Comments on: Dell: “Apple has become the conformist company” http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/ Musings on strategic design by Kontra, a veteran design and management surgeon, perennially in search of complex problems to operate on. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:15:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: How successful are former Apple executives? « counternotions http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-1890 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:07:56 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-1890 [...] quick death of its iPod-killer DJ Ditty MP3 player. Last year, Dell began to reposition itself as the new anti-Apple and a “cool” brand, while simultaneously selling $700 PCs at Wal-Mart. Shortly later, [...]

]]> By: Why Apple? Why Winbox PC? « ahmad.zidni.mat http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-261 Sat, 27 Oct 2007 22:52:52 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-261 [...] More here. [...]

]]> By: RY http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-260 Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:11:07 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-260 I’ve used Dell and Apple computers….. I gotta say that I like both, but I’m not very picky about my computers. As long as they work, I’m happy with them. I’ve had more technical problems with my laptop (Dell) but they are resolved and then everything is fine…. on the other hand, my iMac hasn’t had any technical problems and I don’t have to pay $50 a year for some annoying antivirus software. So I guess I like Macs more, but Dell isn’t that bad either when it comes down to it.

]]> By: joeldm http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-242 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:40:59 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-242 . . . Apple will suddenly no longer be a niche or boutique product, but mainstream with a vengeance.

(had to complete that thought!)

JoeL

]]> By: joeldm http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-241 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:38:31 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-241 Yes, that’s correct. Apple builds consumer products, not computers. Windows and box PCs are all DIY. You HAD to know how to tinker and get your geek on to get full use out of them. And in the beginning, geeks were the only computer owners. And as more people wanted to use them, they bought the idea that they “had” to use MS products to be compatible with work or the geek next door told them Macs were toys.

Now people want computers to work like appliances, they don’t want to tinker, though Apple does leave the ability to tinker at whatever low level you want, in its Unix core. People want to use the thing for spreadsheets and letters and websites and photos, music, movies, you name it. And they don’t want to have to learn the 10,000 Word “secrets” to write a stupid resume!

Apple gets that, Dell and MS has not. That’s why Apple’s market cap does matter and the reason why Apple has been bucking the PC maker stagnation trend and growing like crazy. Apple is making things that work and once that becomes clear to the PC lemmings out there still trying to figure out what a registry setting is and why they have to spend their time worrying about up-to-date virus definitions and having a hardware upgrade decertify their PC when all they really want to do is use the computer to create content and enhance their lives (not BECOME their lives!).

JoeL

]]> By: NC http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-227 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:47:12 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-227 Why does everyone forget that Apple does not want to make computers for people who want to tinker and build their own? In the old Soviet Union, everyone who owned a car had to know how to fix it. Everyone was a tinkerer, and the cars were basic enough to enable people to do so. But as soon as more reliable, and more expensive cars came on the market, people prefered those.

A similar thing happened to the US television market in the 70′s. Zenith made color tv’s with a “works in a drawer”, that made it easy for a tv owner to do their own repairs. The Japanese made TV’s that were more reliable, and didn’t need to be repaired, and the owners didn’t need to know how to repair them. Guess who won that market??

Apple doesn’t want the “do it yourself” computer market, and are very profitable staying away from that market. They don’t have to “win” at market-share to be profitable. They just have to have enough market-share to build an eco-system that sustains and grows their business, and their 3rd party developer’s businesses. They have that now.

]]> By: ERM http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-193 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:39:50 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-193 @System48

How old are you? I used to talk like you when I was about 17.

]]> By: System48 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-171 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:02:52 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-171 @HG

Sorry, you’re right. I should have also said, Dell sucks, HP sucks, Lenovo sucks and Acer sucks. There, now it’s complete. If you want a computer that works, then build it yourself, as for the OS that’s your problem.

]]> By: HG http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-167 Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:45:27 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-167 @System48

If you only build the systems you use, then how do you know ‘Apple sucks’?

]]> By: System48 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-166 Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:02:31 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/09/27/dell-apple-has-become-the-conformist-company/#comment-166 Apple….sucks. In almost every article I’ve read about how well Apple is doing in the PCvsMAC world they always compare market cap. First, the market cap says nothing about how well Apple is selling their towers, laptops and all-in-ones. Secondly even if you compared the sales $’s of Apple and Dell/HP/whoever it doesn’t say anything about their market penetration. Apple has a very, very small consumer base by comparison. I’m not a Dell/HP/whoever fanboy, the only PC’s I’ve ever owned are ones that I’ve built myself. Looking at the recent problems with some of the new Apple gear it’s either more people are buying and the failure rates are just becoming more noticeable or the failure rate is increasing. Either way, no company produces a perfect product, PC’s are widely used and therefore there problems seem worse than what they probably are. A rate of failure can be calculated as a percentage of units shipped so the more you sell the more faulty units you have. Apple doesn’t sell much, by comparison, so there aren’t many bad units out there buy your percentages will be in line with the market average.

]]>