Why Microsoft Should Fear Apple

Scot Finnie, Computerworld's online editorial director, has a well balanced article called Why Microsoft Should Fear Apple.

He's a longtime Windows user (since 2.11!) and recently switched to Mac. He understands the markershare numbers and knows they aren't going to change much except (possibly) in the long term and he doesn't "hate" Microsoft or "love" Apple. But as he says: "I undertook a simple three-month trial of the Mac last autumn, with no intention of sticking around, and realized four months later that I wasn't going back."

His point is the Mac is very usable and has fewer problems than Windows. He attributes this to having a closed hardware/software platform and that certainly helps. I think it's also attributable to OSX's unix roots. It's also the case that the Mac has plenty of software (which I attribute to clean and powerful system frameworks) and with the switch to Intel, Windows apps can run vitualized. Finally, it's clear that the Mac is pretty far ahead of other OS's and they are basically copying Apple. Given this, his point is that plenty of industry insiders are now buzzing about Mac and more and more exec's are switching.

Finally he talks about Mac's being expensive. It's not that they are more expensive than Windows, they're probably cheaper to operate than comparable systems. The problem is that there are few low-end systems and no low-end business systems. I certainly agree here. The MacBook is interesting, but a 13" screen is small and it's the only option for the MacBook. I have to believe that will change soon.

"The time for joking has passed. Microsoft hasn't exactly failed with Vista. But it's more like a double than a home run. Apple is innovating not just with the software and hardware it creates, but with the value proposition it is building in the marketplace. Apple hasn't ever been particularly good about that before. Sure, it's managed to appeal to people's aesthetic sensibilities, but almost never to people's wallets. While Macs still aren't cheap, you get a lot more bang for the buck than you once did."