Apple Inc (AAPL)

[Mattu]

Steve, Apple, wake up!

I think I posted here before or maybe somewhere else, but Apple the OS is going to be killed if you guys don't get your mojo going. The problem isn't the software. THe problem is the hardware. It's simply too expensive. The only reason people pay for the hardware is so they can use the software. If you guys would open up the hardware end, as MSFT/IBM did, Apple would, in short duration, have a massive chunk of the software market. Cheaper, faster computers, running Apple OS X is what it is going to take. I actually think Apple realizes this and they've designed the new software on a platform that will run on an Intel x86, they just haven't opened up the top layer (GUI) to it. The darwin underpinnings will run on Intel. Bottomline is the software is absolutely amazing. Many times better than Windows. But people refuse to pay 2-3x the amount just to use it.

Do it Steve-O


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20030108/bs_nf/20409

As part of its new product blitz at Macworld Expo (news - web sites), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) has unveiled its own Web browser. Called Safari, this new browser is central to Apple's strategy to increase its market share by broadening its software offerings.




But IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky said he doubts Apple's tactics will work. He told NewsFactor that the company's market share has declined in each of the last five years. "If the decline ... continues, it is very likely that Linux (news - web sites) will take the number two spot in the desktop OS market from Mac by the middle of 2003," he noted.


In fact, Kusnetzky said, the company's future prospects appear dim, "unless Apple finds a way to radically change the game."


Software Strategy


Clearly, veteran industry watchers do not expect Safari to threaten Internet Explorer's dominance. But it may have a positive impact on Apple's bottom line.


"Apple wants to boost revenue from software, but right now, every Mac system is very likely to be providing revenue for a Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) Office product and Internet browser," Kusnetzky said. With the introduction of Safari, along with a new desktop presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple is trying to stem that phenomenon and increase revenue from its installed base, he added.


Google (news - external web site) Inside


The beta version of Safari requires Mac OS X (news - web sites) version 10.2 or later, meaning its potential audience is only a small fraction of all computer users. However, Apple believes those who can use Safari will reap great benefits, saying the software "uses the advanced interface technologies underlying Mac OS X to offer an all-new view of the Web, one that's much easier to use."


Safari includes a Google search field adjacent to the Web address box, and it remembers a user's most recent searches. This feature works in conjunction with a "snapback" button, which takes users to the last URL entered or bookmark visited.


The browser also can read a Web page aloud or automatically generate a summary of a recently viewed page. Taking a page from Mozilla and Netscape's book, Apple has included a pop-up blocker. And Safari's bookmark management tool enables sophisticated organization and retrieval of a user's Web browsing history.



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Cruising Speeds


It is Safari's speed that Apple most strongly touts. The company claims it has conducted benchmark tests measuring HTML load speed, JavaScript performance and launch time.


In each of these areas, Apple says it has tested Safari against Internet Explorer 5.2.2, Chimera 0.6 and Netscape 7.01. And in each area, unsurprisingly, Apple claims Safari is faster than the competition -- often dramatically so. The new browser's reported launch time is 3.0 seconds, compared with IE's 5.0 seconds. Safari completed its HTML Web page test load in 16.6 seconds, compared with IE's 53.7 seconds, according to Apple.


Open Source


For its Web page rendering engine, Safari uses code from the Konqueror open source project. Apple claims the Konqueror source code is "less than one-tenth the size of another open source renderer."


Although Apple did not specify which alternative open source renderer this comment referred to, it is notable that the company opted to use Konqueror code rather than the Mozilla code on which Netscape Navigator is based.


Apple representatives were not available for comment.