[used to be jwoodget]

Beat's me why people still buy PCs. Vista utterly sucks, most PC hardware is uninspiring in terms of design and usability and the price differential is small if you take into consideration the whole enchilada. The excuse of there being less software is also gone with Boot Camp, Parallels, VMware, etc. It just goes to show the enduring power of familiarity. The iPod is certainly surfing that wave as well. We're sheep. Actually we're worse. We're inward looking, self-congratulatory sheep who preach to the converted. So shoot me....

 

[used to be jwoodget]

It's clear that the Trojan Horse for increased Mac sales is the iPod/iPhone. However, its not that clear that Apple sees it that way. They appear to be prioritizing resources to the handheld devices and hence the computers are not getting as much limelight. It's not as though the company doesn't have the resources to double their computer business (I don't buy the limited manufacturing capacity argument, its all outsourced anyway). The only operational limitation I can see is the eye of the needle that Steve Jobs represents. If all key decisions require his sign-off and he is so hands-on, perhaps the companies saviour is also its Achilles Heel. Fortunately for Apple, true inspiration and intuitive sense of interfaces appear to be rare talents so the company continues to make its competitors look uninspiring and dull. It may also be that Jobs is bored with the PC model (inc. the Mac) and gets his kicks from the sexy young handhelds..... He's past his mid-life crisis.

 

[used to be jwoodget]

It's nothing to do with manufacturing capacity. Does Dell build their own hard drives? It's all outsourced and OEM'd. There may be something to Apple's insistence on secrecy in limiting initial product availability but ramp-ups are fairly rapid (at least recently). However, Apple does maximize its own return by giving preferential access to its own retail channels (bricks and on-line). As has been said many a time, if you appreciate local expertise and advice, patronize a local reseller. They rarely get the same attention from Apple, unfortunately.

 

[used to be jwoodget]

Ummm.... so you are saying that Apple couldn't possible double their own marketshare due to components shortages? It seems that HP and Dell have no problem in securing the various components and their marketshare is 5X Apples. It also appears that Apple has been able to ramp up its iPod business from 0 to >10 million a quarter in 4 odd years. Everything is scalable, most of the components are commodities and orders are made at least quarterly. Sure, there are bottlenecks here and shortages there (like the LED backlight screens) but its not as though Apple is maxing out the capacity of the contractors in Taiwan and China.