Apple CFO Gives Info on Company Direction 418
osViews.com writes "Mac World is reporting a recent talk given by Apple's Chief Financial Officer (Peter Oppenheimer) at the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium. The article illustrates several things about about Apple's business plan, much of which is totally new information about the company's current and future direction. Here's the nutshell summary: iPod "Halo" effect is causing some Windows switchers, little demand for satellite radio/iPod integration, iPod shuffle margins below HD ipods, happy with rate of growth - no plans to license OS X, margins on Mac mini equal to eMac (both below corporate average), retail store to expand to 125, no plans for media center PC - prefers to stream multimedia to TV from primary computer over wireless network, no video for iPod, portable media centers a failure."
So, Mac's dying? (Score:0, Insightful)
That stubborn and insanely stubborn backward mentality is what's finally going to sink Apple. Apple needs to expand to the PC world and the PC world needs OS X.
Considering Linux and all, OS X is the only real desktop alternative.
great submission! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Sounds like Apple is planning Airport Express 2 (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Sounds like Apple is planning Airport Express 2 (Score:5, Insightful)
If too many Apple fans already have a G3 or G4 tower laying around that has been obseleted by a more powerful Apple then they probably would hook that computer up instead of this one. Even an iMac could be integrated into an AV cabinet using a "TV View" or other VGA to NTSC device, or people could upgrade to something nicer like a TV with RGB inputs or digital. If too many people have other fairly easy options then Apple won't sell enough of these "Express 2" devices to pay off the development costs, let alone get into profit.
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:5, Insightful)
And the only thing that's stopping some people from buying Macs isn't the price point or the applications, it's the games.
Feel free to spout off the list of everything with Mac support, and realize that Painkiller, System Shock, GTA, Half-Life, Half-Life 2 (and by extent Steam, CCS, etc) and a shitload of other games aren't available. And several Mac ports have been gutted on the way over- it's an old example, but Baldur's Gate for the Mac is missing multiplayer and any character customization capability.
There's a large chunk of the vocal PC userbase who use the thing as glorified nintendo- it's really (imo) the ONLY area where the PC has any kind of advantage over the Mac.
and one for you (Score:5, Insightful)
This is where the Tivo rumors could come in (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't buy that Apple will buy Tivo, but I can see them creating a Tivo-like device with these abilities:
DVR with free remote control service (why free? wait a second)
Ties right into the iTunes Movie store.
Right, Movie store. Imagine Jobs going to the MPAA and saying "Hey, remember all the problems the RIAA had with downloading? Lawsuits didn't help enough - but now we have legal music, and people are buying music online, and look how many songs I've sold.
"Join with me, and we can end this pointless conflict, and bring order to - *cough*, I mean, we can sell movies."
The PC/Mac will still be the hub - use iTunes to buy music, or buy a movie. You can put either on a new iPod, but for the movies, the iView (just a name I threw in) will be the best way.
Want to watch a movie? Forget Netflix - just use the iTunes store. How about a documentary (independent movie makers who have limited releases would love this - what if you could pick up a documentary for $10, and around 50,000 people all wanted to - now that little indie project just broke even).
Miss a TV show? Why DVR it (though you have that power) when you can go to your computer, type "Battlestar" or "Babylon" to get the entire current archives (including commercial), and for $3 (or $20 for the entire season), you can watch your movies *now* (or, with broadband and figuring about 300 MB per 30 minutes, about 30 minutes or so).
The biggest thing of this is what it turns Apple into. With the iPod and the iTunes Music store, apple is moving away from hardware systems, and going towards hardware accessories and services. Eventually, I can see a Linux client - but in the end, Apple won't care what you run as long as you buy an iPod and use their iTunes store for movies and music - they still make money (though they'll still tell you a Mac will work better, and as the services do well they'll sell more Macs along the way).
Anyway, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
No, Apple will not die, here is why... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Mac Mini good for college kids? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Mac Mini good for college kids? (Score:5, Insightful)
I am a college student, and I bought my "good for college students" Mac more than a year before anyone had even heard of the Mini! Saying "the Mini is a good value" is good, but saying it's the only Apple with good value is just FUD.
Re:great submission! (Score:1, Insightful)
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Re:Sounds like Apple is planning Airport Express 2 (Score:5, Insightful)
Even for those people that are OK with the idea, most desktop computers have too much fan noise to be used for the purpose.
You go with your idea. It's just the thing that geeks do. I might consider doing it myself. But recognise that you and I are in the tiny minority.
Re:Mac Mini good for college kids? (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny how the Apple exec didn't say that. I'm guessing the main markets for the Mini are (in this order):
1) People who would otherwise buy eMacs (schools, etc)
2) People with older G3 Macs that are looking for a cheap upgrade
3) People with newer Macs that want a second machine
4) Switchers or PC users who are Mac Curious.
5) New computer users
This is based on the historical trend that most Mac sales tend to go to existing Mac users. Even for the most successful machines like the G3 iMac, only a small % of sales went to switchers.
All in all, the Mini is great for Apple because it allows them to the 'trailing edge' of their installed base up to OS X-level specs before they are tempted by Dell's prices. But whether it is compelling to PC users is still an open question.
Re:So, Mac's dying? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:switchers (Score:4, Insightful)
they wanted the family geek's advice on what kind of computer to get to replace it.
Yes, I think that's how most people decide to buy computers - word of mouth from trusted friends & family.
Lucky for her (and Apple), you're obviously a Mac enthusiast, but 97% of the market is not, and will continue to advise people to get what THEY know.
(Most of my computer using relatives know nothing about Macs, just that they can't stand them because they only have one mouse button, don't have any software, no one uses them at work, and are too expensive, blah, blah, blah. Guess what most of my extended family uses? Windows...)
I guess that's why us Apple fan(atic)s get so annoyingly evangelical: we have to get our 2% voices heard about the 97% louder voices.
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:5, Insightful)
At this point, every geek I know (hardly a scientific sample, I know) who used to build their own unix/ linux boxes has now bought a powerbook. Eventually they just got tired of fooling with something that was going to be their primary machine (plus BSD tends to be a pain on laptops).
I know... I'm getting flamed for this one.
Re:Sounds like Apple is planning Airport Express 2 (Score:5, Insightful)
Or $15 a month!
That's the back end solution I'm sure Apple will find.
Re:Sounds like Apple is planning Airport Express 2 (Score:1, Insightful)
Ya, just add a video chip to Airport Express... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:no video for ipod ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Putting video on an iPod would require much bigger iPods than we have now. And Apple thinks there isn't a market for it. And lack of interest in PMCs means they are probably right.
Re:So, Mac's dying? (Score:2, Insightful)
Apple could integrate WINE into Mac OS X, to let it run like the bluebox (Mac OS Classic) does on Mac OS X/ppc. That way, you could use all of your Windows apps right there in Mac OS X!
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:5, Insightful)
Where can you get a $499 PC with:
CD-RW
DVD-ROM
Firewire
non integrated, non shared 32mb video (ATI or NVIDIA)
And with software, to boot:
Movie making
DVD making
Music making
Photo album
Yes, all that software exists. Yes all that hardware exists. None, to my knowledge, come in kit that's $499. For $349 you can get a PC without CD-RW and with shared video ram and integrated video. For $649 you can get the video+CD-RW and DVD.
Likewise software; for $699 or more, you get the movie making software, but for bundles of $499? You get Quicken or Windows XP Home and Norton Antivirus.
Re:I just don't get this (Score:0, Insightful)
err, no, he's talking about the halo 'effect' caused by iPod - ie someone buys an iPod, loves the design, decides to switch to a mac ("iPod "Halo" effect is causing some Windows switchers")
Halo's a word that's been around for a long time before Bungie decided to make the game. I suggest you read the posts properly before you make such silly comments. You may want to checkout a dictionary as well.
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Mac Mini good for college kids? (Score:3, Insightful)
Fully one out of every two Mac sales during Q42004 was made to a customer who self-identified as a Windows user
That was Apple Stores retail only. I don't think they've stated a total breakdown, but Apple Stores seems to be about 20% of revenues, so 10% switchers might be a fair guess.
http://www.appleinsider.com/print.php?id=690
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:3, Insightful)
Most people do not play computer games. Okay? I don't care how big the industry is in dollars. As a fraction of the potential customer base, people who play computer games just don't count. There aren't enough of them.
Apple's key demographic is young, professional parents. These folks just don't play computer games. Every penny Apple might spend trying to woo computer game makers to port to their platform would essentially be wasted, because the people who are going to buy Macs are not interested in computer games. They're interested in taking their home movies of their toddlers and putting them on DVDs to mail to the grandparents. That's the key Apple home user demographic, right there.
Until you understand this, nothing Apple does will ever make sense to you. Your "wise the fuck up" remark is just a symptom of your overarching myopia.
Re:Indeed (Score:3, Insightful)
You consider the 20" iMac, which costs $1,899, a budget computer?!? And then you turn around and wonder why people claim Apple computers are more expensive?
Here is some news for you, most people in the PC world would consider a budget computer something that is $500-$600 or less. And that is with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and maybe even a printer.
Why Apple Doesn't Do Radio and Media Players (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:2, Insightful)
eMacs and education (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple even offers a whole package with a rolling cart full of iBooks and power strips to recharge their batteries as they sit in the cart, etc. It's sort of a "mobile computer lab".
The iBooks are fairly inexpensive, and can be doled out as-needed to students to use right at their desks - instead of requiring an actual dedicated computer lab.
I also question the accuracy of Apple's marketing research if they really believe fewer than 1% of non-business Mac owners own more than 1 Macintosh! I've been to the local Mac users' groups and practically everyone who shows up there owns several Macs. When I go to the local Mac stores and talk with people, I get the same feedback from their sales staff. "Yep - I think just about everybody that comes in here has a spare, older Mac around the house someplace!"
In fact, until the fairly recent "switcher" phenomenon, most individual Mac users were pretty fanatical about the machines, and kept buying new models every so often, while hanging onto their previous models. That's one big reason you see better resale value on older Macs than older PCs. The older Macs tend to still see regular use up until the time they're finally resold, so their owners believe they should fetch a higher price. (If your old Windows PC just sat in the closet collecting dust for 2 years and you finally went to sell it, you're probably just letting it go for peanuts because you want the space back and just want to see it go "to a good home".)
Lastly - asking customers if "they're interested in purchasing additional computers" is pointless, no matter which company you are. If Dell or HP or anyone asked this in a survey, they'd get a resounding "No!" from the public. Typically, they ask this in some type of survey taken right after you make a purchase, so it's the time you're LEAST likely to be in the market for another computer. But also, you typically don't think you have any use for ANOTHER computer at home until you discover a need/use for it all of a sudden. Then and only then would you answer "Yes" to this type of question. (EG. Kid suddenly starts becoming a heavy computer user due to school assignments, so you decide it's time to buy a new one and just turn the old one over to him/her completely.)
Re:No media center PC? (Score:1, Insightful)
Remember what Jobs said about flash memory iPod? No way. No how. We are not interested in flash memory iPod. Fast forward to today. iPod Shuffle uses flash memory to compete against other low end digital players.
Remember what Apple said about headless iMac? No way. No how. We provide complete solution in our consumer Macs. Fast forward to today. iMac mini. BYOKDM.
Apple says they are not interested in many things, until the time they work out the design and the infrastructure to the point they are confident they get it right.
Re:Mac Mini good for college kids? (Score:3, Insightful)
Who's "we"? Where did you get this data?
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:4, Insightful)
Let's be conservative and call it a 100 Million.
That means 92 percent DO NOT play one of the most populare games out today.
A clear majority, even if you let the "other party" count the votes.
Re:Proudly dying for 20 years (Score:2, Insightful)
The specs are decent for the price and it's intended audience. I don't think anyone buys a Mac mini expecting to be able to play Doom 3 on it.
Re:So, Mac's dying? (Score:2, Insightful)