MacWorld SF 2007 - Apple Moves the Earth Again

Ian Osborne said:
If the Mac is so bad, why does Microsoft keep pinching its operating system? And when you compare the total cost of ownership, making sure you're comparing like with like in the quality department, Macs are not overpriced at all.
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Explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior.

Preferably without sounding like a conspiracy nut. ;)
 
CFLarsen said:
Explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior.

Preferably without sounding like a conspiracy nut. ;)
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By implication, then, your choice for the world's superior beer would be Budweiser?

Or did you not mean to imply a connection between market share and quality?
 
I think my last computer was one of the dodgy iBooks, but this new one is just a common or garden hot MacBook.
 
CFLarsen said:
Explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior.
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Apple is one company, and it is in the top 5 of worldwide computer manufacturers (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Gateway, Apple). It manufactures a proprietary-design computer, using a highly-integrated Operating System.

If Dell or Toshiba were making computers with their own proprietary OS, would they be likely to remain in the lead of sales? I doubt it.

Microsoft is not a computer manufacturer.
 
webfusion said:
Apple is one company, and it is in the top 5 of worldwide computer manufacturers (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Gateway, Apple). It manufactures a proprietary-design computer, using a highly-integrated Operating System.

If Dell or Toshiba were making computers with their own proprietary OS, would they be likely to remain in the lead of sales? I doubt it.

Microsoft is not a computer manufacturer.
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"Proprietary". You got it. And that goes for the OS as well.

Sure, they own everything, but at a very high cost: Having a Mac is like owning a car model where you have to use proprietary gas, have it fixed at proprietary auto shops, running on proprietary tires. The lot.

Imagine this scenario: Apple has a majority of the market share. They rule the market, not just software-wise, but also hardware-wise. Would that be a good thing?
 
phyz said:
One's likelyhood to own use a Mac is proportional to one's propensity toward rational thought
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It's snide insults like this that cause me to have such a low opinion towards Mac users...

(that plus my qualms about a company wanting to control both the hardware and OS, as well as my preference towards building my own system using components that fit my needs...:D)
 
Mercutio said:
By implication, then, your choice for the world's superior beer would be Budweiser?
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No, that would be Carlsberg. ;)

Mercutio said:
Or did you not mean to imply a connection between market share and quality?
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I'm implying a connection between market share and computers that people will use.

If Macs have such a better quality OS, why don't they have a much bigger market share?
 
CFLarsen said:
Explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior.

Preferably without sounding like a conspiracy nut. ;)
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Write me an essay on why The Spice Girls are so much better than El Divo, as you clearly associate market share with quality. Then go on to read about the Betamax/VHS format wars, to educate yourself on why the superior format isn't always the most successful one.
 
Ian Osborne said:
Write me an essay on why The Spice Girls are so much better than El Divo, as you clearly associate market share with quality.
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No, I don't. I associate market share with an OS that people will use.

Ian Osborne said:
Then go on to read about the Betamax/VHS format wars, to educate yourself on why the superior format isn't always the most successful one.
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That doesn't answer the question.

Can you explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior?
 
CFLarsen said:
If Macs have such a better quality OS, why don't they have a much bigger market share?
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Cheaper ALWAYS outsells better.

Again, Corvette sales can't hold a candle to Taurus sales. More people would probably rather have a Corvette. But more people buy a Taurus. Does that make a Taurus a better car?

If Corvettes were really better, wouldn't they outsell the Taurus?
 
CFLarsen said:
"Proprietary". You got it. And that goes for the OS as well.

Sure, they own everything, but at a very high cost: Having a Mac is like owning a car model where you have to use proprietary gas, have it fixed at proprietary auto shops, running on proprietary tires. The lot.

Imagine this scenario: Apple has a majority of the market share. They rule the market, not just software-wise, but also hardware-wise. Would that be a good thing?
Click to expand...

I hate to say it but that first argument is totally gone with the introduction of the Intel Macs. They can run OSX and MS Windows. That makes that particular hardware among the most versatile computer hardware you can buy. I can't run OSX on my box. So I guess it is my machine that is limited.

I would rather see OS distribution more even with more emphasis on interoperability rather than MS trying to create their own proprietary standards. With Apple's unixxy underpinnings I think eventually it is going to be MS left on the outside lookng in. (That is my dream. Don't take it away. :D)

I also don't think it is fair to call Apples expensive. They usually are packaged with top quality monitors that are of far better quality than much of the cheap crap PC packages sell with. That adds quite a lot of value.
 
CFLarsen said:
No, I don't. I associate market share with an OS that people will use.
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Or music that people will listen to?

Can you explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior?
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Because quality and sales are not directly proportional. Why does Sylvia Brown's website get so many more hits than Skeptic Report? Is Sylvia smarter, more talented and generally better than SR's editor?
 
Can you explain why Macs have such a low market share, if they are so superior?
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IBM was worried tha Apple was going to dominate in the marketplace with IIRC the Apple ][ so they set about creating a competitor. They decided that they would use an open architecture and so designed the first PC and booted it with an IBM bios chip. They needed an OS so they approached Mr. Gates who in turn approached the owner of Dr. DOS who missed the appointment prefering to go flying instead. Gates then found a local Seattle guy who had a basic disc operating system based on CPM. Gates bought this system and hired the guy. He was then able to sell DOS to IBM for their new PC.

The new PC was cheaper than Apples and having IBM's business expertise meant applications that were oriented to business. Business not only could afford them but saw the need for them. IBM had a good market.

Later the IBM bios would be cloned and clones hit the market. They all used MS-DOS. Microsoft being in the right place at the right time became a huge company.

It was really IBM who started the PC craze. MS rode their coattails.

(That is the story as well as I can remember.)

Now IBM is a heavy supporter of Linux. Hmmm.

ETA: I think it was the cloning of the IBM bios that started the PC to market domination over all comers. Apple, the most notable and to a lesser extent Amiga.
 
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