“Struggling computer and consumer electronics maker Gateway Inc. announced yesterday that it is acquiring rival computer maker eMachines Inc. for $30 million and 50 million shares of stock in a deal that could make Gateway the No. 3 computer maker in the United States. As part of the deal, eMachines chief executive Wayne R. Inouye will replace Gateway founder Ted Waitt as Gateway’s chief executive,” Mike Musgrove reports for The Washington Post.
“eMachines was founded as a seller of bargain-priced computers in 1998, offering desktops priced around $400. Sales for the tiny company have climbed steadily, and they passed Gateway’s sales during the recent holiday season. During the past quarter, eMachines shipped 498,000 computers and Gateway delivered 497,000, according to IDC,” Musgrove reports. [MDN Note: Apple Computer, Inc. sold 829,000 Macintosh units last quarter.]
Full article here.
Okay so how do you think the contract was drawn up over this one?
I, Wayne R. Inouye, the CEO of eMachines want you Ted Waitt, CEO and founder of Gateway to buy us with your money and stock so I can run both companies and kick you out on your a$$.
Makes as much sense as Windows?
CDL, I seem to recall another computer maker doing something like that in 1997. Isn’t it just like a PC company to copy everything Apple does
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
It seems that Steve has learned something from his Next and Pixar experiences. He seems to have more savvy and more patience…he understands that you have to listen to the consumer and build (mostly) what they want, you can’t force them to buy what you think is best. He has more patience than I do, I must admit, because I am frustrated at the relatively stagnant Mac marketshare. I am not naively looking for a return to the 25+% days, but I would like a percent a year over the next three to five years. That modest amount would be sufficient growth to convince more developers (hardware and software) that the Mac is a long-term business. We may have great core hardware and software, but there are still holes here and there that make life a little frustrating. Graphics cards are a good example – we still don’t have access to the best ones with 256MB RAM and we still pay a premium for the products that are available.
As far as the Gateway/eMachines combination is concerned, my belief is that it will be even less successful than HP/Compaq (and that’s not saying much IMO).
Joe, is this the same Acer that made those dark green desktops a few years ago? My office and my wife’s office each had one. Hey Jimbo, cardboard is a bad idea, the smoke that each of us experienced would have turned the cardboard into flame! If this is the same Acer, I hope for the sake of the users that they don’t go the way of those desktops, fire departments and ER’s won’t appreciate them nearly as much as you do, Joe.
I dunno about desktops treadlightly, I have only seen the laptops first hand.
Seahawk, I do think it is somewhat frustrating thing for Steve, for the some of the reasons that King Mel mentions. Of course Apple is profitable and ground breaking, but it still only appeals to those who have used one already. Mel’s wish for a percent a year seems reasonable, and he is right in that any increase would encourage developers, and further increase apple’s appeal.
Most wintel users might be knuckle dragging mouth breathers, as RV claims, but certainly at one end of the wintel purchaser’s bell curve there are intelligent users who analysize the options and, while tempted by apple, buy a wintel because of software or price. I really do think that Steve would like that market, and is frustrated that he has had so little success in selling in it.
[url=http://www.aim.com]http://www.aim.com[/url]
[url=http://www.aim.com]http://www.aim.com[/url]