By TODD BISHOP
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The biggest cash pile in the technology industry has historically belonged to Microsoft Corp., but now it has some company, and it's a familiar name: Apple Inc.
Microsoft has reduced its cash balance to $26.3 billion through large stock buybacks, dividends and acquisitions. The balance was more than $64 billion less than four years ago.
Meanwhile, Apple's balance has been growing -- reaching $19.5 billion at last count -- as a result of the cash generated by its Mac and iPod lines. Less than four years ago, its stockpile was $5.5 billion.
The trends have implications for both companies. Cash translates into the ability to consider acquisitions and other potentially business-boosting deals. Apple has cited those types of possibilities when Wall Street analysts have asked about its plans for its cash. Microsoft had been planning to borrow money for the first time, before it withdrew its $44.6 billion Yahoo bid Saturday.
Keeping too much cash on the balance sheet can raise eyebrows among investors, who often want companies to reinvest the cash in the business -- where it holds the promise of a greater financial return -- or to return the money to shareholders through dividends or stock buybacks.
"Stock buyback programs and other forms of returning the cash are discussed with the board from time to time," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, in a Jan. 22 earnings conference call. But Apple's current preference is to "maintain a strong balance sheet in order to preserve our flexibility to make strategic investments and/or acquisitions," he added.
Investors are now watching Apple's growing cash balance in
much the same way they did Microsoft's a few years ago.
"From purely a financial standpoint I think they're overcapitalized," said analyst Andy Hargreaves, who covers Apple at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland. "You'd like to see them return that in one way or another, or put it to work."
Apple has historically built its business from the ground up, preferring smaller strategic acquisitions of technology and talent. If the company continues to follow that pattern, that means it's not likely to reduce its cash pile through a blockbuster deal.
"I don't really expect them to do anything with it in the near term," Hargreaves said. "I think that (Apple CEO) Steve Jobs' experience with this company and the cycles that it's been through has taught him to be very, very conservative, and save for the rainy day."
Microsoft's Bill Gates has traditionally taken a similar approach. But as the company's cash pile reached legendary proportions a few years ago, and it settled some of its most costly antitrust challenges, investors were pressuring Microsoft to do something with the cash.
In July 2004, the company announced plans to spend about $75 billion in cash -- including $32 billion in a special dividend, a $30 billion stock buyback, and a commitment to increase its regular dividend. The company continued to make regular stock buybacks in recent years.
One idea behind stock buybacks is to reduce the number of shares on the market. That, in turn, helps increase a company's key ratio of earnings per share.
But Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo cast the situation in a different light. The company's proposal funded the deal half in cash and half in stock.
Even at that, Microsoft said it would have needed to borrow an unspecified amount to finance the acquisition.
The situation changed Microsoft's approach to stock buybacks, at least temporarily.
In the quarter ended March 31, Microsoft bought back slightly more than $1 billion worth of its own stock -- compared with more than $6.7 billion repurchased during the same quarter a year ago. Microsoft finance chief Chris Liddell told analysts in an April 24 conference call that he wanted to "maintain the most amount of flexibility" for the Yahoo deal.
As a result, Microsoft's balance of cash and short-term investments rose for the first time in two years. Its $26.3 billion balance, as of March 31, was $5.3 billion more than it had on hand a quarter earlier.
Microsoft hasn't said how it will approach the cash issue now that it has walked away from the Yahoo bid, but any other Internet-related deal it would pursue would be unlikely to require so much capital.
Apple blossoms with growing cash balance
iPhone stats confirmed; it runs my world
This is a great article about one consumer uses his iPhone. It's hard to argue that a computing revolution has begun!
By Michael DeAgonia
April 25, 2008 (Computerworld) Recently, I read an interesting report regarding iPhone use. Market research firm iSuppli Corp. found that many people use iPhones in ways that differ markedly from other phones, especially in categories that until recently weren't that important to most users.
We don't use it as often for phone calls as other cell phone owners.
And while we text message about as often as those who own other phones, we're much more likely to be checking e-mail, surfing the Web, watching videos or YouTube clips, or viewing photos.
What surprised me the most out of all of iSuppli's statistics is that iPhone owners spent less than half the time actually making calls -- 46.5% -- compared to 71.7% of the time people use other phones for calls. At first, I had a fleeting moment of defensiveness; I wondered if they were insinuating that the iPhone isn't good for voice calls. I hadn't noticed any problems with either my 8GB phone, or the newer 16GB model I replaced it with earlier this year.
It turns out voice quality isn't the issue. "This usage pattern shows Apple has succeeded in producing a true convergence product that consumers like to use for multiple purposes," said Greg Sheppard, chief development officer at iSuppli. "Apple has come as close as anyone to achieving a balanced convergence in mobile handset features and usage."
My curiosity piqued by the report's findings, so I set out to document how much I use my iPhone.
How it was B.I. (Before iPhone)
Before the iPhone was released, I lived in what I call the "Dark Time." As a former Motorola Razr user, the only time I felt anywhere near comfortable using my phone was when I made calls. That was it. To me, the Razr was just a phone. Because of either bad software design or the limitations inherent to static, button-based hardware -- or a combination of both -- the Razr's functions were poorly implemented.
For example, accessing the Internet felt less like information gathering and more like I had lost a bet. The experience was flat-out unpleasant. First, the software was terribly slow, even though the Razr browser was rendering mostly text. Second, the mobile Web it offered up looked nothing like the Internet. I've seen the Internet and that's not it. WAP browsing may have been a compromise, but its execution in software is slow, cumbersome and inefficient.
Since I had to navigate my way through a maze of vague commands and menus, I avoided the Internet on my Razr. The contacts and calendar applications were useless, too, given the hoops I had to jump through to keep them synced with my Mac. The same was true of e-mail, directions and the other functions the Razr could theoretically offer. No wonder I used it mostly for phone calls; I couldn't do anything else very easily.
I've started paying attention to my iPhone use, and I've found that similar to the findings in the report, I use my iPhone to make calls about half the time. The other half I spend browsing the Web, checking personal and company e-mail, playing games and using most of the available features -- and then some. (Yes, my iPhone is unlocked so I can add unofficial apps, and it will remain so until Apple releases a newer version of iPhone software in June.)
What surprised me even more than how accurately the report reflected my usage is the amount of time I spend on the device itself. After a few days of focusing on how often I use my iPhone, I've realized that not only am I using it more for calls than I did with the Razr, I've found that I also used it much more overall than any other portable device I've ever owned, iPod included. Until this report made me step back and take a good look, I never fully realized how iPhone-dependent I have become.
A day in the life
To illustrate, a typical day goes something like this: When the iPhone alarm wakes me up each morning, a swipe of the screen silences the alarm and brings up the Weather widget. With one gesture, I have enough information to plan my wardrobe and departure time, all before I'm even sitting up. Because the iPhone remembers the last-used application before it locks itself, any app can be used in this way.
Next, I click on the Home button to get to E-mail and the Calendar so I can prepare for the day mentally. Once I'm out of the house, the iPhone is linked into my car stereo, so it's always on as an iPod. And because my iPhone is also how I keep in touch, I never miss an e-mail, a text message or a phone call because of loud music -- the music mutes automatically when a call comes in. Since I commute daily from Orlando to Tampa, Google Maps lets me know what kind of traffic I'm facing, which helps me plan my routes.
Once at work, most of my day is spent staring numbly at progress bars, waiting for software to install. For those idle moments, dynamic content by way of the iPhone's mobile Safari browser and YouTube access is a godsend. The iPhone's media capabilities and its always-on cloud connectivity break the monotony, and since it's also my communications device, it keeps me always accessible. That's a downside, too: I'm always accessible.
Focusing on my iPhone use startled me into realizing that if my iPhone broke, or if Apple suddenly stopped making it and I had to use another brand, I'd be lost. I wouldn't know which device suited me, despite all of the competition in phones out there, because, in one way or the other, they're all wrong for me.
I felt that way before the iPhone's release, but now that I've used Apple's design and have grown accustomed to it, how can I go back? I tried to figure out why that was and realized that Apple made a few key design decisions early on in the iPhone design process that just happened to evolve into exactly what I was looking for.
Compatibility, multitouch nailed it for me
Obviously, based on your own needs and wants, your mileage may vary, but I was always specific about exactly what I wanted in a phone: one that comes with Mac software, easy connectivity and no hassles. So right off the bat, Apple nailed it for me by making the iPhone automatically Mac compatible, seamlessly importing my contact and calendar information. Of course, Apple didn't stop with Mac users; the iPhone works on various flavors of Windows as well, meaning it offers out-of-the-box cross-platform support. Who else does this?
Advantage two for the iPhone is multitouch. Everyone seems to be doing flat screens now. There were a couple of touch-screen devices on the market before the iPhone, but their interfaces were tacked on to existing mobile operating systems, which seem to be programmed to spite users. Plus, rival touch screens were the opposite of responsive, giving those awful bank ATM touch screens a run for their money. Not surprisingly, the design never caught on except with the most forgiving -- or masochistic -- early adopters.
It is because of this experience with touch panels that the mainstream media, consumers and cynics watched with curiosity when Apple first presented the ground-up redesign of OS X and its apps for mobile devices. The fact that the entire interaction lived and died by the intelligence and responsiveness of the touch screen was instant debate material, and every competitor was quick to dismiss the technology. Flash forward a year later and everyone who had dogged the idea now has their own touch-screen "iPhone killers."
But only Apple has multitouch matched to a user interface that's clever, intuitive and slick enough to take advantage of the technology. The lack of intuitive multifinger interaction alone makes any so-called iPhone killers merely iPhone wannabes, relegated to an audience comprising those that who can't or won't buy an Apple product for whatever reason.
With the iPhone, the simplicity introduced in the iPod remains, and the multitouch interface make all functions equally accessible, regardless of what feature they offer access to. From purchasing music to finding the nearest gas station to navigating through songs, iPhone's multitouch capabilities and Mobile OS X make things easy. The iPhone actually feels more like what must have been the original concept for the iPod in the literal sense: my entire life in my hands, with the ability to instantly sync with my computer, though no longer bound to it.
More missed points
Detractors are quick to play up the limitations of the iPhone, which are set by Apple itself. Some limitations, such as third-party application installs and enterprise support, will be taken care of with the June software release. And the long-rumored 3G iPhone is apparently just around the corner.
But there are other limitations that won't be as quickly remedied. Although the iPhone and iPod lines support the most popular music store in the world, the fact that that store just happens to belong to Apple and offers support for only a limited amount of available codecs doesn't sit well with some. But Apple would rather support specific codecs -- and support them well -- than spread itself thin supporting too many options poorly. It's the same philosophy Apple applies to its computers and operating system. What you leave out is as important as what you add in when it comes to ease of use.
As new iPhone features and support for enterprise use become available, the iPhone's reach into dyed-in-the-wool geeks resistant to Apple will expand. For those looking for a multifunction device that is actually useful in everyday life, I can say this: The iPhone remains the most user-friendly device I've ever had. Others agree.
Perhaps the most telling of all statistics comes from a March ChangeWave survey in which four in five iPhone users (79%) said they're very satisfied with their devices. The next highest percentage of happy owners came from BlackBerry users (54% are very satisfied), and LG and Sanyo owners (40% who said they're are very satisfied). The statistics speak for themselves.
Given the dramatic evolution of the iPod since its introduction in 2001, it's easy to see how, over time, the iPhone could spearhead the next major computing platform. Just in the next few months, we have the expected arrival of faster -- and possibly redesigned -- 3G iPhones, along with the release of a software development kit that should result in a slew of new apps.
Given that I couldn't resist moving from the 8GB model to the 16GB model when it came out, I see little chance that I'll be able to hold off from getting the next model when it finally appears. By then, I expect third-party applications for the iPhone to make it the Star Trek device I always thought it could be.
Michael DeAgonia is a computer consultant and technologist who has been using Macintoshes and working on them professionally since 1993. A Neal award-winning writer, his tech-support background includes tenures at Computerworld, colleges, the biopharmaceutical industry, the graphics industry and Apple. Currently, he is working as a Macintosh administrator at a large media company.
32 Years of Apple; 32 Memorable Products!
From www.arstechnica.com
Check it out here.
Sales pitch: 'We remove Vista'
After reading today's story about Windows Vista's first year, reader Bruce Finlayson of Seattle sent along this photo that he snapped in October outside a computer store in Milford, N.H. ...
I made some calls to computer stores in Milford (pop. 15,000) and confirmed that the sign appeared in the window of A&D Computer, across the street from the town square. Shop manager Aaron Kaplan said they were prompted to put it up because so many people were having problems with Windows Vista, including compatibility issues with older software and trouble adjusting to the interface.
"A lot of people didn't like using Vista, and a lot of the manufacturers forced people to go up to Vista," he said.
What was the demand for the service? "We had a lot of people coming in and asking about it," Kaplan said. "Of all the signs we put up there the last two years, at least, we probably got the most response out of that one. A lot of people coming in."
Kaplan said they've since replaced it with a different message, but they're thinking about putting the Vista removal message back up.
Apple Rolls into 2008 with New Products
CNNMoney has an excellent article on Apple's prospects for 2008:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple had a banner year in 2007. The stock more than doubled thanks to strong sales of the new iPhone, revamped iPods, and updated Macs.
But that was last year. Now investors want to know if Apple can live up to Wall Street's lofty expectations for 2008.
Tech stocks have taken a big tumble so far this year and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) is no exception, with shares falling about 10 percent.
With that in mind, investors will be paying a lot of attention to what Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs has to say during his keynote address at the company's Macworld show on January 15th.
Last year, Jobs unveiled the iPhone at Macworld. So Wall Street is hoping Jobs can once again deliver some exciting news to get the stock back on track.
A new 'Touch' for the iPod
Investors will definitely be looking for any announcements about updates to the company's popular iPod. Despite that product's runaway success, some analysts say that Apple has started to reach the saturation point with its portable media player. "Everyone who wants one has one," said Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil.
Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt also wrote in a recent report that he's concerned about slowing growth in iPod sales.
He cited the fact that the number of iPods sold in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in September, increased just 17 percent from a year ago, down from 50 percent growth in unit sales in the company's fiscal first quarter.
But just before the holiday season, Apple released the iPod Touch - basically an iPhone without the phone. The device's ability to access the Internet and its emphasis on video makes it more than just a standard iPod. So analysts said they are confident the iPod Touch could rejuvenate sales growth for the iPod product line in 2008.
Apple could also benefit from falling component prices. McCourt noted that NAND flash memory chips, which are used in the iPhone, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch, have been getting steadily cheaper, which could boost the amount of profit Apple generates from the iPod and other consumer electronics devices.
And analysts said that other announcements from Macworld may also be viewed positively by investors. Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research, predicts Apple will unveil an update to Apple TV, a device that lets people view videos stored in their iTunes library on their television sets.
There has also been speculation that Apple will announce plans to allow movie rentals on iTunes through a partnership with News Corp.'s (NWS, Fortune 500) Fox studio. Gottheil said that even though revenue from iTunes is still relatively small, anything that can help increase movie and music downloads would be helpful since this should also boost demand for new iPods.
Thin is in
Of course, Apple still relies heavily on computer sales -- even though the company dropped the word "Computer" from its corporate name last year and now generates more than half of its total sales from non-Mac products.
At this year's Macworld, analysts suspect the company will round out its MacBook line with a new ultra light notebook.
A highly portable computer with long battery life and a flash drive instead of a delicate hard disk is something that Apple doesn't have right now, said Chowdhry.
He argues that if Apple unveils a new MacBook, that could open Apple's laptop line even further to new customers.
Gottheil disagreed with the idea that an ultra portable would bring in new customers. Still, he said that even if Apple simply got existing Apple fans to buy newer MacBook models, this would still benefit Apple because the new MacBooks would likely generate higher profit margins.
And that would be good news for Apple shareholders since Mac sales have been what's really driving growth for the overall company lately.
In the company's fiscal fourth quarter, Mac sales rose 40 percent from a year earlier to $3.41 billion. iPod sales, on the other hand, increased only 4 percent to $1.6 billion. So if the iPod Touch isn't as big a hit as analysts expect, the company will need to depend even more on the Mac to keep sales and profits growing.
No worms in this stock
With all this in mind, how will Apple's stock fare this year. David Bailey of Goldman Sachs wrote in a report earlier this month that he doesn't believe 2008 will be as "explosive" as last year, but that Apple's stock should head higher over the next twelve months.
He expects Apple's upcoming fiscal first-quarter earnings announcement, which includes sales during the key holiday shopping season, to prove that Apple is still a great growth stock.
Apple will report its results on January 22. Analysts predict revenue will grow 32 percent to about $9.4 billion and that profits will soar 40 percent to $1.60 a share.
Apple's string of healthy results come at a steep price, however. The stock trades at nearly 35 times fiscal 2008 earnings estimates.
That's much higher than the valuations for rivals Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and personal computer maker Dell (DELL, Fortune 500), which trade at 19 times and 13 times earnings forecasts for this fiscal year respectively.
Still, Apple has consistently smashed Wall Street's earnings per share estimates over the past year. And the company's projected earnings growth rates of 30 percent this fiscal year and 22 percent a year, on average, for the next few years, is much higher than most other large tech companies.
Chowdhry said investors should probably not try and make short-term trades on the stock though. He warns that investors who buy now just because they think Jobs will make an announcement at Macworld that will send the stock higher could be setting themselves up for disappointment.
But analysts said Apple is a good buy for long-term investors who can avoid being influenced by day-to-day volatility. Investors who want to make a bet on the company's ability to keep coming out with the hottest new gadgets and delivering strong earnings will eventually be rewarded.
Visa has Very Few Fanboys
Check out what everyone is saying about Microsoft's "new" operating system here.
History of the iPod by the Discovery Channel
This is a good overview of the development and impact the iPod has had by The Discovery Channel.
First Macintosh Press Release from 1984
Apple Introduces Macintosh
Advanced Personal Computer
Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 11:44 AM EST
CUPERTINO, Calif., January 24, 1984--Apple Computer today unveiled its much-anticipated Macintosh computer, a sophisticated, affordably priced personal computer designed for business people, professionals and students in a broad
range of fields. Macintosh is available in all dealerships now. Based on the advanced, 32-bit architecture developed for Apple's Lisa computer, Macintosh combines extraordinary computing power with exceptional ease of use--in a unit that is smaller and lighter than most transportable computers. The suggested retail price for Macintosh is $2,495, which during the introductory period also includes a word-processing program and graphics package.
Macintosh, along with three powerful new Lisa 2 computers, forms the basis of the Apple 32 SuperMicro family of computers. All systems in the family run Macintosh software.
Like Apple's ground-breaking Lisa computer, Macintosh uses its built-in user-interface software and high-resolution display to simulate the actual desk-top working environment--complete with built-in notepads, file folders, a calculator and other office tools. Every Macintosh computer contains 64 kilobytes of read-only memory (ROM), built-in Lisa Technology and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory (RAM) that support these desk-top tools.
Users tell Macintosh what to do simply by moving a "mouse"--a small pointing device--to select among functions listed in menus and represented by pictorial symbols on the screen. Users are no longer forced to memorize the numerous and confusing keyboard commands of conventional computers. The result is radical ease of use and a significant reduction in learning time. In effect, the Macintosh is a desk-top appliance offering users increased utility and creativity with simplicity.
"We believe that Lisa Technology represents the future direction of all personal computers," said Steven P. Jobs, Chairman of the Board of Apple. "Macintosh makes this technology available for the first time to a broad audience--at a price and size unavailable from any other manufacturer. By virtue of the large amount of software written for them, the Apple II and the IBM PC became the personal-computer industry's first two standards. We expect Macintosh to become the third industry standard."
A wide range of software applications will be supplied by leading independent software companies. Currently, more than 100 companies are developing software and hardware peripheral devices for Macintosh. The popular Lotus 1-2-3 integrated business package will be available in a Macintosh version, and Microsoft's Multiplan financial-planning application is available immediately.
Two Macintosh application programs--one for word processing and one for graphics--also are available from Apple immediately and will be offered at no charge to anyone purchasing Macintosh during the first 100 days after introduction. These software packages will be followed by communications software, business productivity tools and programming languages that will allow Macintosh to gain access to data from large mainframe computers.
Twenty-four of the nation's leading universities, such as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale, have joined forces with Apple to plan and implement personal-computer applications over the next few years. (See accompanying Apple University Consortium press release.) Under terms of the new Apple University Consortium, each member expects to purchase more than $2 million of Apple products (mostly Macintosh computers) over the next three years for use by faculty and students. Members of the consortium may share courseware (educational software) and application developments with one another in accordance with the agreement.
The prestigious accounting firm of Peat, Marwick Mitchell and Co. has ordered more than 2,000 Macintosh computers to be delivered in 1984.
Based on these commitments, Apple expects demand to exceed supply for several months.
Apple is manufacturing the new computers in a recently opened, highly automated factory in Fremont, California, which is capable of producing one system every 27 seconds and therefore meeting what is expected to be a large demand.
Macintosh Slashes Computer Learning Time
Macintosh is aimed at a broad group of business people, professionals and college students. These people perform tasks that are similar in one important respect: they all involve working at a desk and transforming information and ideas into memos, reports, budgets, plans and analyses.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that while there are 25 million of these "knowledge workers" in the United States alone, only 5 percent currently use desk-top computers. Apple market research indicates that the majority are unable or unwilling to invest the 20 to 40 hours it takes to master conventional computers and the additional three to 10 hours' learning time required for each new application program.
Macintosh, by contrast, typically takes only a few hours to learn. Its operation mirrors the activities that are carried on by people at their desks. Papers can be shuffled on screen, documents revised or discarded, charts drawn--all with a few simple commands executed with the mouse. Several documents can be displayed on screen simultaneously, in "windows" that can be moved, expanded or shrunk. All applications, from financial-planning tools to graphics programs, are based on the same set of intuitive operations. This means that numbers, words and pictures can be easily .. cut" from memos, charts or graphs and "pasted" into other documents--even those created in separate application programs produced by different software companies.
"Macintosh easily fits on a desk, both in terms of its style of operation and its physical design," said Jobs. "It takes up about the same amount of desk space as a piece of paper. With Macintosh, the computer is an aid to spontaneity and originality, not an obstacle. It allows ideas and relationships to be viewed in new ways. Macintosh enhances not just productivity, but also creativity."
Macintosh Sales Outlook
According to industry analyst Jean Yates, of Yates Ventures in Palo Alto, California, worldwide sales of Macintosh could total 350,000 units this year, with 70 percent of sales going to businesses, 20 percent to colleges and universities and 10 percent to home users. Many office users are expected to carry Macintosh computers home for work, and this is expected to fuel home sales as family members and others are exposed to the computer.
Aaron Goldberg, of International Data Corp., (IDC), in Santa Clara, California, said, "There's no doubt Apple has a winner with this product. The market has been waiting for this combination of technology, ease of operation and price."
Support from Leading Software Vendors
Apple expects 90 percent of all Macintosh software to come from independent software vendors. Among the prominent companies working on Macintosh applications are Microsoft Corp., Lotus Development, and Software Publishing Corp. (See list attached to software-support press release.)
Apple is supporting these efforts by providing independent software vendors with Macintosh computers and comprehensive open-architecture programming documentation, classes and other development support from Apple representatives. Apple foresees at least 500 software packages available for Macintosh by the end of 1984, including productivity applications, communications packages, educational tools, specialized applications (such as accounting packages) and games.
Apple is currently providing two application programs for the Macintosh: MacWrite and MacPaint. MacWrite is a versatile word-processing program that features multiple fonts and font sizes, search-and-replace functions and the ability to cut text and pictures from other programs and paste them into memos or reports. MacPaint is a powerful illustration graphics program. Users can choose from an array of tools, such as brushes, pencils and erasers, and a large selection of textures and shapes to create an endless variety of free-form and structured images.
Programs to be released by Apple in 1984 include--for the first quarter--MacTerminal, which allows Macintosh to emulate DEC VT 100, VT 52, TTY and, with AppleLine, IBM 3277 and 3278 terminals for access to a variety of text) and is protected by a tough plastic case. Apple's new Lisa 2 series of computers also use the 3 1/2-inch disk drive, enabling the Lisas to run Macintosh programs.
Macintosh has two RS 232C/RS 422 serial ports for attaching a printer and peripheral communications devices such as a modem; another port for connecting an optional external disk drive; and an audio system that has a range of more than 12 octaves, is capable of producing polyphonic pitches and can replicate human speech. In addition, Apple is developing the AppleBus point-to-point interconnect system for all Apple computers, which will allow Macintosh computers to communicate with each other, peripheral devices and other Apple computers linked together. The hardware interface for AppleBus is built into every Macintosh and Lisa computer system.
Peripherals and Accessories
A number of Macintosh accessories and peripheral devices are available now: The Apple Imagewriter printer for high-quality text and graphics; an accountant-style numeric keypad; the Macintosh carrying case; a disk pack of ten 3 1/2-inch diskettes; and the Apple telephone modem, with data transmission rates of 1,200 or 300 baud. Another peripheral, AppleLine, allows Macintosh to emulate IBM 3277 and 3278 mainframe computers. An external disk drive and a security kit, which locks Macintosh and keyboard to a table or desk will be available in March 1984.
Sales and Service
Apple estimates that initially 85 percent of Macintosh sales will be made through retail channels, with direct sales making up the remainder. The Macintosh will be sold through Apple's 3,000 authorized dealers worldwide.
To aid in its sales support, Apple has initiated an "Own-a-Mac" program. This program offers incentive discounts to sales personnel to encourage their purchasing a Macintosh computer. In this way sales staff will fully understand product features and application programs.
Designed to be marketed internationally, Macintosh uses no English language in or on the machine. Icons depict the functions of the keys, controls, ports and servicing instructions. The Macintosh ROM contains no English code, making it easy for a translator to adapt the software for use in any language. This can be accomplished within a few hours. once the keyboard has been changed, any translator can create a "localized" version of the machine. The translator need not be familiar with programming. Localized versions of the Macintosh will be shipped to the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy and Australia within three months of introduction, and to other countries within a year.
Macintosh was designed from the start to be built in the millions to meet the anticipated high demand. To that end, Apple is manufacturing the product in a specially designed $20-million facility in Fremont, California. This highly automated factory can produce one system every 27 seconds. Under terms of a "zero-defect" agreement, Apple's component suppliers will test parts according to Apple's specifications before delivery to the Macintosh factory.
Service for Macintosh will be coordinated through Apple's conventional channels, which include Apple dealers and the more than 300 RCA service centers nationwide. Macintosh was designed for simple servicing: the system is composed of only four modules, each of which can be easily replaced in the event of failure.
Price
The basic Macintosh package will have a suggested retail price of $2,495 and will include the main unit, keyboard and a mouse. The package also comes with an accessory box that contains the system disk; "A Guided Tour of Macintosh," a learning disk and cassette tape; a blank disk; a power cord; an owner's manual; and a programmer's switch.
A host of peripherals and accessories will be available for the Macintosh computer from Apple and will have suggested retail prices as follows:
Imagewriter printer $595 ($495 if purchased with Macintosh)
Numeric Keypad $129
Modem 300 $225
Modem 1200 $495
Carrying Case $99
3 1/2-inch disk box (10 disks) $49
MacWrite/MacPaint $195 (included free with each Macintosh during the introductory period)
External Drive $495
Surprise! Democrats Use Macs More!
A survey of computer operating systems market share shows an uncanny resemblance to the Democrat-Republican election map from 2004. Too bad only Democrats see the Mac OS as a superior computer platform! Click on the top map below from Market Share by Net Applications or check out the results here.
Dumbest Apple Predictions of All Time
From the Wired Blog Network
The iMac Will Fail
"The iMac will only sell to some of the true believers. The iMac doesn't include a floppy disk drive drive for doing file backups or sharing of data. It's an astonishing lapse from Jobs, who should have learned better... the iMac is clean, elegant, floppy-free–and doomed.” — Hiawatha Bray in the Boston Globe, 1998.
Give the Money Back
"I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." — Michael Dell in October 1997,as an immediate prelude to a renaissance that would see Apple ultimately eclipse Dell in size.
Coming Soon: Apple's Subnotebook/Tablet/UMPC/Newton 2
"UltraPortable PCs from Apple using Flash memory to be delivered as early as Macworld San Francisco 2007." — Benjamin Reitzes in June 2006.
In Reitzes' defense, the fellow scried the Mac Mini three months before it appeared. And here's Gene Munster with the same thing, just a few days ago. Someone will eventually get the timing right. Right?
Gamers Will Flock To Macs
"Gaming will be an important part of Apple’s focus on the consumer market. ... By the end of calendar year 1999, the Mac platform will have the best gaming machines available to the general consumer." — the usually-wise Robert Paul Leitlao, in 1998.
Apple's Post-iPod Era Decline Proceeds Apace
“The biggest long-term problem with moving to an Apple platform is that the company is in decline." — Rob Enderle, in October 2003.
iPhone, The Bomb of 2007
"The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks." — Matthew Lynn, in Bloomberg after the January announcement.
iPhone Revolution To Kill Subsidy Status Quo?
"Wolf also notes that he expects Apple to sell the phone as an unlocked device through the Apple Stores, allowing people to choose their own carrier." — Charles Wolf, paraphrased by Barrons' Eric Savitz in January. In reality, to quote one AT&T executive, Apple ultimately "bent" for them.
Hewlett Packard iPod To Be a Winner
"The expectation on the iPod is that HP's version will probably outsell Apple's version relatively quickly." — Rob Enderle, quoted in MacObserver in August 2004.
Sony To Buy Apple
"Within the next two months, Sony will acquire Apple. ... Sony will be the white knight who will step into the picture." — former Apple VP Gaston Bastiaens, in January 1996.
A Range of Click-Wheel iPhones
"Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora said the first and slimmer of Apple's initial two cell phone models will look like an iPod with a small screen and a click wheel interface." — Jesse Tortoya, paraphrased by MacRumors.
The Goose is Cooked
"Apple as we know it is cooked. It's so classic. It's so sad." — Stan Dolberg of Forrester Research, quoted by the New York Times in 1996. See also Fortune's "By the time you read this story, the quirky cult company…will end its wild ride as an independent enterprise," from the same year. Time: "Certainly No Future."
Microsoft's Nathan Myhrvold couldn't even predict the present: "Apple is already dead," he said after Jobs' return.
AppleTV's Features and Impact
"Apple's iTV will include features beyond streaming content and could have an impact on video similar to what the iPod has done for music." — Andy Neff of Bear Stearns packs several failed prognostications into one sentence.
Jobs, Shjobs!
"The idea that they're going to go back to the past to hit a big home run . . . is delusional" — Dave Winer, quoted by the Financial Times in 1997.
Self-Mutilation or Sale Is the Only Way Forward
"[Apple] seems to have two options. The first is to break itself up, selling the hardware side. The second is to sell the company outright." — The Economist, Feb. 1995
Shut Down The Primary Source Of Revenue
"Admit it. You're out of the hardware game," — Us, in 1997. Of course, the rest of Wired's 101 Ways To Save Apple list is packed with suggestions that turned out to be chillingly accurate! ("We’d all feel better ... if we could get a tower with leopard spots.")
Invention of the Year: The iPhone
From Time.com
By Lev Grossman
Stop. I mean, don't stop reading this, but stop thinking what you're about to think. Or, O.K., I'll think it for you:
The thing is hard to type on. It's too slow. It's too big. It doesn't have instant messaging. It's too expensive. (Or, no, wait, it's too cheap!) It doesn't support my work e-mail. It's locked to AT&T. Steve Jobs secretly hates puppies. And—all together now—we're sick of hearing about it! Yes, there's been a lot of hype written about the
iPhone, and a lot of guff too. So much so that it seems weird to add more, after Danny Fanboy and Bobby McBlogger have had their day. But when that day is over, Apple's iPhone is still the best thing invented this year. Why? Five reasons:
1. The iPhone is pretty
Most high-tech companies don't take design seriously. They treat it as an afterthought. Window-dressing. But one of Jobs' basic insights about technology is that good design is actually as important as good technology. All the cool features in the world won't do you any good unless you can figure out how to use said features, and feel smart and attractive while doing it.
An example: look at what happens when you put the iPhone into "airplane" mode (i.e., no cell service, WiFi, etc.). A tiny little orange airplane zooms into the menu bar! Cute, you might say. But cute little touches like that are part of what makes the iPhone usable in a world of useless gadgets. It speaks your language. In the world of technology, surface really is depth.
2. It's touchy-feely
Apple didn't invent the touchscreen. Apple didn't even reinvent it (Apple probably acquired its much hyped multitouch technology when it snapped up a company called Fingerworks in 2005). But Apple knew what to do with it. Apple's engineers used the touchscreen to innovate past the graphical user interface (which Apple helped pioneer with the Macintosh in the 1980s) to create a whole new kind of interface, a tactile one that gives users the illusion of actually physically manipulating data with their hands—flipping through album covers, clicking links, stretching and shrinking photographs with their fingers.
This is, as engineers say, nontrivial. It's part of a new way of relating to computers. Look at the success of the Nintendo Wii. Look at Microsoft's new Surface Computing division. Look at how Apple has propagated its touchscreen interface to the iPod line with the iPod Touch. Can it be long before we get an iMac Touch? A TouchBook? Touching is the new seeing.
3. It will make other phones better
Jobs didn't write the code inside the iPhone. These days he doesn't dirty his fingers with 1's and 0's, if he ever really did. But he did negotiate the deal with AT&T to carry the iPhone. That's important: one reason so many cell phones are lame is that cell-phone-service providers hobble developers with lame rules about what they can and can't do. AT&T gave Apple unprecedented freedom to build the iPhone to its own specifications. Now other phone makers are jealous. They're demanding the same freedoms. That means better, more innovative phones for all.
4. It's not a phone, it's a platform
When Apple made the iPhone, it didn't throw together some cheap-o bare-bones firmware. It took OS X, its full-featured desktop operating system, and somehow squished it down to fit inside the iPhone's elegant glass-and-stainless-steel case. That makes the iPhone more than just a gadget. It's a genuine handheld, walk-around computer, the first device that really deserves the name. One of the big trends of 2007 was the idea that computing doesn't belong just in cyberspace, it needs to happen here, in the real world, where actual stuff happens. The iPhone gets applications like Google Maps out onto the street, where we really need them.
And this is just the beginning. Platforms are for building on. Last month, after a lot of throat-clearing, Apple decided to open up the iPhone, so that you—meaning people other than Apple employees—will be able to develop software for it too. Ever notice all that black blank space on the iPhone's desktop? It's about to fill up with lots of tiny, pretty, useful icons.
5. It is but the ghost of iPhones yet to come
The iPhone has sold enough units—more than 1.4 million at press time—that it'll be around for a while, and with all that room to develop and its infinitely updatable, all-software interface, the iPhone is built to evolve. Look at the iPod of six years ago. That monochrome interface! That clunky touchwheel! It looks like something a caveman whittled from a piece of flint using another piece of flint. Now imagine something that's going to make the iPhone look that primitive. You'll have one in a few years. It'll be very cool. And it'll be even cheaper.
Find this article at: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1678581,00.html
Apple vs. Dell: 10 Years Later
It was 10 years ago that Michael Dell, speaking before several thousand technology executives at ITxpo97 in Orlando, answered a question about what he would do if he were CEO of Apple with a remark he probably instantly regretted:
“What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” (link)
As others have noted, Apple’s (AAPL) market capitalization today is more than double that of Dell (DELL):
Apple: $140.4 billion
Dell: $62.27 billion
But don’t shed a tear for Micheal Dell. According to a list of the 400 wealthiest Americans published last month, his net worth is more than triple Steve Jobs’.
Michael Dell: $15.5 billion
Steve Jobs: $4.9 billion
[Chart comparing 10 years of Apple and Dell share prices courtesy of NASDAQ.]
Link to the article.
It's Amazing What People Find on eBay!
This fellow has set up a web page detailing the original Macintosh computer manual, complete with pictures. Its' an interesting read! I actually have an original Macintosh brochure from 1984. I know, sweet! :-)
TV Evolves Over the Years
Here's an interesting article about how TV has evolved over the years and will be revolutionized in the next couple of years.
Will Macs take on the Enterprise?
This article by Tim Bajarin of PC Magazine Online explores how the Mac - with its ability to run two operating systems - may be very appealing to IT managers in the future. As the Mac platform with Intel matures, I believe that's exactly what will happen. Read it here or below: By Tim Bajarin This week I had an interesting discussion with an IT Behind this IT manager's thinking is that the Mac now uses Intel processors, just like Dell, HP, and most other PC makers. And thanks to Apple's Boot Camp, most Macs can also run Microsoft Windows. When Apple announced Boot Camp last year, this IT manager downloaded it for use on one of the Macs in his company's graphics department. He also loaded a clean version of Windows XP. What he found is that Boot Camp indeed let him run Windows on a plain-vanilla Mac. But he did not like that in order to run it, he had to power down the Mac and its OS X operating system and reboot Windows XP as a separate session. He did some research and found that another company called The first version of the Parallels software did not work that well, but I have been testing a recent version that is much easier to use. In my talk with this IT manager, he stated that Parallels' new software is the reason he has seriously begun considering Macs. Although he is not thinking of tossing out all of the company's Now that is a forward-thinking IT manager! Apple itself has not really pushed a mainstream enterprise strategy and seems content to keep its current IT customers in the advertising, graphics, and engineering departments happy. I do think that the Mac's new ability to run Windows as well as OS X has to be viewed as a potential disruptive force within IT departments. At the very least, it should get Apple broader attention within traditional Windows-only IT operations.
PC Magazine
The traditional IT market is, for the most part, owned by Microsoft and various Windows PC makers, such as HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo. Surprisingly, Apple also has a solid foothold in IT, primarily in advertising, graphics, and marketing. This is where the Mac has found its home ever since it burst onto the scene, settling comfortably into the graphics and desktop-publishing niche. Beyond these areas, however, Apple has had very little luck in the broader enterprise marketplace.
April 7 - The Birth of the Internet
The publication of the first “request for comments,” or RFC, documents paves the way for the birth of the internet. April 7 is often cited as a symbolic birth date of the net because the RFC memoranda contain research, proposals and methodologies applicable to internet technology. RFC documents provide a way for engineers and others to kick around new ideas in a public forum; sometimes, these ideas are adopted as new standards by the Internet Engineering Task Force.
One interesting aspect of the RFC is that each document is issued a unique serial number. An individual paper cannot be overwritten; rather, updates or corrections are submitted on a separate RFC. The result is an ongoing historical record of the evolution of internet standards.
When it comes to the birth of the net, www.historicaltextarchive.com/s/history-of-the-internet.php, also has its supporters. On that date, the National Science Foundation’s university network backbone, a precursor to the World Wide Web, became operational.
The Truth About Switching
I agree (for the most part) with this article about switching to the Mac. It seems pretty accurate to me. See what you think.
Here's a sample from the article:
So what’s it actually like to own and use a Mac? Here are 20 thoughts on what it’s like, without all the whining and hysterics:
01 You'll feel like you're in a little club