First post-return keynote
I noticed:
Bill Campbell of Intuit singled out the price raise as evidence Apple lost touch with the real world. Interestingly, we still see complaints that Campbell's company hasn't bothered to give top-level support to Apple's platform with its application software. On the other hand, perhaps his view on pricing has been involved in things like the aTV, the iPhone price drop, the downward pressure on some of the low-end machines, and so on.
The Gates appearance was hilarious.
I'm till wondering what Larry Ellison did for Apple, other than pal around with Jobs. Have we really got enterprise database support on MacOS X? I kept reading about plans, but never about deployments. Anyone know?
Ahh, well.
Some interesting things from the interviews with the new board members were the attention to the fact Apple had a well-known brand, determination to focus on certain key niches in which Apple had existing success, and a decision to produce more software. In the intervening years Apple has begun selling (largely having bought rather than created) more software, which has been overwhelmingly focused on the niches in which Apple has sought dominance (e.g., the so-called creative professionals). Apple has also strengthened the value and recognition of its brand as a mark of quality in the tech industry. It seems the Board identified a few places to focus energy, and has executed. I question why Apple hasn't bothered to target things like the enterprise market that used to be Unix' playground, for example. But no question: Apple has tapped his board's expertise productively, and it's paid off. The retail strategy, for example.
So I look at the newer board members and I think about what they bring, going forward: Google (cloud computing? online services? enterprise class computer services?), Gore (government? environment? marketing?), and so on. It's interesting.
I think the trend toward increased Mac share will be something to move shares in the next year, if it can be kept up. If Apple can continue with its component cost and supply chain successes, it should be able to be price competitive even while retaining better margins. As computers become increasingly more powerful at lower prices, I expect Apple to continue to offer interesting products at more and more price points. I expect Apple to be able to chase share in more and more of the global market as component prices drop (or become more powerful for the same price, which is nearly the same thing at the low end).
Very interesting stuff -- Thanks Roni!
Take care,
--Tex.
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