“Do Vista’s problems represent a narrow opening of opportunity for Apple to pounce? Hardly. Apple has been working to advance Mac sales from multiple angles for years, and Microsoft has been regularly offering tepid products that present similar windows of opportunity,” Daniel Eran writes for RoughlyDrafted,
“Last years’ release of Tiger for Intel, a nearly invisible accomplishment, helped to double Mac sales over the numbers sold just two years ago. Apple continues to outmatch the growth of PC makers by a large margin, and the growth of Mac sales is now even outpacing iPod growth year over year,” Eran writes.
“While many Mac users are holding their breath for Leopard, there are not shocking limitations in Tiger that the competition is putting to shame and which demand desperate solutions,” Eran writes.
“Additionally, Vista isn’t just a simple rival to Mac OS X, but rather competes against the Mac product as a whole. Apple’s current Macs running Tiger not only offer a strong alternative to Vista PCs, but can even run Windows for the users who have a need for that,” Eran writes.
Eran writes, “Microsoft simply doesn’t compete directly against the Mac. Instead, it is left sitting on the sidelines cheering on Dell and HP, both of which have been outpaced in growth by Apple.”
“The idea that Apple needs to rush to release Leopard in order to have something to position against Vista is simply a fallacy. It would be a mistake for Apple to push out Leopard early and gain the reputation of putting unfinished products in the hands of customers,” Eran writes.
Eran writes, “While I’d like to have Leopard running on my Mac, I’d rather have a frustration free experience with Tiger now and look forward to a solid release of Leopard later in the year…”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “RadDoc” and “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Thankfully RDM is back. Got a bit worried without a dose of RDM for over a week!
He’s right on the button, even if Microsoft and a large part of the media loathe and fear him.
I don’t think we will ever see an Apple frifgtened of of anything coming out of Redmond again.
Spot on! October will be here before you know it!
Vistapocalypse — LOL!
You guys got that one right!
…and Digg will bury it. What’s up with that?
Has anyone started an office pool predicting Ballmer’s departure? If so, put me down for February 2009.
I look forward to October as well, but honestly, June is much more of a concern to me!
This sounds like the excuses of an apologist! What he says may well be true, but the whole tenor of the piece sounds like an excuse for Apple’s failure to meet it’s own deadline. “While I’d like to have Leopard running on my Mac, I’d rather have a frustration free experience with Tiger now and look forward to a solid release of Leopard later in the year…” is all well and good, but we have three products stacked up behind the iPhone’s problems.
One of the reasons the Mac is doing better than the MS share of the market is because Apple’s dedication to doing things right rather than accepting good enough. This article claims Tiger is good enough – a horrid precedent to set. Yes … Tiger IS good enough, good enough to trump Vista. Had MS not blown it, would it have been good enough to trump the Vista that was being touted four years ago? Maybe not. Leopard was supposed to be the cat that did that. Now it’s been delayed for four months so the iPhone – announced to the world as a working product more than three months ago – can get a boost in its final two months pre-sales? Ten-point-five, iLife and iWork are delayed for four months for this?
It sounds to me like someone dropped the ball in a big way and Daniel Eran is telling us “it’s OK, because …” Except that it isn’t. OK, it isn’t the disaster it might have been. Still, it might well have been that disaster. We got lucky. MS did its usual “good enough” thing. And it wasn’t. When is the next “Vista” due? Sooner, rather than later? And better, rather than just “good enough“? Maybe as good as Longhorn was claimed it would be? We need Leopard and “puddy-tat” before then.
Just my opinion … nobody asked.
DLMeyer – the Voice of G.L.Horton’s Stage Page Pod Cast
In marketing, we recognize Points of Parity and Points of Differentiation. Allowing Tiger some time to stand up on its own against Vista establishes points of parity (and many points of differentiation in the form of Tiger’s advantages). Every new feature added in Leopard represents points of differentiation against Vista. I know Apple probably didn’t plan it that way, but the Leopard delay is actually a positive development, strategically.
“Vista, all on its own, is weak.”
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I think Vista is as good as Mac OS
Of course, I mean Mac OS 7.5
And even that’s debatable …
the delay of Leopard shows what a non issue Vista is.
I think it’s a great slap to the face of Gates by Jobs.
“We are not scared of Vista.”
I agree with the author of the article. If it was an issue Apple would push Leopard out the door on schedule.
@DLMeyer: You need to read the final line of his article to understand more of the why. Find out more next week…
Another story about Leopard’s delay? Hasn’t this dead horse been beaten enough already?
Using this logic then Apple no longer needs to bring out any new OS.
I think Apple shouldn´t lower its standard of performance, or just get lucky just because MS blew it again.
By standards of performance I mean at least the following:
a) Announce products when they are available
b) No delays on products
This seems to be changing, yes I know Apple does better than MS, but to compare to MS is to use a lower standard of performance.
just my 2 cents…
I agree with the article. Then again, running a PPC machine, I wasn’t in a great big hurry to run out and buy 10.5 anyway.
If Apple rushed through its arse to strip features off of an OS and ship a buggy product just to meet an arbitrary deadline, they’d be….Microsoft.
I prefer to think of Apple as that Gallo commercial with Orson Welles: “We will ship no wine before it’s time.”
Great article. Those guys at Roughly Drafted are some of the best editorialists on the entire web. Very well done articles on their entire site.
Scott Rose
Certified FileMaker Pro Consultant, Los Angeles
http://www.scottworld.com
@Dl
or maybe it’s because Vista is so weak Apple thought it was OK to delay it a little further to help promote the iPhone.
On the off chance Vista was a stronger product they may well have released Leopard
Good article.
While I concur that Leopard should not be rushed, it should also not be late – again. I hope that Apple has given itself the real time that it needed to get it down right because another delay will be perceptual challenge for Apple, more from a new or considering-switcher pov, but a challenge none the less.
Not the point. Apple missed its own deadline.
Just my $0.02
Only a website like MDN would quote Roughly Drafted as a credible source. RD is a fanboy’s site just like this is. So yeah, it makes sense for MDN to quote it, but doesn’t make it any more credible.
What a magnificient website, I am gonna download the whole website for future reference.
I really hope Apple announces a coupon for highly discounted (or free) Leopard with the purchase of any Mac after ADC in June. If they do this, I won’t mind the delay as much. If not, there are likely going to be a lot of people waiting to buy, which would be bad during the back to school market.
Eran writes, “While I’d like to have Leopard running on my Mac, I’d rather have a frustration free experience with Tiger now and look forward to a solid release of Leopard later in the year…”
Amen to that brother.
Software development ( I’m guessing ) is a dynamic process with hundreds of branches ( features ) racing towards a self-imposed and arbitrary deadline and anyone who looks on a missed deadline as any kind of failure, is delusional. Whose to say Apple is not reintroducing features stripped out of the original product or is perhaps refining the parity between the OS and all other Apple products?
While I’d like to think that Apple’s only real competition is past accomplishments, all of their work will stand or fall on its own merit, however, the marketing forces at play here, are very compelling indeed.
Imagine how much mileage Microsoft and Apple’s detractors could get from pointing out Leopard’s shortcomings? Why give them the chance?
Refinement is the name of the game and instead of releasing
a point-1 update closely on the heels of 10.5’s debut, why not continue to polish the product?