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: Don Green who wrote (43152)	2/13/2005 5:16:21 PM
From: rnsmth	Respond to of 213176

Apple store visit and reply to Don Did you ever consider that relatively small & bold group might just make the move from Windows to Linux and then be able to retain their hardware? I feel pretty confident that both such groups exist. Apple Store Visit just returned from the Apple store At Washington Square Mall in Tigard, OR. It was my second visit since the shot heard round the world - err......MacWorld announcements. The store was very busy. Lots of traffic. Long line at the register area. No Minis in stock. No Shuffles in stock. In the 20 minutes or so I spent there, 2 iMac G5's were sold and a lot of software and accessories went out the door. One person went on a waiting list for a new Powerbook and two others within earshot were referred to the on-line store for a Mini purchase. In one case a mother asked her daughter if she minded waiting for 2-4 weeks, and the daughter replied that she did not mind waiting, as long as she could get the education discount. Altogether I have been to the store somewhere between 6 and 10 times since it opened. The two times since MW have been by far the busiest - not by just a little bit but by a factor of at least 2 or 3 - with the exception of the grand opening. I am aware of the dangers of generalizing from anecdotal data, but has anyone read/seen/heard of anecdotal data that would suggest anything other than brisk sales, increased traffic and generally positive stuff? Ron

To: Don Green who wrote (43152)	2/13/2005 6:05:33 PM
From: Dave Budde	Respond to of 213176

Did you ever consider that relatively small & bold group might just make the move from Windows to Linux and then be able to retain their hardware? That would be the lunatic fringe?

To: Don Green who wrote (43152)	2/13/2005 7:22:30 PM
From: Doren	Respond to of 213176

Don, "Normal" people do not use Linux. : v ) Ha ha. Just joking... kind of... Few people other than systems people would consider Linux for their home box. For most people the switch from Windows to Apple is not a biggie. The largest expense switching to a Mac is repurchasing the Office suite. Otherwise what's the biggie? USB printers etc will probably work on a Mac without even downloading drivers. Macs ARE plug and play. PCs are only kind of plug and play and Linux boxes are definately NOT plug and play. On a Mac, zip and other removable drives are right on the desktop. I remember using Gnome I think or K?? and having to ask in a user group where the zip drive would be. Illogically it was deep inside a couple of arcanely named folders. And the install was easy up until one big giant nightmare. I ended up with a usable partition of 3Gb and a "scratch?" disk of 40Gb because there was NO explanation of what I needed to do. Additionally there is NO Office for windows. Yes I know Open Office and Star Office are available but NOT the same whereas there is a Genuine Office for the Mac. NO Photoshop on Linux. NO Illustrator or Flash or Dreamweaver or... Hardware is no biggie anymore. It's almost disposable. It will become less and less important as time goes buy. That's why a Mac Mini doesn't need to be a G5. The G4 in it will run virtually anything a nonprofessional needs to run. Nope not too many ordinary people are going to use Linux, at least in the USA. But really Linux and Macs ARE THE SAME NOW except Linux is the el cheapo model. Macs and Linux boxes are allies and synchronistic. Every Windows to Linux defector is a win for Mac Unix. Every PC to Mac Unix defector is a win for Linux. That's the beauty and the key INHO.

To: Don Green who wrote (43152)	2/14/2005 12:31:35 AM
From: Cogito	Respond to of 213176

>>Did you ever consider that relatively small & bold group might just make the move from Windows to Linux and then be able to retain their hardware?<< Don - The idea that it's extremely difficult and expensive to switch from Windows to Mac assumes that a person has spent a lot of money on software. There are a lot of users who buy a computer, and just use whatever software is installed by the manufacturer. That was the case with my client last week. She uses her computer to get on E-bay, to visit other web sites and to send and receive e-mail. Her very young daughter also uses the computer. What she does is to go to a specific Disney web site and play games there. So between the two users of that computer, there are two applications that matter; a web browser and an e-mail client. When I suggested scrapping her old, trojan-and-spyware-infested PC and getting a Mac Mini instead, she didn't hesitate for five seconds. This woman is not the only one of her kind. There must be millions of them. People like her will be more than happy to switch if it means not having to put up with balky, slow, unstable computers that don't do what they want them to do anymore. Linux would be completely out of the question for such users. - Allen