QOTD: What Would You Suggest Apple Do?

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You can already buy OS X separately. It's significantly cheaper than the average flavour of Vista... you are already using a Mac, right? 😛

Apple used to license the classic Mac OS and they're not making that business mistake again. Mac OS X is a differentiating feature that sells Apple computers and iPhones. Enough people in this thread seem to want it and I'd say it's an ace up Apple's sleeve.

There is something to be said for a pared-back hardware lineup where any issues are well-known; it certainly makes my job easier. Opening OS X to deal with random hardware opens up a can of worms that I'm paying to not have to deal with.

Anyway, the premium pricepoint isn't a big issue in some industries (I'm talking film & TV myself).
Someone has to pay for their software R&D. You can rationalise the hardware costs as the buy-in for their software (which you may or may not care for) - their pro apps are epic good value. Anyone remember how much Avid used to cost? Apple sure brought them down to Earth with FCP.
 
if OSX opens up to pc then ang grab 30% of the sharewithin a year there will be at least a a thousand viruses written for macs. then mac will nhave to deal with it and since mac is not as experienced as windows w viruses then its gona safeguard itself w millions of codes that will make it worst than vista. what i suggest for apple stick w the creative department, it is good on what its doing now w ipod, iphone and lyfstyle gadget. stick with it and you'll live. but to compete w pc way, you have to deal w viruses, securities and cheap netbooks then you have to tell your stockholders that its not an easy ride.
 
I just put an EVGA GTX 295 in my Mac Pro and it's a thing of beauty! That said, two things come to mind that Apple could improve:

1 - We need/want more GPU options on the OS X side.
2 - With Snow Leopard bringing Grand Central and OpenCL, more than two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots would have been preferred in the recently announced Mac Pros.

Okay, make that three because I just hacked my Mac Pro for this specific reason:

3 - Allow for fan control in Boot Camp - I installed an adjustable speed fan in place of the mac's rear fan (the one that cools down the CPUs and memory banks) because under Windows the fans spin too slow and there's no way to control them.
 
personally, the only thing turning me away from apple is their price and the fact that they don't allow you to modify anything on the products you buy. GIVE ME REPLACABLE BATTERIES FOR MY IPOD DAMN IT!
 
Their targeted market is the computer illiterates that think a Mac is easier to use than a PC. Otherwise, they would have no market.

Compared to a PC, the Mac is an overpriced toy. The hardware and software choices are very limited and expensive. It's for people that just want a computer to surf the net, send emails, use iTunes, and maybe use some simple office apps.

The Mac used to appeal to desktop publishers and photoshop users, but those apps work just as well on a PC now days.

If anything, it is because of the cheap crap and bloatware created by PC resellers, like Dell and eMachines, that makes PCs seem worse to most people. When people buy a PC they get cheap and end up buying crap that gives them problems. When buying a Mac they have no choice but to pay a lot and get something that works better than the cheap-ass PC they would have bought.
 
Apple currently has a very small target audience, which accounts for their ~5% global market share:

Computer illiterates, who favour style over substance and are willing to pay top dollar for a piece of "lifestyle furniture".

They arent attempting to compete on price, and they arent attempting to compete on performance. Based on their marketing, I would have thought their target audience would be the novice computer user, but the high prices exclude entry level buyers.

With the recent economic downturn im really not surprised they took a big hit last quarter. Even their target demographic seems to be finally wising up and not willing to pay the apple tax.
 
There seems to have been an issue with my previous post (what i meant to say was "more than 1%").

To answer the question, there is nothing for Apple to do be more competitive while maintaining the brand. Have sales and reasonable pricing? Thats not Apple anymore. Create compatibility for mainstream engineering software (pretty significant in business. what around you isn't made by an engineer?) and games? Not consistent with Apple's image, especially if you need slow and inefficient virtual software. Make computers in other colors besides ugly matte/gloss something black, white, grey? Also not Apple anymore.

 
If I ever become an Apple CEO the first thing I'm gonna do is to get rid of slot loading superdrive, in favor of native hardware RAID 0/1/0+1 for all products that carries "PRO" at the end of whatever their name is. Anything else is "Air". There must never be any cheap apple product, only good quality. So I'll quarterly report how many units shipped, how many went to service center fixed and/or replaced.

Secondly, to stop making any products that has "PRO" at the end of the name anymore thin. I'd focus on "lightweight" rather than "thin and better thermal properties.

Thirdly, I know there are people that hates Mac OS X but has had a thing with Mac Hardware styling for ages. For them, I'd have a bootcamp division whose responsibility is to make sure that people who hates Mac OS X would still favor Apple (desktop/portables) to run whatever OS they like. That means 32/64 bit drivers too.

-ND
 
1) Have Mac OS X available for general PC market.
2) Reduce Apple HW prices.
3) More CPUs and upgrade options on Apple HW.
4) Have a separate and alternative line equipped with RISC processors.
5) Have also AMD processors.
6) Make HW easy to upgrade parts.
7) Create an Enterprise professional products line.
 
Most of the comments are pointing out "why I don't like macs" and listing the things apple could do to be more like HP/dell. For example: less focus on style, far lower prices, etc.

Let me point out if apple became more like hp/dell, it would be competing with their customers. I don't necessarily think that is what is good for apple. Some people do indeed value the style of a computer over its price/performance ratio. Apple makes products for those people. If it simply became another hp/dell, it would no longer be as secure in its market share.
 
1) Lower the price
2) AMD processors because they are cheap.
3) Let developers use intepreted/scripting languages like Java, Lua and Python for their iPhone apps. (Apple's iPhone SDK EULA somehow forbids it)
4) Sell Macs with MacOSX-Windows dual-boot option, or only with Windows.
5) Make cheap extendable version of Mac Pros, like kind of Psystar's Open Computer. Macs have a really bad reputation for not having the ability to upgrade like PCs.

If Apple let Dell, HP, etc sell computers with Mac OS X, it won't be very secure as it becomes a bigger target for hackers.
Although Unix and Unix-like OSes are much secure than Windows, it doesn't mean ther're 100% virus-proof.
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/6229

LOL hope Jobs sees us
 
- Let the OS X legally run on all PCs
- Drastically reduce the price of the over inflated products. People can get a much cheaper alternative.
 
Lower prices, improve compatibility, stop tying users into draconian DRM schemes or marketing ploys designed to stuff overpriced digital content down our throats.

Stop worrying about being 'Apple' enough and start focusing on what consumers want.
 
They should do nothing. They has a very successful business model- they do not sell the most units, but their margins are the highest. And with those margins they can spend more on product development to add cool new feature that continue to differentiate them. I haven't seen magnet power cords or aluminum unibody construction on any PC notebook. Windows doesn't come with any decent software.

Apple doesn't cater to any specific niche, they offer the most rational line of computers in the industry, They don't put crappy 17 inch displays in low cost notebooks to compete on specs, they sell notebooks that have the all the features that people want and like, in the product design world we call that Anthropology.

I know that a lot of you home-built PC fan boys may disagree with me, but the rest of the world has moved on from the desktop. Notebooks are the most Personal Computer you can get and right now Apple make the very best.
 
Look almost everyone here's saying the same thing only if "APPLE" will listen.
I must admit that they have great ideas ad great innovation but their problems are to mention a few
1. Pricing
2. Licensing issues,
3. Flexibilities,
4. Choice (what consumers want and not APPLE wants),
5. Freedom.

Look, this is only the beginning for them while Windows is getting more exiting, cheap and flexible. Those with Mac in feature will turn around for the cheapest. Everyone is trying to minimize cost in spending these days and wouldn't buy some expensive flashy product when you could simply get a cheaper and universal one.

Listen to the masses Apple, listen and learn before you dig your grave and fall into it.
 
Just die, they've acted stupidly way too long and dosent seem to have any kind of intention of stopping. Admit you just can't do it and give up.
 
Well I'd say the following points mentioned beneath; I also have to say that perhaps apple is already doing these things, but I'm a person who cut ties with apple a long time ago,and am very sure I can be seen as the stereotypical individual, who is a leek in apple gear and really has no clue about Apple,but just believes whatever he heard the complaints people say (perhaps many years ago), and believes that perhaps Apple still stayed with their (perhaps former) policy.
So not everything might be true, but I'm sure a lot I mention is the idea a lot of people have about apple.

- First: lower prices for their pc's
- 2: You hardly change any options or special settings on OSX, like personalize the OS.
- Learning apple is the same as learning (a graphical) Linux. It's re-learning all over new program names and locations, getting away with a new user interface, and for many it's just troublesome to the mind.
- Create student packages for OSX, slightly downgraded OS,or perhaps older OS licences for a (much) lower price. Many schools and students can't afford Apple,and therefor they stay with what they can have, or learned in school. Besides most school software only runs on Windows.
- A premium OS for people using the Apple computer in the IT departement; with more settings and configuration options, as well as more advanced settings to manually override or change.
- more Software compatibility with Windows programs; if Wine works freely for Linux, Apple must have a variant that comes standard with their OS.
- Create software developing tools just like MS, that will allow home enthusiasts to build their own OSX applications in an open development environment. Users that create a much desired program for OSX can get a bonus fee,if they allow their program to be integrated in the OS, and further handled by Apple.
- Get off of that standard apple design. You may still like this '90's white plastic,but it's not at all as attractive for all people!
I've noted Some metallic designs of their $2500 pc's, and thought they looked pretty neat though.
- Work towards open source, not closed source for software, while keeping the OS closed.
- Sell OEM versions of OSX, much like leopard (or something)
- Get off DRM, and don't make things hard on honest users who just would like to playback their blueray Disks on their non-HDMI compatible monitor. If they really wanted to copy the content of their blueray disk,they would most certainly get a Windows PC,which makes it fairly easy to do (I presume). All these user and hardware limitations are not freeing the user,but locking him up,and for many users this is a reason they don't want to buy an apple!

Again I want to stress: Create an Os with low visual quality, but 100% compatible with the latest OSX's software. The simplified, low visual /low power version for mininotebooks and small devices like atom powered, or ARM powered devices.
Get all that visual spectacle off, and go back to the very core basics of a compatible OS, that uses less than 20% of the total resources,while more than 80% can be directed to the programs.
 
ow,and make sure people know there do exist FREE applications for apple.
With the apple store,and itunes store, people tend to get the idea that on an apple, apart from the expensive computer and OS, they also need to buy every program they think they would need!
It would do good to have some commercial saying that perhaps there are thousands of free applications compatible with the Apple OS.
People aren't prone to spending money,and often a windows is a wiser investment to some.
Perhaps also interesting would be to mention that on an apple computer you can dualboot Windows and Apple (If that's possible).
Not running windows with reduced performance in an OSX window, but running the full blown windows straight from the HD.
I'm sure a lot of users would consider trying once they know they don't have to give up their windows in order to still enjoy an apple.
 
Full Gaming support like Windows (DX needs to be included), Price is completely over-rated for the hardware used as well, it is definately a rip-off, have installed and used various linux systems and found Linux Mint as good as osx as an operating system and its free, Ubuntu distro's are all good without the price tag and they will run on far older machines, so why the price for Apple machines, unless they are just for show-off!!!

Macs are more secure and stable but that is because of QA hardware lockdown and small user base, Linux Distro's are as secure and stable but at least there is a community out there trying to make sure their Distro's are compatible with the most possible hardware configurations possible, and they do it for FREE!!!!
 
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