Apple is far healthier company at 30 than it was at 20

“Apple Computer is turning 30 but its meteoric rise in the music business makes it look more like it’s 17. Meanwhile, Microsoft turns 31 this year but feels much more middle aged: it’s wealthy, yes, but moving less swiftly, with a tendency to be a couple of years behind when it comes to stuff like the Internet,” Amanda Cantrell writes for CNNMoney.com. “‘Apple has struck a cultural nerve, especially with Generation X and Gen Y, while Windows and PC are viewed in essence as ‘My parents’ computer’,’said Tim Bajarin, president of technology research firm Creative Strategies.”

“The Apple of today is a far cry from the company co-founded by Steve Jobs and fellow college dropout Steve Wozniak on April Fool’s Day in 1976. Their first product was a build-it-yourself computer kit and later the Apple II, a machine widely credited with popularizing the home computer,” Cantrell writes. “Indeed, Apple at 30 is a far healthier company than Apple at 20. Ten years ago, Apple was steadily losing market share with its Macs, which had kept it among the top 3 computer makers during the 1980s. Apple commanded a 16 percent share of the PC market in 1986, making it No. 2 behind IBM, according to Daniel Daoud, an analyst at market researcher IDC, and it still held about 10.7 percent of the market as late as 1990 — five years after Jobs was ousted from his CEO post by the board. The Macintosh brand kept it afloat through the early 1990s even as its market share slid further starting two years after Jobs’ ouster.”

“Though volumes of Macs sold have risen — the company shipped more than a million last quarter — the company’s share of the market for computer makers has slipped to 4 percent in the U.S. and 2.3 percent globally, according to IDC,” Cantrell writes. “As for its flagship Macs, the company is in the midst of refreshing its entire product line to include Intel chips for the first time in its history. But whether that will help Apple gain share remains to be seen. IDC’s Daoud thinks it can. He notes that Apple grew the number of computers it sold by almost 35 percent last year, while computer sales worldwide grew just 16 percent. But for Apple to continue on its successful path, it needs to keep innovating, he added.”

Full article here.

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18 Comments

  1. Winston,

    A quick search would’ve helped:

    Meteoric:

    Flashing; transient and brilliant, like a meteor; as, meteoric fame. [1913 Webster]

    Like a meteor in speed or brilliance or transience; “a meteoric rise to fame”.

  2. TOTALLY OFF TOPIC (Sorry – where else do you post something like this?)

    There is this guy named Nathan Sawaya and he does the most incredible art with……..LEGOS! Very cool stuff. They actually do a time-lapse of him bulding a PC on the last (not latest) episode of dl.tv. His attention to detail is AMAZING and he only uses square bricks – no trickery to get the curved shapes.

    Here is one of his works I think you’ll identify with: ” rel=”nofollow”>An Apple

    And another one: ” rel=”nofollow”>Han Solo in Carbonite

    Check out his site: http://www.nathanbrickartist.com

    Again, no affiliation with him or his site, I just happened to see him building the PC on dl.tv and checked out his site. Interesting stuff…..

  3. mac dude’s being paid to troll mac forums. companies like microsoft pay guys like him to spread FUD amongst would be customers.

    but he’s stupid enough to be too obvious to be effective…

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