All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
Analyzing the Analyst's
Analysis
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20.
MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty.
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Mercury Elite FW800/FW400/USB2/eSATA up to 2.0TB TOP-RATED Solutions offer High Performance, Reliable storage for all your data storage needs. 500GB $159.99, 750GB $199.99, 1.0TB from $299.99
Seems there's more hand-wringing regarding Apple's computer market
share. Andrew
Neff, a Bear Stearns analyst, calls Apple's market share loss
"worrying."
I've little use for most analysts. Except for a rare few, most do
a magnificent job of underperforming. In fact, our national paper
runs an interesting contest every year where an object or animal is
used to pick a stock. A group of the best analysts willing to put
their reputation on the line also pick a stock. The newspaper reviews
the performance of the stocks a year later. Invariably, the object or
animal winds up in the middle of the pack. One year, a baby orangutan
from the local zoo was the
challenger and placed fifth out of nine participants. Another
year, a windup Santa toy took first
place.
Aside from making amusing reading around Christmas time, this
firmly establishes the healthy habit of ignoring most advice from
analysts.
"Neff is concerned that Apple's 'Trojan Horse' strategy -
persuading iPod users to buy Macs - isn't working. Though iPod
and iPod mini have sold well, Neff is concerned this has not
translated into strong Mac sales, particularly of G5 Power Macs."
Macworld
In this case, I'm a little uncertain how Andrew came to his
conclusion.
I've never really believed that the iPod was designed to drive Mac
sales. I believe the iPod was designed to create a new revenue stream
for Apple. When things don't look so good in your home market, it's a
good idea to seek profits elsewhere. Of course, this can end in
disaster. In this case, it didn't, and Apple has realized handsome
profits and cultivated a dominant position in a new market. By any
measure, this is a success.
Andrew's comment underlines some confusion in the market regarding
Apple's status. Is it a computer company? Is it a consumer
electronics company? Is it a software company? And how on earth can
we fit this square peg into the round hole we love so much?
Here's what analysts should be looking at: Is the company
profitable? Can the company sustain profitability over the long
term?
The answers are yes and yes.
Does an analyst become worried because Playstations may be
affecting Vaio sales? No.
Apple is in a good position right now. While computer sales can
always be better, it remains in the black. If Apple decides it's time
to sit back and smell the roses, dear Andrew may have a point. He's
assuming, though, that Apple will stand still in the market and keep
feeding off the sales of increasingly outdated products.
This may be a possibility, but I feel that Apple's engineers and
designers are squirreled away somewhere designing the next great
thing that will keep generating money for the company. While I may
not think it's possible, if the Mac's market share should ever
shrivel into nothingness, Apple will have other products available
that will pay the bills.
While I'd love to charge a high hourly rate for this advice, I'd
say that Apple will remain in good fiscal health for quite awhile
yet.
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French.
Recently on Mac Scope
Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 04.06.
"But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community."
Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 07.09.
Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing.
Mac of the Day: Power Mac 4400, Nov. 1996 - Apple does cheap to compete with clones - and nobody is impressed.
List of the Day: Leopard List Low End Mac's email list covering Mac OS X 10.5.
October 11 in LEM history: 99: Kihei revisited - 00: Bring back beige - AT&T proposes extortion - 01: Mimio for the Mac - 02: Of docks and roadblocks - Reasons not to switch - PowerBook G3 repair - 04: Virtual PC 7 puts Windows on your Mac - Modem Magic - 05: Why we oppose any iPod tax - Trash shortcuts - 06: 30 days of old school computing - Firefox and Safari chipping away at Microsoft
Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09.
If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08.
By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.08.
We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
