Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Rumors, Software
Macs aren't going anywhere
There are a number of articles cropping up lately
proposing that, due to the success of the iPod, Apple will move away from producing Macs in '06 and either release OS X
truly into the wild or simply shelve it to collect dust through the ages.First off, I refuse to link to any of these preposterous articles, as there is no way I am directly contributing to their ad impressions. Second, it's the holidays, so I'm going to try and be nice: I couldn't think of a more ridiculous, unfounded or illogical thing to say about Apple at a time like this (yea, that's me being *nice*).
Yes the iPod is wildly successful. Woohoo. While Macs don't make nearly as big news as iPods, nor do they look half as cool dangling from someone's neck, the Mac's market share in the US is up to 6.6% - almost double what I heard it was a couple of years ago. Sure, 6.6% is pocket change to the rest of the industry, but that has to be big, big bucks in Apple's pockets. Further, with Apple promising a full transition to Intel-based Macs over the next two years, there's even less of a possibility that any of this "Macs are disappearing" silliness could make a shred of sense.
So please, rational TUAW readers: don't fire up your Google searches for "Macs are disappearing," and don't click on those RSS headlines. Sit back, relax over the holidays, and relish in the fact that our favorite computer maker is finally enjoying some much-deserved success.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
W. Ian Blanton said 9:46AM on 12-23-2005
What these people need to remember is two words that I'm sure Apple has up in big letters somewhere at Apple HQ: Walk man.
I just don't think that the iPod can stay the leader forever. Eventually economies of scale will get them. Maybe Apple will eventually license the iPod OS or something, but eventually the iPod won't be as big in the market. Eventually it will stop being "cool". Hopefully that day will be a long way off, but it will come.
The folks at Apple have to know that day is coming, and are planning for it.
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damien said 10:01AM on 12-23-2005
I got my first Mac, and first computer for that matter, in 1993. A 33mhz performa 550. I steadily became a believer within the next few years, which were the dark ages for Apple. It was tough being an 'evangelist' back then. Prone to constant jeering & ridicule from everyone else who started hopping on the computer bandwagon. "Macs Suck, you have no software or games available, you can't get third party stuff, it is proprietary, too expensive, not a serious computer, a joke, a toy" very common to hear. I think market share was below 3% by 1996. All I ever encountered was doom & gloom speak when the topic of Apple came up. I was ridiculed for believing the Mac wasn't going away. PC users would say "We'll see in a year or two, you won't have an Apple computer anymore, and we'll be having the last laugh" or "their time in the sun is over..." I kept fighting the good fight. I remember when the rumors started to fly the Sun was going to buy Apple. I would have never imagined at that time that Steve Jobs would come back, and that Apple would have so many cool things out, and so loved by a media that seemed to despise them only a decade ago. There were never 'feel good' or positive articles being written about Apple. Even when they came out with something innovative & cool, it was shunned.
If we made it though those times, I am not even the least bit concerned about how things are now! Anyone who buys into that hoopla are just plain wrong & stupid. And who is having the last laugh now? I see these people still, and here I am with a Graphic design job at a great company, I use top of the line Macs all day, every day, and they are still doing their non-computer job from back then, and no so into computers anymore. I give them the dual middle finger salute & say "Macs suck! You were right, Apple blows & will be out of business any day now"
Reminds me of a shirt I saw about 10 years ago.
"Apple; proudly going out of business for 20 years"
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Judge said 12:23PM on 12-23-2005
Is this the best the Windoze camp can come up with now?
It used to be the low marketshare that was going to drive Apple out of the computer business. Now it's the high marketshare of the iPod that's going to do it? Another angle for fear, uncertainty and doubt to be pushed out by the media pundits.
Honestly, I believe any article that claims Apple is giving up on computers has to be some new form of spin from Micro$oft!
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Carson said 2:02PM on 12-23-2005
I'd care what they said If i could stop editing photos while uploading to my ftp while i blast my itunes with a dvd playing in a small window in the corner of my amazing 23inch cinema display while a minimized toast 7 burns a dual layer dvd in the background.... I really would care about the windozes users if i had a beige box with some lag time...
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Carson said 2:03PM on 12-23-2005
I'd care what they said If i could stop editing photos while uploading to my ftp while i blast my itunes with a dvd playing in a small window in the corner of my amazing 23inch cinema display while a minimized toast 7 burns a dual layer dvd in the background.... The best part is I'm making 30 an hour part time doing this. I couldnt do this on a win box.
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Michael R McKinney said 3:02PM on 12-23-2005
+
The columnists who believe Apple will abandon the Mac obviously haven't been reading the dozens of articles speculating about what new Macs are in the pipeline: Intel-powered PowerBooks? A Mac mini media device? New Mac form factors? Ultra-thin notebooks?
Also, anyone who believes Macs are going away obviously doesn't pay attention to the biggest barometer of a computer platform's future: third-party support. I truly doubt the likes of Adobe and Microsoft would be continuing to pump time and money into getting their Mac apps Intel-ready, were they to believe the platform only has a year or so left. And why would Mozilla release FireFox 1.5 for OS X if they felt Macs were going away?
Like damien, I remember the dark times of the mid-90s, when Apple's future seemed all but doomed. Times are different now. The Mac is stronger today, evidenced both by third-party support (Maya Unlimited, anyone?), market share, and media coverage. Macs were rarely mentioned in the mid-90s (unless the article was about Apple's pending death). Today, it's hard to read any article about computing that doesn't mention the Mac. Easier to use. Virus-free. True plug-and-play. Industry-leading industrial design...phrases repeated in article after article.
The only negative comment I see with any consistency? Macs aren't as good for hard-core gamers as PCs. That, and the occassional "certain specialized business applications won't run on Macs." That's it. Do a Google News search for "Apple Computer" and nearly all of the articles are positive.
Do they give credit to the iPod? Yes, and they should: The iMac began Apple's long road to recovery; the iPod took Apple to the top of tech. I've got a 30gig 5G iPod, and love it. But as so many intelligent columnists have pointed out, it's not the iPod that's great, per se. It's the iPod/iTunes/iTMS that's great...the whole widget, as Steve Jobs would say. That's what makes Apple great. That's what makes Macs great. Hardware, software, and services. Yes, the majority of iPod owners use Windows...but I don't see Apple serving up the iTMS in Dell boxes anytime soon.
Apple's own Macs (Xserves) power apple.com and iTMS, as does Mac OS X server. (This is at least true with apple.com; I assume this means it's also true for iTMS.) Apple's making great inroads into the IT departments of universities and biotech (and supercomputing), with the Xserve/OS X combo. They just released a brand-new professional digital photo app (Aperture), and they have the lock on the digital video market. One look at the pro apps that Apple markets to creative pros (Final Cut, Aperture, Soundtrack, Motion, Shake) should be enough to convince anyone that Apple's focus is not straying from the Mac and going to consumer electronics. Instead, a look at the Quad G5 and Final Cut Studio, along with iLife and iPod/iTunes/iTMS, should be enough to convince anyone with an ounce of sense that Apple is still supporting the Mac, still supporting a professional audience, while at the same time becomming the best consumer electronics company in the world.
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Ken C said 3:41PM on 12-23-2005
Economies of scale?!? What do you mean? Did you mean to say regression to the mean? If anything economies of scale are working to Apple's advantage! They are the big dog, with the most market sales, and the strongest purchasing power. They buy the most expensive component in a MP3 player for less than the competition. They have the pricing advantage. They can make 20% margins on their iPod line, while their competitors lose money. That's economies of scale. Creative's new Vision, is priced $30 more than Apple's iPod. And, they're probably losing money on it. Eventually, those companies who are losing money, because they can't compete on price will drop out of the business. That's the power of economies of scale.
The fact is, there's no end in sight to Apple's advantage in the MP3 market. There will have to be a new technology other than harddrives and flash memory, that could provide an economic advantage to another mfr, and there isn't.
Also, remember Sony sold over 300 million Walkmans. Apple has plenty of room for growth.
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Mojo said 5:42PM on 12-23-2005
It's the noob lil'bopper, script- kiddie idiots rehashing the same story that's been around for decades.
As we still say- "Apple; proudly going out of business for 30 years."
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Tom Barta said 12:45AM on 12-24-2005
Ever wonder why non-Apple MP3 players suck 4 years after the Dawn of the iPod? Because their designers lack vision, just like the analyst you cite. Apple is selling iPods to PAVE THE WAY TO A MAC-PLANET. Embrace that! Deal with it! A c**p company like Microsoft, rich as it is, can't hold back the winds of progress forever. We aren't still driving around in horse and buggy are we? American Buggywhip, like MSFT was once a part of the Dow Index.
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Dan said 11:08PM on 12-24-2005
I agree with TUAW in that anyone who thinks Apple is moving away from the Mac platform is not looking at the facts. Why would they bother switching to Intel CPUs? Why would they bother releasing new, pro, Mac-Only apps (i.e.. Aperture)? Why would they keep updating and enhancing their product line (i.e.. New iMacs with built in iSight)? It's pure stupidity to think they would dump the Mac line.
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