Apple overtakes Microsoft as largest tech company

[bwana]

Let me know when they overtake Microsoft in the Desktop Operating System Market.

As unlikely as Microsoft overtaking Apple in the hardware market.

That being said, Apple is known for pulling rabbits out of hats. Wouldn't be surprised if i'm proved wrong altho this ease-of-use and coolness factor they claim is milked to death imo. Apple produces good products, but their marketing is their main strength. Kinda sad if you think about it

Do style and ease of use ever go out of fashion?

 

[d0b33]

No, rather blame Steve Ballmer. That clown must be the biggest mistake and embarrassment for Microsoft ever.

If you really want to see what a freak this bozo is, just search for "Steve Ballmer going crazy" on YouTube.

I suspect Bill Gates and ol' Ballmer made a deal similar to the one between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Have to agree, i'm a mac guy now but Bill gates still get's my respect, Windows 2000 was an awesome OS at the time, love Bill gates for that.

 

[murraybiscuit]

it's an interesting lesson for the big tech firms.
people with money want to make a statement.
people without money want to be like people with money.
apple is an expression of consumerism at its best and worst.

 

[demon angel]

I also blame Vista, along with Xbox's dreaded RROD.
Dont get me wrong, i am a HUGE fan of their products, but shoddy build quality for a 'tech' company is a giant NO! NO!.

Get it right Microsoft.

 

[Fudzy]

As unlikely as Microsoft overtaking Apple in the hardware market.

Yeah that would be an impressive feat. They're even pulling out of the mobile phone market.

 

[R13...]

MS is only good at monopolies... when they copied the iPod, Playstation, iTunes it moved their focus away from what they are good at.

 

[hawker]

Yeah that would be an impressive feat. They're even pulling out of the mobile phone market.

I thought they were trying to enter it? Have they pulled out of that?

 

[Fudzy]

I thought they were trying to enter it? Have they pulled out of that?

Okay looks like they might be in the running still - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile#Windows_Phone_7

 

[icyrus]

the ipad to be shown up as the massive failure it is (come now, no usb ports?!?!)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36911690

Apple produces good products, but their marketing is their main strength. Kinda sad if you think about it

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ad-spending-for-tech-companies-2010-5

 

[JerryMungo]

Well done Apple. Years of overpriced products has finally paid off

Pity overpricing has done nothing for profits... says something about who is really overpriced
MS don't even give you more than a cheap plastic disk with their products.

If you want to know why MS Office is so expensive, don't ask Bing:
http://therawfeed.com/why-is-microsoft-office-so-expensive-dont-ask

On another note - iPad factory accused of sweatshop conditions reports 10th death this year:
http://www.cultofmac.com/report-lat.../bFow+(Cult+of+Mac)&utm_content=Google+Reader

 

[battletoad]

...altho this ease-of-use and coolness factor they claim is milked to death imo

Do style and ease of use ever go out of fashion?

why are you reading into something i never claimed? I'm making the point that its debatable who owns the "style and ease of use" crown, but they're touting it all the time. Tell people the same thing all the time and they'll believe it, whereas the enlightened would just groan and turn the other way. For instance, OSX more secure than windows 7? Most believe that but looky here..., and that's just when hackers decided to flex their muscles a bit.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36911690

major sales for a clearly hobbled gadget, which ties in with the next item...

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart...mpanies-2010-5

...the power of their marketing. Clearly Apple's marketing is superior to Microsoft since they make more sales by spending less. Thank you for proving my point.
So icyrus, i ask you, would you take an iPad over a similarly priced netbook?

 

[SulkySue]

And all was right with the world ...

 

[bwana]

why are you reading into something i never claimed?

Did you not claim they had been milked to death in your opinion?

 

[battletoad]

Did you not claim they had been milked to death in your opinion?

my apologies, didn't reread my earlier post and went off on a different (although related) tangent. What i meant was, ease of use and cool factor is touted above all else. There are better gadgets on the market being just as usable as any apple product (expect for perhaps the ipod but itunes suck) from other manufacturers. As such they shouldn't just rely on their usability to get by

 

[icyrus]

...the power of their marketing. Clearly Apple's marketing is superior to Microsoft since they make more sales by spending less. Thank you for proving my point.

Or your assumptions are faulty.

So icyrus, i ask you, would you take an iPad over a similarly priced netbook?

Indeed. I already have a proper notebook and an iPad fills a niche for me that a netbook never would.

I can't help but chuckle at people who constantly dismiss something as useless just because it doesn't fit their needs.

 

[battletoad]

Or your assumptions are faulty.

That may be the case but would you be kind enough to point them out please?

Indeed. I already have a proper notebook and an iPad fills a niche for me that a netbook never would.

I can't help but chuckle at people who constantly dismiss something as useless just because it doesn't fit their needs.

Sigh dude, point me exactly to where i dismissed slatelike devices. My point of contention was that the iPad is hobbled due to not having usb ports. But yeah my bad i see now, when i criticised the iPad over a certain feature i evidently dismissed all such devices out of hand.

I can't help but chuckle at pretentious people who include large assumptions in their arguments

And all was right with the world ...

LMAO!

 

[icyrus]

On another note - iPad factory accused of sweatshop conditions reports 10th death this year:
http://www.cultofmac.com/report-lat.../bFow+(Cult+of+Mac)&utm_content=Google+Reader

The only interesting part of that story is why some reporters keep calling it the iPhone/iPad factory.

That may be the case but would you be kind enough to point them out please?

Well your theory is that Apple's sales are solely attributable to their marketing. Given that their competitors generally spend equal or more on marketing, I can only assume you believe that somehow Apple are the only company capable of hiring competent marketing people.

Perhaps consider that Apple's products may have value other than their marketing for Apple's customers.

Sigh dude, point me exactly to where i dismissed slatelike devices. My point of contention was that the iPad is hobbled due to not having usb ports. But yeah my bad i see now, when i criticised the iPad over a certain feature i evidently dismissed all such devices out of hand.

I can't help but chuckle at pretentious people who include large assumptions in their arguments

I am not quite sure why you thought I was referring to a category of products instead of the single product we were discussing.

 

[battletoad]

Well your theory is that Apple's sales are solely attributable to their marketing. Given that their competitors generally spend equal or more on marketing, I can only assume you believe that somehow Apple are the only company capable of hiring competent marketing people.

There you go adding words to undermine my statement.

Apple produces good products...

...they shouldn't just rely on their usability to get by...

So to summarise, i claimed they produce good, usable products. Since there are better products which are arguably just as usable as iStuff, i posited that their effective marketing is the main reasoning behind this result. So to only concentrate on first time gadget consumers (thereby disregarding brand loyalty), how else would the iStuff sell better than their superior peers? Marketing. Keep in mind the 'coolness' factor is also a marketing scheme, evidenced by their Get-A-Mac ads. Funnily enough, the two dudes who are in those Get-A-Mac ads are veritable celebrities in the US.
Your second deduction fails since stating that "one marketing dept is superior to another" does not necessarily imply that the perceived inferior dept is incompetent.

I am not quite sure why you thought I was referring to a category of products instead of the single product we were discussing.

I'm getting the feeling we may be going around in circles with this one. I'll state my position unambiguously:
The iPad is basically geared towards laidback connectivity(among a host of other features). Although it may cater for a good web browsing experience(lack of flash a debate on its own), it puts you in a disadvantaged position if you'd like to access your own content(this may be gotten around but it'll cost even more money). Since i'm paying a premium for a product, I expect it to live up to my standards, not forced to accept the constraints i'm dealt. There are no engineering/manufacturing issues which would justify absence of such a feature(draconian measures employed by apple another debate on its own). As such, and especially in South Africa, it fails to live up to the expectations it is set. Granted, it still is a usable product driven by an awesome idea and everyone who purchases it would generally be happy, but that would only be after accepting its shortcomings. And after paying a premium for the product, that is the failure

 

[dabbler]

All one needs to do is mistakenly mislay your product, inform Engadget/Gismodo, etc. where to find it, and the rest comes free

 

[ZXT]

I'll be honest. The only "junk" I see is Apple producing are the big box computers like the MacPro for which Apple charges a premium on what are essentially generic off the shelf components. All the other devices Apple produces are, in one way or another, unique.

Unique but still overpriced.