Apple’s Schiller: Mac OS X Tiger ‘has created even more distance between us and Microsoft’
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 09:00 AM EDTApple will release Mac OS X Tiger at retail stores on Friday, April 29. The new software is expected to have an immediate impact on Apple's revenue, according to Wall Street analysts.
"'I think Tiger is going to be a far more important upgrade than previous versions,' said Charles Wolf, a financial analyst with Needham & Company in New York, who holds shares of Apple. He estimated that there were about 20 million Macintosh computer users and that as many as 2 million to 3 million might be expected to upgrade their operating systems to Tiger within the next two quarters," John Markoff reports for The New York Times. "That would generate more than $200 million in revenue for Apple and would easily cover the software's development costs, he said."
Markoff reports, "Tiger adds pressure on Microsoft, which is developing a new version of its Windows operating system called Longhorn. The Microsoft software is reported to have many of the same features as Tiger, but will not be available until next year. Apple executives said on Tuesday that they believed the new program gave them a significant technical lead on Microsoft, the world's dominant software publisher. 'This has created even more distance between us and Microsoft,' said Philip W. Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for worldwide product marketing. 'We're becoming a tiny dim red light in their headlights.'"
Markoff reports, "David Caulton, group product manager in for Microsoft's Windows client division, said 'Apple is obviously doing interesting stuff within a closed solution.' By contrast, Microsoft, he said, prefers 'to take on the problem of platform solutions with a lot of different partners.'"
"Both Apple and Microsoft have focused on adding file retrieval and graphics technologies to their operating systems. Analysts have said that this is partly a response to the growth of Internet search, which has transformed the way computer users hunt for information," Markoff reports. "Apple's new Spotlight retrieval feature automatically indexes information without regard to whether the information is in a word-processing document, spreadsheet, digital image or any other file type. Microsoft has a similar feature available with its MSN service and has said it plans to integrate it into Longhorn."
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft sure says a lot about their plans, huh? Lots of talk, lots of plans, lots of hopes and dreams that sound like features from Apple's Mac OS X Public Beta (released September 2000) and zero action. Microsoft is good at sending out stooges to mumble FUD about "closed solutions," but how 'bout shipping something? Something that actually works well, is secure, and benefits its users' productivity and not just Microsoft's coffers, by the way?
Microsoft's "Stillborn" — or whatever they call it — "is reported to have many of the same features as Tiger," Markoff writes? Reported by whom, Bill Gates? Steve "Monkey Boy" Ballmer? John Dvorak, perhaps? Compare Apple's Mac OS X Tiger's features to whatever's left in the vaporous and constantly shrinking "Longhorn" blueprint and it's clear that Microsoft should just rename their stripped-down "Longhorn" to "Windows XP SP3" and release it for free.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Will Mac OS X Tiger add fuel to Apple's recent momentum in the computer business? - April 13, 2005
Why doesn't Apple advertise Mac OS X on TV? - April 12, 2005
Analyst: Tiger proves 'Apple is light years ahead of Microsoft in developing PC operating systems' - April 12, 2005
Apple to ship Mac OS X 'Tiger' on Friday, April 29; pre-orders start today - April 12, 2005
Apple Announces Mac OS X Server 'Tiger' to ship Friday, April 29 with 64-bit application support - April 12, 2005
Analysts: Apple's new Tiger operating system could really impact Mac sales - April 12, 2005
Piper Jaffray raises Apple estimates on Mac OS X 'Tiger' release news - April 12, 2005
Microsoft's Longhorn fantasy vs. Apple's Mac OS X reality - September 14, 2004
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