Windows vs OS X. iPhone vs. Windows Phone. XCode vs. Visual Studio. Zune vs. iPod. iAds vs. adCenter. Zune Marketplace vs. iTMS...etc...
There's enough similarity in products and services by both companies that makes them competitors.
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Apple Passes Microsoft to Become Second-Largest U.S. Company by Market Capitalization
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Windows vs OS X. iPhone vs. Windows Phone. XCode vs. Visual Studio. Zune vs. iPod. iAds vs. adCenter. Zune Marketplace vs. iTMS...etc...
There's enough similarity in products and services by both companies that makes them competitors.
I totally agree! It's amazing to see Apple, occupying a tiny fraction of Microsoft's computer market, with 100% of the cap value. Meanwhile Apple so easily dominates MS Winmo phone, Zune, Marketplac, stores and anything else MS tries to copy Apple on.
Jobs started with the very first bondi blue iMac to redefine the computer experience and then began to explode into different markets with the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and iPad...
Because some people don't care, if aapl is big or not. Some people see big as negative... the thinking being that the bigger, heavier the company the less agile, and more bureaucratic they are (eventually leading to stagnation, long decision making - longer product life cycles, etc. less innovation).
Although this will happen to a certain degree, (you can't expect a huge company to be as agile as a start-up), let's hope that aapl's size won't slow them down.
"What I can’t figure out is why he (Steve Jobs) is even trying (to be the CEO of Apple)? He knows he can’t win."
- Bill Gates, June 1998
(AUDIO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/bill-gates-on-steve-jobs-_n_533817.html
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/25385/
http://www.cringely.com/2010/04/masters-tournament/
- Bill Gates, June 1998
(AUDIO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/12/bill-gates-on-steve-jobs-_n_533817.html
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/25385/
http://www.cringely.com/2010/04/masters-tournament/
Fixed it for you.
Microsoft's main source of revenue are
- Windows
- Office
MS fails at pretty much anything besides those monopoly products.
MSFT has flatlined because all they're doing milking the windows teet. If they actually made some significant new product they might be able to grow more.
update
Apple is now over 226 billion.
Microsoft has fallen to 221.64 Billion.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL
Apple is now over 226 billion.
Microsoft has fallen to 221.64 Billion.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL
MS doesn't make a phone...Apple does.
Visual Studio vs. Xcode...are you seriously trying to convince us there is some kind of rivalry here?
Zune vs. iPod...sure, but there are far more MP3 players out there.
iAds vs. adCenter...this is brand new. Let's chat about this 3 years from now.
My point was the whole MS vs. Apple "war" that so many people on this forum talk about every single day. The "war" was an Operating System/personal computer war that ended over 15 years ago when MS' computer market share clearly (and to this day) dominates the Mac OS.
Yes, there will always be "competition" between Apple and MS...just as each has hundreds of competitors in dozens of industries all across the globe.
Not to mention I was quoting the individual who loves to yell broad "MS is dead!" statements. Really, just how is MS dead? Why not yell that the UK is dead? Or that cable tv is dead. Or that pencils are dead. Sheeeeeez.
-Eric
I had the unfortunate experience of having to use a Mac with OS 9. Believe me, anyone stupid enough to buy one of those things deserved every bit of ridicule they got. OS X, now that's an entirely different story (especially post-Tiger).
Current P/E hardly reflects a price "heavily inflated by speculation," given the persistent numbers for expansion of nearly every product category. You can argue that Apple cannot maintain this rate of revenue and earnings growth, but analysts are surprised again and again on the upside. Unless you know something that most of us do not, Apple is significantly undervalued.
I wish everyone could see things like this instead of having the "you're either with us or against us" mentality.
Can we start calling MS beleaguered now???
No, MS is beBalmered.
I saw something odd a few months ago at CES, when Balmer stood sweating in front of cameras, in a red sweater, and holding a functionless Sony "me too" tablet. There was a "deer in the headlights" look on his face that kept looking around and asking, "How did I get here? Why am I holding this piece of Android crap?"
Then the power went out.
When they finally got their demos running again, I saw Microsoft...the real Microsoft...in action. Confused, unscripted, derailed, and doing a pretend job of having any substance to talk about.
Here was Microsoft, at THE major annual consumer show with nothing planned out...nothing...not even having an UPS backing up their equipment! It was Ted Mack's Amateur Hour and not a gong in sight.
Apple's P/E ratio has been dropping signigicantly over the last few years even though their price has risen so dramatically. I see it as a stock to invest in for that reason alone: shares go up and so do earnings. That is why investors still invest in it.
As for the MS profits: I agree, MS has had steady profits for years, but the market sees no growth in their market and will always turn to a new boy that is forging new ground. I do see it being in the next 5 years that Apple surpasses MS revenue and net profit.
In a way...but from the 1980s-2000 what did Apple make? A computer, an operating system, and a mouse. Really not much else.
I agree that it would be nice to see MS create some cool stuff that us consumers might enjoy...but MS really has focused on the computer arena and away from consumers until recently....MS has been hugely successful in (just a small list):
- dominating the consumer personal computer market
- dominating the business personal computer market
- dominating the business server computer market
- providing a lot of business software (Windows flavors, MS SQL, Sharepoint, numerous other software platforms)
- providing many popular (although I don't use it) development solutions (Visual Studio, .NET, DirectX, etc)
- dominating the Office business apps (Word, Excel, PPT, etc.)
- Xbox and all it's related materials
Apple can have all the market cap it wants...and I'm sure it's annoying Microsoft. But when Apple STARTS TO BEAT Microsoft on MS' turf (all points above), then MS should really be concerned. Right now, Apple is just becoming another Sony...and I really like Apple.
Right now Apple has grown its cap by really only having a few products for sale (iPhone, iPod, Macs)...that's good and bad...once the gravy train runs out for those 3-4 products, the market cap will fall.
There's nothing wrong with MS continuing to concentrate on the above bullet list...it's been very profitable for them so far. If MS wants to try to build some kind of widget for $199 for Tommy to use, it can certainly enter that market....and if they fail, so what? Apple has certainly had it's failures. Personally I don't think MS wants to truly become some kind of electronics, non-computer company like Apple or Sony. Let Apple be Apple and Sony be Sony...and let MS be the dominating computer software house.
-Eric
1) If this holds any truth at all, that was in 1999. And you know it. (Talk about whining
2) An UNDERDOG company? Apple are like Rolex, very adept in cultivating a certain public image. Apple stopped being an 'underdog' company a long time ago. That underdog image has worn off by know. And you know that too.
I am referring to Apple of 1997. Reflecting the image of that day.
Eric, you seriously need to read the papers more often. Either they BOTH make a phone or neither does. They both contract with other to make their phones, and they both make their own phone operating systems.
You diminish all the other points of competition, but that they hardly compete is not due to Microsoft's attempts to do so. They can't even run a decent store, even with the employees they lured away from Apple to do so!
It's been Balmer see, Balmer do, for years.
Please point me to a URL that shows a Microsoft phone for sale. Not a phone with a MS operating system...an actual phone, created and sold by Microsoft. Microsoft has licensed their Windows Mobile phone operating system for years...but MS does not physically make and sell the phone...just like MS does not physically make and sell computers.
Apple sells a phone called the iPhone...which also has the Apple OS installed on it.
Yes, in one manner, you could say that MS and Apple compete (somewhat) in the cellular phone market because both MS and Apple make a cell phone operating system...but only Apple sells the phone and controls all the points about it (what carrier can have it, pricepoints, etc).
This is exactly my point with posters here...people want to post broad-reaching comments like "MS competes heavily against Apple" but provide 0 details.
-Eric
No, MS is beBalmered.
I saw something odd a few months ago at CES, when Balmer stood sweating in front of cameras, in a red sweater, and holding a functionless Sony "me too" tablet. There was a "deer in the headlights" look on his face that kept looking around and asking, "How did I get here? Why am I holding this piece of Android crap?"
Then the power went out.
When they finally got their demos running again, I saw Microsoft...the real Microsoft...in action. Confused, unscripted, derailed, and doing a pretend job of having any substance to talk about.
Here was Microsoft, at THE major annual consumer show with nothing planned out...nothing...not even having an UPS backing up their equipment! It was Ted Mack's Amateur Hour and not a gong in sight.
Yes because Jobs has NEVER screwed up at steve note. Nope. Never.
Oh he has! what no wai!!!
MS flatlined because when you have market domination, since you can't grow as much in that market, it's cheaper to send lawyer, politicians to protect what you have or raise the barriers to entry to keep competitors out,
than spend billions to improve your product just to keep your share of the pie.
MS has tried to branch out (media, gaming, internet), but has limited success... probably due to their size, diverse product/service offerings, culture, and structure.
(apple has fewer products, more focused vision, more innovative culture ... more focused market... for now ... their market is widening, let's see what happens if/when they achieve market domination - watch those lawyers)