I wrote most of this blog entry prior to the news of Steve Job's passing and thus held off posting it. Jobs made a huge impact on the computing industry and his impact will continue to be felt for a long time. His work with Pixar and NeXT computing were amazing and they pale next to what he did with Apple. I remember looking over a coworker's shoulder at a demo of the Next system and thinking it was very cool. That was back in the days when we were also seeing demos of things like new versions of OS/2 and having a different reaction.
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What is the future of Apple Computer? Steve handed over the reins of leadership. As such, there is a chance that the standard operating procedures could change.
On a seemingly unrelated note, I've looked at and played with the Windows 8 preview, and as I've talked to a number of other developers, there is an interesting question that comes to mind.
Is Windows 8 Apple's Chance to take over the desktop operating system market?
In the past, Apple has stayed extremely focused by producing what is perceived to be high-quality systems that come at a premium price. It's received a lot of press, but its overall market share has remained relatively low. Some might say this is intentionally on Apple's part.
But the world has changed.
First, Apple has everyone's attention more so than ever with the iPhone and iPad. While they've been taken seriously, now the company has nearly everyone watching as well.
Second, Steve left the company. I didn't know him, but it seems that tight control reigned at Apple and many reports confirm this. Its seemed focused on its niche in the computer area, and it played strongly in that area. Now there is new leadership. Is that new leadership willing to make changes that could elevate the company to the next level, but at a risk?
Third, Apple's computers are now running on some of the same hardware technology as Windows computers. More importantly, some people believe that Apple computers can run Windows better than some of the computers designed for Windows as the primary operating system.
Fourth, Microsoft has shown a preview of its next version of Windows and it has some radical changes with the Metro interface. Is it so radical that enterprises will shy away? Will end users shy away?
The Metro interface to Windows 8 is different enough that people will need to make a decision about upgrading. The switch is big. While Windows 7 applications reporting do work, the question is how well they will work. Will they work any better than they would on a Mac? Just asking that question indicates that there is some parity between deciding whether to go to Windows 8 or with something else, like an Apple computer.
If you are already walking around with an iPhone or an iPad, then having a computer that integrates with them, or that is at least related, seems like a short leap. The big reason many people avoid Apple computers is price. They come at a premium
So what if Apple released a new version of the Mac software that it licenses to hardware vendors in the same way Microsoft licenses Windows? Or, sticking with it standard operating procedure, what if they built their own computers, but again, kept them at the same price point as a Windows machine? If price were taken out of the equation when comparing machines, would people switch?
With the level of change in Windows 8, is there a big possibility that people would switch? Giving an equal price, emphasizing that Windows still runs, and in many cases better, and highlighting the Apple quality perception are all marketing points that could work. Would that be enough to make inroads into taking market share? Corporate America already lets Macs onto many of their networks.
It seems daunting to try to displace Microsoft as the dominant vendor of desktop operating systems, but displacement of the dominant player has been done in other areas. Microsoft has knocked out numerous companies that dominated markets. According to reports, Microsoft is losing share in the browser space it dominated. Microsoft is on a downward trend elsewhere, too. The last stats I saw show they are losing share in the mobile space as well when you look at Windows Mobile 6.5 combined with Windows Phone 7.
Is now the time that a company such as Apple could come in and have a chance to work towards a majority share in the operating system space as well?
What do you think?