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"cost about half the price of a Windows server upgrade"
Love this!

Finally, something other than iPod news. MORE XSERVE NEWS! MORE ENTERPRISE NEWS!!!!

I think business is finally starting to take a real look at the Apple alternative. And once their foot back in the door, OS X with its security and ease of use packs a bit wallop.

Typo alert, the G4's not a 64 bit processor. I wonder if anyone new to the Mac world will read that and think it 64 bits?

"The Xserve is a tiny thing, just 4cm high. But, now powered by IBM's 64-bit G4 PowerPC processors, it packs a mighty wallop"

Wow, I didn't know IBM produced 64-bit G4 chips.

Oddly Mac hosting is still expensive, if it's so cheap compared to Windows....you'd think they'd pass on the savings. NOPE!

Apple is going to struggle to keep up with the demand for the G5 Xserves. This will be HUGE--and will open the door to business and other large organizations if Apple can develop a competitive business-oriented desktop (i.e., inexpensive, G5, expandable).

Is it me, or is this not really much to celebrate? I mean, we're talking about one company, who makes $13m, which is hardly something to boast about, who integrates 1 XServe. Perhaps getting a company in the Fortune 100 would sound more like news versus this...

Jayplus:
This is only worth celebrating if it's indicative of a much broader trend--I predict it will be!

If only Apple could build desktop computers that had better performance for half the price...

The facts/benefits of the situation are equally true and still interesting no matter who the company is. The benefit to an Apple advertising campaign may be less than if it was GE

Positive article, but a few glaring typos, the one noted above about the "64-bit G4's", and this one:

"In the US, Virginia Tech has linked 1100 Xserves to make the world's third largest supercomputer"

Thanks for talking up Apple's gathering enterprise momentum David, but please do your homework. Virginia Tech's cluster consists of 1100 G5 towers.

If only Apple could build desktop computers that had better performance for half the price...

That's an unreasonable demand. Name a computer with even similar performance as any of Apple's machines for half the price, not to mention the bundled software.

10/10 what an EXCELLENT way to get a toe hold into the enterprise market.. release a beautiful and affordable server series and in 5 years time you think those companies won't know what Total Cost of Ownership means...?!! they'll look at macs, at the very least..

Come on guys.. TCO.. i know you can figure this one out.. FIRE THE IT DEPT

The G5 XServe is getting us into the Enterprise backdoor, the iPod is getting us into the consumer front door and the G5 desktop and OS X is getting us back onto the entertainment Industry desks. Just a few more hardware tweaks (better consumer desktop 1.6 ghz G5 iMac, Pro Lapop 1.6 ghz G5 PowerMac and TV Top box) and Apple will bigger than anyone could have imagined! Apple is realizing that its great design and ease of use can go further than just desktop computing.
Andy C., Us Mac users are here for QUALITY, not price!

Oops, I meant "1.6 ghz G5 PowerBOOK"

IBM hopefully will be able to supply the G5 chips quicker than Hitachi can supply the 1"HD's. I hope Apple can produce them faster than they can produce iPods mini's and keep the momentum going.

I for one would like to hear that Xserves outsell the iPod and iPod mini by volume.

mike,

I agree with you.

"Apple machine was installed in less than two hours"

You can't configure a WinXP with Office in less than 2 hours unless you buy it pre-configured. If you take into account all the downloads and patches and reboots between patches, it takes about half a day.

AL:
I too can't wait for Apple's COMPUTERS to start selling like hotcakes (not just iPods & minis), but there just ain't no way we could see Xserves outselling iPods in volume/units. Not only are Xserves about 10x the price, but I don't think the server market is as big in unit terms (not dollar terms)--am I off base on this?

Mac user,

true, but we can still have a goal and a dream...

1,000,000 Xserves in one year should be a goal, even though I doubt it could be reached.

Most Intel or AMD based clusters use highly optimized hardware and software. Apple can theorectically do it with off the shelf hardware and software (Xserve and Xgrid). If Apple can create a supercomputer cluster package which can be set up in 3 months after the contract is signed, Apple would sell a lot of them. 1,100 to 10 universities and a couple of gov't agencies would be a great start.

And if Apple can start marketing correctly to companies with a plug and play Xserve solution without any downtime, Apple should be able to sell a few more thousand.


Apple's biggest problem is the product itself. The Xserve comes with an unlimited license and is more powerful and efficient than AMD/Intel servers running a bloated and user limited Win Server. One new Xserve has more power than what most companies need and have little need for frequent upgrades. Once bought, Apple would have lost that customer unless the economy changes and the customer grows.

Apple's computers are not commodities like Wintel boxes and are not thrown out every year. That is one reason why the market share data shows so many wintel boxes being sold.

"In the US, Virginia Tech has linked 1100 Xserves to make the world's third largest supercomputer"

Thanks for talking up Apple's gathering enterprise momentum David, but please do your homework. Virginia Tech's cluster consists of 1100 G5towers.

They started with G5 towers but have converted to G5 Xserves as they are faster and take up less space. the article was talked about on slashdot.org about a month ago.

Will Apple be considered a successful company if it “struggles” to meet the increasing demands for more Pods and Xserves? How about increased demands for desktops and notebooks?

Can ya love too much?

Will Apple be considered a successful company if it “struggles” to meet the increasing demands for more Pods and Xserves? How about increased demands for desktops and notebooks?

Can ya love too much?

I dont see them struggling to meet demand for desktops and notebooks if demand increases. In recent situations like the iPod (last christmas) and the iPod mini (current) when demand is far greater than expected then initially struggling to meet the instant world wide demand is not too surprising, especially for a company of Apple's size and market share. Also consider that the iPod mini was considered by many Mac Fans to be over priced.

Once Apple's suppliers get their production levels up then things will be flowing smoothly again. If Apple gets a huge demand for their X serves I dont imagine they would be caught out with supply issuses unless they have component issuses (such as cooling) themselves.

Dont forget that Apples regular products and hard ware carry higher prices than their iPods, meaning that people give more consideration to spending $2000 US for a PB than they do for a $249 iPod mini.

meat of moose:
If Apple servers take off, then Apple comes out with a refreshed line of G5 desktops and notebooks, those will take off too. Servers have to get the foot in door first into corp./govt. IT departments. Only then...
(No you can't possible love Apple too much--neither can I.)

AL:
If I was SJ, I'd hire you to figure out server sales--you know your stuff, man!!

I also see the Ausmelt deal as being significant to Apple because Ausmelt was a sole PC user with PC work stations and servers prior to considering Xserve, which i understand they did solely on a cost factor. Xserve worked out to be cheaper than HP, Dell, IBM. I undestand that the Xserve cost the company in the region of $19,000 AUS which no other supplier could match. if it hadnt been for the Xserve being the cheapest they would have stayed with a regular PC server supplier.

The fact that Ausmelt has gone with Apple also provides a usefull case study for other companies who are entirely PC workstation/server based to show them that they can happily run Xserve soley as a PC server where prior to OSX this would not have been possible or at least not feasible.

It is not the quantity that matters. It is the mind share. The more companies shows that Mac OS X is an industrial strength OS and that Apple and their hardwares are enterprise-worthy, the more IT people and/or upper management trust that they too can use Apple regardless the original mindset (Apple is for graphic design, Apple is beleguered, Apple==vendor lock-in, etc.) or at least notice and consider how Apple can fit into their organization. Lots of articles showed that some IT people are pleasantly surprised at how well Apple hardwares are built and how well they play in their network. Once Apple wins the mind share, it is not inconceivable that companies will start to put Apple computers on the desktops.

Viridian, what are the parameters for this challenge?

"Mar 29, 04 | 1:30 pm


If only Apple could build desktop computers that had better performance for half the price...

That's an unreasonable demand. Name a computer with even similar performance as any of Apple's machines for half the price, not to mention the bundled software."

Other than, of course, NOT mentioning the bundled software?