Mac Musings

Apple Too Popular for Its Own Good?

1998.08.18 - Dan Knight - Tip Jar

Don Crabb wrote today about Apple's backorder problems (Supply and Demand, MacCentral - no longer online). Almost all dealers are out of iMacs, PowerBooks are back ordered, and Power Macs are hard to get.

The Price of Success?

Apple's in a real catch-22 situation. Market share is low, yet it can't produce new computers fast enough to vastly increase market share.

Cloning was supposed to address that issue, increasing the Mac OS market at the expense of Windows machines. Instead, most clone buyers would have bought a Macintosh if clones hadn't been available, so Apple's sales declined (see Apple Squeezes Mac Clones Out of the Market.

That's the tail spin Steve Jobs pulled Apple out of.

Cloning was a good idea. It could have worked. It should have worked. After all, it worked on the other side.

Why did it fail for Apple?

The biggest difference between Macintosh and the Wintel world is the number of players. Apple makes the Macintosh and the Mac OS. On the other side, Intel makes CPUs (along with a few other companies), Microsoft makes the dominant operating systems (but others are available), and probably hundreds of companies build and sell the computers, from huge corporations to people working out of their basements.

Apple found some valuable partners in the clone era. Power Computing was founded on the promise of Mac clones. Radius, a longtime Mac-oriented company, made a great clone, which later became the Umax SuperMac S900. Daystar Digital not only sold clones, it introduced multiple CPUs to the Mac world. And Motorola made both the PowerPC chip and StarMax computers.

There were other companies also trying to ride Apple's coattails: Pioneer, Tatung, Mactell, Bandai, APS, and many more. IBM even has a Mac OS license, although it never used it.

Problem and solution

Today the only clones are discontinued models. (My Umax SuperMac J700 is a great clone, bought at fire sale prices after Umax left the Mac OS market.)

Today, only Apple makes and sells Mac OS computers. Apple designs them, builds them, markets them, ships them, and even sells them directly to end users.

Only Apple - and it isn't enough.

Apple is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet demand for the iMac - and maybe squeeze in a few Power Macs and PowerBooks if it can. (My employer has had a PowerBook G3 250/13.3" on order for some time. My dealer says not to expect it, because it will probably be discontinued before Apple can ship one.)

Mac users are immensely loyal. We are willing to wait, but that doesn't mean we aren't frustrated by the wait. After all, dozens of mail order companies can put together a custom Wintel machine and have it to us within 48 hours.

The problem is Apple's limited production capacity.

The solution is outsourcing.

Apple needs to work with other companies that have the ability to build Macs to Apple's specifications. These wouldn't be clones, but Apple computers built in other plants. (Like "Japanese" cars built in the US.)

Apple would provide the designs. The manufacturers would supply the facilities, expertise, and manpower to build these computers to Apple quality.

They're Coming, but Who Will Build 'Em?

Apple really stung Motorola and Umax, companies which had invested a lot of their own resources into developing Mac OS computers that weren't mere Apple knockoffs. They lost a lot of money when Apple discontinued Mac OS licensing.

Outsourcing could give them an opportunity to recoup some of the money they lost in the Mac OS market. And there'd be little risk, since Apple would provide the designs and market.

In fact, it wouldn't even have to be a former Mav cloner. Maybe IBM, which already makes the CPU, could get involved - or some of the well-known Wintel clone companies with extra production capacity.

Today, Apple is completely dependent on the output of plants in Singapore, Ireland, and California. Even at full capacity, it may take months before Apple can catch up on iMac, Power Mac, and PowerBook demand.

Contracting someone to build Macs and iMacs for Apple would give it the ability to catch up on backlog, reduce the wait on back orders, and worry more about increasing market share instead of just keeping up with demand. This wouldn't require Apple to invest in new production facilities, which could also increase the bottom line.

Is this thinking different enough?

Kill Caps Lock, but Leave the Rest of My Keyboard Alone (Mostly), 2012.02.03. It's too easy to hit Caps Lock by accident, but why change a keyboard layout that billions of users are comfortable with?
Is This RIM's Macintosh Moment?, 2012.01.25. In 1996, Apple was in dire straits, but Steve Jobs redefined the company. Now it's do or die time for RIM.
Saying Good-bye to Inkjet Printers, 2012.01.18. Apple has discontinued its $100 printer rebates, but even a free inkjet printer is false economy.
More in the Mac Musings index.

Links for the Day

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February 14 in LEM history: 98: A perfect compact Mac - 00: Extended computer warranties worth the cost? - Making your PC work with your Mac - 01: Customize Microsoft Word - 02: Quadra revives a passion for computing - 03: Real world performance - DIY Pismo screen replacement - Best Mac for writing - 03: Fastest browser on the Mac - 06: 15" MacBook Pro - Impressions of a newly acquired Lisa - Finding and using free WiFi - Apple should liberate OS 9 - 07: New Mac mini cheaper than upgrading a Power Mac - 08: Falling in love with OS X
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