danaace

If the analogy is still cars then you can buy a Ford Escort (dell) for 15k$ or a Ford Escort with a fancy paint job (apple) for 20k$. Which would you rather have?

none

Ben Zvan

1. Microsoft for all it's faults listens to its customers.

Kind of a strange, vague point. Any examples (on both sides?)

2. Microsoft does not let Not Invented Here syndrom keep them from adding features that everyone wants.

Again...specifics? I suppose that when everyone in the PC world was still stuck with DOS Microsoft was smart enough to add the feature that everyone wanted. And it is true, that feature was made popular in Cupertino, not Redmond.

3. Windows has the marketshare to make sure that is a peice of software exists, there is most likely a Windows verson. (This as it applies to software and hardware is the only reason I really care how much marketshare Apple has. And for now it is a huge strike against them.)

I can't believe that we're still hearing this. I'll give you games, but that's really the only one aside from some ultra specific and ultra esoteric business needs that no one cares about on a personal machine. Can you name any type of software that is not available for Apple? I can't...

4. I have been using Windows for more than 10 years. OS X is not good enough to convince me to change. As a matter of fact, many of the features that people say make OS X better than Windows make more sense to me the way Windows does them. (Try draggin a window from the top or left on OS X and you will see one example of what I mean.)

I tried and the window moved. What should have happened? This is less an argument about what is better, and more about what you're used to.

1. Apple laptops have a backspace key labeled delete, and do not have a delete key. WTF? Keyboards existed before Apple did, why did they mess with something so basic?

Do you mean they have no forward delete key? Big deal, who uses that? And while we're at it, Apple keyboards existed before Windows keyboards, so why did Windows replace the Command key with a Windows key? Why did they mess with...

2. ...The keys are mushy, the standard cursor control keys like Home and End are combined as Fn-keys on the arrows, and as big as the Mac Book Pro is, they left the keyboard narrow as hell. The case is pretty, but why the heck do I only get 2 USB ports?

I doubt that many Mac users ever touch the Home and End keys, and when you have a limited number of keys available (like in any laptop) you have to double up some of the less common keys..common sense. As for the size of the keyboard, well, the keys are standard size and in a standard layout. They are limited by the size of the laptop, so I'm not sure what you are looking for here. How often do you need more than two USB ports on a laptop? Get a hub!

3. ...they so drunk on the koolaid that they do not know that profit-margins are good for investors, not the consumer of the product?

Are you kidding? Profit margins are great for consumers. Without profit margins companies cannot grow and produce more products and they cannot afford to support the ones they do offer. Here's a newsflash for you: All investors happen to be consumers as well! It's true!

... As a consumer of software and hardware, OSX small market share means there is going to be a lot of stuff that does not support it. If the sofware/hardware you want is avail for OS X your golden, if its not, you care about market share.

No. 3% of the entire computer market is still a HUGE number of users, and that is plenty of potential revenue for companies to support products. You're confusing market share with installed user base. If a company had 99% market share in a market with only three users, there would be a problem. But 3% of almost every person in the developed world is hundreds of millions of people, and that's plenty.

shimmer

flkjsdlfksdl

NeoPoliticus

RiceBandit

Making nich products for people your would not trust to tie their own shoes (or pick the background color for the Dock on their computer) seems to be Steve's Fort.

Here are the reasons I prefer Windows:
1. Microsoft for all it's faults listens to its customers.
2. Microsoft does not let Not Invented Here syndrom keep them from adding features that everyone wants.
3. Windows has the marketshare to make sure that is a peice of software exists, there is most likely a Windows verson. (This as it applies to software and hardware is the only reason I really care how much marketshare Apple has. And for now it is a huge strike against them.)
4. I have been using Windows for more than 10 years. OS X is not good enough to convince me to change. As a matter of fact, many of the features that people say make OS X better than Windows make more sense to me the way Windows does them. (Try draggin a window from the top or left on OS X and you will see one example of what I mean.)

There are also many specific thinks that push me away from OS X and Apple as a whole, here is a partial list:

1. Apple laptops have a backspace key labeled delete, and do not have a delete key. WTF? Keyboards existed before Apple did, why did they mess with something so basic?
2. Much of Apples industrial design chooses form over function. A good example of this Mac Book Pro that I am typing on (a work not personal machine and I am runing XP). It has a one of the worst laptop keyboards I have used in the last few years. The keys are mushy, the standard cursor control keys like Home and End are combined as Fn-keys on the arrows, and as big as the Mac Book Pro is, they left the keyboard narrow as hell. The case is pretty, but why the heck do I only get 2 USB ports?
3. Apple supporters talk about things like profit margins when saying how great the products are. As they so drunk on the koolaid that they do not know that profit-margins are good for investors, not the consumer of the product?

Anyway, marketshare does have meaning, both good and bad. As a consumer of software and hardware, OSX small market share means there is going to be a lot of stuff that does not support it. If the sofware/hardware you want is avail for OS X your golden, if its not, you care about market share.

jorgie

I also grew up when Apples were for education, and pc's for for actually doing something other than graphics. And I think most people think along those lines. In the computer business Apple made some really stupid moves. And for the most part since moving to the Intel platform the nice thing you get with a Mac is design.

And for those Mac users who crow about being able to run Windows no problem, remember back to say 2004, when that wasn't really the case.

Yeah, I'll stick with my PC. It's just a shame I can no longer run my favorite OS. Requiescat in pace, BeOS.

Major-General

The company I work for uses Dell machines. We turn our hardware over every 3 years. Multiply that by 90% of companies on the planet and tell me how this is news, large gains on Apple's part or not...

Ashman

Just for the record, Apple has supported 8GB of RAM since late 2003 (what is that, four years now?), and 16GB since 2005. The Mac Pro (over a year old now) supports 32GB.

you have to buy a brand new computer if you want 16gb of RAM, and you have to wait until Apple decides to have a release party claiming they were the first to do 16gb of RAM.

I guess that rather than buying a "brand new computer", you could buy a two year old computer instead (I guess Apple is late on throwing that release party...)

Anyway, what was your point?

shimmer

Slaughter

I've thought about getting a mac for a wile and well I keep buying PCs they are a lot cheaper, wider support and more bang for my buck. If you'd like to argue with those reasons remind me why you bought and Ipod classic and why the zune sucks cause it doesn't have 600 accessories.

And really if macs were so much better like I've been hearing since the late 80's why don't we have more of them instead of gaggles of their peripherals?

Ultraorange

I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul.

jriga

Now go away.

jriga

Where I work (a small, small IT dept) we have almost nothing but Dells/HPs/Etc. A rack full of PowerEdge servers. And one Mac. We just can't do much with it. Our company is so stuck on MS products like Exchange and SS2k5, and all the proprietary third-party software suites we use in our business which are Windows-only.

The biggest reason that Apple doesn't have business market share is the lack of availability of proprietary, third-party applications. Most of which don't work all that well in a native Windows environment, and aren't worth the trouble and additional cost (gotta purchase TWO operating systems) of running under something like Parallels.

And judging by Apple's marketing, they don't want business market share.

I dual boot OS X and Windows XP at home. Gotta have the XP for work.

jamesuschrist

oldmanstan

mpriorfan22

Microsoft is the hare and Apple is the tortoise. Who won that race?

Will you be laughing in two years? Five years?

Bodie1550

Adolf

But 'Mac buyers don't shop on price, they shop on quality'; the eternal refrain of the chump who's paid too much. 'Well Windows is only ahead because of business users'; guess what hippies, business's actually have to justify expenditures instead of buying whatever they think will make them cool, which is why they don't buy machines with a limited user knowledge base and poor native app support. But you can run an emulator; just because it looks like the real thing doesn't mean that that's the best, cheapest or fastest way to run it.

There is objective, measurable return on investment to owning a computer, based on how much work you can push through it over it's usable lifetime. Then there's who much that work is worth. Any money you pay, greater than the difference between those two numbers, is money that you got suckered out of. So unless Macheads can demonstrate a universal increase in throughput coresponding to the premium that Apple charges, they should just turn up their iPods and try not to realize the Steve Jobs has been bending them over for years. At least he pretends to love you.

junyo

geschmidtt

zingbot

Just as an example, as I've traveled across college campuses in the last couple years I've seen the number of Mac notebooks increase dramatically among students and faculty. Apple doesn't have to sell as many units as HP to be successful.

davidwb

JB007

Anyway, I would just add that if the market share number looks low compared to how many macs you may see at your school or haxor conferences, it's because last time I heard, apple was somewhere north of 12% of the laptop market.

johnqsmith

If someone said something similar earlier, sorry, guess I just had to reiterate.

Silenthillnight

Back in late '95 I started a company in an industry dominated by Unix machines (at the time). I decided to build our first products on Windows and port to Unix later. If I do say so myself that decision saved us a boatload of money at a time when every dime mattered, and thanks to that company's success I can afford whatever computer I want---which at the moment happens to be a MBP running Windows and Linux under VMs.

So I like the Mac better. Big deal! Why would I knock Windows when it has served me so well?

mcg1969

Poppso

Every public school (and some privates) and most offices I've been to have straight neat rows of Dell. Dell is affordable and (I believe) offers these huge discounts for group purchase----that might have something to do with it.

cetati

Fanboyism can be dangerous if taken beyond a blog comment. I once had a professor that taught Pascal and C++ on Macs and ONLY Macs because PCs were garbage and he would find a way to mention it in every lecture - not appropriate to bring your personal views out in your lectures.

DomZ

Their notebooks are horrendously expensive. You can get a pretty decent Sager, Asus, Lenovo or Toshiba for a lot less.
The Mac mini is an exception, but then it comes with a super slow drive and uses a notebook CPU so it has a slow internal bus.
The only Mac that is a good deal is the Mac Pro with dual quad cores. Now that macs have raid internally this makes a darn good deal for a workstation. Great for audio or video production maybe cad too (do they make mac cad software?) Comparable PC's like that I have seen go for 10k.

calaverasgrandes

DomZ

And sure when you buy a new computer you choose a high spec machine. Showing off the spec of your computer as you bought it is great. Sure. And it's going to be below average speed like half a year later, then what are you going to do? Buy a new computer again? You are rich for someone who doesn't even get to type a report! I'm jealous my drunk friend!

xenobread

I like your car analogy... But you should add that upgrades on a Mac are more like a car lease.
To upgrade a Mac you get a new one.
You can barely upgrade a Desktop Mac because of available hardware and drivers.
Where many of today' non-mac Laptops have many upgradeable parts and desktops are nearly limitless in upgrades.

I wonder in terms of market share, what the actual figures would be if we consider old hardware still running.
Many top-dog PC's in their heyday are now too slow and are re-purposed as fax, file or mail servers, etc... with plenty of life left in that duty.
I plan to upgrade my Gaming rig soon and repurpose the hardware with the upcoming Windows Home Server. I can easily get another 10 years of service out of it as a home and media server.

I wonder how many Macs are re-purposed after their useful life and if they can actually be used as a true server with the proper administration like a Windows Server. Are they just sitting on a corner collecting dust?

aec007

oldmanstan

DomZ

Neither Dell nor Apple rank among Fortune 500's Top 50 Most Profitable Companies.

FWIW: MSFT is No. 11 (Most Profitable), Intel is 36, and HP is 27.

Also, Dell is listed as 36 in the Fortune 500 Top Companies (overall), HP is 14, while Apple is No. 121

What's the lesson? Diversify. Microsoft, Dell and HP straddle markets.

Microsoft has several divisions ranging from office productivity to the gaming market (which Apple never got into). Dell sells to home and business buyers and has started adding more options to its lineup (see Ubuntu). HP makes computers and printers. Not only that, but the printer market has the good ole "razor and blade" model. Moreover, Microsoft, Dell, and HP are all companies you'll find in the vast majority of offices.

Perhaps there's something to going after the business market.

God made the pretty girls pretty because he likes them more

silverspike819

calaverasgrandes

RJM07

How would you like a quarter PWNDR with cheese?

Silly WinBOT. Crap is for Windowz.

Have fun with that TINKR TOY. I'll be playing with the BIG MAN'S MACHINE (a Mac).

U SUX

Confirmed.

nimbus

Seriously though guys (and gals? probably not), you'd think somebody kicked your dog or something.

Oh yea, to whoever made that inane Zune analogy: You should be ashamed of yourself, that made no sense whatsoever.

RJM07

chudbluth

chudbluth

I think the first way for Apple to make real strides in market share would to be an entry level model that could compete with Dell's $499/599 deals every week. You need to build a customer relationship (more than just getting someone to buy an iPod) and there is no better way to do that than getting someone in the door at a more attractive price point. If your product is as great as you claim don't force them to risk a lot of money to find out for themselves. Get them to experience it firsthand and they'll come back for more.

They already have big box retailers like Best Buy, CC, and CompUSA peddling their products left and right so that's a big step in the right direction but the average consumer, computer savvy or not, can point to computer A and say why am I paying double for computer B if it has the same numbers as computer A?

I'm not completely anti-Apple, just against the people who give the rest of the users a bad name by bashing anything and everything not-Apple 24/7. I think the religion point I made earlier is all too true; don't tell me I am dumb (a la Mac vs. PC commercial) for my beliefs and expect me to want to join you.

DomZ

your mac may give you less headaches, but using a mac gives me headaches (and i've tried). that doesn't mean either of us is an idiot, it just means we're *gasp* different people!

oldmanstan

mcg1969

Apple makes lifestyle computers. Nice looking "hip and young" systems. As far as the premium car comparisons, give it a rest. Macs and PCs are on the same silicon now. So performance is fairly identical.
its more like dodge caravan and plymouth voyager than any ford to mercedes comparison. (whatever Jobs wants to think)

calaverasgrandes

Come on - We take care of multiple Mac and PC labs here. The Macs last no longer than the PCs when you take price per unit into account. We pay about $1K for our DELL workstations and about $2.5K for our Macintosh units. The DELLs are used for 8-9 years and the Macs about 10(They aren't really meeting needs. Should be on a 8-9 year cycle just like the DELLs.). When you look at the extra cost that year is really expensive.

We have a big problem right now in that Apple either makes low-end, limited expandable throw away units or ultra high-end dual Xeon processor desktops. There is no single processor dual core tower for mid-end graphics work for what they used to sell the towers for.

While fanboys seem to think ignoring this segment is good. In our case it means we are squeezing more years out of our existing PowerPC Macs than we'd like. Adminsitration is on the fence as to purchasing more Macs when we show them the per unit tower cost.

Apple makes GREAT profits. They always have and always will as long as they have such a strong cult following, willing to pay a premium for design concepts and a perception of uniqueness.

I mean go to their online ordering system and add an extra stick of ram to their tower unit and look at what that same type/stick of RAM costs when bundled with a DELL system. It's a major difference and it's not just the RAM that's sold at a huge markup.

----------

The car analogies are just silly. Our Macheads here used to always say - you get what you pay for a PC is a Ugo and a Mac is a Ferarri. Mmmm, Mmmm - Ok, keep drinking the red koolaid. Now it's more like comparing two cars that use the same engines, transmission, tires, wheels, shocks, brakes, etc. and a different chassis. The one with the Apple logo on the chassis will only run on a special type of gasoline(software) that's in short supply, whereas the one with the Windows logo has a gas station on every corner.

Boy is that Apple chassis pretty though and clear over the engine so I can see it all the time. When I want to change the radio it's not just the radio it's the REAL radio.

Nyle

In addition, I'm at college right now and I can say that Mac users represent way more than 6% (Texas) from the laptops I see. In fact, I'd say they're somewhere over 25% based off what I've seen here. Besides, historically speaking, Mac users tend to be from the middle/upper classes of society, and there's always less rich people than working class people.

sdf632

This is a stupid article. Do your research better CHARLIE WHITE.

doinka

It shows there are a lot of old people in IT, but you're right there are a lot of dumb people. Look at our "leaders" if you want proof.

engele

Ryanraven

It shows there's less smart people than there is dumb people ;-) I'm glad Im one of the 6.3% that does know whats up. Lets just wait and see how these numbers turn out in another 10 years.

jim82488

here are my issues with Windows: WGA, Windows OS level DRM, Mandatory Driver Signing (which is a tax on peripheral providers), UAC, Sys requirements (I can install the latest version of Ubuntu on seven year old hardware, and I have about eight original iMacs running the latest version of OSX in the mailroom), licensing headaches with re-installs and windows software activation (why do I need to call Microsoft to re-install on the same machine?), and I could go on.

Things I hate about Apple?

iTunes DRM (but it's better than WMA DRM), iPhone locked to ATT and no SDK, poor backup software available.

Things I hate about Ubuntu?

Driver support (but it's getting better), updates sometimes break things, application support, and media support (but that is getting better as well).

engele

gundark

Apple stock: $186 and climbing
Dell stock: $28 and stagnant

There's a lot more to business success than market share.

PopCan

Hey, I run my enterprise on Apple - seems to work just fine - if a multi million $$ business meets your spec as an 'enterprise'

MINI Driver

CarbonatedWater

Another fine comment brought to you by the people at formulaic responses. Providing readymade solutions to the internets most heated debates.

ultim8fury

engele

Dells are like a Zune, Macs are like iPods.

Companies buy their employees the cheapest thing that will get the job done. The Dell market share is made up mostly corporate purchases. Most of the Mac sales are people spending their own hard earned money. They probably use windows at work and want something better for their own use.

If people weren't being forced to use Dells at work their sales figures would look like the Zune's!

PopCan

Mayfield

mmeads

DomZ

Recently I had a laptop crash and the replacement came with Vista...which I am so disappointed with as far as performance goes (XP was so stable out of the box, why isn't Vista?).

Realizing that for photos, videos, and graphics I need some real horsepower, I have just ordered a Mac Pro! Something that has made this decision even easier is the existence of Parallels Desktop.

Now I am a Mac/Windows person and determined to make them seamless together for my workflow.

wildness

ecobore

odnet

While my first mac was bought during college (free ipod, free printer, and $150 off), the second was purchased long after I graduated (free ipod, $200 off).
Apple gives a discount to any student, teacher, administrator, or staff member at a teaching institution (or anyone smart enough to search the website and click a link).

Perhaps the ipod incentive is only available in back-to-school months, that just makes it a back-to-school sale, and I for one have never gotten a mail in rebate from apple.

brodie

dworks

Dimplemonkey

I bought my mom an HP Desktop back in 2006... she had so many problems, she always needed help, and the damn thing ran very slow. I spent about $600. I was so frustrated with that crap that I gave her my eMac which was 2 years older than that PC. Sold the PC on craigslist for cheap. The Mac runs way better and I never get a call about any problems.

The End. ;)

G-stylez

naphets66

ejfoto

want to find the most profitable company? look at the income statements in their 10-Ks

chudbluth

Bender

If you want a machine to run OSX, there is no choice. You have to go Apple. Because of that, Apple doesn't have to competitively price its computers and doesn't have to produce 20 different models. That allows Apples computer business to be very efficient and profitable. Throw the iphone and ipod into the mix and it's no wonder the are raking in the cash.

Dell and HP have to compete against every other PC maker out there. To do that they have to offer lots of choices, and keep prices low. On top of that, every piece of included software, including the OS is an added cost. The only place to turn a profit is on the hardware, and because there are so many other choices, they profits must be smaller.

Bender

Klaw

brodie

Of course... then again you cannot build your own Mac either.

"...has virtually no virus, malware, spyware issues..."

If I was a virus programmer, would I be thinking or creating a virus for those unfortunate users running OS Warp 2 version 1.0 ?... Nope.
They would target the largest audience... AKA Windows users.
(By the way, I never had any serious virus in 15+ years of Windows)

You can still run DOS programs in Vista. Can OSX run Apple II programs?

Legacy baby, legacy is what large corporation and PC users look for, hence the largest market share.

aec007

Not to mention an Apple laptop costs nearly twice as much as a Dell lappy with similar specs. You get pretentious nerds to invade every blog known to man when you have the high prices and elitist attitude that Apple does. The problem is you don't get the mainstream volume that the "normal" PC makers bring in when you to alienate others.

I think the Mac and PC commercials did more harm than help in the long run for Apple as well. Most, if not all, of the negatives Apple cited for PCs in those commercials were potentially a plus to anyone who wasn't already a part of Apple's small userbase.

DomZ

Every once in a while you can get a discount on a Mac via Amazon.

jriga

dchen05

workingonyourinvoice

...although i'm not really sure any pwning went on due to these arguments.

brodie

STFU bia biotch.

You lost cool points 3 posts ago. Don't try to jump on the Mac side now.

Macs are about $100 more than a similar Windows PC unless you build your own, then you can get a PC very cheap.

Macs last a long time, give you MUCH less trouble and stress, and they frickin' work. Can't put a price on that.

nimbus

Windowz boys feeling the pwnage today. HAHAHAHAHA!!

Mac OS X works very well, I'm happy with that. Windows sucks, you're content with that.

Everything is balanced, see?

nimbus

johnnyabnormal

LOL, fanboys are just too easy! Flamebait FTW!

RobotVampire

not that linux is for everyone.

i NEVER said that os x wasn't good, i never said that macs aren't good, i just said they're more expensive in real money terms. if you're the type of person who likes os x (i hate it, my sister loves it for example) then its a premium you're willing to pay.

oldmanstan

Angus

PC's are cheap and easy to fix, but I don't care for them. Macs are pricey and getting repairs done is harder (though you DON'T have to go to an Apple store) but I prefer them to PC's. I like the usability, the nearly virus free aspect, the fact that I can use my Unix ability to make it do what I want and I like the company as a whole. Is Apple smaller? Yah, so what? Do I think they make a better machine? Yes I do. Do you? I don't care. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to place my pre-order for OSX.5

Oldbrass

And the fact that it runs the best OS in the world; has virtually no virus, malware, spyware issues; comes pre-loaded with just about everything you need to get started.

Oh, and by the way, I read on Slashdot that the simple act of installing an updated driver can render your Vista PC deactivated! Hahahahahahaha!

Read and laugh! >>> [slashdot.org]

Guess what? No activation required for OS X.

The_Raven

"Apple sells something that is uniquely poised to exploit a tectonic shift in world currency from industry to information."... what the fuck does that even mean?! they sell computers and media devices just like a million other companies. good lord, did you have to go to special school to learn to talk so much without saying anything?

apple has done a fantastic job of developing a brand image which has driven up demand for its products. but that's all it is, a BRAND IMAGE, like the coors guy or joe camel. apples products are no different than anyone elses on a technical level (in fact macs are just stock PCs nowadays).

they have amazing designers working for them, just like bmw and mercedes. if you stuck a taurus body and cabin on bmw internals and sold them for bmw prices nobody would buy them (except for the freak-show value of it). but if you stuck a bmw body and cabin on taurus internals and priced it at the taurus price-point you'd have people lining up.

as long as something is functional, good design will win out every time. but when you couple that great design with excellent functionality (like appple and bmw) then you get people willing to pay tons of money for your products.

oldmanstan

I couldn't have PWNED you any better than you just did for yourself.

jriga

And martet cap means absolutly nothing, it's based on stock price to number of outstanding shares -- not how much profit the company is actually generating.

y2hh

The_Raven

I like being stealthy!

:-)

chazzzzy

Dang. You pee-cee boys are kicking your own asses today.

jriga

nstafott

for instance, you can only get a mac with a core 2 duo, no AMD processors (which are generally cheaper and just as good for 99.9% of users). you can't get ATI video cards which are faster than nvidia about half the time (since their release cycles seem to be staggered, please lets not debate ati vs. nvidia btw, suffice it to say that both are fine options for the vast majority).

the point is that with apple you get the specs they give you, with a pc you have a ton of choice so you can get a computer that serves your purposes just as well as a mac for less money. so while macs might be competitive in a spec-for-spec comparison, in the REAL world you pay a premium for the sweet privilege of mac ownership.

oldmanstan

almost every mac owner ive come into contact with praise mac because its made like a preschool tool, basically shouting "hey im dumb i use a mac!"

dont get me wrong, i loved the macs i had when i was 10, running sim city, and kid pix, and those flying toasters, but then again, i was 10, and even then i just turned around and worked with the 286's swapping parts and puttin memory on trees.

this article sums up my feelings
[www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net]

daewootech

jriga

Your mom, but that's beside the point.

I love how people say "fanboy" when it comes to Apple's stuff. I wonder why they have fans, oh yeah, they make good shit.

When was the last time people was excited with something that Dell or Microsoft had to announce? Never.

Apple leads, others follow. Look at Mac OS X, the iPod, the iPhone. Vista wants to be OS X but doesn't have a clue. Other DAPs try to be like the iPod with the player's layout, but no one's confused (Zune lol). The iPhone. Even Nokia is trying to be iPhone-ish, but their just iPhoney.

Get a clue, Apple is making inroads. I'm just happy that they make using a computer simple.

BSOD, RROD. Who's known for that?

lol

nimbus

GOKOR

Apple sells something that is uniquely poised to exploit a tectonic shift in world currency from industry to information. Google is in the same boat.
Apple's small relative size combined with the underlying value of its products at a time when society is transforming itself in a way that values those products is what gives Apple its value.
Apple produces something that more and more people want.
Currently, not that much of the world owns what Apple makes - but wants it.

It is because Apple has such a tiny percent of a burgeoning market that it is uniquely positioned to exploit is why its value is so great.

frigg

I can't remember the last time I typed a report... but I can guarantee it was longer than the last time you spanked off to the picture on wonder woman on your underoos.

jriga

Macs actually have taken substantial share in the retail market, as that 17.6% figure illustrates, especially when you remember that notebooks have now surpassed desktops in the retail market.

At any rate, comparing Apple to Dell and to a lesser extent HPQ doesn't make a ton of sense (as many commenters have done) because their business models are so different. Dell is basically a company that buys parts, builds a box around them and then markets those boxes. Apple operates a much higher margin business because they actually design and manufacture much more of their computers than Dell or HPQ. Same goes for music players or phones for that matter.

cdog

fatalbush

a lot of people don't have a few extra hundred dollars to spend on a computer either, i don't see the difference. just because one thing is more expensive than another on average doesn't mean the two markets aren't comparable. relative prices are what matters. when i go to the grocery store to buy bread i buy the cheapest bread that suits my needs, i don't go "well, bread is cheaper than a car so i'll just buy the fanciest one i can no matter the price". same with computers, people don't just buy the absolute best no matter the price, they buy the cheapest computer that fits their needs.

oldmanstan

keh

ejfoto

@zippyZ:
Is that company profit? We are talking about computer only, not iPod and other stuff.

xenobread

PS: Apple computers aren't significantly more expensive than comparable Windows-only PCs. Do a price comparison and see for yourself.

sgodun

All solid runners and I loves 'em, so I do.

strider_mt2k

jriga

Watch the Sunday morning news programs sometime. There aren't ads for Apple servers. That's a problem because that's when people who make decisions about what equipment to buy get information.

Apple's switch campaign was a failure. Fanboys, cry all you want, but the truth is that after a year of the Switch TV ad campaign, Apple lost marketshare. This is largely because Apple still cannot get the customer who is looking for a 200 terminal set-up. In those situations, shiny loses to cost every time. Additionally, programs like Citrix just don't play well with OSX, diminishing the benefit.

Business is where the PC market is at.

God made the pretty girls pretty because he likes them more

Market share is NOT a accurate means of measuring installed base of a object. If you have two labs of 10 computers two different types (one mac one PC, one Dell one HP you pick) and lets say one lab needs to be replaced every 2 years for whatever reason, while the other is still perfectly fine, the market share in that quarter would show that (a) manufacturer had a higher market share while their installed base stayed the same.

In perspective we currently run 5-6 year old Macintosh machines, and 2 year old Dells that are replaced every 2-3 years due to wear and tear. One of the know facts about Macintosh machines is they have a much lower upkeep cost, this is a fact that many IT magazines have tested, that it costs more to maintain a PC than a Mac due mostly to the fact that macs can last twice as long as a PC most times. So people are replacing PCs much more often than they are replacing Macs.

Thus the market share per quarter is always going to be higher for a PC though the installer base might much narrower to each other.

Falconfire

show the profit numbers. Apple is rolling in the dough while the PC manufactures are slicing and dicing to try to make a decent profit.

show the market share trends.. Apple is going up, HP is going up, Dell is going through the floor.

even among the PC manufactures your childish "analysis" isn't even indicative of what is going on

please get a clue!

doctorSpoc

greysky

WMeredith

Ownage confirmed.

nimbus

I love Gizmodo, but I've noticed when an issue requires some level of serious analysis beyond the actual gadgets, it tends to fall a short. I'm not saying they SHOULD be good at it, it's not generally what they do. But it shows when they over-reach.

dap12321

Thanks for owning that fool. I see a log of "jizz"modos don't know wtf they are talking about when it comes to Apple.

Apple is donkey punching Dell's worth, and this is just the beginning. Leopard isn't even out, the iPhone isn't world wide yet, and there's more to come.

Prepare for perpetual pwnage ya pansy pants.

nimbus

and dont call me a fanboy. even if i am.

ch3m1st

Yeah...well your a WINDOWS tech...see Macs run Unix...and if you really knew anything about networking you would know wtf unix/linux is....you sir fail.

zippyZ

Um bpatten...let me get you a clue...

AAPL 161 Billion
HP 139 Billion
Dell 63 Billion

WTF were you saying?

Oh and revenues are nice but lets look at profits shall we munch!

Apple has a P/E of 52.22
HP has a P/E of 20.71
Dell Has currently no P/E because they are delinquent in their SEC filings (hmmmm)

It was 23.1 last time it was measured....ALL WAY SHORT of APPLE.

By the way...since you obviously know nothing about business. It only matters what you keep. As can be seen Apple is whooping the hog shiat outta these two.
Nana :P

zippyZ

jriga

Second I would say that market share is the main thing that should be looked at with computer companies. It doesn't matter how much profit they make, obviously higher sales prices will usually drive up profit. Also I understand the concern about not separating business users from home users when looking at market share. But I am confident that even when looking at only home users the market share will remain at about the same percent.

Simply taking a quick poll for my self. I currently go to college, and a lot of people use their laptops in class. I'd say about out of the 50 students I've seen with a laptop maybe 3 had a macbook. So thats 6 percent right there. And even looking at the desktops of people that I only know one person with a mac desktop at home.

My school actually just recently purchased about 50 macs for our library, and whats a little ironic is that they are all running xp. I guess the mac os doesnt work well with the schools login system.

blankmind13

You can whine and whine about DIY and 'buying parts on newegg' -but all that shows is how little you really know about Macs. In 17 years of Mac use I have never, NOT ONCE, replaced a part in ANY of my macs. When I want to upgrade, I sell my current Mac and buy a new one. Macs hold their value, unlike a Dell or HP. I sold my 24" white iMac for 95% of what I paid for a year earlier and bought the new Aluminum iMac. The upgrade cost was certainly LESS than buying parts from newegg for a PC and 'doing it myself'.

Your best bet is to quit posting about Macs. You obviously don't use them, and don't 'get' them. And THAT is why I'm thrilled to use Macs with their single digit market share. People like you deserve Windoze, and it's exactly what you get.

jriga

Apple earns about 50% more profit than Dell on a quarter of the sales.
Apple sales tripled in the past 3 years, while Dell's increased only 50%.

Investors want large, fast-growing profits. Apple has that, and Dell doesn't.

zipflash