Submitted by Apple was at an all-time low in 1996, in a severe financial crisis that worried Mac users around the world. Apple’s shareholders and customers were losing faith, and competitors were closing in fast. The worldwide press badmouthed Apple in 1995 and 1996. Ten years on, Apple is a different company.
I thought the article was good, until the end. It ended sort-of abruptly for my taste, no summary or anything, just the end of the article. Good besides that.
I also liked how Sony batteries messed up, as previously noted.
Its a three part series of article, this is Part One, so of course it ends abruptly.
Now I have two Macs and three iPods, and have been called an Apple fanboy on more than one occasion, but even I find all this rehashing of Apple history on news sites(not just OSAlert) is getting kind of old(no pun intended).
>> Now I have two Macs and three iPods, …
Three iPods? You’ve got six ears?
There’s only *so* much music you can fit on one iPod …
>> Three iPods? You’ve got six ears?
How many shoe pairs do you have? How about Tvs? Cars? Pants? Shirts? Computers? Mobile Phones? One of each? I didn’t think so.
Hmm, maybe, but as a non-Mac-owning non-Mac-site-reading OSAlert reader, I found this one quite illuminating.
I like what Apple is doing and I think they are moving in the correct direction, but it seems like just when people start to think a company can’t make a mistake, they start making mistakes.
One thing I would have told Apple to do was to begin pushing into games for their platforms but I see they are even starting to do that now ( http://www.apple.com/games/trailers/ )
There are tons of cool free games out there also that they could port over and offer to OSX users for free (via something like GnomeFiles), but it could risk alienating the commercial game studios who are offering Mac games.
Edited 2006-10-04 14:10
Or they could even become a porting house on their own, like MacPlay.
I thought this was going to be about their failure to update their line of “MacBook” laptops. IMO, for the prices their lappys command, they need to *lead* the pack, not trail it. When they were “beholden” to IBM and/or motorola there were plenty of aplogists heaping praise on Apple and slamming both afore mentioned companies, now who is to blame? Intel must be hoarding the meroms. Yeah.
You’ve got to consider the differences between, say, HP, and Apple. If an HP notebook with a Core 1 is next to a Sony notebook with a Core 2, comparison shoppers will pick the Sony notebook. However, that’s not really true of Apple. Apple machines aren’t even displayed alongside other notebooks, and most computer stores don’t even carry them. To buy a Mac, you’ve got to purposefully go to the Apple-corner of a CompUSA, or trudge down to an Apple Store.
Hence, most people who buy a Mac do so because they want a Mac.* It’s not like anybody decides to switch to a completely different platform just because they got a good deal on a machine! For somebody who wants a Mac, dealing with Apple’s slower product cycle probably isn’t a problem. If you’re a professional, you can plan your purchasing around updates. If you’re just looking for a home machine, then Core 1 vs Core 2 probably doesn’t mean much to you anyway. If you’re a business user, well, then you’re not buying Apple anyway. They key thing Apple has to do is to keep its product cycle short enough that the delay doesn’t keep people from wanting to purchase a Mac. A month or two delay probably won’t put anybody off. It was the years with the same processor in the PPC era that made people not want to buy Macs.
In any case, it’s something of a moot argument. Core 2 has little penetration in the market right now anyway. If you go to CompUSA or BestBuy or CircuitCity, there’s only one notebook with Core 2 (a Sony model). Since the Macbook is largely competing with these consumer machines, the lack of Core 2 at the moment isn’t even an issue.
So, your argument is that Apple has a captive audience so they don’t need to worry about maintaining their product refresh cycles? And that no one really cares about 64 bit anyhow, even though that was the entire selling point of the g5? Look – I don’t want to get into a bickering match here, my point (which was OT anyhow) was that Apple should really be leading the pack if they think that $2k is a good starting price point for a lappy with a decent sized monitor.
The key word is refresh “cycle”. Apple is maintaining their refresh cycle just fine — the iMacs were updated, for example, because they were due for an update. The Macbooks came out a little over four months ago. It’s not due for an update for a while yet. So a Core 2 Macbook released in time for the Christmas buying season would fit into the cycle very nicely.
What companies like Dell don’t do is maintain any sort of “cycle”. They have to get the newest chips into their machines the very second Intel releases them, because nobody is going to wait for Dell to get Core 2 if HP already has it. Apple doesn’t have this problem. They’re not competing on the same shelf-space as PCs, and Mac users who know enough abuot computers to want the latest CPU also know enough about Apple to know the product cycle.
I agree. Not only should they speed up their product cycle, they’d better include some unique hardware features (OS X is not enough) to help distinguishing it from an average laptop. A product upgrade cannot simply be done by slapping on a faster chip.
Actually, I switched to a Mac for precicely that reason- I was given a good deal on one. I was given a pile of 5 dead powerbook G4s, and built an great working machine out of them. Installed the OS, and have been enjoying it ever since.
As a business owner, I’ve moved to the platform. It has most of the apps I used before (Firefox, Komodo, Dreamweaver, Photoshop) and good replacements for other things I’ve used (like I use iRatchet now instead of Quickbooks) , with great integration across the board (mail, iCal, Address book).
I’m currently saving for a 24″ iMac. I like the fact I’ll be able to video edit a tad better than my current editing machine. I haven’t moved all of my editing over (I use Sony Vegas in XP atm) as this machine isn’t powerful enough I’d say (G4 1 Ghz, 1GB RAM, slower 80GB HD). I’d say the HD is more a factor, as my PC has 300GB of HD space on 7200 & 10k drives. When the iMac arrives though, I’ll be switching to FinalCut Pro.
Product cycles have never bothered me per se. I never keep up, as I don’t prefer the bleeding edge. I’ll bleed my machines dry before upgrading.
But in response, I realise I’m not the “common” user, but there are people who have switched. Mine was made easy by #1 good deal on a Mac to test the waters with, and #2 using apps that already exist elsewhere. The OSes I mainly used before the switch- XP, Fedora Core, OS/2-eComStation, BeOS/ZETA. I still have the XP/BeOS(dualboot) & eCom/linux(dualboot) machines running. Just don’t use em much these days.
Whilst Apple may have been making some losses during this era, and it also was doing very poorly on developing the Macintosh platform, I think it’s a stretch to say that the company nearly went bust.
Apple had billions of dollars in cash and other assets at the time. They could have continued making heavy losses for many more years.
I wonder if the average person even knows that Macs are powered by Intel now, let along will run Windows.
On the software end. I think Apple could make a better Windows for Microsoft. heck its taking MS years to come out with a new OS. lol, out source it to Apple. I’m jokenly saying that, but there might some logic in it.
The New York Times’ David Pogue presents, “for your nostalgia pleasure,” some articles from major publications featuring analysts and columnists predictions from ten years ago:
o Fortune, 2/19/1996: “By the time you read this story, the quirky cult company…will end its wild ride as an independent enterprise.”
o BusinessWeek, 10/16/95: “Having underforecast demand, the company has a $1 billion-plus order backlog….The only alternative: to merge with a company with the marketing and financial clout to help Apple survive the switch to a software-based company. The most likely candidate, many think, is IBM Corp.”
o A Forrester Research analyst, 1/25/96 (quoted in, of all places, The New York Times): “Whether they stand alone or are acquired, Apple as we know it is cooked. It’s so classic. It’s so sad.”
o Nathan Myhrvold (Microsoft’s chief technology officer, 6/97: “The NeXT purchase is too little too late. Apple is already dead.”
o Wired, “101 Ways to Save Apple,” 6/97: “1. Admit it. You’re out of the hardware game.”
o The Economist, 2/23/95: “Apple could hang on for years, gamely trying to slow the decline, but few expect it to make such a mistake. Instead it seems to have two options. The first is to break itself up, selling the hardware side. The second is to sell the company outright.”
o The Financial Times, 7/11/97: “Apple no longer plays a leading role in the $200 billion personal computer industry. ‘The idea that they’re going to go back to the past to hit a big home run…is delusional,’ says Dave Winer, a software developer.”
i just spotted a interesting bit of text in the part about hte powerbook 5300:
“Furthermore, there were issues with the Sony-made LithIon batteries bursting into flames.”
and they have continued to do so to this day
I noticed that too. Sony’s battery’s are a long term threat to combustables.
I’m ashamed to admit that I was one of those people back in the mid-90’s claiming Apple was dead. At the time I thought it was true. I started to change my tune around the time Apple released the first generation of colorful iMacs. Ever since they released the iPod they have been going uphill. Thats what I get for trying to make predictions at an early age with little computing experience
No, Apple is not a different company. They are still the same “everything must be proprietary, we are going to go out of our way to make sure our OS only works on our hardware, hip design is more important than function, and the fewer choices our customers have the better off they are” company they have always been. And their overall marketshare is lower today than it has been at any point in their history, despite what their marketing people try to claim. Even Linux has more desktop marketshare than Mac does these days.
The only thing that is keeping Apple alive now is iPod and iTunes. The Mac will eventually simply die thanks to Apple’s stubbornness and refusal to allow their customers more freedom to choose. I only hope that OS X doesn’t die with it, and that Apple will eventually wise up and support hardware other than their own with OS X.
Edited 2006-10-04 17:44
Its a legitimate point of view, and there is nothing in it which deserves modding down.
I see and hear comments like your all the time, andI am amazed at how incredibly wrong you and so many others are. Apple must be in one the longest death throes of all time. Fact is market share and installed base are climbing.
I have never seen a problem with Apple and choice. I suppose choice is a problem with so many folks who are fed up with Windows and want OS X on a $300.00 eMachine. It wasn’t that long ago that the big PC makers were just as proprietary as Apple.
Choice of software? We never lack choices to do the job, but I guess if there are only 4 or 5 Mac apps compared to 10 or 12 Windows titles, this must mean a lack of choice(?) Of course Mac selection is really lacking in the Anti-Malware arena. Makes me feel left out.
I switched form “PC’s” many years ago. I have always been able to upgrade compononts and processors, often getting more performance than contemporary PC’s.
Everytime I have bought new computers I have seriously looked at PC’s for alternatives, and I have never been able to find that properly equipped PC’s were any cheaper. Often they are more expensive, and the current crop shows me that Mac Pro and MacBook Pros are incredible bargains.
Why do I even entertain the possibility of swithching to “PC’s”? I am surrounded by them. I am constantly fixing, rebuilding, and building them for clients. I am frequently tutoring “PC” users. In many ways it might be easier to join the masses, but when it comes right down to it, I can’t afford it. In almost all cases I have concurrent Mac and Windows versions of the software I need, so that is not a cost factor. Time is a major cost factor, and when that is applied to the equation, my Mac’s are far more inexpensive.
I must admit, that the more I work with Ubuntu I find as an OS is is getting close to suiting many of my needs.
“Fact is market share and installed base are climbing.”
Please find me even one report that shows Mac is gaining marketshare that has not been throughly debunked and refuted.
I’ve seen all kinds of voodoo statistics used here to try to show that Apple was gaining marketshare. Like taking one month of the whole year where Apple did gain some marketshare. Only problem is, the rest of the year they lost marketshare, and so overall they had a net loss in marketshare. So the bottom line is that they are losing marketshare. Thre is no amount of fuzzy math and voodoo statistics that can cover up that simple fact that when the numbers are put together, Apple’s marketshare is constantly declining.
Is installed base growing? Sure. But the installed base of Linux and Windows is growing much faster. So a growing installed base does not translate into gaining marketshare. Your installed base can grow, and you can still lose marketshare. And that is exactly what is happening to Apple.
“Choice of software? We never lack choices to do the job, but I guess if there are only 4 or 5 Mac apps compared to 10 or 12 Windows titles,”
Unless you are talking about games of course. The Mac game market is virtually dead.
And also, keep in mind that both Microsoft and Adobe have threatened to drop Mac support because the marketshare has dwindled so much. If Adobe ever drops Mac support, The Mac is dead. It’s that simple really. The amount of choices you have today will not continue into the future of Apple continues to lose more and more marketshare. It simply won’t be profitable for software vendors to support the platform anymore.
Edited 2006-10-04 20:55
Unless you are talking about games of course. The Mac game market is virtually dead.
While the game market is big, not everyone is a 1337 g4m3r and therefore this is not an accurate measure of a computer’s performance or usability.
And with a Mac Pro I can play those one or two games I enjoy under XP and switch back to my Mac for spyware-free, malware-free, and virus-free productivity.
Unless you are talking about games of course. The Mac game market is virtually dead.
The mac game market has always been dead. At this point, I highly doubt any general purpose computer can compete with the today and tomorrow’s gaming consoles.
And also, keep in mind that both Microsoft and Adobe have threatened to drop Mac support because the marketshare has dwindled so much. If Adobe ever drops Mac support, The Mac is dead.
Sources? Did you just make it up?
Mac sales is still a significant source of revenue for Adobe. You don’t want to lose 22% of your *total* revenue. For more info, see this interview: http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/04/22.12.shtml
As for MS, they are still committed. Office 2007 Mac will arrive 6-8 months after Office 2007 Win, as usual.
Edited 2006-10-05 08:05
i’ll tell you what… you prove me wrong! 2 years ago, the mac had approx 2% market share… and now… the mac has OVER 4%… (and is approching the magic 5% mark) please… debunk what i just said!!!!!
Itunes and the iPod are great products and are getting people to notice that there is an alternative platform out there! but the fact of the matter is…. apple will not be going out of business any time soon! so all you apple hatters.. can continue trowing your tantrums! please contunie whineing about how windows and linux are better, or how you “want choice” and that “powerusers dont use mac” or mac are to expensive………what ever!
OSX kiks ass… the new mac hardward kiks ass…. and if the mac does not have something i need, like autoCAD…. then i will just run it on in windows! and if i want to play video games… then i play them on my playstation….. and if i need a cheap fast server, i will build a linux box…. hows that for choice!
you guys can talk about lock in all you want… but lock in is a state of mind! (yours… not mine!)
are yoiu whinners done yet!
My Hackintosh begs to differ.
Check the wiki and see for yourself: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
That said, I firmly intend to pick up one of those nice MacBook Pros as soon as I can grab enough cash together. Using OSX86 has been the best advertisement there could be for me to really begin trying to switch, and the best part of it all in my book is that I can give all my future apps a test drive and learn them before making the final leap. By the time I actually switch over I’ll be familiar with the system and able to jump right into doing whatever it is I want to do.
–bornagainpenguin
Edited 2006-10-05 04:37
While I agree that Apple places more focus on the design, I wouldn’t say they are all about design. I don’t think it’s fair to place features like Magsafe, magnetic latch, ambient sleeping light, quietness etc. into the design category.
Even the designs themselves have a functional component to them. Both the mini and the iMac’s designs occupies less desk space. Having the computer on your desk make it easier to plug in external peripherals (no need for front ports).
As for choices, Apple is offering unique choices to consumers. It’s probably one of the only computer manufacturers that’s offering fully integrated solutions. The smooth user experience offered by OS X has a lot to do with its deep hardware integration and to make this possible, Apple must write most of the drivers on its own. Considering Apple’s manpower, I highly doubt this kind of user experience will be maintained should Apple decide to support Mac clones.
“The smooth user experience offered by OS X has a lot to do with its deep hardware integration and to make this possible, Apple must write most of the drivers on its own.”
I keep wishing someone would explain what exactly is meant by expressions like ‘deep hardware integration’. From the rest of the post, what seems to be meant is that you get it by having the OS developer write the drivers.
Does it make any difference if its the OS developer or the hardware developer that writes them, as long as they work. Take some concrete example and show us. For instance, the Radeon 9200 or 9250 graphics that were used on the PPC Mac Minis. Tell us exactly how these worked in a more integrated way on OSX than they do on Linux or Windows. Or the drivers for the hard drives that are in Macs: how are these more integrated?
Its a nonsense.
Did Apple even write the drivers, by the way?
Even the designs themselves have a functional component to them. Both the mini and the iMac’s designs occupies less desk space. Having the computer on your desk make it easier to plug in external peripherals (no need for front ports).
Both my main PCs are “all-in-ones”. I have an Acer Veriton FP2 (BeOS/XP) and an IBM NetVista X41 (Fedora/eComStation). They have expansions slots as well.
The FP2 has an AGP slot and a half-height PCI, and I really like that it has an extra 2 USB in the front along with a headphones and line in. Great for headset. I realise a lot of things are moving to bluetooth for things, but these are still nice, and for it’s time, were a welcome addition. It’s currently loaded with an Nvidia GF440MX and a Firewire card.
The X41 has 2 half-height PCI slots, and the thing is tool-less for accessing gear. It also uses full size (desktop sized, not laptop) HD and CD drives. I currently have a Firewire card and a Hauupaugh PVR150 in it. Nice that it’s all contained.
I do wish the iMac had more internal expandability options. Sure, I can always get external addons and plug em in, but that detracts from the clean look IMHO. Cards will be attached and almost defeats the purpose. Could get a tower and be just as messy. One option I do plan on getting is an ElGato USB TV thingy. It has a very short cord and will be dangling off the desk.
Before I got into Macs, I was really considering the Gateway Profile series for my next all in ones. They now have an AGP slot along with some other niceties. And they have big screens. Since the Macs now run Windows, it’s kind of a moot point for me.
I switched to the Mac in 2000, because of Final Cut Pro and iMovie. I like the idea of cutting video on a computer and firewire was already there. So instead of me pursuing tape to tape editing which I was taught on. I purchased my first iMac.
At the time I was a tech with HP and most of my customers told me the Mac was dying, but when I saw the iMac I thought different.
I wasn’t the only one liking them, because the tech from Microsoft thought the same. It freaked our customers out big time to hear both of us rave the Macintosh.
In my honest opinion, I think if Apple Inc. were to crash it would be because they are the victims of their own success. Meaning they have come along way from near deaf and are now successful once again but it seems they are losing sight in keeping their customers.
For example, they are still keeping their OS proprietary and refuse to play nice with other hardware vendors. For Apple Inc. to survive they must allow their OS to be installed on other hardware. While their multimedia products are nice and great, it can only take you so far. Eventually, someone will come up with something better and what is Apple Inc. going to do? They can’t call to arms all their fanboys to come to their rescue because Lord knows they will have went elsewhere by than.
Secondly, they ought to play nice with folks that use words such as ‘Pod,’ stop going after people who don’t want DRM and play nice with the open source community. They are not screwing potential and current customers but they are making it impossible for them to work with anyone in the future. It appears to me just because they got back Steve Jobs and were able to sell a few Macs they think they’re the man on the street.
Well, I hate to burst their bubble but they still have a lot to prove to me. And if they do not want to go bankrupt, they ought to play nice.
Edited 2006-10-04 20:26
Meaning they have come along way from near deaf and are now successful once again but it seems they are losing sight in keeping their customers.
I think you meant to say death there and not Deaf. As a Deaf person, I assure you I am not in any way shape or form among the unliving, thank you. LOL I swear it’s been years since I’ve seen anyone use death and deaf interchangeably like that… what next, talking about the deef and dumb?
–bornagainpenguin (only slightly amused)
I have to say that although I more or less despise Apple, lowendmac has some very good articles.