Apple G5 Rumors
Published 5 years, 5 months ago in macintoshI almost wrote about the G5 rumors the other day, then I figured, why bother… hell, McMinute didn’t post anything about the G5 until today and even then, all they did was point to an eWeek article that was published yesterday (no corroboration on MM’s part), and the hard(er) rumors with facts have been coming out for days… At least MacCentral puts the news into context for its broader reader base.
Today, however, I read this post on In My Experience, and figured I’d comment as well:
Apple’s biggest problem in the consumer market might be the clock speed gap perception, but I don’t that’s really the issue keeping more consumers from buying Macintoshes.
People buy computers based on referrals and recommendations, and the majority of people out there that own computers, recommend what they own, use at work, or have used in the past (positive or negative recommendations). They make recommendations based on the experience and their perception of ‘what is best.’
Thus, I’d make the argument that more people think PCs are better for others, because that’s where the market share lies…
A WHOLE LOT of people out there don’t own Macs, and haven’t used them in many years, thus they can’t make a recommendation, to their friends asking them, to buy a Mac. Apple needs to work on that.
And part of the issue might be for Apple to really work hard to get more corporate (commercial and in-house) software ported to OS X. My company dropped Macs for our sales department because there aren’t any really good/useful media sales applications for OS X, or at least there weren’t 2 years ago when we built the hardware replacement plan, which turned into a ‘transition to Windows’ plan.
Then again, to Apple’s credit, the whole market share battle was lost a long time ago to Windows, and thus Apple’s done a good-enough job of ‘hanging on’ and might just have the patience and fortitude to win over enough people one-by-one to make it back to a thriving market share picture some-day. I know I’ll never abandon them as a customer for a PC that I personally pay for.
And, no, I don’t have a clue if the rumors will come true at the WWDC… and I wouldn’t tell you if I did. (okay, maybe I have a clue, but I’m not spilling the beans) Though, I do have a feeling about new powerbooks in the near future (just because of the recent price drops) but that feeling isn’t as solid as my view on the new G5s.
8 Responses to “Apple G5 Rumors”
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Getting a Mac into the corporate environment is tough….I’m the only one out of 2,000+ computers. I get no support and had to hack my way into the network without using Citrix. You have to sell the techies and the IT bosses on why you need OS X. My saving grace, was that I deal with companies who use Macs, so it was simpler for me to have one, than require that they have one too. I’m an old IT (Unix & Windows) guy who had a DTP background so I could speak their language. I’m really shocked that more techies haven’t embraced OS X, it’s Unix with a good Desktop and X11.
I talked about something like this on my blog last week, and I agree with you. My take on the software part of it is, a lot of people say that Quark is the saving grace. I think OS X would be more widely accepted if more of the computer accessories on the shelves in Wal-Mart or Target would support OS X out of the box. Either with built in generic drivers or support from the companies. Apple could do a lot more, by extending programming support to these groups, but who knows.
I talked to a cousin-in-law this past weekend. He does logo design and branding, uses Macs primarily, all of them on OS X, and he didn’t even know about the 970 rumors. The previous time I saw him, he was looking for an upgrade for his Cube.
Apple must make sure people like him know about the new machines, and know that they’re much faster than the previous models (a strong marketing reason to brand the new machines G5, so PM G4 users feel one generation behind). If they can do that, combined with native Quark, they should see dramatically higher desktop sales (a lot of people have been soldiering on with older machines, since the incremental improvements haven’t seemed earth-shattering).
As for corporate Mac-dom, the picture is as bleak as it has been since I started using Macs in 1986 or 1987. The XServe has something to offer, but seems to be doing best in compute-farms in the sciences.
Most corporate IT groups are focused on standardization to save money these days, working deals to buy systems from a standard supplier to keep PC costs down, installing standard software suites across-the-board to get the best site license pricing, and minimizing the tech staff necessary to do support.
I believe there’s a compelling cost-of-ownership argument for the Mac, but it’s been seriously impacted by the migration costs to OS X, both in new software and in (ideally, temporarily) lost productivity.
It also doesn’t help to have “lost” the educational market to Dell. I was talking to my brother’s girlfriend, a teacher, about her computer needs, and she’s all Dell, all the way, because that’s what the schools use. It may not have turned Apple into Microsoft, but I think it certainly didn’t hurt to have their six colors imprinted on the impressionable young minds of some many kids who would go on to buy their own computers.
The Mac user group here at the UW thrashed this out a couple of weeks ago.
http://mailman.u.washington.edu/pipermail/mac-users-discussion/2003-May/000217.html
I don’t think MHz will make a difference to Apple’s appeal: what most people (still) worry about is file compatibility and interoperability, if you can believe it. Zeroes and ones are zeroes and ones and in most cases Office is Office, but for some reason there’s still a big cloud of FUD around having a heterogeneous network. I can do more than the folks who sit around me, since I have a UNIX commandline, full access to Windows networking, and all the rest of it: works for me, sorry no one else gets to experience it. I can mount Windows shares, print to any printer, do all kinds of things I couldn’t do in Windows, ironically enough.
I don’t think Apple is going away, not do I think they’ll ever be more than a niche player: they lost their chance when Windows 95 came out and hubris ruled Apple’s boardroom. Thinking some Magic Bullet is going to make Apple vault over Microsoft is a waste of effort. Will that stop me buying them when it’s my money? No.
“A WHOLE LOT of people out there don’t own Macs, and haven’t used them in many years, thus they can’t make a recommendation, to their friends asking them, to buy a Mac. Apple needs to work on that.”
I think that is why Apple started all of the Apple stores. I have been a die hard PC user my whole life. I went into an Apple store and couldn’t believe how elegant everything was. Hardware and software.
So I went and bought a 17″ iMac for fun. It sits next to my PC. I use it a few hours a day for work… it is a nice break from Windows. I can’t imagine I will buy another Windows PC in my life. My next machine will be a powermac with one of those gigantic LCDs.
The biggest problem that Apple has is it’s service to it’s customers. They are so bad at this it is almost comical. Their tech support group is pathetic and the hours they keep are even worse.
I used to to do all Mac consulting work. Now I refuse to recommend to someone that they purchase a Mac. Why? Because Apple treated me so poorly that I refused to ever go back. I do not own any Macs now and will not own one again.
Apple needs to stop taking for granted the loyal customer base it has. They need to take care of these people and continue that relationship. Instead, they treat people like garbage and expect us to continue using their products.
That’s odd, the June 2003 Consumer Reports rates them as #1 when it comes to repairs - they had the best marks in all four catagories (solved problem, support staff, waiting on phone and web support.) They rated a 76 compared to runner-up Dell’s 64…I’d say that your impression is caused by a radical overgeneralization. I’ve had to avail myself of Apple Support about twenty times over the 22 years I’ve owned their products and their service has been nothing short of excellent on all three occasions.
I’m sorry that you seem to be the exception.
Hardware I use has an accelerated decay rate, and the PowerBooks I’ve owned suffered greatly from it. I’m no better with other computers, so I don’t really envy Apple at all the stress of dealing with things. They’ve been competent and listened clearly and retained a sense of humor, while being open as to when they were wrong (”no, i’m not a resident of savannah, georgia”).
I used to have interactions like this with Qwest, shortly after they bought USWest. It was awesome, they’d listen and talk and be blunt. Best service ever. I still respect them for it, as much as I respect Apple for keeping to it in the face of things.