tommylee

The Mac vs. PC Debate Was Never Clearer

What I don't get is this whole debate about Apple and PC's. On who is better, what is the better technology and who is cheaper? I thought Seeking alpha was about Money and Stocks. I guess I'm on the wrong website. To me this debate is completely futile and childish since performance on the bottom line, earnings per share and the "health" of performance on the financial levels is what should count.

Clearly, Apple has the inside track, since it is delivering what shareholders like to see most. An innovative company that delivers an outstanding performance with stunning margins in a slumping economy is in my book the clear winner. Nothing more nothing less.

Case closed.

Looks Like We're Still a BlackBerry Nation

I respectfully disagree, because iPhone and Blackberry are not competitors. There is nothing competing with the iPhone, since there is nothing out there with the exception of the android and maybe the Palm Pre (although for the Palm Pre to even have a chance to survive the next couple of months it clearly has to be better, not equal, than the iPhone). We all know that when the Palm pre was presented it had some comparative edge to the iPhone, which the iPhone 3.0 has since already erased and then some.

The reason why a comparison of the iPhone and RIMM products is "accepted" is because people would like to put them in the same market since that is the only way they can fathom/understand the product. Even Apple is guilty of that by calling it in first instance a "smartphone".

It's like comparing a donkey and a Roll Royce. Both are transportation, but to put them in the same league because of "Shared Market" would be undermining my intelligence. A Market segment is defined by point of utilization. Collectively we have not yet defined what "point of utilization" is for the iPhone but for the same reason we could not put the faxmachine in the same league with the phone some 20 odd years ago, we cannot just for lack of better understanding of its capabilities, state it's a phone. Because if that would be true than i can imagine that the iPhone has an equal "shared market" with xBox, playstation and nintendo, yet nobody has put them into that equation.


On Apr 26 11:17 AM Mac'em X wrote:

> @tommylee: "...I don't understand why analysts keep on insisting
> to draw an analogy between RIMM and Apple or any other phone maker
> for that matter. They are simply not in the same league."
>
> Perhaps so - "same league" is a subjective term - but the products
> are in the same market, and analogies related to their shared market
> are understandable.
>
> I prefer the iPhone and agree with you that it'll take the lead,
> for reasons including those you mention. But making comparisons between
> it and competitors is valid (and will remain valid even when the
> iPhone is firmly on top. : )

Looks Like We're Still a BlackBerry Nation

I don't understand that people still call the iPhone a "smartphone". It's not, it is a computer with phone capabilities. Furthermore I don't understand why analysts keep on insisting to draw an analogy between RIMM and Apple or any other phone maker for that matter. They are simply not in the same league. Apple is creating a business platform that is homogeneous and uses one OS across the board thus positioning all its product lines to be seamlessly operable. Any qwerty phone (buttons), smart or not, has no future whatsoever. Same goes for TDMA, it has no future, it is at its end of its life cycle. And the multi-touch will only get better, the release of iPhone 3.0 and the release of OSX Snowleopard is imminent.

The Snowleopard Server is going to elegantly kill the windows exchange server need to provide SSL proxy security on every level from e-mail, to iCal, address book server, wiki and secure online payment processing at a pricepoint of $3800 for unlimited users while the corporate world is paying Microsoft some $30,000 per 100 users.

Now think twice before making statements like: iPhone may only serve a certain segment of the market. Once the dust settles with the introduction of the snowleopard server software, the corporate approval of iPhone will skyrocket signing the death warrant on RIMM, PRE and other unwieldly "smartphone" providers.

Oh did I mention that the coupe d'etat will be when the iPhone goes multi-lingual? Like in... you talk to the chinese in english and they hear your voice in Mandarin and talk to you back in Mandarin and you hear their voice in english?
Think that is far off? Think again and if you need confirmation look at the Apple job opening list if you get a chance!

Who Will Win the Smartphone Wars?

I agree with "veteran of the biz". software beat hardware any day of the week. But Steve Jobs was absolutely correct when he quoted Alan Kay (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...) who said some 30 years ago at the introduction of the iPhone:

"People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware".

Another Kay quote exemplifies what makes Apple stand out above the "smartphone" crowd:

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

My prediction that will blow all other competitors out of the market:
"OSX snowleopard introducing: "On the fly language translation into 20 some languages". I may start out as a bit crude but eventually will set the new standards in smartphone technology...

Apple’s iPhone App Refund Policies Unfair to Developers

Johnty, I'm a European Citizen and I can assure you that 90 days policy of return is in line as well as the "retail clause" Apple has put in place since consumer protection of online sales is probably more strict than in the US but on the other hand leverages the "opportunity provider" to charge for marketing, branding and "restocking" since it is NOT the producer of the product but it "merely" provides a service. You should read-up on "retail clauses" before making statements that Apple should take some responsibility.

No wonder the country US of A is in trouble, because no one wants to take responsibility but likes to put that in the hand of the retailer. You buy a faulty product like a GM truck, who do you go after to get your money back or at least some compensation: The Dealer or The company that produced it?

Get real.... and welcome to the real world.


On Mar 27 09:34 AM Johnty wrote:

> I don't know how you can reason in that way. Apple is the seller
> of the application,m therefore bears some responsibility in testing
> it for 'fitness for use/purpose' before releasing it on their own
> sales website.
>
> I think that it's a great way of reducing the number of developers
> working on making the iPhone a very cool applications platform..
>
>
> If the application is not fit for use, then a purchaser should get
> a full refund, however, i don't see why a 'change of mind should
> entitle a purchaser to a free refund (possibly the equivalent of
> a re-stocking fee could be taken to cover Apple's costs.. I certainly
> don't see how Apple could have a right to retain it's commission
> when a product has been returned. I wouldn't be surprised this type
> of clause would be found to be unfair and unenforceable in Europe...
>
>
>
>

Apple’s iPhone App Refund Policies Unfair to Developers

Another leech stirring the S...t and forgets that if a developer has to build their own online outlet (besides the time spend on it or even outsourced) monthly charge and maintenance fees, optimizing the website and promotion of the site and product they may well fall outside making any revenues.

When do these complainers stop being bloodsuckers. You get premium exposure, a topnotch branding, a hefty percentage return without much risk unless you output a mediocre product that does not deserve even the light of day. Go sell your stuff on Clickbank and see what premium you will have to "pay" to even get any sales going. Granted, you can't sell an iPhone App at Clickbank, but that does not take away any credibility of the statement.

Nothing wrong with Apple's Policy. I completely agree with SiliconValleyJoe's statement.

Apple Is Still Apple Even without Steve Jobs

That is my point. Apple is a company that will continue to grow because of the "roadmap" and as such should be put on your "must own" list. I simply can't stand analysts questioning why the iPhone should fear Nokia, Ericson or Samsung, LG or Blackberry. People they are PHONES with some half ass implemented add-on features that most people don't even use because it is too difficult to figure out. They're Not. Read the statistics on the average time spend on an iPhone vs. any other "smartphone". The percentages are simply stunning. Now, translate that to "consumerism" because that is we all want to happen, that people "consume" than there you have it. Apple Inc. inspires consuming. Isn't that what we are all longing for... that people spend their money...????


On Mar 25 04:46 AM dan7777 wrote:

> Good observations, and I agree with you, but i think you may have
> missed one point and innovation that has and will continue to pay
> great dividends for Apple.
> The retail stores are neither hardware or software but they have
> helped to grow market share for everything Apple has to offer. They
> also do a lot to help maintain a superior customer service mentality.

Apple Is Still Apple Even without Steve Jobs

You miss the point.... I'm not stating that windows is obsolete, I'm stating that Job's vision is far more advanced than you and I thought 8 years ago since this transition didn't come about in "let's create the ultimate user package" and execute it in a year's time. And you mean "financial programs that has not yet been ported because those are the ones you are used to", right?

Your comment only strengthens the point of miserable failures windows ME, IE6, IE7 and IE8 and Vista's failure.... and are in the same expectation boat as the Wallstreet analysts that Microsoft must have something up their sleeve. Well, so far I'm not impressed since it is still all loose sand and any congruence is missing from the menu.

Hey, i'm not trying to convert anyone. I'm simply stating that you should give credit where credit is due i.s.o. knocking the most innovative US company that has its ducks in a row that you still be proud of....


On Mar 24 01:03 PM optionsgirl wrote:

> Safari could use some improvement. You still have to buy microsoft
> windows to run some financial programs on a MAC.

Apple Is Still Apple Even without Steve Jobs

Sorry, slip of the pen:

"And by the way, this vision does die the moment the CEO takes a medical or otherwise leave."

Does NOT die the moment the CEO takes a medical....

Apple Is Still Apple Even without Steve Jobs

What everyone seems to forget is that when Jobs was ousted, he created Next, which was his vision for Apple if he hadn't been ousted by bloodsuckers and bean counters. If Jobs had been given the chance then (1986) to introduce Next but on an Apple platform... think of the size and innovation platform Apple would have been today.

When Jobs was "begged" back into Apple he brought Next on board and with it the team that had been developing Next since 1986. Now fast forward to 2001/2002. Next could not yet be implemented since the technical step was too great so the aesthetics was first on the list the intro of the first "i-Mac". Jobs knew he had to get back the enthusiasm of the youth, back into the schools and he could only do that by creating a form and color scheme that would make the Mac again a Mac and not look like a PC. Basically a new version of the 1984 Mac (the all-in-one-machine) that made the Mac popular in the first place.

This was the turn-around point to prove that his vision in 1984 was correct. But Steve is much more than a brilliant "designer" and culture creator. He understood that in 1994-5 when the World Wide Web became common place it would forever change the landscape of doing business. He realized the impact and he also realized that brick-and-mortar business was in serious trouble. No other company put as much effort into taking the marketplace as serious as Jobs did. He forsaw the demise of the music industry due to the Internet possibilities as well as the demise of the "blockbusters" of the world, but he could not execute his vision due to infrastructural limitation but he also forsaw that they would not last. Hence the introduction of a media player (i-Pod) with a delivery system (iTunes) that he could "sell" to a dying music industry.

All the while working on incorporating the Next architecture into the most prestigious leap in technology innovation the PC world has ever seen with the release of OSX. He also realized that the PowerPC was not the (power)horse to bet on to deliver the speed required to satisfy the Multimedia requirements of the future to deliver music and video content but in preparation had to create a media standard so superior that it would find adoption not only in the Mac world but also the Windows World (H.263 and followed by H.264) Quicktime.

Thereafter it was the coupe d'etat that Apple pulled-off to convert a whole operating system running on the PowerPC structure to the Intel structure while using the "Internet Language Protocol" (Unix) as the base foundation to built upon. Simply brilliant, but very logical.

Further the explosive growth of the Mobile Market was foreseen and as such he knew that the "content delivery" of entertainment, news and data had to be mobile. Hence building on technology that is light years ahead of a "sleeping and talking about but not doing anything" competition, he ventured very well thought out into the mobile market with the iPhone while unlocking "mobile computing" for the masses.

I'm not saying that Steve Jobs knew this global financial collapse was coming, but all actions indicate he most certainly expected it, thus hording profits to build up a cashflow position, while putting in place that what people want that the internet cannot convey: The touch and feel by opening hundreds of Mac stores and launching the only three completely synchronized working on one and the same platform "gadgets" people would need to be completely independent in their communication needs, entertainment needs and professional needs: A superior Mac line with the crowning jewel the MacBook Pro for the serious computing needs, A music headset that soon will fit in your ears without any external devise attached and a mobile computing platform (iPhone) that is running on steroids.

Jobs also knew that Apple had to create its own browser, Safari, and that it had to be a cross browser (Mac and Windows) if any real traction was to come from it and to be completely independent from any 3rd party. Next up... the next brilliant move was to in first instance deny immediate Application development for the iPhone until they had all kinks worked out, while in the darkness of day, preparing for application developers a platform to sell their "wares". The App store was born and no other "online selling mechanism comes close to its brilliancy with the exception of iTunes.

Absolutely brilliant. The circle is closed with enough cash in the bank to silently brood on new implementations to stay ahead of any competition that is so scatter brained that they can only react with "half-ass" products that have no congruence what so ever and hold true to Ceasar's "divide and conquer" strategy, running blindly after bits and pieces to compete with on the Apple Inc. platform.

Make the man President of the United States and the country will be back on track in no time since there is no-one with such a vision in the landscape of corporate America that could even hold his ever present bottle of water.

And by the way, this vision does die the moment the CEO takes a medical or otherwise leave.

Apple Refreshes Desktop Lineup: Is the Mac Mini Irrelevant?

Quite simple why the author is wrong about the Mac mini. I know a lot of small and mid-sized companies that use mini's as network and web servers including on that everyone should know: (mozilla) firefox ....

Expecting Apple to Reach $300 in 2008

Finally someone that understands the madness of the "casino" stock markets and validating a corporate performance should be based on "reality checks". Apple has impressed me from the day I bought my first Mac over 30 years ago and sadly for a long period of time the visionary Steve Jobs was sidelined, but since his return has shown that the "cult cloud" was more than a hype by delivering quarter over quarter stunning gains and most noteworthy product introductions that baffled the most optimistic fans. The reason why I'm a Apple movement fanatic is because of a corporation that provides me tools that improve creativity and productivity. And that is the bottom line for any business owner. I believe your predictions are on the low side since Apple is quite obvious showing where it is heading but stubborness does not allow "the visitors" to see beyond there cornea. Content is king and no-one better understood this than Mr. Jobs in 2001 and has been amassing the sources and resources and providing Apple buyers the tools to be in the front line when the content delivery method dust settles. Mark my and the words of this article's author.

Apple's iPhone Rocks the Cell Phone Industry

No ciaobell, not jealous. I own with partners 22 companies around the world, fly a "gulfstream V extended". Probably travel as much as you but for the most part I live in the Caribbean. Again as I mentioned you are an unproductive guy that has too much time on his hands, has no clue on how to make yourself productive by "playing" around with ringtones and other "KOOL" stuff, while I merely indicated that Apple is the most productive platform and as such my staff will be outfitted with only the most productive instruments (including the iPhone when the time comes that it makes sense to implement it) so that they do not have to "play around" and foolishly waste time like you do. As I said "you would never work for me".

Apple's iPhone Rocks the Cell Phone Industry

Funny how narrow minded people think. You're probably a Cosco employee, right? If you're a businessman that lives by the clock and thinks in pennies, get out of your job before it is too late. If you have time to run around to buy cheap pre-paid simm cards i.s.o. taking care of business you'll never work for me. Be happy with your nokia!!

Apple's iPhone Rocks the Cell Phone Industry

Well, I went through all comments and in general I must say that not many have yet understood that it is not about the hardware but about the software. The reason for pointing this out that as everyone knows, or at least should know that any hardware pricing will drop off rather quickly and that speed will only progress. What companies like Apple do is understanding that anything fixed and button operated cannot be expanded. So their whole strategy is based on: new features to your iPhone. No problem, just download them.

Now <strong>that<... a reason for me to invest in an iPhone. Sure lifespan of the hardware will be maybe three or 4 years, but my features will not stay behind with deciding to make a purchase from Apple. That is what I like about Apple and is the reason for being 3 years in a row "most innovative company" of the year.

You don't get to play that fiddle if it wasn't the case. It is because the "enlighted" souls out there that use Apple products, use it for one reason and one reason only: Productivity. All the so-called "geeks" that wish to look under the "hood" and thus like Windows and Linux, have nothing better to do with their lives than being a geek.

Personally, running a company with over 150 Macs (all upgraded to intel based over the last 9 months) for more than 10 years and only having to have 2 network assistants to keep all of us productive, I can only contribute to ease of use, top quality hardware and software integration that seamlessly works. In 10 years we had only one powerbook ever giving us a problem (the on-button was stuck) and never a network breakdown.

Now, will I recommend that all my employees will switch to iPhones once service will become available in our Area (the Caribbean): Well, the decision has already been made and approved by the board before even knowing when we will have service.

Outcome of the vote is: All employees that require cell phone communication are mandatory to switch to iPhones (about 70)

Reason: Being productive without having to spend gazillion hours of reading through booklets, setting up blue tooth connections and as on "commenter remarked i-Cal server!!"

Many people may think that Macs are "playtoys" for fun and nice to make a movie on and having your iTunes play on your stereo in the den, but they are actually the most productive "toys" around where seamless integration, direct communication and ease of implementation are the keywords for successful productivity.

One remark: Our "competitor" who is also a friend runs a similar operation on wintel boxes. His annual breakdown (either network breakdown, servers crashing, individual machines crashing, almost daily "fighting" with spyware and virusses, having 7 network specialists employed and still only half of my productivity) has finally broken down and is switching his whole operation over to Macs. Coincidence? I think not.

iPhones: No-one will be able to keep up with Apple on its integration and will only run behind for the next 5 years to come to get to the same level (if ever) of service using an "out of the box" flawed system software called Windows or even Linux (too many flavors to create consistency).

Bottom line: the introduction of the "i" did not start a trend but a revolution built on a vision whereas the "i" did not stand for something personal but for "integration through innovation".

p.s. I do not work for Apple Inc. nor do I even own stock.