Apple vs Dealers?

[Panda Genma]

Resellers

There are a lot of resellers that do quite well. Hardware sales in states without Apple Stores, and even with them, are big business. About every decent sized town has their own Mac store, and all the mac users for that town go there or shop out of MacMall. Here in NC, there is an Apple Store in Durham, but it seems to be more of an advertisment than a sales place. They do have good deals on refurbished items, though. At any rate, service actually seems to be hurting resellers across the board, according to my ex-boss and friend who owns one of Apple's top ten resellers. That is why he closed the service department and does only sales. He refers service to a local Apple authorized service center, which does only service. I like the local dealers. They are (generally) very friendly and will talk to you realistically about what Apple and their developers are doing. They will tell you about product cycles and when new PowerMacs or iBooks are due. They read these sights and get inside tips from their Apple insiders. Local resellers are vital to the mac community. Do you want to only hear crap from Apple about how you should buy a high end PowerMac today when it will be the low end tomorrow? Also, resellers are more flexible about their pricing. Apple won't give you any leeway about that. I refer all my friends to my local reseller, and because they know me, they get a discount. Would Apple do that? I'm inclined to think not.

 

[The Shadow]

Re: It looks and sounds worse than it is.

Heh there MacQuest, good to hear from you again dude!

Originally posted by MacQuest
...MISREPRESENTATION at these mammoth computer stores has hurt Apple more than their occasional sales have helped. I say, cut these idiots off...

I do hope that the smaller, and often very knowledgable individual resellers, do not become collateral damage though.

Keep only the people and outlets worthy of representing Apple and Macintosh computers in the loop...

Funny, how in my country, we mainly only get specialist Apple resellers that have nearly all fitted their shops out to look like smaller versions of the Apple Stores. For example, the most numerous chain is called Next Byte.

They're really good stores. I'd never buy from Apple Online, or from one of the very rare (here) stores that sell electronics and Apple (They never have much stock anyway).

There's a very strong culture here of "support your local reseller". Along those lines, it's also good that in the Australian MacWorld magazine, they have a regular one pager by an "anonymous" reseller. Speaks volumes that the column is anonymous though doesn't it?

 

[maxterpiece]

"Holes in the walls"?

Originally posted by guerro
To those of you who seem to think Apple is screwing all retailers, you are wrong. The only resellers that are pissed at Apple and the contract Apple offered are those resellers that are close to Apple stores. These resellers are pissed because customers are going to have a tremendously better shopping experience at an Apple store and wonder why the hell they ever went to that crummy reseller to begin with. Lets face it, most resellers don't have the image and the style to their stores like they should. Most are just hole-in-the-wall shops in crappy parts of town. Who wants to go to a store thats crappy looking and have to possibly fight your way in and shoot your way out? I dont know why the resellers are complaining anyway. They make very little if any money on hardware sales. The real money is in service, warranty work and accessories. You would think the resellers would be happy to have that burden lifted off of them. I think the ideal shop would be a warranty repair, service and accessories store. And if you wanted you could sell used machines.

But then again, I could be wrong

I agree with you that a lot of these stores are small and unnecessary because they are near Apple stores, but Dell and Target are different. Dell and Target provide an awareness of Apple products to a crowd that is very unlikely to see or consider Apple products. Buy.com, too, does this. A typical, uninformed internet shopper is likely to end up at buy.com, when s/he decides to buy an MP3 player and types that into Buy.com's search tab, it is very important that the iPod shows up. If it does, the customer might remember advertisements s/he's seen in magazines or on TV for the iPod and maybe take an interest. This customer is not a customer that would walk into the Apple store off the street. It is not a customer who would surf over to Apple's website to check out their latest offerings. It is a customer that Apple has lost. The same goes for the Target shopper, who goes to target to buy some typical everyday things, and might breeze by an iPod and say, "Oh, that's cool looking! What does it do?" We all know once they discover what it does, they'll want one. Dell, perhaps most importantly, legitimized the iPod to a PC buyer who might see Apple products as outlandish and extravagant. If this PC user did buy and iPod, they would have the opportunity to experience a small part of Apple's innovation (in contrast to their PC lifestyle), and maybe a convert would be born. Apple should not be so arrogant as to think that they can take care of everything themselves. At some point they are going to have to rely on other companies (be they Adobe or Target) to provide a key aspect to the Apple world.

Max

 

[j_maddison]

This is in reference to the post about pc's being oranges and Apple macs being apples

Mate I understand what your saying, but that is a very myopic and slightly nescient way of looking at things. We as mac users see it like that, but new consumers wont. They see computer and computer that i dont know alot about and have a fear over purchasing. Bottom line is your average, non business, consumer will use a pc in exactly the same way they would use a mac. So to say they are poles apart is a bit of a strange statement to make. I dont use my mac in any different way to the way i would use a pc if i was stupid enough to buy one. I like my mac because it does everything a pc can do only simpler, better and with less hastle. We need to stop thinking about the mac community as a closed community, and recognise that for apple to grow we need to facilitate an enviroment where mac's are not just seen as a graphics tool. I personally dont do any digital editing, graphics work, or for that matter care that my mac can do anything to do with DTP, and neither does your average consumer. paradigm shift people, macs are great little machines that need a bit more juice to be competitive again and should be aimed at the average consumer as well as Apples current customer base.

jason

 

[valypan]

Opinion from overseas...

Hey everyone!
I live in Denmark and many of the so-called Apple authorized sellers know NOTHING about Apple! They only have a couple of Apple computers standing there, but often they do not even know how to operate them!
The only true help i received when I switched from windows to mac, came from the Apple Store , the Apple phone line operators and a good Apple retail store here in Denmark.
living in Denmark I am really glad Apple sells macs through its own Apple Store, otherwise I would have probably been at loss when switching I really hope Apple sorts out the real competent retailers from the bad ones. Retailers are necessary for people who want to see the macs upclose (no Apple Stores here in Europe...) and to hear some supposedly unbiased opinions of people who seel both macs and windows. So I am all for more good retail stores, which at least over here can peacefully coexist with the online Apple Store

 

[fixyourthinking]

Well, a lot of dealers are showing there true colors

I posted at length articles when the topic of the originator of this lawsuit (MacAdam) came up on Maccentral.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/02/03/dealers/

There were a lot of posts with many dissatisfied customers. There was also a link in those posts to litigation against MacAdam and his (Tom Santos) responses that he acknowledged were his own. Mr. Santos, MacAdam's owner, completely degraded the buyer and on top of that used poor grammar and coarse language. (I'm not talking about common mispellings< or fragments; but poor communication skills with nonsensical wording)

Chat forums are different because they are typed fast and sometimes emotionally. He responded to a lawsuit the same way you'd respond if you were losing in a debate. (sales and service are not debateable)

Most of the dealers who either didn't sign or joined the lawsuit are poor resellers. I encourage you to read the story on Maccentral where the majority of posts (not a single one positive) say that the store is dirty, prices high, service bad, and etc etc.

I also realize the internet can bring out your worst critics, but didn't Best Buy and Sears DESERVE to have their Mac contracts taken away? Did you like seeing Macs junked up or on the bottom shelves? What about Circuit City? I did Apple Rep work for 4 years. In one Circuit City I saw a LARGE flying ant colony in a Ruby iMac DV! Amazing as that was; it still worked. I alerted the management that the iMac DV near the door had an ant colony in it. They said they know and thought it was cool. MacAdam supposedly has several dogs and customers complain that dog hair is EVERYWHERE and store is just dirty. Is this who we want representing Apple?

Further, it couldn't be more obvious that a lot of resellers (possibly the one from the lawsuit) are posting here.

My message to you is: no matter what the rules, if you don't like them, don't sell Apple. You are making it harder and harder for people like myself to become authorized. I have started the foundation on my retail store, I want to do it the right way. Will I have problems? Sure. Will I work those problems out? Yes, immediately.

I spoke to MacAdam on the phone and I have personally visited the store. It's easy to see why he's filing this lawsuit. He's the kind of person that sues. The kind that files a lawsuit against Mcdonald's for making him fat. He's not a customer person, he's a MacAdam person. (MacAdam person= poor accounting and accountibility, poor communication skills, and a general lack of creativity and drive for business)

Another warning to "the Apple Policy sucks" posters: do you want people like this getting their information from Rumor sites? Do you want your Apple Specialist recommending you the latest greatest and having cash flow, but more importantly, work flow problems as a result? The new policy is trying to weed out resellers that have PROBLEMS. They are tough rules and I don't like them personally, but I know that some resellers who know how to do things right, Other World Computing, Small Dog, etc are able to bend the rules often!

I have not been successful because I have sold new, latest, greatest. I have been successful because of my detailed knowledge, understanding of my customers needs, and their productivity. If a product hasn't been availible to me when promised by Apple, I was upset, but instead of whining, costing Apple & myself litigation time and money, I either upgraded the customer's current setup, transitioned them slowly to the new system (and making even more money doing it that way) and I ALSO waited for the bugs to work out. You are a complete idiot to buy a business machine that is brand new! What if it has problems? Usually all 1st generation units have initial problems that are fixed by firmware or a revision.

I never complain if Apple doesn't have a machine, "on time" - because those sales mean NOTHING to my bottom line and to my customers who have been taught to be penny wise and POUND wise!

I don't doubt that there are some problems with Apple and billing. I have never had such problems but I know the local CompUSA has. I also don't think the employees that apple hires for their retail stores are all hired to "the image of the company" (See Atlanta GA store, mohawks & mild IQ Apple Genius) But I do think Apple has the right to ask excellence and peaceful arbitration/mediation of all it's customers (customers = individuals & resellers)

 

[Trimix]

I am happy to have online access to the macstore and their people on the free helpline are really worth their money. I would never buy from a reseller.
Why should I if I can go direct ?
The big boxes are delivered to my doorstep and the service does not end there.
I went to a reseller here in Zurich and it was not an experience to remember.
Next day I bought via the net.
And yes I am a switcher.

 

[jamilecrire]

Originally posted by jlambert
One thing everyone is missing by making comparisons to PC manufactures is the fact that yes...they would die if they only ran there own stores, but that is because people would just by a different branded PC.

Apple is apple, its the only place that makes macs. So if you want a mac then your going to get it on their website or at one of their stores which will soon be everywhere.

Think of the PC market as an Orange and Apple as well, Apples. you cant compare them.

Apple has no competitors therefore YES they can survive doing this. If you want a mac you'll get it. Keeping everything in their stores allows them to keep tight control of their products. If they want to know how many iPods are still out there before they make an update they would know easily. If they are all at different retailers they have no control over it. It's not like apple can log onto best buys inventory control and see it.

It's a very smart move.

The problem is not too many people want a Mac. 3-4% could be 5-6% if apple worked with their resellers instead of against them.

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by guerro
To those of you who seem to think Apple is screwing all retailers, you are wrong. The only resellers that are pissed at Apple and the contract Apple offered are those resellers that are close to Apple stores. These resellers are pissed because customers are going to have a tremendously better shopping experience at an Apple store and wonder why the hell they ever went to that crummy reseller to begin with. Lets face it, most resellers don't have the image and the style to their stores like they should. Most are just hole-in-the-wall shops in crappy parts of town. Who wants to go to a store thats crappy looking and have to possibly fight your way in and shoot your way out? I dont know why the resellers are complaining anyway. They make very little if any money on hardware sales. The real money is in service, warranty work and accessories. You would think the resellers would be happy to have that burden lifted off of them. I think the ideal shop would be a warranty repair, service and accessories store. And if you wanted you could sell used machines.

But then again, I could be wrong

yeah you are wrong, just because your town has crap resellers doesnt mean they all are. there are many fields were an apple store cant even compete with resellers. so please think before you say all resellers are crap because obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.

iJon

 

[fixyourthinking]

Nope, not the problem

The problem is not too many people want a Mac. 3-4% could be 5-6% if apple worked with their resellers instead of against them

The problem isn't Apple working with resellers. It's resellers working with Apple.

Any reseller that DEPENDS on warranty repair or new sales as revenue is going to be out of business soon. Ever notice how the Apple store has things like inventive promos (Jaguar launch) or classes? That's what's called; draw. That's what makes money, is draw. I have close to 20 different revenue streams for my Apple Business. All Apple related.

What the article fails to mention is Apple's counterclaim, particularly against one of the plaintiffs; for overbilling and false billing. I know for a fact (from a customer's litigation) our local CompUSA bills for parts and labor that don't/didn't use (bills to Apple for under warranty compensation)

I also wish everyone would get the facts straight: A)Sales figures of 3% - 4% are per quarter - there is an installed base of 9% -11% of ALL computers that are Macs. A new Mac user does not a channel sale make. Apple only (legally it's all they can report as well) indicates channel sales. What about eBay, gray market, used, refurbs. Mac users aren't just chunking their Macs or rebuilding them like PC users do. They are adding to the base.

 

[iJon]

Re: Resellers

Originally posted by Panda Genma
There are a lot of resellers that do quite well. Hardware sales in states without Apple Stores, and even with them, are big business. About every decent sized town has their own Mac store, and all the mac users for that town go there or shop out of MacMall. Here in NC, there is an Apple Store in Durham, but it seems to be more of an advertisment than a sales place. They do have good deals on refurbished items, though. At any rate, service actually seems to be hurting resellers across the board, according to my ex-boss and friend who owns one of Apple's top ten resellers. That is why he closed the service department and does only sales. He refers service to a local Apple authorized service center, which does only service. I like the local dealers. They are (generally) very friendly and will talk to you realistically about what Apple and their developers are doing. They will tell you about product cycles and when new PowerMacs or iBooks are due. They read these sights and get inside tips from their Apple insiders. Local resellers are vital to the mac community. Do you want to only hear crap from Apple about how you should buy a high end PowerMac today when it will be the low end tomorrow? Also, resellers are more flexible about their pricing. Apple won't give you any leeway about that. I refer all my friends to my local reseller, and because they know me, they get a discount. Would Apple do that? I'm inclined to think not.

thank you, some people have had bad experiences with resellers and just bad mouth them. sur some places have macs but never know anything about them, but you gotta remember that there are many places that are apple specialists and they perform very well and all their staff is very informed on everything from apple.

iJon

 

[amarch@mdcc.edu]

Apple became greedy in 1984 and lost out to Microsoft and they are repeating the same mistake again. They have destabilised my confidence in the manufacturer of a superior product and whereas I was going to purchase a complete Macintosh video editing system I have lost all hope that the platform will become stabilised. I will now turn over to the dark side where assinine decisions are more infrequent and at least there are far more choices which will more than adequately meet my needs. Jobs srewewd up major once, and his arrogance and egotism has shown up once more. It is so dammed frustrating! Goodbye Macintosh! By the way I've been a Macintosh user since 1984 and have never like the dark side!

 

[Bengt77]

If this would happen in the Netherlands, it would be a BAD THING!

Here in the Netherlands nearly all the stores that sell Macs (well, except for the Dixons and Primafoon shops) are purely Mac-places. You could say they ARE Apple Stores, only not run by Apple people. I know some stores in Woerden, Haarlem and Den Haag that are really excellent.

If Apple would ever pull something like this in the Netherlands, it would be a VERY BAD THING (and probably a very BIG thing too, but then in the wrong way). Not that I think Apple would actually pull some stunt like that here in Europe; I just wanted you all to know that the Dutch Apple stores are really excellent! Aren't there any specialized Apple selling, but indepentent, stores in the US? I can't believe that, until Apple decided to open their own Stores, the only places you could get Macs were the big warehouses?!...

Anyway, I love 'our' Apple stores!

 

[hmmfe]

Re: Ridiculous.

Originally posted by moby1
I had a legal counsel advise to accept these types of agreements with ridiculous restrictions on litigation simply because such silly restrictions ("i.e. no jury trial") never hold up before a judge.

I'd have to say you received horrible legal advice or simply did not understand the advice. The 14th amendment right to trial by jury is alienable. Jury-waiver clauses have a high standard of consent attached to them, but they are generally legal. Also, the 14th amendment does not protect action in equity (e.g. specific performance and injunction).

I doubt any attorney (at least any good attorney) would ever say such a thing as it is obviously false. A quick search in any law library (heck, any library) would reveal that.

I am not inclined to debate the merits of the clause nor am I trying to personally attack you. This is just a disclaimer to your above statement just in case anyone reading it believed it to be good legal advice.

 

[NavyIntel007]

Apple needs to stop hating on their resellers because if the ball drops on Apple's own retail stores... they'll be just like Gateway.

 

[kenohki]

Originally posted by iJon
yeah you are wrong, just because your town has crap resellers doesnt mean they all are. there are many fields were an apple store cant even compete with resellers. so please think before you say all resellers are crap because obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.

iJon

I agree that not all are crap. I've been to several wonderful Macintosh specialty stores in Louisville, KY. I was amazed at the amount of knowledge and the fit and finish of the stores. However, on the flip side, here in Indiana, my town had two Macintosh dealers (besides Sears, Best Buy, and Circuit City which all stunk as well). My mother is also a Mac user and went to one looking for an iMac. She told the manager of the store that she was interested in an iMac and he derided the platform and tried to sell her a PC. And the other dealer, well they only sell to corporate clients (no retail, though they did sell me a burned copy of Mac OS X 10.1). Their store is a joke. Actually both dealers are a joke. They are dirty, cluttered, and look like the buildings should be condemned. And those are the only faces Apple is presenting in a town of about 300,000 people. Nice, really nice.

Now I don't think that destroying a resellers business on purpose is a good idea. But, I'm pretty sure some of the resellers in question are like the ones in my town and are just ticked because people like to shop in a clean, well-lit, professional environment.

 

[etoiles]

Originally posted by jlambert

Think of the PC market as an Orange and Apple as well, Apples. you cant compare them.

Yes, you cannot compare a lemon with an Apple...

 

[Le Big Mac]

Re: Re: Re: Bad News from ThinkSecret

Originally posted by The Shadow
But it's just not strategically sound. Apple should consider themselves in the business of making innovative hardware and software, that's where their smarts are, not in running retail shops.

It would be suicide for Apple to try to do a Dell, using the Apple shop format alone. Of course, they got this idea from Sony, and it's a good idea to raise profile and strengthen the brand. But let's face it, Sony have many other retail channels. Sony would sink quicker than HMAS Hood (10 minutes from the time it engaged Bismarck - if your'e wondering ) if it had to rely on Sony shops alone.

There are many professional retailers out there who know their business. Apple really needs to suck up to these guys, instead they've always given them a hard time. I've never understood that.

I agree that Apple would be better off focusing attention on their products. But they must have come to the conclusion that retailers were not adequately promoting their products. That's why they've opened Apple stores. They function not only as retail outlets but as "free" advertising. The idea is to draw people in to show them how cool Macs are, whereas at Best Buy or Target, people go straight to PCs because that's what they have at work. And the BestBuy pimply teenagers don't do a good job at telling folks a Mac would be much better for their needs (if it is).

Once Apple decides it wants to be its own primary retailer, you can be sure it will start playing hardball with retailers. Either they get with the Apple program or they're gone. Classic business strategy that makes a company look bad in the short run.

 

[guerro]

Originally posted by iJon
yeah you are wrong, just because your town has crap resellers doesnt mean they all are. there are many fields were an apple store cant even compete with resellers. so please think before you say all resellers are crap because obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.

iJon

Well, I haven't had the oppurtunity to travel the entire country to visit every reseller location. I live in the central valley in CA, near the mother ship. Here, where I am, reseller locations are crap. As the previous poster stated, MacAdam is a crap hole. I went there twice and it was crap. I think most people are the same as me and can't visit every reseller location in the country. We have to develop an opinion of resellers based on those in our area. Well, in my area, resellers are CRAP. Sorry, but that's just the way customer perception is. I never said all resellers are crap. What I did say is,"The only resellers that are pissed at Apple and the contract Apple offered are those resellers that are close to Apple stores." This is why Tom is pissed. He sees the Apple stores as a threat to take customers away from his landfill/dump of a store. Once a person sees they can shop in a clean, new, ORGANIZED, brightly lit store they will wonder why they ever went to MacAdam and stores like it.

But then again, what the hell do I know ? I'm not the almighty iJon amd I??

 

[Timbles]

Reborn into a MAC world

All I can say is that ever since I started using computers I have always used a pc even now that Im doing a BSc(Hons) computing everything is MS oriented. In our main computer block its all pc's with 1 poor iMac stuck in the corner. When all my friends were going out and buying MS laptops I had already had my heart set on a mac, I had had enough of MS and I was prepared to go out and buy a Mac without even knowing anything about them. Of course I was DAMN glad I did as now all my friends are jealous of my iBook and they all want to get Macs when they graduate (I often say to them while they drool over my iBook that I will never buy a pc ever again).

Essentially what I'm trying to say is that more and more people are getting peeed off with MS and want something that works and are willing to take a chance on something new like mac, so I really dont think that if Apples products are not in all major stores it wont make a difference. BECAUSE ONCE U HAVE TRIED APPLE THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO THE DARKSIDE!!!!!

PEACE OUT

 

[areyouwishing]

i think its funny how apple can charge 1499 for an ibook, and then at warehouse.com you can get the same machine for 1494 and it comes with free memory(384mb), free printer, and a free carrying case.

People who don't care about any of the other resellers, get a life, please. They are the reason apple is still alive. What if everyone jumped ship in the 96-97 era? How would apple have sold a mac?

Apple tries to play bully to the little fries in any way it can because it has a complex because of the lost the PC war, and it doesn't want to have to compete with anyone.

 

[timbloom]

I used to work doing both sales and service for a Specialist, and I can say that the personal relationships they had with large businesses, small business, and recurring customers was great. I would like to see you walk into an Apple Store a year after you buy your machine, talk with the person you bought it from and actually have them remember you. I would be surprised even to see an employee still working there other than possibly management.

The store I worked at has had a relationship with Apple longer than most, and they are still treated like they don't matter. Given, there are stores out there that should not ever be selling macs. But this store was one that I had been going to since before I could even read, having them go out of business because the company that they have promoted for so long decided it wanted a larger chunk, would be devastating to me. With the exception of only one employee, we were just plain mac junkies, who just happened to help others.

But you can not keep the doors open just because you love doing the job, there needs to be more money.

I really could go on and on and on, but my point is: A small locally-owned store is usually a much more pleasurable experience for somebody. You are not just an account or a name on a check. Just like the employee should not be just a cardboard cutout set there to push computers on you. This is probably the thing that separates mac dealers from the used car dealership that apple is trying to push in their own retail stores.

 

[mozez]

why do people all think the apple stores are great? i have been to several, and they don't know jack accept what is on the card that lists it's features. i asked one girl about the cache in a notebook and she didn't even know what cache was.i like to go in and test their knowledge about alot of things like games on the macs, upgrade possiblities, bus speeds and ram speeds and other such things, as well as OS X questions. they can usually answer one in about 10 questions and that answer is usually wrong. the apple store looks nice but never ask an actual question that you can't find the answer off the little white card next to the machine. i wonder how many even use a mac sometimes. resellers are usually mac lovers who have had and used macs for years, they all the ins and outs of a mac, what's new on them, why? because it's their business to know. they've repaired macs all the time, so they know true specs on them. they are the people you go to to ask questions, not the apple store, the apple store is just a big advertisement in my eyes, a good one i'll give you, but nothing further.

 

[Kid Red]

Originally posted by FelixDerKater
Apple loves to screw themselves. Everytime things start looking up they somehow find a way to mess it up. With all of the charisma and innovation he brings, Jobs has no sense of how to run a business.

Yea jsut as dumb as that Dell guy and all the retail outlets Dell has

 

[Rocketman]

Originally posted by Abstract
Apple may be a year away from losing Adobe and their resellers. Wow, that takes quiet an impressive string of dumb business decisions --- one after another for Apple.

Apple stores exist for the sole purpose of advertising. Their stores, as well as their presence in busy urban centres, serve as an advertisement for their product.

Apple needs to stop treating their stores as their most important revenue source, and treat it as an interactive Apple amusement park to allow potential customers to enjoy their Apple experience, and either purchase their product right there at the Apple store itself, or allow the customer to make a decision at a later date, and purchase one at a nearby reseller at a Target store when the time is right, as Jaredbbauer had suggested. To compete with your own resellers is to cannabalize your own sales. Why would you want to do that?

What it is hard for a manufacturer like Apple to understand and accept is that the computer itself (and its associated OS upgrades, warranties and service agreements) is only a small piece in a more important puzzle. The user actually buys a computer to run SOFTWARE. And very few buy it to run primarilly APPLE software no matter how COOL or occasionally useful it is.

A large number of PC's are purchased so run PARTICULAR APPLICATIONS all the time like Quark, or RIP to a printer, or Photoshop, or media applications or even a web browser.

A relatively small number of computers actually are used in practice with a wide range of software and most of those are home machines. Price sensitive consumers.

If it could ever happen that Apple transitions to offering Macs as a good CPU for single purpose applications they would sell alot more CPU's. Yes they would have alot more bells and whistles than is needed by the application, but that is the case for PC's now as well. Buy a swiss army knife and use it ONLY for the tweesers.

This sort of market requires fairly wide distribution and Apple Computer has the low price point, fully capable computers to serve these markets well including the iMac, iBook and the Powerbook 12.

What is missing is a decided loss of "control freak" and openness to the fact that some users and their uses of the computers are not INSANELY GREAT like the computers allegedly are.

Rocketman