Which company is worth more? Dell or Apple?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Apr 21 2007, 11:16 PM) [snapback]427685[/snapback]</div>

Dell is heading down hill now that they use proprietary hardware. HP just recently took 1st place.

Wildkow

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Apr 22 2007, 01:16 AM) [snapback]427685[/snapback]</div>

It'd be interesting to know how much of that "worth" is because of computers (i.e. desktops + laptops) and how much of it is because of other things (i.e. iPods). Apple computers have certainly been selling better recently, but I have a feeling that a lot of their gain is because of "non-computer" products. It seems that no one is able to make a music player that competes in a real way with the iPod.

 

What *is* a computer anyway?

Apple still deals strictly in computers, but their 'computers' are stripped down and packaged differently than those produced by others who still rely on the desktop/server embodiments.

 

Apple changed its name recently from "Apple computer" to "Apple, Inc", to reflect its diversity. I have a feeling the iPhone will change everything and will make Apple a much, much bigger company.

 

I have a two-year-old Dell sitting in my attic, basically a worthless paperweight (disk drive died, and thanks to Dell's proprietary B.S., I can't just swap it out without getting another Dell disk drive).

I have a five-year-old iMac sitting right next to me that works very well (except, unfortunately, for MS Office, which seems to be 95% of my work nowadays).

 

In the long run, I'd say Apple. Only part of their income is from computers, and they continue to create demand for new and interesting things. If and when PC software runs reliably and is completely supported on Apple hardware, Dell and all the other econobox manufacturers will be on the wane. Until then, I'll use one of each: the PC because I have to, and the Apple because I prefer to.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Apr 22 2007, 10:55 AM) [snapback]427775[/snapback]</div>

It is already:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/

I use the latter solution all the time.

Cheers!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Apr 22 2007, 11:55 AM) [snapback]427775[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Apr 22 2007, 12:26 PM) [snapback]427797[/snapback]</div>

Yes and no. I'd like to believe you, but my experience is that's it's not quite there yet. Bootcamp does either, but not both at the same time. Parallels has issues with peripherals, and does not support the particular software I use. For now, a PC and an iMac wired to an all-in-one is working nicely. No viruses, no network, no problem.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Apr 22 2007, 11:48 AM) [snapback]427811[/snapback]</div>

Yep. With computers mileage does vary. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of the option. Parallels has gone through quite a few betas lately. I would give it a try.

Cheers!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Apr 22 2007, 10:41 AM) [snapback]427769[/snapback]</div>

Proprietary hard drives?! What is Dell doing to make their drives proprietary? On every Dell I've had (admittedly, my most recent desktop purchase was ~3 years ago), there were the standard IDE/ATA ports (plus SATA on my newest box).

I've heard about their proprietary power supplies, but I didn't know they were doing stuff with hard drives now.

Of course, criticizing Dell for proprietary-ness is a little funny when you're comparing them to Apple. For a long time, Apple has been the KING of proprietary hardware/software.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Apr 22 2007, 10:24 AM) [snapback]427763[/snapback]</div>

Funny; I was just talking with someone about how I thought the iPhone might be a bust. We'll have to see, but what I've seen of it just doesn't impress me as much as a lot of the other things I've seen out of Apple.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Apr 22 2007, 04:54 PM) [snapback]427944[/snapback]</div>

Oh, it's a standard hard drive, but you need - get this - their special Dell clips in order to install the damn drive in the damn case. And do they sell the clips online? Or anywhere else? Noooo.... I had to get mine through a third party vendor. And when I got the clips, I needed to go to the hardware store because of COURSE regular screws didn't fit and of COURSE the screws I needed didn't come with the clip.

And when I finally got the drive installed (normal time it takes me to install a drive: 10 minutes, and that includes going to the supply room to grab another drive. Time took for this one: a little over two months) I forgot Microsoft (AKA The Evil Empire) doesn't ship out Windows CDs with home systems, so I had no operating system to install on my disk drive. Solution: Take disk drive out, order and HP computer, now I have an HP with a LOT of space.

But yeah, you're right about Apple. If you think Microsoft is bad, just imagine if they had a monopoly on the hardware, too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Apr 22 2007, 04:54 PM) [snapback]427944[/snapback]</div>

I guess we'll see. However, I'll be back to gloat when all units sell as soon as it comes out.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Apr 22 2007, 05:14 PM) [snapback]427952[/snapback]</div>

I have no doubt it will sell out the instant it comes out. This is actually an interesting point about most highly-desired electronics: no matter how they end up doing eventually, the first batch will always sell out immediately. The question then becomes whether the iPhone will be a "Wii" or a "PS3."

I wouldn't be surprised if I've underestimated the iPhone at this point, but the little that I've seen so far just doesn't impress me as much as other Apple products I've seen.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Apr 22 2007, 05:06 PM) [snapback]427949[/snapback]</div>

OK. Well, that's not as bad as I might have guessed, but the thing with the clips is highly obnoxious. For some reason, my last desktop came with some extra rails for installing an additional drive; I'm sure they've stopped doing that in an effort to get more money out of people.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Apr 22 2007, 09:26 AM) [snapback]427797[/snapback]</div>

Boot Camp and Parallels allow you to run crap MS software on a perfectly good Apple computer: Kind of like spreading cockroach paste on a chocolate cake.

 

I'm not going to guess about the iPhone, because my track record on that sort of thing is horrible:

Past predictions:

CDs: Yeah, like people are going to buy their record collection all over again.

DVDs: People are really going to invest in a medium you can't even record in! And didn't every format of laser disks previously released spectacularly flop, too?

The Segway: Wow, this is the stupidest thing I ever saw! I almost feel sorry for the idiots who invested in THIS!

iPod: A nifty device, but since it's made by Apple nobody is going to buy it.

Tivo: OK, so DVDs caught on. But people still own their VCRs; why spend extra money on something that does the exact same thing?


OK, so I got one out of five...

 

I think the iPhone will do OK the first time out the gate.

I think it will really take off in it's second generation when it's unlocked, has storage more closely in line with a regular iPod, and has addressed a few of the other issues the geeks are complaining about. Bolster the operating system so it can really go beyond a PDA and you've got a portable computer and a phone.

Personally? I want an optional keyboard. I have a portable keyboard for my Palm for taking notes at meetings. Give me that option on an iPhone and I'd consider buying one. And I am NOT a cell phone person. Don't own one. Don't use my PDA that much either. But if the iPhone could do that, I'd buy one. But not if I still have to use my Palm.

A lot of complaints are about being locked in to Cingular. As soon as that contract is up and the next gen iPhone allows it to use any calling card and any carrier you are going to see the sales really go through the roof.

That's my prediction. And I'm pretty good.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Apr 23 2007, 12:16 AM) [snapback]428185[/snapback]</div>

Yes. They'll sell all the ones they'll be able to sell. Sort of like the Wii which is still sparse.

The iPhone will display album art, will have that stupendous coverflow-life interface and a very nice address book. The real question is: How will I mount it in my Prius? I am thinking it can go over the compartment that's under the stereo. Any thoughts?

 

My fearless prediction for the first generation iPod is... flop. Why?

• It's too expensive for a casual phone user. People who want the phone for the iPod capabilities will be better off buying an iPod + a contract phone.
• It's not powerful enough for smartphone users. No matter what SJ says, the iPhone ain't a smartphone. If I can't install my own applications and can't do what I want with it, it's just a very expensive feature phone. Let me know when I can hook my bluetooth keyboard up to the phone and edit word docs, because that's what a good smartphone today can do, and I can't see going back.
• No swappable media. This is the big one. Most (all?) multimedia phones these days come with SD (of some variant) slots. Being able to move your music around without having to sync with iTunes is huge. Apple really missed the boat here.
• It's only EDGE. That's so like 2004. It'll be obsolete out of the gate, at least in terms of network access, barely able to keep up with a RAZR, which was also obsolete out of the gate.