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NSW Traffic Authority Switches to Mac
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Trimix said:
I don't see any problem there as the iMac will only get a speed bump in the next few weeks. Apple might be redisigning the iMac for the G5 but we're still months away from the release of G5 iMacs.
BTW: Good on yah mates! It could be a good day for Apple Australia and I hope next time I come to Sydney, I will realise that Macs are sold in Oz as well 🙂
I woner if the extra precision from the high quality computing machinery will help them put those speed cameras just micro-centimetres closer to the slower speed limit signs. The ones on the way into NSW towns off the highways 😉 ... they always seem to get me.
Top news all round though, more macs in Australia, all the better.
Top news all round though, more macs in Australia, all the better.
groovebuster
macrumors 65816
whooleytoo
macrumors 604
For those who don't know, most state/territorygovernment departments and even state/territory governments have introduced legaslation that allows open-source to be used in government departments.
If my memory serves me correct, the Australian Government has legaslation for this aswell.
Still, this is good for apple australia, a source of income that's not a graphic design firm or a university/school.
If my memory serves me correct, the Australian Government has legaslation for this aswell.
Still, this is good for apple australia, a source of income that's not a graphic design firm or a university/school.
New product line?
I agree that this is a step in the right direction for Apple. However, it seems that the iMac is still a high price point for many governmental agencies who want to switch to open source.
The iMacs are competitive on price (as noted above), but when budgetary constraints are concerned, the lower the price the better. Rather than see governments go the linux-box route, does anyone think Apple will start making lower end (i.e. cheaper) flat screen boxes for government/large corporation use?
- reaper
I agree that this is a step in the right direction for Apple. However, it seems that the iMac is still a high price point for many governmental agencies who want to switch to open source.
The iMacs are competitive on price (as noted above), but when budgetary constraints are concerned, the lower the price the better. Rather than see governments go the linux-box route, does anyone think Apple will start making lower end (i.e. cheaper) flat screen boxes for government/large corporation use?
- reaper
Les Kern
macrumors 68040
gekko513 said:
They are awake. Must have been sleeping soundly after our leader's specacularly bad press "conference" (i.e. "commercial").
I've said it before: Small steps.
Add that to their increase in the ED market, and maybe we ARE seeing the start of something good.
How anyone can rate this as a negative is beyond me. And quit with the "american troll" crap. There are idiots in every corner of the globe.... we just have more per capita at the moment.
Les Kern
macrumors 68040
reaper said:
Not quite true. I just had delivered about 500K worth of Macs, and there IS a bulk discount. Even for my small purchase it was substantial. How substantial? I cannot say as I am bound by contract, but let's just say it would surprise you times 10. Now take government order of a thousand or more, add the fact Apple wants and needs that market, and imagine how good a deal they'd get. Go ahead, imagine.... Oops! To high! Try again!
No. Never ever ever. That's not cool enough for apple.
Not status-quo-challenging enough. They would have to cut corners and that would make dodgy equipment. You would be replacing windoze with windoze.
groovebuster
macrumors 65816
gMac or cMac?
I think they could make it look quite cool. Apple could use eMac inerds and iMac screens to create an in-between product line that would look great (with the right styling of course) and cost much less than the iMac itself. They could call it the gMac (government mac) or cMac (corporation mac). I think that would be a great addition to the product line and alternative to wintel boxes. Heck, I would even buy one of those. Just my two cents. 😉
- reaper
win_convert said:
I think they could make it look quite cool. Apple could use eMac inerds and iMac screens to create an in-between product line that would look great (with the right styling of course) and cost much less than the iMac itself. They could call it the gMac (government mac) or cMac (corporation mac). I think that would be a great addition to the product line and alternative to wintel boxes. Heck, I would even buy one of those. Just my two cents. 😉
- reaper
Les Kern said:
True. But how much would the equivilent Dell order cost? It seems to me a lot of these large orders are decided on budget (because if it were on quality we all know Apple would win), and that a middle-of-the-road mac might make sense. I'm just saying that if governments or corporations could get their hands on flat screen macs for dirt-cheap we might see the beginning of great things.
- reaper
The deal was actually signed and the iMacs bought in January they are only just rolling out the new hardware is all.Trimix said:
Patience my young Australians
Due to the new US-Oz trade agreement (no tariffs on almost all imports), the price of electronics is set to fall. Both sides have yet to ratify the agreement in Congress/Parliament, but the timing may just be on the side of those with telescopes who are eyeing up the G5 powerbooks due September...
Due to the new US-Oz trade agreement (no tariffs on almost all imports), the price of electronics is set to fall. Both sides have yet to ratify the agreement in Congress/Parliament, but the timing may just be on the side of those with telescopes who are eyeing up the G5 powerbooks due September...
winmacguy said:
Yeah, I had a bad day at work on Monday...must be Dubya's fault. I had a bad hair day yesterday....Dang that George!!! Ever since he was elected, I've gained almost 20 lbs. ARGH! Dubya made me gain weight!!!! 😱
Cost of funds is fixed for a time period
There's a lot of assumptions that you're making though. they're reasonable assumptions if you've never run a business that imports good and must reconcile with a foreign company. The issues of FX (exchange rates) is a business and accounting nightmare. What most companies of any scale do is hedge against the foreign currency. i.e. they buy US dollars (through a financial instrument) to establish a fixed basis for a period of time. If you have hedged 6 months or 12 months in advance then your cost of US dollars is fixed for that time.
It's actually much more complex than this, but this will give you some insight as to how these things work. Importers just don't buy "on demand" using a credit card at whatever todays FX rate happens to be. Also... noone ever gets the FX rate that is quoted on the news or in the newspapers...
J
aussiemac86 said:
There's a lot of assumptions that you're making though. they're reasonable assumptions if you've never run a business that imports good and must reconcile with a foreign company. The issues of FX (exchange rates) is a business and accounting nightmare. What most companies of any scale do is hedge against the foreign currency. i.e. they buy US dollars (through a financial instrument) to establish a fixed basis for a period of time. If you have hedged 6 months or 12 months in advance then your cost of US dollars is fixed for that time.
It's actually much more complex than this, but this will give you some insight as to how these things work. Importers just don't buy "on demand" using a credit card at whatever todays FX rate happens to be. Also... noone ever gets the FX rate that is quoted on the news or in the newspapers...
J
This is a great start. I hope the trend continues. With the Unix-based OS, the reliability, and with anti-Windows sentiment going around....keep your fingers crossed. 😉
ChrisH3677 said:
That's well thought! Australian IT people I have dealt with, much like their Pommie counterparts, could never grasp the idea that there could be any choice outside of Microsoft. Deep down it was a fear that any other choice would not be safe and since America ran ONLY on MS product (widely held belief), Apple was just a fly in the ointment, there simply to confound the computing experience by offering an expensive and not very functional "alternative." I can remember bringng my PB to meetings in OZ and the UK and most people were astonished that 1) Macs were in existence and if so, 2) that anyone would be dumb enough to use something that couldn't possibly do anything useful, especially with Teddy Bear tiles on the desktop! How times change. Once, Phillips-Fox was a Mac using firm but they too succumbed- couldn't format Word documents properly between Wintels and Mac (true too- thank you MS for delivering inconsistencies like this) but instead of dumping the Wintel boxes they got rid of the Macs. Thanks to the IT guys who have made those recommendations , since it has given us a taste of the mentality and feel of the Dark Ages without the need for a time machine. Now, if Tassie gets on board with this.......
cogent said:
Yeah im sure that will lower prices for some of the apple products which will be great, but will it still have that much of an effect on the hardware we get, most of which is manufactured in asia?
forgive my ignorance, but if a product is imported from one country (singapore for example) but is designed and the company owning copyright and stuff is based in another (the US).... Does the product get any tax from the country of design etc? and if it doesnt does that mean the trade deal wont have any effect on macs?