You're the new president of Apple computer

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June 11th, 2002, 05:21 PM
WebHead

You're the new president of Apple computer

So let's say that you have the opportunity to be the president of Apple computer. What kinds of things would you do to make Apple a more dominant force in the PC world? And I don't mean to change the OS to resemble Windows or anything like that. I mean, what would it take to increase the current 5% market share to say a more reasonable figure like 10-15%? How would you market the Imac for instance? How would you persuade people to want to buy it? How would you get all the die-hard PC users to make the switch,.. or at least have a desire to use both? I'm just curious because I read something in the business section of the Mercury news today about how Steve Jobs is going to be running a whole new ad campaign hoping to increase business. So the thought had occured to me,.. How would I do it? I have some ideas, but I want to hear all yours first...
June 11th, 2002, 05:49 PM
+Daemon+

Since I just bought a mac and love it...

MAC OS X is one of the best Os's around great idea putting mac gui on unix.

As long as it is far from looking like the ugly windows gui It will kick ***

The only thing they need to do is make it so you can build your own system. upgrade freely like how a x86 pc system is.

If mac was like that in hardware then they would have more of the people. I know for one I would change over to mac more if I could build my system or upgrade the cpu etc..
June 11th, 2002, 05:51 PM
DiR[ëctory]

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by WebHawg:
So let's say that you have the opportunity to be the president of Apple computer. What kinds of things would you do to make Apple a more dominant force in the PC world? And I don't mean to change the OS to resemble Windows or anything like that. I mean, what would it take to increase the current 5% market share to say a more reasonable figure like 10-15%? How would you market the Imac for instance? How would you persuade people to want to buy it? How would you get all the die-hard PC users to make the switch,.. or at least have a desire to use both? I'm just curious because I read something in the business section of the Mercury news today about how Steve Jobs is going to be running a whole new ad campaign hoping to increase business. So the thought had occured to me,.. How would I do it? I have some ideas, but I want to hear all yours first...<hr /></blockquote>I would sell the company and move to Taihiti... :D

Well, i think a big part of the PC industry is the ability for the lay person to build one. How many Mac parts are available to actually bid a darned thing, if I am not mistaken to build one you have to use parts from another. I would change the stupid color thing they have going and the fact that they are always trying to make everything so compact, that is not always the best choice, more expensive to replace parts etc.

Again the best future for mac is to sell out :)
June 11th, 2002, 05:58 PM
+Daemon+

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by DiR[ëctory]:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by WebHawg:
So let's say that you have the opportunity to be the president of Apple computer. What kinds of things would you do to make Apple a more dominant force in the PC world? And I don't mean to change the OS to resemble Windows or anything like that. I mean, what would it take to increase the current 5% market share to say a more reasonable figure like 10-15%? How would you market the Imac for instance? How would you persuade people to want to buy it? How would you get all the die-hard PC users to make the switch,.. or at least have a desire to use both? I'm just curious because I read something in the business section of the Mercury news today about how Steve Jobs is going to be running a whole new ad campaign hoping to increase business. So the thought had occured to me,.. How would I do it? I have some ideas, but I want to hear all yours first...<hr /></blockquote>I would sell the company and move to Taihiti... :D

Well, i think a big part of the PC industry is the ability for the lay person to build one. How many Mac parts are available to actually bid a darned thing, if I am not mistaken to build one you have to use parts from another. I would change the stupid color thing they have going and the fact that they are always trying to make everything so compact, that is not always the best choice, more expensive to replace parts etc.

Again the best future for mac is to sell out :) <hr /></blockquote>actually my powerbook g4 titanium is the most compact thin and light laptop in its class and its cheaper than the pc's

The body made of titanium not plastic.

I was going to buy a mac or a sony.

sony = $4,000
mac = $2,200

Prts on macs arent that much more. since they use the same parts as pcs

the hard drive is a standard ibm travel star

my memory is standard 512 mb pc133 kingston memory

you can use both of these in pc's

my video card is a ati rage

the thing mac needs t do is make it so you can upgrade there processor like a pc. Make it so you can build your own.

If you mean compact and colory as in the imac I agree they should get rid of the emac and imac.

The power mac is what you would want from mac. This baby is great. At least in the new power macs you can upgrade the following:

Memory
hdd
cdrom
cdrw
dvd
video
modem
keyboard mouse
sound

things you cant:

mobo
cpu

which this right here limits you <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />
June 11th, 2002, 06:29 PM
WebHead

Ok,.. so far we have

- Open architecture
- Less flashy colors
- Less hardware integration

I was kinda thinking along the same lines here. Do you think that in itself would be enough to win people over to wanting a Mac over a PC? Or to want to use both? What about the high-prices and limited software issues? As president, how could one resolve those two issues? Maybe the move to Tahiti or wherever isn't suck a bad idea. Maybe saving cost on building lease, could be used towards R&D. Anyway, just kinda brainstorming here. As much as I love PC's, I would really like to think up a way for Mac to become more competitive. Anyway, great comments so far. I want to hear more!! :)
June 11th, 2002, 06:31 PM
DiR[ëctory]

Dameon that is what I meant with the compact was the iMac, i know those mac titanium are sweet. I would buy one of those if i had the money.

i just think that the components need to be manufactured so a small business like so many PC vendors can put the Mac's out there on the market.
June 11th, 2002, 06:32 PM
Dark Millennium

I would probably charge Microsoft with having a monopoly then take them to court and hope that a judge agrees with me and then breaks up the company.

Oh wait that was done already. :D :D :D
June 11th, 2002, 07:01 PM
JungleMan1

I'd make them cheaper and more standardized and I'd put faster graphics cards in them.
June 11th, 2002, 07:33 PM
snooper2

more software for the macs
June 11th, 2002, 07:34 PM
WebHead

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by JungleMan:
I'd make them cheaper and more standardized and I'd put faster graphics cards in them.<hr /></blockquote>Cheaper: I agree completely. They are way overpriced. Always have been.

Standardized: I'm not sure if I agree with this. I think the ability to customize is what made PC's so popular to begin with. By creating standards limits freedom in a creative PC society. Sure there should be standards (i.e. IEEE 802.3, etc.) in that respect, but not as far as a PC build goes. True there are some standards as far as components go (i.e. PCI, AGP, etc.) And we NEED those standards, but just not on PC builds.

Faster Graphics cards: Faster? I'm not sure I understand that one.

Anyway,.. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I don't want to discuss how they can improve their product. We all know deep down they got a decent product. The trouble is, nobody wants to buy it. Why is that? What's the best way to market Apple computers and make more people want to buy Apple products?
June 11th, 2002, 08:05 PM
JungleMan1

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by WebHawg:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by JungleMan:
[qb]Faster Graphics cards: Faster? I'm not sure I understand that one.<hr /></blockquote>Yeah...faster...better..whatever you want to call it. Meaning they can get higher framerates with higher quality settings in games.

Kind of like a GeForce4 Ti4600 is faster than a GeForce2 MX400.
June 11th, 2002, 08:52 PM
imaeditedbysowulo

<blockquote>quote:<hr />

Anyway,.. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I don't want to discuss how they can improve their product. We all know deep down they got a decent product. The trouble is, nobody wants to buy it. Why is that? What's the best way to market Apple computers and make more people want to buy Apple products?[/QB]<hr /></blockquote>They need to get people using their computers so that people can see it's rocket science to use one. The problem is people are confronted with windows almost exclusively at work, that's what they are used to seeing, so that's what they buy.

It's kinda a catch 22, until people are exposed to them more, they probably won't buy them, but until more people buy them people won't be exposed to them. So my idea is this:

Apple should hire me to drive a Winnebago filled with laptops across the country, stopping for a few days in each city. I could have some kind of mega-satellite on top of the Bago for internet access and cable tv. I could watch TV while the locals play with the Macs on the internet(give em an hour a piece or somethin like that). That's all the general public wants anyways, show them the internet on a Mac and they will buy a Mac.

Should I give Steve Jobs a ring or what?
June 11th, 2002, 08:58 PM
WebHead

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by imaeditedbysowulo:
[QUOTE]
Should I give Steve Jobs a ring or what?<hr /></blockquote>Yes you should. And you should hire a team to work with you. You could work as a contractor for Apple, promoting their product. Yes yes,.. this sounds like a good idea. An entire business dedicated to Apple computer demo's. Ok then, so far so good. Any other ideas anyone?
June 11th, 2002, 09:59 PM
EvilCabbage

Hollow out the cases, make fishtanks.
June 12th, 2002, 08:25 AM
+Daemon+

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by JungleMan:
I'd make them cheaper and more standardized and I'd put faster graphics cards in them.<hr /></blockquote>you can already get faster video cards i them :)

you can put geforces in the mac :)
June 12th, 2002, 08:39 AM
JungleMan1

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Daemon (Ash):
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by JungleMan:
I'd make them cheaper and more standardized and I'd put faster graphics cards in them.<hr /></blockquote>you can already get faster video cards i them :)

you can put geforces in the mac :) <hr /></blockquote>Anyone who sells a $2300 computer with a GF4 MX needs to be beaten...

<a href="http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/73/wo/SVzI61DvM6ZuogyRSc/1.3.0.3.30.21.1.1.19.3.1.1.0?38,11" target="_blank">http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/73/wo/SVzI61DvM6ZuogyRSc/1.3.0.3.30.21.1.1.19.3.1.1.0?38,11</a>
June 12th, 2002, 09:31 AM
Mr. Pickles

If you could install the Mac OS on PC machines, I would switch over in a heartbeat.

I think using a different arcitechure has hurt them in the long run.
June 12th, 2002, 10:00 AM
+Daemon+

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Mr. Pickles:
If you could install the Mac OS on PC machines, I would switch over in a heartbeat.

I think using a different arcitechure has hurt them in the long run.<hr /></blockquote>humm I dont know, I like macs arcitechure. Thing is they need to open it up to companies. So like abit, soyo, gigabyte etc can create mobos for the mac arcitechure for the public.

Another thing is, if you want a mac, you can only buy one from a mac dealer. They need to do what the pc are doing and make it so we can create our own system with the mac arcitechure
June 12th, 2002, 11:11 AM
Mr. Pickles

Agreed.

More Mac Boxes out there = more software created for the Mac OS.
June 12th, 2002, 11:17 AM
Chris_MacMahon

a two bottun mouse, with a scroll...
June 12th, 2002, 01:26 PM
+Daemon+

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Chris_MacMahon:
a two bottun mouse, with a scroll...<hr /></blockquote>got it :)

Im use the m$ intelli mouse with my mac

mostly all used mice support macs now which is nice. I have a 5 button with wheel on my mac
June 12th, 2002, 01:28 PM
+Daemon+

good read!

This is off from slashdot.

it talks about linux and mac os x being used in star wars ep II

ILM says they have rarely seen artists get excited by hardware, but artists fought to get the new Linux workstations--Dell single-CPU P4s with NVIDIA Quadra 2 Pro graphics cards. The question became, ``Where's my Linux box?''

Production Engineering Manager Ken Beyer says

More than 350 Linux boxes were deployed during Episode II. Animators and modelers got their workstations first, then compositors. The first group had flat panels because animators lack the desk space for monitors. There were problems with monitor calibration under Red Hat 7.1. We used flat panels to get Linux out there. Last to get workstations were TDs. They push the envelope of what they ask for. An issue was how quickly we could get things ported for them.

``We've changed over quite a bit of our plant here to Linux--half of our desktops and about 30% of our 2,000 CPU renderfarm is now Linux'', says ILM Director of Research and Development Andy Hendrickson. ``We've got 700-plus O2 machines'', adds Beyer. ``But it isn't affordable to replace those with Octanes.'' SGI is recognized for producing high-end workstations and servers but has abandoned competing with commodity PC hardware. SGI seems to be rebounding in the military market but less so in entertainment.
``Our renderfarm towers carry the Deathstar logo'', points out Beyer. A render tower is a stack of 1RU 2-CPU units connected together with inexpensive 100Base-TX. He says:

These are 1RU, 2-CPU P4 units. If we lose a unit it is more convenient now that it is just two CPUs rather than four or eight with SGI 2800. For Episode II we had to double available capacity and power. It's 512 processors. We use dual 225 kVA UPS systems, and have three AC systems that rotate. Power goes out often in the San Rafael area. We can run on UPS for 15 minutes then [on a] diesel generator.

An unexpected snag arose during the upgrade: all the PC fans had to be replaced because they were defective.
Systems R&D Group Manager Mike Kiernan reports a few problems with Linux:

Sometimes when I arrive in the morning a quarter of the Linux cluster is locked up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often. VM problems in the 2.4 kernel appear to be at the root of our kernel lockup problem. Recent improvements in the 2.4 kernel may resolve that. Things look promising.

But he adds that ``Linux needs work on NFS big time.''

We won't be going to Linux for our NFS servers. I wish we could replace NFS, but none of the document management systems is flexible enough. And the ones that are flexible have a rather high integration cost. When AFS is distributed natively for all the client platforms we need to support, perhaps we'll consider it.

ILM is comfortable with multiple platforms. Its 1,400 employees use a variety of operating systems. The art department has Macs, with the rotoscopers and painters transitioning to OS X. Hendrickson sees OS X as a possible player. ``What attracts us is the BSD-like Darwin core and network compatibility.'' ILM has few Windows boxes, besides those on business side. ``There's no advantage to a Windows conversion for us'', says Hendrickson. ``We're a UNIX shop and probably always will be.''
R&D Principal Engineer Phil Peterson says ILM chose the Red Hat distro because it seemed easier to go with what's popular. ``At ILM the 2.4.9 kernel is deployed, and 2.4.17 or 2.4.18 is in test. We tweak the kernel--things like shared memory size, number of file descriptors, default stack size--nothing dramatic.'' Open Motif 2.1 did a good job maintaining the look-and-feel of IRIX, so ILM didn't try LessTif. ILM workstations include limited installations of GNOME and KDE. ``No special effort was spent to strip machines down'', says Peterson. ``We just left out unused portions of the full install. We're pretty vanilla.''

An unusual aspect of the ILM Linux workstation configuration is the replacement of the MESA libs with the SGI open source, OpenGL implementation. ``MESA is behind compared to the SGI version in aspects such as libGLU'', explains Peterson. Other studios haven't experienced the best stability using Maya on Linux with NVIDIA drivers. It seems that may be due to MESA and not Maya, NVIDIA or Linux, as previously thought. ILM has replaced the MESA libraries with a combination of NVIDIA's core OpenGL and libraries from the SGI open-source sample implementation.

``Chances are you will not find solutions in any documentation'', notes Peterson.

We don't have a support line to call. We fix things and extend. It introduces a layer of maintenance we're not used to. We had to use open-source drivers with tablets. With calibrating monitors, the work is ongoing. Still, we've had an easy road. Our artists are technically savvy, able to endure pain. Having the best testers in the world around the corner from you provides quick feedback.

Hendrickson concurs that Linux support can be a problem. He says, ``As we get into Linux we're not finding one company to hand-hold. IBM and HP aren't there, yet. But, before Linux it was out of our control and out of control. [Now] we own our Linux problems.''
Is it possible for Linux to be too fast? ``Due to the speed of Linux, for the first time in my life, 15 years in the business, I'm starting to feel some RSI [repetitive strain injury]'', says Technical Director Robert Weaver. ``Usually you are working the machine, but Linux is so fast it can overwork you.'' Weaver has to remember to take breaks because with Linux he doesn't get any breaks waiting for the machine anymore