Steve Consilvio's Profile

"Why does Apple think that making their computers smaller or thinner is nearly as important as price and horsepower."-gwmac Because Apple is vain, and cares more about what the computer looks like than what is inside them. They constantly cut corners on the guts of the machine. It is a great irony that the "engineer" Steve Jobs who loves to tinker with computers, should think that others should not be allowed to tinker, too. It's like the old-school thinking of never asking a doctor a question, or perhaps Oliver asking for "more" is a better equivalent. We have the best water-down soup there is, how dare consumers think they know what they want? :-) Has cheaper prices and more horsepower ever failed as a winning formula? It seems to have worked well for the iPod. The MacPro needs to start at $1299. And Apple across the board should be cutting their prices. Their excessive profits all stem from overcharging users. They don't necessarily need a new tower, just less expensive products. Other manufacturers have to pay Microsoft to build a box; Apple has a huge price advantage that they let go to waste by trying to double-dip and maximize profits.

If it wasn't just Microsoft vs Apple, then you might not think of yourself as a Microsoft infidel. Like our politics, people live in a binary world intellectually. The Apple Stores can't be just a store, they have to be "genius." It isn't an MP3 player, it's the "best MP3 player in the world." It isn't a computer, "it's the best and most stable operating the world has ever seen." And, of course, it MUST be perpetually improved, and quickly. One must be first and best in everything that one does. One must conquer the "evil" others who lurk in the shadows, ill-defined and guilty by association and accusation. It is not a random coincidence that fascists also think of themselves as superior to everyone else. They lift themselves up by putting others down. Fascists want total control and perpetual adulation. Nothing makes that easier than a clearly defined enemy, which is what Microsoft has provided to Apple (and vice-versa.) The "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads are built around this trite dichotomy. Another way to put it: when there were multiple OS's, you used to find the right software, and then buy the hardware to run it. Apple claims that it has the software and hardware you need, but only if you are doing nothing serious with the computer (music, games, photos.) Apple has always bristled at the implication that it was a "toy" machine, and not a business machine. But look at what they sell, how they sell it, and who they sell it to. That is pretty much how they act, and their commercials are equally juvenile with burning bunnies, tanks, dancing and music, and mocking PC. These are all based on a "good vs evil" tautology. The great irony of partisan (fascist) people is that they do not realize just how partisan (fascist) they are. Their fear of "the other guy" makes everything they do appear as "commonsense" to themselves.

The Big Box retailers shift constantly, which is why Apple needs their own stores. I agree on that point. But the VAR's need to be independent, that's what makes them a VAR. All the PC companies that currently exist would sell and support Mac's if Apple would just give them a fair shake. I wish it wasn't true, but Apple is the one responsible for their dismal market-share. Also, to some extent, you and me, since our willingness to overpay has given them an inflated ego. Funny, the infatuation with how "cool" they are in media, commercials, etc., is really just a cover-up for how uncool they are in real life. Steve Jobs is petty, demanding, insulting, self-aggrandizing, greedy, etc. Three cheers for the OS (Next) and all that, but he is still a liability for the company as a whole. Like the Tim Man, if he would just grow a heart, he would be great. But like the Lion, he is too afraid. So we get stuck with the scarecrow. He flaps his arms, but the world ignores him. Other companies are jealous of his success, you have that right, but the companies he needs most (VAR's) he won't do business with, and they have all abandoned him. Deservedly so. We all reap what we sow. Not even Apple can reprogram that.

Oh I like the stores okay, but like many restaurants that I have loved, I can sense that they won't be open forever. The Stores will last a while though, and will undoubtedly go through many more changes, too. Apple has been running in the black, and they have a healthy cash reserve, too, which most small businesses don't have. But the big guys do fall. COMP USA seemed pretty secure, too, so did Circuit City. It's expensive to own inventory, and now when they drain the channel, they are also draining their own sores for a refresh. I agree something like the stores was needed, however, they "work" for a shifting demographic. They don't NEED them for long-time loyal users, only for newbies. Think of it this way: I have bought 10+ Macs over the last 20 years, but a PC iPod user spends $150 and may never buy again. The Stores cater to the iPod customer, but are just over-lap/redundancy for the big customers, at very high rent. No matter how many Apple Stores they build, there will still be a 100:1 ratio for places to get a PC. The problem wasn't the demand for computers, or the places to buy them, but the underlying reason why people preferred a PC. It had a lot to do with support, which is why Apple has the genius bar, but the genius bar has very limited support, it doesn't really solve the issue. My point is that Apple needs the small business market that the resellers cater to. The Stores will never fill that niche, especially with premium priced products, like on displays. The Apple Store is a crappy store compared to what other computer stores offer. They have no selection, which puts them back where they started. There has always been this funny assumption that Apple should and wants to take over the world, but they have never been willing to embrace an obvious strategy that would work: give people what they ask for, treat people fairly, value the services of resellers. They are still zero for three on that score. Other computer manufacturers will continue to fill that vacuum as long as Apple leaves it open. The stores don't close this gap, they widen it more. The stores win the battle and lose the war, both financially and politically. Only an idiot could have a superior product and fail to be able to sell it. Steve Jobs is that idiot. The stores were necessary because of his continuing marketing failures; they are not a sign of his prowess.

You mean OS 9 isn't the last real Mac ever? :-) I miss the old days of plentiful and cheap software and everything was new. OS 9? Not so much. I booted my old tower in it a few months back, (it runs X usually) poked around a few minutes, clicked on the wrong thing, and it crashed. Like a Pavlovian bell, I remembered everything that came with 9. (Was Windows really any worse or archaic in the infinite ad nauseam details we must remember to get things to work?) What exactly was being "evangelized," fewer flat tires than the other guy! Remember how much more time we had when we were less productive in OS 9? The rat-race wins by making us wait or by making us hurry. The best definition of a computer I ever heard is that is is a "mistake amplifier." It's not the tool, it's the hand that uses it that matters.

Robomac, you may be an infidel in the church of Microsoft, but you are a true believer in the church of Apple. :-) A toaster does not have to make burnt toast, but pretty much the only thing it can do is make toast. It's a tool, not a religion. As far as the oligopoly goes, Apple wants to be a part of many oligopolies simultaneously. Does that make them more virtuous or less virtuous than other oligopolists? It doesn't take much to stir up a hornets nest within an oligarchy; they are already paranoid of one another. And again, you seem to give too much credit to Apple for their strategic positioning. Without the carrier, they have no iPhone. Without the record monopoly, they have no iTunes store. Without TV and movies, they have no Apple TV. They are a bit player, and a weak player in these industries. Their real strength is in computers, and they still have not figured out how to sell them. They are constantly making claims about how it is improving (tiger to leopard, Power PC to Intel) but that is all insider talk. Even the commercials mocking the PC, while funny, do nothing but mock the person they are trying to sell to. You, like them, are thinking about Microsoft, rather than thinking about real people. You have objectified yourself and others. Apple presents itself as confusing, elitist and overpriced, because Steve Jobs is confused, elitist and greedy. He is not unique by any means, most of America fits that description, but to understand Apple, you need to understand that. The Microsoft true believers are very much the same, and they have far more invested in their learning curve, too. For example, I design in Illustrator, it would be practically impossible for me to switch to Corel, no matter how good Corel is. People generally don't change their religion. Just because they bought an iPod, that runs on Windows, it doesn't follow that they will be buying a Mac anytime soon. Apple has accommodated the Windows user, the Windows user will buy their hardware (maybe even a Mac to run Windows,) but you need to recognize that your Pope (Steve Jobs) is just chasing the money. He could care less about you or your evangelization. They dropped the word "computer" because computers are not that important anymore. They need to chase the money, wherever they can find it. In other words, Steve Jobs blew it. Maybe things would have been different if Woz never left. And he will blow it again, based on the dominos he is constructing. It is hard to survive in one oligopoly, it is impossible to survive in many of them. While in the short term success in one area will give strength to the weaker areas, at some point he will have multiple weak spots. At this point, it seems more likely that Apple will be broken up, not Microsoft. But there is still time for Apple to come to its senses. It has a lot of strengths, it just needs to use them more wisely. Unfortunately, pride and paranoia tends to be the downfall of every titan, and Apple has shown plenty of signs of both.

Steve and Bill were both doing the same thing at the same time. If Bill grew up to be "the Borg" then the question is "what did Steve do wrong?" While I don't care for Windows, I actually did enjoy DOS. lol Neither of them invented the GUI. The computer, almost by definition, is a collaborative tool. At a minimum it needs information to be useful, but its primary function is to transform data into knowledge, and to enable deeper and richer methods of communication. Steve never really "got it" that he needs to work with other people fairly. Microsoft's success is wholly due to the fact that Steve is a dink. Steve is still far too concerned with what the computers look like, rather than how they work. Apple continues to be arrogant and dismissive of other players in the industry. Plus, the Apple mindset is not so different than the Microsoft mindset. A borg is a borg is a borg. This is an oligarchy of two. Steve Jobs may think he is a populist. You may think you are a populist with him, but you have already stated that politics is laundry-load of crap. How does this logic work? Can't you see your own crap? Steve wants money and power. You invest with him because you want money and power. You are an infidel because you want Microsoft's money and power, not because you oppose the concentration of money and power. This is a subtle but huge difference. So what happens when Apple reaches critical mass? It becomes the new borg, same as the old borg. Napoleon was a populist too, and then he crowned himself emperor for life. :-) Vindication? Apple shot itself in the foot so many times that is why it can only trot around in circles. And really, this has nothing to do with computers. Apple makes music players, TV's and telephones and resells other people's content. Consciously or not, Apple has already admitted defeat when it comes to computers and software. While the product is better, they have no idea how to sell it.