purchased before the iPhone was available, so it's been easy for me to compare the two. Unfortunately, there IS no comparison. Stop bashing Apple for the sake of bashing them, and look objectively. You might be surprised.]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:57:46 -0400 Sounds like you've never touch the iPhone. Because if you think Jobs took cell phone users for granted, I can't imagine what Blackberry, Treo and Nokia think of their users, with their overly complicated, underpowered phones. Apple doesn't sell luxury goods. Apple sells high-quality products at a fair price, and is often a value leader when total cost of ownership is considered. My wife has a Sidekick, purchased before the iPhone was available, so it's been easy for me to compare the two. Unfortunately, there IS no comparison. Stop bashing Apple for the sake of bashing them, and look objectively. You might be surprised.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/67693-apple-s-new-iphone-applications-no-threat-to-rim-s-blackberry?source=feed#comment-124286 124286 Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:42:58 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/41062-apple-stores-restock-iphone-buzz-booms-back?source=feed#comment-91204 91204
No one who knows anything about Apple takes Mr. Dvorak seriously. I used to admire his work, but that was 20 years ago. He's more of a shill for Microsoft these days than a true analyst. Whether or not he "recognizes" Apple's success with the iPhone isn't important; the fact that they (apparently) sold a million phones in a week is.]]> Sun, 15 Jul 2007 13:20:54 -0400
No one who knows anything about Apple takes Mr. Dvorak seriously. I used to admire his work, but that was 20 years ago. He's more of a shill for Microsoft these days than a true analyst. Whether or not he "recognizes" Apple's success with the iPhone isn't important; the fact that they (apparently) sold a million phones in a week is.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/39986-mixing-my-opinion-into-the-iphone-stew?source=feed#comment-90286 90286
Have pundits like you learned absolutely no lessons from the success of the iPod? You can't simply compare feature vs. feature, since the user interface itself is Apple's greatest strength; users will pay a premium for a device that works first time, every time; that this is not a "fashionista" device, but a device that stays in fashion simply because it's so good as the function it was designed for.

The time for FUD ended about 6:30pm last Friday. Get with it. The rules HAVE changed. You should be focused on figuring out which hand-held manufacturers are going to be out of business in a year. And my list starts with the Treo.]]> Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:53:42 -0400
Have pundits like you learned absolutely no lessons from the success of the iPod? You can't simply compare feature vs. feature, since the user interface itself is Apple's greatest strength; users will pay a premium for a device that works first time, every time; that this is not a "fashionista" device, but a device that stays in fashion simply because it's so good as the function it was designed for.

The time for FUD ended about 6:30pm last Friday. Get with it. The rules HAVE changed. You should be focused on figuring out which hand-held manufacturers are going to be out of business in a year. And my list starts with the Treo.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/39551-what-does-the-iphone-teach-us-about-technology?source=feed#comment-89907 89907
I'm not lining up to get the iPhone this weekend, just because lining up for a product is wide distribution is pretty silly to me. But I will own one before the end of the year.]]> Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:19:16 -0400
I'm not lining up to get the iPhone this weekend, just because lining up for a product is wide distribution is pretty silly to me. But I will own one before the end of the year.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/35621-the-iphone-apple-s-first-flop?source=feed#comment-86308 86308
While I haven't seen or touched the iPhone yet, neither has Todd Sullivan. Which makes everything he says more than merely suspect. It makes it worthless.]]> Wed, 16 May 2007 12:42:39 -0400
While I haven't seen or touched the iPhone yet, neither has Todd Sullivan. Which makes everything he says more than merely suspect. It makes it worthless.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/31772-is-apple-beginning-its-long-delayed-descent?source=feed#comment-83892 83892
But for a guy named Ashkan Karbasfrooshan to complain about the NAME of a tech support person? "Hello pot, calling kettle."]]> Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:13:10 -0400
But for a guy named Ashkan Karbasfrooshan to complain about the NAME of a tech support person? "Hello pot, calling kettle."]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/31873-8-reasons-apple-iphone-will-succeed-and-8-reasons-it-will-fail?source=feed#comment-83891 83891 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:06:14 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/30532-apple-tv-picture-quality-is-not-good-enough-for-me?source=feed#comment-83034 83034 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:46:07 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/30457-apple-tv-arriving-just-in-time-to-give-consumers-what-they-want?source=feed#comment-83012 83012
I have one problem with Apple TV: the lack of closed captions. There is no way to access the closed captioning information on any downloaded programming via the Apple iTunes store. And nothing I've read says the caption information is passed through to the TV set when using AppleTV. There are at least 30 million Americans who rely on closed-captions to enjoy movies and television, including deaf, hard-of-hearing and ESL audiences -- and my wife. Until this issue is addressed, I can't fully endorse the product, as much as I'd love to.]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:10:59 -0400
I have one problem with Apple TV: the lack of closed captions. There is no way to access the closed captioning information on any downloaded programming via the Apple iTunes store. And nothing I've read says the caption information is passed through to the TV set when using AppleTV. There are at least 30 million Americans who rely on closed-captions to enjoy movies and television, including deaf, hard-of-hearing and ESL audiences -- and my wife. Until this issue is addressed, I can't fully endorse the product, as much as I'd love to.]]>