And you were guessing that someone posting about the quality of Thinkpad computer could only do so if they are a IBM employee?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
IBM to Purchase Up to 200,000 Macs, With 50-75% of Employees Ultimately Switching From Lenovo
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And you were guessing that someone posting about the quality of Thinkpad computer could only do so if they are a IBM employee?
The person said good move by IBM. There is a bit more involved than switching computer brands when one has a different OS.
So IBM is switching and have no idea the impact that it will make?
What if the OP did not work at IBM does that disqualify them from giving an opinion.
It probably doesn't matter. I used to work for IBM and I did most of my work in MS Office on a Mac and the rest with a Thinkpad.
The only thing that I'm not sure about is Lotus Notes. If they still use it, is there a Mac version? That might be a deciding factor.
There's huge room for growth for Apple into the enterprise sector, and IBM is practically a non-entity in the consumer sector. This could result in some great stuff. As someone else mentioned, both companies can help cover the other's weaknesses- one of Apple's that comes to mind is its lackluster services, particularly Apple Music. If IBM has more infrastructure that Apple can either use or learn from, it could immensely benefit consumers. By the same token, one of the big reasons iPhone overtook Blackberry in the enterprise market is because that's what employees wanted to use, so if IBM's offerings can be found on OS X and iOS (maybe exclusively?), I'm sure they'll reap plenty of rewards, too. No need to use an unstable, slow OS like Windows on unstable, slow hardware from the OEMs in 2015. 
I don't quite get it either. Purchasing a large number of devices at a huge premium is going to cost a zillion dollars more than a solid windows laptop. Why can't they at least shop around a bit? There are plenty of competent windows laptops out there. I agree too that Apple doesn't "play" in the low end realm so what's the deal here? Administrative assistants preparing documents on a $1500 MacBook? Huh?
Yes there are tons of applications actually. Trust me Windows isn't going anywhere for a while. A company upgrading their version of Windows is a pain of an ass as it is. Switching over to OSX is a whole different ballgame. Who knows what the future holds in 30 years from now but Windows ain't going anywhere for a long time.
Umm, yeeeaaah. I'm sure IBM has absolutely no idea what they are getting into.
Admins aren't preparing documents using $399 off-the-shelf laptops from Walmart, either. That $1500 MacBook is probably similar in price to the Dell Latitude with on-site support contract that a typical business might purchase. You also can't just buy 200,000 computers on the sale page at Newegg. I guarantee you there was a substantial cost-benefit analysis and competitive bidding process that took into account all kinds of factors beyond "PC vs Mac" and cost.
And to answer someone else's question, yes, there's still "real work" being done with native desktop applications. Tons of design & simulation work across creative arts or science & engineering fields, for one easy example.
Always happy about more OS X market share, especially when taken from Windows. It really is the best system to work on.
This could give Apple a huge lever to penetrating Corporate America for PC purchases....once someone like IBM does it the floodgates will open.
Frankly the further Apple stays away from Corporate America the better though...Corporate America doesn't like to have privacy for their users, often works very closely with the government and Apple is about the only major computer manufacturer that appears to want to give Uncle Sam the finger over privacy issues (and I want that to continue). JMHO...
Frankly the further Apple stays away from Corporate America the better though...Corporate America doesn't like to have privacy for their users, often works very closely with the government and Apple is about the only major computer manufacturer that appears to want to give Uncle Sam the finger over privacy issues (and I want that to continue). JMHO...
IBM market cap = $158B
APPLE CASH = $200B
Market overlap = none
Apple growth sector = Enterprise
IBM specialty = Enterprise
Just sayin'...........
APPLE CASH = $200B
Market overlap = none
Apple growth sector = Enterprise
IBM specialty = Enterprise
Just sayin'...........
Last edited:
probably more like 8-$900 macbook..
or somewhere in the $90million to $160million contract.
I am sure somebody replied to you already (late comer to thread), but your question is interesting and I think I have the answer and you already probably reasoned it.
IBM is saying "listen bro, lets talk the figures I bet we can make something good at PC costs: we will buy your "special" hardware without the "special" price to exactly what we need (only go for essentials). Then we throw it together in the cheapest casing possible. You give it OS X support and we got an affordable computer for our company."
Seems apples initial answer was: "Nope we aint telling you the margins we take... its a secret for everybody".
But I got the impression the NEWS in the article was that an IBM executive is under the impression that apple has mulled the concept and got excited after hearing the volume figures.
IF I am right about this situation I imagine the biggest advantage for us average joes is if a deal goes through there will be more corporate support for OS X essentially meaning more general support for OS X.
This could mean Apple's extremely interested in the new very very very very small chips IBM has been developing and will try to move into production.
Way back in 2009 IBM and CIT announced they had discovered a way to use DNA molecules as scaffolding for creation of sub-22nm chips. Proving it was the next goal.
Now they've actually manufactured 7-nm chips in their Hudson Valley venue, and want to try to proceed to the next level, commercial production for use in firmware and hardware. There are some technical hurdles to overcome for mass production but they've *made* these chips now.
NY Times piece: http://nyti.ms/1JQEUx2
How this and the new (best-friends?) vendor relationship between Apple and IBM are related remains to be seen, not least because Samsung is a member of the consortium doing the chip fabrication, but I like the sound of it. i like the rumors that will fly! Bring them!
Obviously things move on and change, what's your point, if you think that you have one?
