First off, a very good summation of the original clone program, IJ Reilly.
There are some differences now compared to the original clone experiment. The largest is that the installed base of Intel machines in the late 2000's is so many orders of magnitude over the installed base of PowerPC machines in the mid-1990s. Where the PPC installed base was in the millions, the Intel base is in the hundreds of millions.
So the possible market for an Intel-based clone is vastly larger then it was for a PPC-based clone, which will insulate Apple sales to a much greater extent now then it did back in the mid-1990s. However, much of what has driven Mac sales these past few years is not the actual hard product - the Mac - but the entire experience and of buying a Mac.
If you are interested in a Wintel PC, you go to a retailer that offers dozens of manufacturers, each with dozens of products, most that overlap both within and across manufacturers, and try and wrap your head around them. Hopefully the sales associate you work with knows each of those products and each of those manufacturers, but often they do not. And it is not as simple as saying the associate is "stupid" or "clueless". When you have a hundred or more combination's to offer a customer, it's very hard to do so without confusing them - or becoming confused yourself.
And even if they do know them all, that can hurt just as much as not knowing them all. I used to work Wintel and Mac retail during my college years. I've worked with computers - of all types - since the late 1970's (when I was eight). I knew these machines backwards and forwards and could easily describe the various systems with a fellow computer geek. The problem was, my customers were not fellow computer geeks. So if I was not careful, I ended up confusing them and they would choose not to buy because they were worried they might be making a mistake. While it was worse with the Wintel side, having Centras and Performas and Quadras falling over each other in terms of specification and price made selling Macs difficult, as well.
Now, if you are interested in a Mac, you go to your Apple store. You have three options each for a portable or a desktop and each option has little to no overlap with the other models in it's product line. Your Apple sales associate needs to only know six models which don't overlap. As such, they can quickly and clearly differentiate them to the customer. The customer is educated, not confused, and they respond by buying the product.
Yes, that product might be more expensive then an equivalent Wintel PC at another retailer, but the Mac sales experience makes them feel confident in their decision so they'd rather be confident spending $2000 then worried in spending $1500.
There are some differences now compared to the original clone experiment. The largest is that the installed base of Intel machines in the late 2000's is so many orders of magnitude over the installed base of PowerPC machines in the mid-1990s. Where the PPC installed base was in the millions, the Intel base is in the hundreds of millions.
So the possible market for an Intel-based clone is vastly larger then it was for a PPC-based clone, which will insulate Apple sales to a much greater extent now then it did back in the mid-1990s. However, much of what has driven Mac sales these past few years is not the actual hard product - the Mac - but the entire experience and of buying a Mac.
If you are interested in a Wintel PC, you go to a retailer that offers dozens of manufacturers, each with dozens of products, most that overlap both within and across manufacturers, and try and wrap your head around them. Hopefully the sales associate you work with knows each of those products and each of those manufacturers, but often they do not. And it is not as simple as saying the associate is "stupid" or "clueless". When you have a hundred or more combination's to offer a customer, it's very hard to do so without confusing them - or becoming confused yourself.
And even if they do know them all, that can hurt just as much as not knowing them all. I used to work Wintel and Mac retail during my college years. I've worked with computers - of all types - since the late 1970's (when I was eight). I knew these machines backwards and forwards and could easily describe the various systems with a fellow computer geek. The problem was, my customers were not fellow computer geeks. So if I was not careful, I ended up confusing them and they would choose not to buy because they were worried they might be making a mistake. While it was worse with the Wintel side, having Centras and Performas and Quadras falling over each other in terms of specification and price made selling Macs difficult, as well.
Now, if you are interested in a Mac, you go to your Apple store. You have three options each for a portable or a desktop and each option has little to no overlap with the other models in it's product line. Your Apple sales associate needs to only know six models which don't overlap. As such, they can quickly and clearly differentiate them to the customer. The customer is educated, not confused, and they respond by buying the product.
Yes, that product might be more expensive then an equivalent Wintel PC at another retailer, but the Mac sales experience makes them feel confident in their decision so they'd rather be confident spending $2000 then worried in spending $1500.
