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AAPL Stock: 562.29 ( -3.03 )

MacNN News

Analysts chime in on Apple

updated 08:28 am EST, Wed December 6, 2000

Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Fortuna has reiterated his near-term "neutral" rating on Apple. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Kevin McCarthy, meanwhile, has downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold." J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kunstler has also cut his rating on Apple, from "buy" to long-term "buy." Lehman Brothers analyst Dan Niles issued a report at noon Eastern, cutting his forecast on Apple's fiscal 2001 results to a net loss of 15 cents per share, from a profit of $1.15 per share, signaling the analyst's belief that Apple will not be able to return to healthy profitability as early as the company predicts it will. [updated]

by MacNN Staff

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12/06, 09:29am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple stock

"Hold" in analyst's circles means "sell," and these geniuses will wait until share holders panic and start selling, driving the stock to $10/share. Then these brokerage houses will buy tons of Apple stock and then sell them again during January's Macworld Expo, when Apple stock always goes up. That's how they will make a profit. Just watch and see. Don't get fooled, hold on to the Apple stock, other PC stocks i.e. Dell, Gateway have also been downgraded. Don't get suckered by these analysts, their job is to make money for their financial houses first, then for their clients.

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12/06, 10:38am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Losers

If any of these characters had changed their recommendation before the announcement last night, I might consider them useful. Any dummy could do what they did. And ask yourself, are they looking at the long term? Never. The previous commenter is correct. Don't get suckered by these bozos.

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12/06, 11:14am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Negative Reaction

Apple is hurting partly because of a few marketing blunders, but mostly from the negative press and reaction of the stock market to any negative news from Cupertino. Most of us customers are waiting for something new to come from Apple (faster G4s, OSX etc.). We who have been loyal customers for years know that this year's product line was especially skimpy considering that the current G4 processors have been here for nearly 2 years. Now Apple is stuck with a pretty large inventory to sell before they release the new machines. When they finally do release their new machines and OSX. They won't be able to build the machines fast enough to keep up with demands. Basically we consumers don't want to end up with another Apple IIFX. Apple sold those babies for nearly $10,000 and a month later released faster, better Quadras for half the price. The same thing happened when Apple introduced the first Powermacs. Now it's going to happen again. Most of us professional Mac users are not going to trade our Macs in for PCs. We know how screwed up the Wintel platform is. We just want faster Macs & OSX. It WILL happen. Just wait. Then the stock will go up quickly.

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12/06, 11:44am | report spam | close Reply | delete
So...?

Other than their own feebleminded kind, who cares what the fools-in-suits say anyway?

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12/06, 11:53am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Yeah, Keep the faith!!

Hey-- everyone in here has a unique oppurtunity to cash in on AAPL and make some dough.......if you even got a couple hundred bucks, i'd say throw it in........wayyyyyy better odds than going to vegas--you're almost guaranteed to win!!

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12/06, 12:14pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
So...?

Other than their own feebleminded kind, who cares what the fools-in-suits say anyway?

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12/06, 12:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Choosing next computer

As the point has been made here, for many of us, continuing on with the Mac will involve buying both a new machine, and buying new software to be able to take advantage of OS X. In addition, we will have to learn a UNIX-based OS to be able to know it as well as we do OS 9.
Given all this, it seems quite reasonable to ask if it would be better to buy a new Athelon machine, new software to take advantage of Wilmette [sp], and learning a new OS to be able to know it as well as we do OS 9.
Moving to "the dark side" gives all the benefits of competition and market share -- more speed, lower prices, more software, more access, more compatibility, more use for one's skills, more of a future. Sticking with Apple gives all the benefits of an "integrated" system, with fewer incompatibility problems, and more seamless workflow.
I don't know the answer for myself, let alone for my wife, my mom, my co-workers, or for the rest. But I think it is important that we ask and understand the basic question.

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12/06, 12:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Buy AAPL now!

Get an E*Trade account and buy as much Apple as you can. The price is low, but remember this is post-split pricing.

Apple could easily buy its way out of this mess (and in fact may be doing just that). They have 4 *billion* in cash (assets). Not only can they buy up a lot of their own stock dirt CHEAP avoiding a buyout, they can bring in the missing elements of their business.

Apple already bought Astarte for its DVD authoring technology, and now it appears Radiologic was swallowed by Apple up as well for CD/Disk supporting technology that frankly Apple has not done very well with on its own.

The Cube is a great computer, but it was priced way too high and lacked a clear target market (SOHO would be perfect) and related marketing push. Where are the ads with "real" people using a Cube to run a small business instead of how "cool" it is. Business wants "works well" and "costs very little" Apple!

We need better (more specific) marketing, better partners and more Mac OS X commitments. We being the Shareholders of Apple.

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12/06, 12:34pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
new models

as rumored by an retail chain here in switzerland, apple announced several new products, i know sure of new ibooks for the expo in 5 weeks as i was told... i almoust bought a G4 cube, but i now i will wait to see what happens. i was fooled once (when i bought my PM7300 almost 3 years ago) and this was a good lesson, so wait!

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12/06, 12:36pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
new models

as rumored by an retail chain here in switzerland, apple announced several new products, i know sure of new ibooks for the expo in 5 weeks as i was told... i almoust bought a G4 cube, but i now i will wait to see what happens. i was fooled once (when i bought my PM7300 almost 3 years ago) and this was a good lesson, so wait!

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12/06, 01:58pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: New Models

Hey Slappy, nothing's been announced. I'll tell you how much a Swiss retail chain knows about Apple's future products - NOTHING.

Jobs mentioned that a cheaper Cube is on the way - a startling admission considering their code of silence. I have to admit, it's time to get over this marketing gimmick of unannounced 'suprises'. They only work if people aren't expecting them at every major conference(ie. original iMac). When expected, it's kinda silly and pisses off the consumer cause he's never sure if it's a good time to buy, and the developer (can you say alti vec?).

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12/06, 02:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
long term gloomy too

Steve got rid of all Apple research three years ago.

Today Microsoft spends billions on research and their incremental progress shows.

OSX is 15-year-old NeXT's dying gasp and it will kill Apple with it.

Meanwhile, we're waiting for the hardware to catch up with OSX requirements (let alone PC parity) e.g. no iMacs will be sold until they come with at least 128MB (like any $800 PC has) so we don't have to upgrade them in 6 months.

No PowerBooks will be sold until they have 1600x1200 screens, just like Dell has.

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12/06, 02:19pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dell screen res.

Dell's web site says the 15 inch screens in their Latitude model have a max 1400x1050 max screen res. This is higher then Apple but please get your facts straight before posting mindless babble.

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12/06, 02:27pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dell scren res.

No (s)he's right - Dell has had 1600x1200 screens for at least a month and a half - a friend of mine has had one like that for that long (an Enspiron (spelling?) model) and the screen is *SWEET* - and it plays DVDs flawlessly too. Steve's G4 Mercury has a lot of catching up to do - we can only pray that Motorolla is ready - I just hope they fix the hinge problems while they're at it.

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12/06, 02:55pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dell, NeXT, Etc.

Just checked Dell, 1400x1050 is it. 1600x1200 is for external monitors. No big deal there. Nothing to make me want to trade in my nearly 1-year old PowerBook.

I used NeXT about 10-11 years ago (I don't think it existed in 1985) and it's just silly to say on one hand that it's 15-year old technology and on the other that no machines can run it yet ... think about it. Mac OSX PB is a joy and a large advance over NeXT.

It seems that people are just, quite reasonably, waiting for faster/better machines that we all expect to be released real soon now. Apple's paying the price for a slow upgrade schedule.

Oh, and I have friends working in research at Apple. I'm pretty sure they've been gainfully emplyed for the past three years ... and still are.

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12/06, 03:05pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
OS X

Speak for yourself... I don't want it, at least not until it has a GUI as flexible and user friendly as the Mac OS. 16 years of work down the drain because the NeXT engineers are in charge now. It's sad, Apple's the one with the market share, but yet these know nothing NeXT engineers are the ones that they're listening to.

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12/06, 03:34pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Know nothings

Uh, I am a Mac user. And recently I've become intrigued with the power of Unix. The big boys go on about SMP, protected memory, blah, blah. Unix has had it for years. For free. Free. Say it again. Free. And the first person who says you get what you pay for gets a copy of Windows for Workgroups crammed up his *ss. OSX is the next big thing. The problem with NeXT was it was far ahead of its time. Now the time is coming. All the kids who grew up on PC's and know computers well will be attracted to Unix cuz they're not afraid of a command line. In fact, they see the command line as a positive. More control. More flexibility. And guess what I've found out? Unix really ain't that hard. In fact, it's.......fun. Tired of the way gnome works, how about kde? Don't like the gnome interface, try Eazel (which , BTW, is run by Andy Hetzfeld of Apple fame, Bud Tribble of Apple and NeXT fame, and Mike Boich of Apple and Radius fame). And guess which OS is situated to take advandtage of all this? OSX. Get Darwin for free. s**** around with it. Decide you want that cool interface. Buy OSX. Still get to use all that software you've got plus the standards like Microsoft Office. Why do think Microsoft has been so noncommittal about OSX? They're scared of it. Really, for once, worried about another OS. OSX is nothing if not flexible. Let me say this: I hate OS9. Its 16 years old. Really, really, really old. Mac OS is dead, long live the Mac OS.

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12/06, 04:08pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: know nithings

Mac OS X is a double-edged sword:

Indeed, "Mac OS is dead, long live the Mac OS" sums up precisely why Apple is losing its long-time Mac buyers.

And as you say, from the other direction, many people are attracted to free software and Unix.

Linux has already surpassed Mac OS market share and is growing, whereas Apple is shrinking. If anything, the slowing of the economy will increase this trend, as people interested in free software are likely to be interested in saving money also by using x86 hardware - esp. considering that Linux and *BSD run fine on older hardware instead of G3s.

Microsoft is still around too.

As a long-time Mac user with a heavy investment in Apple's future, I am deeply concerned about this - does Apple really expect to attract new customers, stop losing existing customers, compete with free Unixes, compete with Microsoft, catch up to Wintel hardware performance and features, and price their hardware competetively?

This quarter, the customers have spoken and Wall Street is listening.

Yes indeed, Mac OS is dead. The question is, can Apple survive without it?

If their new products merely catch up to the rest of the industry, they will be in the same situation in a few more months. They need to seriously leapfrog everyone else and even the wildest product rumors don't speculate about that happening.

I truly hope Steve is not out of rabbits yet. MacWorld will be a make-or-break show.

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12/06, 04:13pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Buy Apple stock now

I agree. This is the lowest that Apple stock has been in some time. I'd see if it drops anymore. I'm tempted to buy even. It's bargain basement prices right now!

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12/06, 04:24pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple admits we f***ed up

What a sorry state. I do declare half of you are blind to the facts.

Apple missed out on the CDRW wave and chose DVD - Why pay $1,000 dollars for a DVD player when you can buy a dedicated player for less than �300 dollars?

The Cube sold badly.- Why pay more than $1,000 for a computer, albeit one that is sickeningly beautiful, when a cheap PC box comes in at less than $800 including the monitor and of course the DVD and expansion capacity and software and games and.......

Apple customers are waiting for OSX. - We've been waiting for years. You hear me shouting! YEARS, For a, stable, fast, modern OS. Whats another Chrismas with no presents to ask santa for. (Hey guys, you didn't miss the boat last Christmas, you missed it in '98)

We've got a Mhz gap. - A gap? More like an ocean. Aside for a few applications (applications not games) that can actually use the dual processors in the current Apple crop, what use are they? Similarly, your average John Doe walks into a store, see's a PC running at 1200Mhz and a Mac at 500Mhz ath the same price (less the monitor (amatching one will be $500 sir), CDRW, Software....., then compares them and buys guess what?

We lost out in the education market because of our own incometence. - No answear to that one. Youv'e lost it. Don't expect to get it back in a hurry. Once schools have started on investing on the PC road with PC peripherals, getting them back will be a huge problem.

I need not go on. My devotion to the Apple dream has been a source of frustration for years. So many promises, So many false dawns. So much wasted effort trying to persuade my co workers and friends. Now I sit here with my trusty 266Mhz G3 with its external modem and CDRW, no DVD - that's in the living room where it belongs. Running mac OS8, with SoftWindows 98 in the background - I need it to run AutoCad and a real fear that all my waiting may have been in vain.

I know what youre thinking - He's a sad old f***. Yes, I am. But, not nearly as sad as we'll all be if Apple doesn't buck it's ideas up and start actually delivering on its promises before it gets left in the cold.

Thank you and Good Night!

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12/06, 04:36pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Reliability

In all this mess the computer industry is in, not just Apple, the biggest issue is reliability. We used to spend $3k for a computer with a lot of margin, but the OS's got muddy and machine's seemed unreliable and the price to support them went up. NO MORE we said... drop the price of the machine! Then $2k was the norm and that brought in a new set of users, one that thought $2k was a lot. They too said, NO MORE.. we need cheaper so we can afford to support them too. So $1k is now the price for a new computer, the industry has given themselves tiny margins and tiny margins for error. $1k brought new consumers and $1k was still a lot. They said..NO MORE.. we can't support these at this price... Now service bureaus recieve very little money for supporting warranty (most are failing and closing shop). Support by the makers of hardware is breaking them, Dell claims every phone call costs them $25.00 and every service call $100.00 (that's more then the margin on most machines).

It doesn't matter what price the stock is.. I'm not touching any PC hardware manufacturers stock with a 10 foot pole!

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12/06, 04:41pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple, the computer

I am a loyal and sometimes rabid Mac user since purchasing my shiny new SE in 1988 with its oh-so-large 40MB HD. I loved it, as I love my new G4 350 and all those in between.

However, from a purely objective point of view Apple has made some fairly large blunders and seems to continue along that path from time to time.

Let's say you are a new computer user - out to purchase your first box with $1,000 that you have managed to put back. You go to your local computer store (just pick a store, any store) and, being not only uninformed but relying on the advice of your pick-of-the-lot salesperson - what do you think you will leave with?

Chances are it won't be a Mac. While WE have convinced ourselves that our machines with their 500-900Mhz slower processor numbers are superior, the bang for the buck lies elsewhere, the shelves are lined with more dark-side software to tempt you, and, although your new computer may not be cherry, blueberry or pomegranate flavored, you leave with it nonetheless.

Don't get me wrong - I think this is very sad. There seems to be a user/computer relationship among Mac users that the PC world doesn't seem to enjoy, but convincing the masses just hasn't been Apple's strong point. And you can't lay it on being bad business people, they have managed to survive, however the historical inertia won't last forever. They are just WAY too arrogant for their (our) own good.

An Apple superstore could be just thing - but, regardless of the appearance, ease of use (OSX ?) and glitz, what's in the new store had better be up to snuff with the competition - faster processor numbers and adequate RAM, for example - and every possible, imaginable, and conceivable piece of software and gadgetry ever made for the MAC.

Is this what Apple has in mind? I doubt it. I predict that it will be so Apple-centric and exclusive that only Mac-users will enjoy its offerings, much like a museum shop.

Let's watch the $14 a share for a while, shall we?

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12/06, 04:48pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Reliability

It has to be said that, when it comes to support, at least here in the UK. Dell, HP and Compaq blow Apple away. They answer the phone at least!

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12/06, 04:51pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple, the computer

At last sanity.

It hurts but it's true

OH GOD!. I'm so depressed.

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12/06, 05:04pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
notebook comparison

I just did a quick notebook Dell vs. Apple online shopping comparison for what $3000 could get you this christmas and (skipping the features that are the same - firewire, usb, memory, disk, modem, usb, etc.) the differences are:

Apple gets you presumably longer battery life, 5 pounds (vs 7), ethernet and its airport are integrated instead of on PC cards.

Dell gets you 1600x1200 screen, 3 year on-site service, MS Office included, printer included, floppy, docking port, also traditional serial and mouse ports. Note that CD-RW is also available.

If I wasn't so attached to Mac OS, I'd get the Dell.

details:

Apple $2999
• 500MHz PowerPC G3 - 1MB cache
• 128MB SDRAM - 1 SO DIMM
• 20GB Ultra ATA drive
• 14.1-inch TFT display
• DVD-ROM drive
• 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
• 56K internal modem
• Two USB ports
• Two FireWire ports
• AC adapter
• Battery
• Mac OS 9

Dell $2950
Catalog Number: 04 19
Dell Inspiron 5000e Notebook: Pentium III� processor, 600MHz,Featuring SpeedStep™ 15.0" UXGA TFT display
EG60UTN - [220-0938]
Memory: 128MB, SDRAM, 1 DIMM
128M1D - [311-4053]
Video Memory: 16MB ATI RAGE Mobility 128™ 3D Video, 2X AGP
VID16MB - [320-9901]
Primary Hard Drive: 20GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
20GB - [340-7058]
Operating System Software: Microsoft� Windows� Millennium (Windows Me)
WME - [420-0445][310-4044][412-5430][313-7222][412-1950]
Network Adapter: Xircom� CardBus Ethernet II 10/100 PC Card
N100X - [430-2082]
Modem: Internal 56K Capable V.90 Fax Modem
56K4 - [313-8758]
Modular CD/DVD Drives: 8X Max Variable DVD-ROM Drive
8XDVD - [420-4505][313-6805]
Bundled Software: MS Office SB plus Money 2001 with Free! EducateU Online Training Pack
EUBOF2H - [422-4044][412-2356][412-8601]
Anti-Virus: Norton Antivirus� 2000 for Windows Millennium
NAV2KME - [412-2578]
Limited Warranty and Support: 3 Yr Next Business Day International On-Site Parts & Labor
SI3OS - [900-3802][900-3800]
Internet Access Service: 1-Year DellNet™ by MSN� Internet Access Service[add$0]
MSN1YRP - [412-9800]
Resolution Assistant included: Resolution Assistant
RA - [310-3703][412-0176]
Proactive Support: Dell Proactive Support by Attune
ATTUNE - [412-4258]
Special Offer: $100 Special Offer
CP100 - [460-9055]
Choose Your Promo!: Free! Lexmark Z32 printer (cable not included)
FZ32 - [098017]

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12/06, 05:06pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
It's over...

Stick a fork in Apple. They are done!

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12/06, 05:07pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Down from Buy to Hold

The story for Apple for the last 5 years. Buy now........
No wait a minute. This rumour's interesting.............

No!

Hold! Its over priced and under spec'd.

At this rate Apple will be lucky if they sell anything, never mind The Cube.

You want one. Yooooooooooou know you do..........

No!

Here's a new rumour. It's better. Its just a few weeks away.

Damn! It's another bloddy i-mac! In shocking pink this time with subtle undertones of chatruse scented with meadow fresh bulls**t.

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12/06, 05:50pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple Store

Darling! ! can see it now. It's coming to me.

Yes! Patsy I can see it. 12,000 sq ft of stunning planked concrete set off against distressed steel plate, sandblasted timber, polished nubian granite and acres of italian shot silk. Vast sheets of glass with holographic images of Stephen Hawkins, Newton, Plato, The Marquis de Sade all thinking different........ Herds of majestic Wildebeast thundering across the threshold.

Oh Yes! Eddy, youv'e got it, its fantastic darling! What does it sell?

Things sweetie. Things. Things with triple G4's, Alti-something, Flashing lights and ADC's and, and, and, well .........OX's

Ox's Eddy? What are they.

Oh I don't know sweetie. But, at least they're better than windows.

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12/06, 05:54pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Apple Store

That sounds more like the new Pixar campus. ;-)

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12/06, 05:57pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Fabulous Darling!

Perhaps the cast was missing a member, Steve Jobs.

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12/06, 06:07pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Fabulous Darling!

Enthusing about all things ransluscent and really neat and designed by Philippe Stark.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel actually designed by that guy? It looks fantastic until you actually try to watch TV or sleep or such like.

No pun intended. But Apple is headed the same way. Soon, the only people to actually buy Macs will be design guru's and those with so much money that they can afford to buy a 1terrahertz PC and have it built into a wardrobe so that they do some real work.

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12/06, 06:09pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Bush/Clinton/MS/Apple

Canadians look south and can't believe your blind MSNBC culture! When Bill and Bill are fighting the breakup of Microsoft into little bites (bytes) Apple was fine. When Bush comes north with Texas culture Apple goes away. Splat!

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12/06, 06:22pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Belated Thanksgiving Joy

I hope you all loyal Americans enjoyed your Thanksgiving turkey. Whichever one wins the election!

Meanwhile in the real world. Apple has a real Turkey of it's own. It's called the Motorola G4.

How many does it take to cross the road?

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12/06, 06:23pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple's Inventory Proble

Apple is sitting on 11 weeks of inventory? (Steve supposedly solved the inventory problem ... riiight?)

That's almost 3 months - does this mean they've already manufactured and paid for everything they need until March?!?

If they come out with new products at MWSF, they will be stuck will *ALL* that c*** forever.

Possibilities:

(1) Apple shuts down manufacturing and sends everyone home - not likely

(2) landfill - not likely

(3) price cuts - if it's already manufactured, why not try to get rid of it ALL before MWSF. Cut it enough to get rid of it. Imagine flooding the market with a ton of OSX-compatible machines. They might move cubes if they were $999, iMacDVs at $800, etc.

(4) trade-ins for existing Mac users, especially all those people with dead PowerBook screens, or pre-G3 users.

(5) keep it around and until it runs out and sell it as a "worse" option (in addition to "good"/"better"/"best" options)

(6) start bundling things like airport cards and hubs

(7) ebay

The point is that unless they do some drastic different thinking, the 11 weeks of stuff will haunt them even after they bring out new products.

Knowing this just makes me want to not buy a new Mac even more until they get totally desperate and have to cut prices 50%.

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12/06, 06:32pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
iMac comes with ToyStory2

Perhaps one way to get rid of those excess iMacs would be to bundle one with every copy of Toy Story 2, instead of the other way around. ;-)

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12/06, 06:36pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Stop !

Now, everybody : stop looking at Apple only. Look at the rest of the industry : you will see that every single PC maker is poised to miss its profit goal or even go in the red this semester. That includes Dell and Gateway. So the world is not falling appart any more for Apple than for the other guys (or maybe just a little bit more...)

This being said, I'm sure people will recall how apalled we were all by Steve's arrogance in July. Hopefully this change in Apple's economic situation will bring back the company to Earth. I hope Apple will realise that selling computer is not only selling a nice box (not that I am against it) but also a powerful box at a lower price than the competition...

For sure, Apple was not helped in any way by the lack of evolution in the G4 line. It's hard to air an ad playing the Tramps' Disco Inferno nowadays...

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12/06, 07:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple brain drain

If I were an Apple employee, I'd be heading for the nearest door:

* They can make 50% more working across the street at Sun.
* Their options are 5x underwater and still going down.
* Traditional Mac OS programming knowledge is worthless.

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12/06, 07:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple brain drain

If I were an Apple employee, I'd be heading for the nearest door:

* They can make 50% more working across the street at Sun.
* Their options are 5x underwater and still going down.
* Traditional Mac OS programming knowledge is worthless.

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12/06, 07:06pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Apple brain drain

I hope they finish X before the last engineer leaves!

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12/06, 07:33pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Stop! Apple Inventory

"Apple is sitting on 11 weeks of inventory"

"stop looking at at Apple only"

Suppose... if this is happening to other manufacturers, it is only a matter of days before somebody who is not hurting (HP for instance) will start a pre-Christmas PC price war. Jobs was "not prepared to be hit by three major problems simultaneously" - I hope he is ready for a fourth.

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12/06, 07:38pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple switch to Itanium?

If you can't lick 'em, join 'em:

IBM announced Itanium-based systems shipping late January - perhaps Apple should re-compile OSX for IA64 and be done with the PowerPC megahertz gap once and for all!

I'd gladly trade speed for a fan! Or two or three.

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12/06, 07:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Think Different

With regard to Apple's inventory problem. Difference is that Dell only build to order, and, I might be wrong here, so do Gateway.

Compaq, IBM and others have huge corporate markets, who care little for DVD, firewire, cute colors, etc. They only care about getting a reasonable machine that runs industry standard software with a floppy drive (I know Apple thinks thier old hat), CD Rom (any speed will do), 128Mb RAM, blah, blah, blah. I know, I buy them, dozens at a time.

Apple have succeded, admirably, in creating a niche market. The problem is, that that niche is shrinking. The stock market may be volatile but, thy're not fools. They only have to count the Macs in thier own offices to see that something is wrong, very wrong.

In a world where Apple no longer have the benefit of having an essentially monopoly platform market for killer apps such as QuarkXpress to grow with, they have become over reliant on a cult following. A cult following who often have to use PC's at work and can see the difference in real world performance and stability. Who can't get the latest games to run on their Macs at home and who are running out of patience waiting for Apple to do something a little less different and a something a bit more compatible. For example: Who the f**k thought up the ADC connector?. Just when Apple were starting to benefit from the compatibility created by USB and VGA, they go shoot themselves in the foot. I'd love a new Apple Cinema LCD Display for our receptionist. Unfortunately, I won't pay for a new G4 to go with it. I bought a slick new Sony Display. It cost more I know but, at least, it's compatible with the existing G3 and I know I will be able to use it for years to come regardless of what it's connected to.

Apple should stop being so bloddy self indulgent an remember that they survive by selling computers, not gimmicks. You only have to look at the market place 3 years after the introduction of the i-mac. It's still dominated by beige boxes. If design were a real killer factor in the computer industry, then Dell etc. would be falling over each other getting Ferrari, Ital, Stark etc. on board trying to outsmart the competition. They aren't. Instead they're concentrating on speed, performance, reliability and compatibility. Could you imagine how far south Dell's shares would go if they introduced a new Dell Video Connector rather than using VGA. IBM learned that lesson with OS2.

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12/06, 07:43pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Power4

Or leapfrog Itanium and go with the Power4 ... it would be far easier.

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12/06, 07:49pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Apple Brain Drain

Will Steve Jobs remember to turn out the Lights in 1 Infinite Loop when he leaves the building or will someone else do it for him?

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12/06, 07:53pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Processors

Forget all of those empty promises. Forget Motorola, forget IBM. Port OSX to Intel now and sell killer hardware designed to go with it.

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12/06, 07:55pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: re: Apple Brain Drain

If things keep going his way, Steve Jobs won't have to turn out any lights - Pacific Gas & Electric will do it for him...

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12/06, 08:03pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Apple Brain Drain

Haha - the way things are going in California, if people turn on many more Christmas lights, the whole state is going to crash and burn!

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/12/06/cal.energy.01/index.html

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12/06, 09:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Sheesh

What senseless negativity. You DO realize that Apple is sitting on 4 billion dollars in cash? I think they could weather this little squal and then some.

1) It would appear that Motorola has finally got their G4 kinks worked out, and faster chips are ready to go. Apple jumped the gun by adopting the G4 in '99 when it wasn't ready for prime time. Right now is when Apple should have adoped the technology, since it's going to go uphill from here.

2) OS X, despite its somewhat harshly different interface, is exactly the OS Apple needs if they want to stay competitive. Have you checked out Windows 2000 or Whistler? They're a vast improvement over the Win9x technology. With OS X, though, Apple will once again leap frog Windows and have the finest OS.

3) Despite what some will say, the product lineup Apple has right now is still highly competitive technologically. The fact that Apple has managed to maintain competitiveness without any significant speed changes in almost 2 years should tell you something about the power of the Mac architecture.

Go ahead and sell your Apple stock. Go ahead and buy yourself a 'blazing fast' Pentium loaded with the steaming pile of c*** that is Win98. The way I see it, if you're dense enough to view this hiccup (which isn't even focused on Apple) as 'the end', you hardly even deserve to touch a computer.

Go find yourself some playdough or something.

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12/06, 09:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
asdfsadf

Apple Sucks!

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12/06, 09:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
asdfsadf

yes, apple is beginning to blow quite hard

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12/06, 09:58pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
you can't blame them

for cutting on Apple. It does not look good for them right now. PC companies are giants compared to Apple. Intel could c*** on a slab of silicon and make it a standard PC component.

Intel and AMD have concentrated on Mhz too much, IMO. Their chips show that. Motorola and IBM will catch up with the G4 series. Mhz can only take you so far, and basing your whole design on it is a weak design philosophy. I will like to see how Intel and AMD will respond when Apple has a fanless notebook out that can out-perform their 2Ghz 6 fanned super towers. God, I hope that happens :).

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12/06, 11:03pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple Stock

I am beginning to wonder if Mac OS X is not going to be the end for Apple. After its recent iMac revival, Apple gained considerable support from developers. With the onset of Mac OS X, developers will yet again have to change tracks in order to develop "Cocoa" applications, if they plan to fully utilize OS X's features. This will necessitate using a different framework and programming language (Objective-C). Developers will most likely stick to classic mac applications that will run as "Carbon" on Mac OS X. There are simply not that many experienced Cocoa developers around, and nobody is willing to bet their money on Mac OS X yet. Apple only recently released Mac OS X Server, which is already considered to be a dead product line. While Apple enjoys solid consumer loyalty, it suffers from the lack of commitment by its developers. This will again lead to software not being available for Apple, which would be available for other platforms, and could potentially erode Apple's consumer satisfaciton ratings. I wish Appel well, but they have a tough journey ahead of them. I suspect these are some of the reasons why analysts have been downgrading Apple stocks.

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12/07, 02:54am | report spam | close Reply | delete
I don't understand how..

How could this happen when Apple is now firing on all cylinders?

they've got the round mouse!

AND fruity colors!

AND an interface that is lickable!

AND dozens of applications!

Why people aren't willing to pay a few extra hundred bucks for these important features is beyond me. Especially schools - we all know they've got plenty of extra money to burn.

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12/07, 04:37am | report spam | close Reply | delete
contact with xtrem

i have spoke to xtrem, they are idiot�s and they will not have that 1200mhz in time,
it�s just a hoax, so forget it

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12/07, 10:21am | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Sheesh

It's well known that Apple is siting on huge cash reserves. Reserves it created in years gone by through milking its market for all it was worth. That market was us. Now the cash cow is now dead, or at least, in need of urgent veterinay attention.

The Cash reserves are the only thing that keeps Apple going in its present form. The company has no competitors, even before the anti trust suit against Microsoft, Apple's market share was going pear shaped (or should that be pancake shaped). But then again to Microsoft, Apples market share is a drop in the ocean. Bill Gate's personal fortune is worth more than Apples corporate one.

To the markets, any company is valued on its market assets, stock inventory, name, goodwill, performance, potential etc. and its cash reserves. Given Apple's performance over the last 2 years, its over supply, and the general market. The cash reseves, name and goodwill are the only thing that stops anyone, say Compaq or WalMart for that matter, buying Apple out, stripping it of its assets and shutting it down, or at the very least have it continue in name only as a premium 'designer' lead brand.

Who would risk spending 6 billion dollars for a company worth possibly less than 1 billion when you exclude the cash reserves? It's to costly and too risky for them, Even the rumour of it would send Apples share price into orbit, whilst the buyer would see thier share price hit the deck.

Apple is a 4 billion dollar fortified castle built on quicksand. A castle inhabited by a dynasty living off the grandeur of the family jewels they built up in the past. Ultimately, that family fortune will begin to run out Even with 4 billion, it is amazing how quickly the money drains away if you spend it on a lifestyle you can no longer sustain. Then, the wolves will descend for the kill.

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12/07, 12:25pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
no government Apple sales

Over the past year, Apple has lost government sales because of the MHz gap.

When the government procures equipment, there is a bidding process on the system specified. Today these specs usually include something like "750 MHz or higher" as a requirement.

This is one problem will not go away with OS X.

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12/07, 02:36pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Objective C not manditory

A prior post said: "With the onset of Mac OS X, developers will yet again have to change tracks in order to develop "Cocoa" applications, if they plan to fully utilize OS X's features. This will necessitate using a different framework and programming language (Objective-C). Developers will most likely stick to classic mac applications that will run as "Carbon" on Mac OS X."

This is not true. Java is a "1st class citizen" in the Cocoa world, all framework functionality is available to Java programmers. Java is hot right now and Mac OS X has it in spades.

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12/07, 04:23pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
The kids are worried

When Minnie Motorola married Mac Intosh in sunny California, we were all so optimistic for the future. The kids were to be beautiful examples of the synergist�s art. Super athletes, all blonde, blue eyed and tall. They would walk proud, riding over the competition into the brave new world of tomorrow.

That was then. What happened to all their babies?

Powa Peacea - Powa Peacea was a noisy kid, who grew into a timid teenager. Beaten senseless by the new kids on the block, who all joined the Intel gang, he decided to stay home instead.

Chirp � What a sad story, stillborn. Daddy knew about Mom�s brief affair with the guy from Seattle called Bill. But, when Minnie conceived his love child, Bill walked away, leaving her high and dry.

Rhapsody � Dad had poor Rhapsody aborted. It was clear that the baby was their unborn baby was deformed and wouldn�t have survived for long. It was all very confused and messy. The rest of the family never really recovered from the shock.

Since then:

Powa Peacee � A clever kid. But, despite having had the best tutors at college, he�s underemployed, fat and lazy. Still searching for something to do with his, oh so sad, life. Meanwhile, his parents despair. Dad�s giving him one last chance. Mom just doesn�t care about him anymore, Its only her trusty mobile phone that keeps her head out of the bottle.

O� Essex � Mom and Pop have been trying to have another kid for years. He keeps paying her plastic surgeon to maintain Moms youthful appearance, as for what you can�t see, don�t go there! Then, there�s the fertility problem. Since the birth Macs first child Mac O�seven, born out of wedlock, he�s tried in vain for another. She did give premature birth to a still half formed daughter but, sadly, it died. RIP O� Essex Server. Now, Mom�s pregnant again and it�s worrying everyone. Dad�s gone into a frenzy trying to keep her and the family amused, buying pretty things, getting in the d�cor experts and the plastic surgeons yet again. Problem is, she�s way overdue. People are beginning to talk. - Is she really pregnant or is it just fat. Perhaps she�s really sick?

Meantime:

In rainy Seattle, Bill, Minnie�s long lost suitor, is back together with Irene Intel. They never got married. Bill wasn�t the marrying kind. After all, he courted Big Blue Betty before dropping her to live with Irene. Others have tried, but, ultimately, Innie won his favours. Oh, and in bed together, what passion. �Faster!� he cries pounding away day and night. �Work me harder� she screams, hardly stopping to gasp for breath. Their Kids, Naughty Ninety Five, Saucy Ninety Eight, En Tee, and To Thousand all get mediocre grades at school. At least, En Tee works hard day in, day out and, their youngest, To Thousand. shows promise as well. Their newly born daughter, Emmy, seems to be built from the same rough, tough stock � Hips built for breeding. She may go a long way.

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12/07, 05:13pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Dell? h***! BAH!!

Gah! Dell? SO WHAT? I'm sitting here with my Dell Latitude CPx (Pentium III/650, 128mb RAM) and the only reason I still have it is because I'm waiting for my G3/500 Powerbook to get here. I hate this damn thing. The Xircom modem/ethernet card that takes up BOTH my slots drops me off the network all the time, Windows 2000 sucks for moving to many locations (WHY couldn't M$ have at least ripped off Location Manager??), it won't recognize the CDROM drive if you hot-swap it (Winders didn't like that).. propriatary docking station, it doesn't see the USB M$ mouse (but works with the USB-PS/2 thing).. gah. I'll be so happy to get my Powerbook.
The Dell systems really aren't faster.. PIII/650.. plugged in. On battery? Drops to around 500mhz. I priced this exact same laptop at Dell.com and found the Powerbook to be CHEAPER, and with more features. Dell can bite me.

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12/07, 05:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Dell! h***! BAH!!

Can I have the Dell when you finished with it?

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12/07, 08:25pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Dell? h***! BAH!!

If you really like the Location Manager (and the Control Strip to quickly access it), you better hope Bill rips it off because it is forever gone in OSX. And you better hurry up and buy that PowerBook before Steve decides to bundle OSX and remove OS9 compatibility from future Apple products!

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12/07, 08:30pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Objective C not mandi

Java's only use to developers will be to create bad OSX implementations of otherwise good Windows software. What Apple should do, and I doubt the arrogant Mr Jobs is listening, is concentrate on developing the API's required to make it easy and profitable for developers to make, otherwise good, Windows applications run under OSX. Even better, tell me I'm wrong you developers out there, how many years does it take to trick a Mac, and if anyone knows a Mac, Apple should, into thinking it's a PC? Insignia did it with SoftWindows. Then there's Virtual PC and others. The real art would be to do all this while maintaining the consistency of the Macs vastly superior GUI. Steve Jobs has, instead, concentrated in developing a GUI which looks more and more like Windows, I always hated Windows Explorer and Greg Landweber ought to sue over the new Finder. it's a rip off of his Greg's Browser. Even worse, developers are hesitating.

My guess is OSX wil be released with a Fanfare, but most Mac users willl continue to use OS 9. Sure, they'll experiment with it. But, in the end they'll return to what they know. Classic Apps run like treacle under the beta of OSX. Once it's bloated out to the final release, they'll probably be even worse. I will certainly hold back and wait, buying no new software or hardware, until I'm sure what to do. I've lost confidence in Apple's ability to deliver the right product at the right time. Apple may as well not bother releasing OSX unless they can release 1Ghz hardware with it. I would put money on them not being able to do this sometime soon.

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12/08, 05:54am | report spam | close Reply | delete
I told you so

If I was a person in a possition to purchase apple stock I will, and so should you . now. between jan and march big things to come. iIf only you knew. just remember .. I told you so..

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updated 08:28 am EST, Wed December 6, 2000

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