Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Apple Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Adam Nash who wrote (25560)	7/19/1999 9:14:00 PM
From: JP Sullivan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 213186

You are much better informed about WebObjects (WO) than I am. Thanks for enlightening me. Which products (or combination of products) compete with WO? I'm still not clear about the things one can do with WO: create a Web site? Build the front end that users interact with? Manage the back end (ie substitute for traditional database programs, such as SQL Server or Oracle)? All of the above? IMO, the crux of the matter is that a product's success these days depends on its accessibility -- price, ease of use, and availability. Even the great (pricey) Oracle and SAP are starting to aim at smaller businesses (still expensive, but from where they're coming, it's a big mark down). Supercomputers play to an extremely small niche market and the companies that make them (are there any left?) are not in the best of health. As an Apple fan, I hope WO doesn't go the way of the supercomputer. Everything boils down to perception. Classic Mac vs Windows problem. WO can be the best of the best, but if it's seen as expensive, it's not going to be very visible in the market. Apple should take a lesson from MS here: Make it affordable enough to get the foot through the door. Let people try it out. Those who want more (because the product is so insanely great) can add on, one bell or whistle at a time; those who don't think the product is for them won't feel too bad about throwing away $299, especially if it's a company. At least they'll have tried it and know about it. However, if it's going to cost $5K just to take a test drive, the majority of folks are going to look somewhere else. Ironically, they'll end up spending $5K anyway, but they'll have done it one piece at time, assembling all the components they need. But unfortunately for Apple, they won't have spent the money on WO. Winston