A rip off of Apple's
G4 Cube appeared at Comdex last week. While we've heard nothing
yet from Apple legal, it's a sure bet that Apple will throw a lawsuit
at DA Computing as soon as they've researched the matter a
little.
This is not the first time, nor
the last time, Apple hardware has been imitated. Apple has a
reputation for breaking the design rules, which makes their designs
appealing to companies with less than stellar designers on board.
Apple spends plenty of money defending what they have created, and
I have no problem with that.
But what can Apple do to profit from their design expertise?
People will be creating knockoffs of their hardware products, so why
not capitalize on this by charging licensing fees to the would-be
copycats? I'm sure that, to avoid a legal mess, DA Computing would
gladly sign a licensing agreement (as long as it wasn't too
outrageous).
To head off any arguments that this would simply eat away at
Apple's market share, realize that DA Computing creates
Linux servers. While Apple does compete in the server market, the
Cube has not been positioned as a server system. DA is competing in
an entirely different area, and this machine steers clear of Apple's
existing markets.
While safely tucked away somewhere out of sight, an Apple-approved
Komodo server could help Apple in the long run. After seeing one of
these servers run, folks may be tempted to buy one for themselves.
The answer? "Sorry, it's not for personal computing. There is,
however, a great machine that looks just like it by Apple. Why not
check that out?"
Apple could also save on legal fees by using this strategy. Why
not make a little money from the knockoffs instead of wasting money
on a legal battle?
While Apple maintains a decent market share in the computer
industry, imagine if they turned from producing computers to
producing designs and software only. Forget the distribution and
manufacturing end of the equation. Leverage the great designs and
fantastic software by licensing it Bill Gates style to the highest
bidder. Can you imagine if Apple licensed the iMac design to Gateway
or Compaq? Potential sales there could be massive.
On the software side, OS X for Intel would have the potential
to crack open the OS market, offering a real alternative to
Windows.
Of course, all of this licensing would destroy computer sales for
Apple. That's where the meat of the company is, after all: hardware
sales.
But I sometimes think it's too bad that such a fantastic product
is restricted to such a small percentage of computer users. It might
be easier for Apple to go towards the users than the users coming to
Apple.
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.
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nor
the last time, Apple hardware has been imitated. Apple has a
reputation for breaking the design rules, which makes their designs
appealing to companies with less than stellar designers on board.
creates
Linux servers. While Apple does compete in the server market, the
Cube has not been positioned as a server system. DA is competing in
an entirely different area, and this machine steers clear of Apple's
existing markets.
