QOTD: What Would You Suggest Apple Do?

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apple in the flesh

"In 2006, the Mail on Sunday alleged that sweatshop conditions existed in factories in China, where the contract manufacturers, Foxconn and Inventec operate the factories that produce the iPod.[144]

One iPod factory, for instance, had over 200,000 workers that lived and worked in the factory, with workers regularly doing more than 60 hours of labor per week. The factory workers, who make around $100 per month were required to live on the premises and pay for rent and food from the company. Living expenses (required to keep the job) generally took up a little over half of the worker's earnings. Workers were given buckets to wash their clothes.[145][146][147]

Immediately after the allegations, Apple launched an investigation and worked with their manufacturers to ensure that conditions were acceptable to Apple[148] but did not find any conditions that were unacceptable to Apple.[149]"

Wikipedia Apple Labor Practices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_computer#Labor_practices

144. The stark reality of iPod's Chinese factories:
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-401234/The-stark-reality-iPods-Chinese-factories.html

145. Sweatshop Conditions at IPod Factory Reported
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/15/AR2006061501898.html

146. Judging Apple Sweatshop Charge
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/06/71138

147. The Forbidden City of Terry Gou
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118677584137994489.html?mod=blog

148. Apple, IT and the Specter of Sweatshop Labor
http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/61454.html

149. Apple: No Sweatshop IPod Labor
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/08/71619
 
[citation][nom]69camaroSS[/nom]Opening up OS will not solve any Apple problems, except stop the incessant wining from the Windows/open source community. It will open up many new problems that will probably sink the company. It would turn Apple into Microsoft. Apple is a hardware company not a software company. It need to focus on making great hardware like it has been....[/citation]

If we're going to talk about OSX in terms of hardware why don't you tell me the uniqueness of the hardware that it runs on that Apple created, please? There's nothing special about it anymore, at least in the past they ran with a power PC architecture which for a while was indeed superior... until AMD and Intel blew way past what power PC offered. But, these days they run on (at best) middle of the line PC hardware.

I agree about licensing direct x. While this may not be an option now if OSX and linux, or perhaps even Android grows enough and gobbles up enough market share it will become profitable for microsoft to make direct x a license-able product. Frankly, the only thing that REALLY separates PCs from Macs or linux machines is gaming.

And to the commenter above saying we shouldn't separate PCs from Macs, you may be right, but Apple worked very hard in creating the impressions Macs are so vastly superior to PCs that they must be different... or maybe your comment was aimed at what Apple needs to do? Eat their words about not selling orverpriced PCs?
 
Add another vote to the pile to allow people to licence OSX on a "regular" PC. From there:

(1) GAME SUPPORT - IMHO, Apple would have increased it's market share already were users able to play "PC" games on Apple operating systems.

(2) Better enthusiast level GPU/device support.



But (as also pointed out a number of times) this exposes Apple to having to perform some level of QA on an exponentially larger set of hardware and software variables. **AND** would expose Apple's laughable security for what it is: A Man Made b*llshit story. It's only more secure because the market share is so small and few people spend much (if any) time attempting to hack into it.
 
Apple is a boutique vendor feeling the crunch of any company that makes its living selling a luxury product that offers few if any tangible benefits over more less expensive, widely available products that offer the same, if not more functionality.

In order to save their company and preserve their brand, Apple will have to make more accessible machines that cost the same, or roughly the same amount as, a product with similar or superior specifications from a rival vendor.

The reason I own a Hewlett Packard laptop as opposed to a Macbook Pro is that I, as well as many others do not feel the need for a machine encased in a well-machined block of aluminum with what is easily the best "trackpad" I've ever used, if the premium amounts to an added $600-700 USD.

I'll simply be more careful with the device itself, and plug in a peripheral mouse that costs around $30 USD.

The bottom line is, an Apple computer costs anywhere from two to three times what it's worth in raw components and price/performance, and this is a obstacle that Steve Jobs will have to confront and negotiate in order to remain a successful contender.

Concessions will have to be made.
 
Apple is a boutique vendor feeling the crunch of any company that makes its living selling a luxury product that offers few if any tangible benefits over more less expensive, widely available products that offer the same, if not more functionality.

In order to save their company and preserve their brand, Apple will have to make more accessible machines that cost the same, or roughly the same amount as, a product with similar or superior specifications from a rival vendor.

The reason I own a Hewlett Packard laptop as opposed to a Macbook Pro is that I, as well as many others do not feel the need for a machine encased in a well-machined block of aluminum with what is easily the best "trackpad" I've ever used, if the premium amounts to an added $600-700 USD.

I'll simply be more careful with the device itself, and plug in a peripheral mouse that costs around $30 USD.

The bottom line is, an Apple computer costs anywhere from two to three times what it's worth in raw components and price/performance, and this is a obstacle that Steve Jobs will have to confront and negotiate in order to remain a successful contender.

Concessions will have to be made.
 
[citation][nom]ProDigit80[/nom]Well I'd say the following...[/citation]
You always post these books... get off it man. No one wants to read something that long and it interrupts the flow of reading the posts.
 
Drop the price for one? Allow me to install OSX on any machine I want?

Actually become competitive in the market other than this wanna-be omniscient presence with the ego to boot?

have you ever walked into the apple store and NOT seen it packed? Well yeah, but compare that to walking into Fry's... it may not be packed in a person to sqft ratio - but there is a heck of a lot more people in Fry's.... so why is there twice as much staff in the apple store?? That's just driving up the cost of the product.
 
Admins, Chris, can we limit comment length to 200 or so characters so we don't have these guys posting feature length articles in the comments?
 
Apple is where it is because of its brand. The reason that they overprice their machines is because they want to appeal to a higher price market to make their products "premium." This is also the reason they wont open their OS up to non-macs. They want to ensure that their users have the best experience possible, and they cannot be ensure this if it isn't running on their hardware. They want their name associated with premium products so they will not open the OS or drop their prices.

So what to do? They need to make their OS more flexable. The reason I wont get an apple is because I can't do half the stuff I can in windows... so why pay a higher price? The only way I would pay that price is if I had a reason to, and right now there isn't one. When apple can solve this problem i'll be a mac user! :)
 
Nothing apple wouldn't be Apple if they changed and I could not watch all frustrated PC users get angry on this forum everyday.
 
I think they should go after the enthusiast market. Its obvious from their pricing that they don't want to compete in the mainstream. If they could build the baddest pc in the world, people would take notice.

Just being stylish doesn't seem to be enough.
 
[citation][nom]crom[/nom] So as it stands, I think Apple is on the right track, and I can absolutely see them hitting a 15% - 20% market share here in the USA in the next 3 - 5 years.[/citation]

Their market share in the PC market (excluding phones and ipods) has not even increased by 3 points over the last 3 years. Considering the marketing flop that was Vista, this is embarrassing. With Windows 7 coming down the pipe, Apple’s chance for growth has come and gone.

Windows 7 is a prettier dumbed down version of Vista. Prettier and dumbed down will appeal to Mac users and new users.

Windows 7 will prove to be an Apple killer.

That being said, I have tried 7 and will stick with my Vista 64.

I don’t lose my mind when I see shiny things.

With upcoming economic woes on the horizon, Apple’s share will shrink by 2-3 points rather than gain to 15 to 20% of total PC market share.
 
LOL these comments are hilarious... you guys are a bunch of morons.

[citation][nom]uronacid[/nom]Get rid of closed OS, and remove the Apple tax.[/citation]
OK and you like MS because?!? Who is going to freely give up all their work?

[citation][nom]oneliner[/nom]Fold!...Microsoft rules![/citation]
Speaks for itself... Why would you not want competition.

[citation][nom]ShotgunPadre[/nom]Become cheap. Keep up the great style. [/citation]
Become cheap and still keep the style, you must drive a Kia or Hyundai?

[citation][nom]Sinned61[/nom]With only 7% of market share apple should fold up its tent and get out of the computer market. Where apple's share a grade it would be "F". Apple has its loyalist, but so did Hitler. When apple goes out of business I promised my wife I'd take her out for a great dinner.[/citation]
Wow your a cheapass for not wanting to take your wife out for a nice dinner... Apple doesn't want you carrying around their products cuz you'll make em look bad anyways LMAO. Apple notebook, crocs a wifebeater and hagger jeans. I don't think i'm far off...


Anyways if any of you could create a company like apple you would not hate them so much, but because so many of you are one trick ponies and don't know how to make a product that despite it's high price still seems to sell you get mad... oh well if you don't wanna spend the money don't buy it, but please just stop crying... LMAO
 
[citation][nom]norbs[/nom]Nothing apple wouldn't be Apple if they changed and I could not watch all frustrated PC users get angry on this forum everyday.[/citation]

Explaining logic to a avid Mac user is like trying to explain to a little kid that eating gum from the bottom of restaurant tables is not a good thing.

The kid thinks we are dumb for not taking the free gum.

Most Mac users are beyond help.

You are right.... Apple shouldn't do anything. They should keep marketing to the ignorant and elitists. This will keep their profits margin high and their market share low.
 
1) License OSX. Let Phystar make their clones, just don't support them. Pretty much give an FU to system builders, and at least then they can claim that the premium for their products is for support and updates directly from Apple. If someone builds you an OSX machine and there isn't a driver for something, well too bad.

2) Failing 1, address the fact that macs cost so much. It's probably too late for them to spend alot of resources targeting the low cost desktop market, but they can target the low-mid laptop market. HPs Compaq V6000 series showed that a low cost laptop doesn't have to look bland or something that came out of fisher price (ie early acers with white bezels) and can still be powerful enough to be productive. A $600-$700 Mac laptop with a dual core CPU and Apple styling would go a long way.

3) Court Developers. Apple needs to get off it's high horse and stop acting like it's such a privilege to develop for the Mac. Macs need more applications and more developers. I think the best way to do that is to court budding developers in college, even if that means sponsoring classes and computer labs (Mac Only). For current professionals it should make more of an effort to advertise developer initiatives and incentives.

When I can buy a laptop for less than $1k and find alot of free tools to develop for a Windows and Linux environments, it's a little hard to convince me to switch to Mac development where the target audience is much smaller, especially when I'd need to buy expensive new Mac hardware to test it on and Mac tools to program with.
 
They need a computer in the $300 to $600 range and they need to market it effectively. An entry-level, non-gimmick mac. Whether it be a netbook-style or iMac-style computer, it would open up a new customer base and potentially hook users long term.
 
[citation][nom]sublifer[/nom]You always post these books... get off it man. No one wants to read something that long and it interrupts the flow of reading the posts.[/citation]
That's what they call a blog. You don't want to read it? Skip it! but it definitely is informative!
As far as for you I don't know you. Must mean your input mustn't be of lots of value.. Otherwise I would have noticed by now.

Like jsloan is also one of the people that makes sense on the blog, gets negative comments?
...
 
I would like to see Apple open up their OS to run on just about any hardware that can support it. I think that licensing OSX would definitely bolster the number of adopters.

Apple should also think about re-thinking their position on low-cost computers. Steve Jobs is on record as saying Apple doesn't know how to make a low-price computer that isn't a piece of junk, but I honestly think they can and should figure it out if they really don't know how. It can't be all too difficult.

Another thing they could do with is a better system of releasing patches for their OS. It takes Apple longer to fix most issues with their OS than it does Microsoft (not counting Vista as an issue of course). What Apple needs to do is be more forward with admitting problems, and be faster at patching those issues that are found.
 
Let's face it. The ONLY thing Apple could do to appeal to Windows users is to enable Macs to play more games! They obviously cannot make DirectX work, since it is integral to the Windows OS.

Their only real option is to make OpenGL work a lot better, so that game developers can use it to make games for PCs and Macs, and allow video card makers to develop drivers that work on both. If they try to develop their own API, game developers won't use it, and no one will create drivers for it.

Apple cannot enable OSX to run on PCs. No one would buy a Mac. Can you imagine what would happen if Dell started selling PCs that run OSX? It would kill Apple. They have to keep the hardware and OS a closed proprietary system that they completely control.
 
A 500 dollar Netbook with the Mac OS would probably slaughter the netbook market. We know that the hardware is more than capable of running the os, right now I'm typing up on my wifes E-Mac and its paltry specs have held up pretty well. It would be the perfect entry point and the perfect second machine for pc users. Since it doesn't have a disk drive you wouldn't worry about software compatibility and since its mac you can give one to your mom for christmas
 
First in reply to cheaper by microsoft stand. I suggest Apple start pointing out their OS should only be compared to Vista Ultimate. Comparing a PC build using Vista Home isn't a good compare to a Mac and its more powerful OS.

I do agree Apple should sale there OS for desktop PC's. Put it in direct competition against Microsoft's Ultimate and business OS's. Apple should focus more on notebook sales and drop their PC line after a short look at how their OS sales go.
Only problem I see with this is how to keep the OS from working on none apple notebooks but allow it to work with desktop PC's.
 
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