Re: Mac Mini Clones Redux...

Flint wrote:

Considering that market share translates to profitability more often than not, I suspect the shareholders do indeed care.

I suspect Apple shareholders are aware that Apple operate in more than one market ;)

To increase their market share, the way you suggest, they would have to ruin their profitability.


Only if one maintains a rather myopic view of 'profitability'. If your argument is margin based only, I would agree. But trading a higher percentage of profit on a per unit basis for a larger percentage of the market could net them a profit greater then what they have now - by an order of magnitude no less. More *importantly*, it could also put them in a much stronger position to tell the indutry what direction 

Meh. Apple already lead the industry by the nose.

Why should Apple care about marketshare, as installed platforms, which is pretty much all the Windroids seem capable of spouting. Do they think Dell sell the other 95.5% of machines? Apple has a very healthy share of the laptop and desktop market compared to other manufacturers.

Reduce the profit margin, discover the marketplace really is too stupid (or as a more realistic approach, too comfortable, entrenched and 'safe'), as opposed to too poor, to change over to Windows. Ruin Apple and make little or no dent in the 'marketshare'.

I can do without the Apple jock-strap swinging here. If Apple's board knew everything as much as some think they do, they'd have no real competition. 

Congratulations.

They have no real competition. Look at the iPod family of products, at iTunes.

You think Apple is about computer marketshare, you are sadly mistaken. In the computer marketplace, they have a lot of things to contend with which are serious issues; established industry usage and practises, installed userbase...

And yet despite that, their market share is growing, and in terms of individual manufacturers, they are still within the top five or ten (depending on your sources) or so firms producing computers. Now, as a shareholder, not only were Apple cheaper to get into, they're one of the best performing computer stocks out there.

And whilst Apple's "PC" marketshare makes them look like a relatively small player, the iPod has altered how that translates into the actual success of the firm.

And they're up to something. Something big. They are increasing the amount of property they lease around Cupertino drastically.

Since this is not the case, I have to assume your premise of Apple's infallability is in error. Furthermore, Apple themselves have and continue to move towards the rest of industry in their hardware designs, so apparently there is something merit in the idea.

I have to go with what other industry analysts think on this one.

These being the same analysts that advised firms like Wang and ICL. The same analysts that predict Apple's bankruptcy on a regular basis.

If you know better, why aren't you running a large company?

BTW, did you see my post about the Nano-ITX? You seem to have, er, overlooked it.


I must have missed it. Refresh my memory.

Nano ITX. Costs more, is slower (Nehmiah 1Ghz core, 90% Celeron performance according to VIA, which is probably a 'best result'), actual shipping case is bigger in all but one dimension (and significantly so), and you can't actually get them yet.

Richard

--
RichardK - 1980s in a can. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/
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Cars - 2004 Beetle Cabrio, 1989 Supra 3.0i, 1990 Sera, 1989 Volvo 740
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