Apple vs. Microsoft, By the Numbers 296
CWmike writes "It's a matter of opinion which company makes the better operating system or is likely to grow its smartphone market share. But numbers don't lie — or exaggerate. A little less than a year ago, Wall Street reached a Microsoft vs. Apple milestone: for the first time, Apple's corporate value surpassed Microsoft's. What has happened since? With Apple due to report its latest quarterly earnings on Wednesday — Microsoft reports its numbers next week — we look at some recent numbers, as well as data over time."
Meh (Score:2, Insightful)
Apple stock is way over priced and has been for a while. Microsoft on the other hand is on the decline in almost every way. Not sure I really care about either company.
Re:Meh (Score:0, Insightful)
Do a little research or maybe learn a bit about simple Wall Street evaluation before you spout off nonsense like AAPL being over priced. The price off the stock does not have anything to do with that.
Re:Meh (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Meh (Score:4, Insightful)
Do a little research or maybe learn a bit about simple Wall Street evaluation before you spout off nonsense like AAPL being over priced. The price off the stock does not have anything to do with that.
*blink*
You don't think a company's stock price has anything to do with a company's stock being overpriced?
(I'm not saying I agree with any claims that the stock is overpriced, but your statement is ludicrous.)
People won't be buying Windows Mobile... (Score:5, Insightful)
... because they *like* or *prefer* it.
They will (mostly) be buying it because they don't know any better, or that it is "The OS" that is present on the phone they were sold.
Windows Mobile has been and always will be a trash OS. Glitchy, crashy, unreliable, clunky, odd..... I have multiple years of experience and wished for something akin to iOS or Android the whole time.
---I fear the only way they can predict WM will outrun iOS is because of some form of anti-trust action in business producing exclusivity and limitation of OS choices. This is par for the course for microsoft and its business model; when the consumer doesn't like it, buy up, control, and limit their choices. In the end, they know the consumer pays for MS crap rather than not have technology.
numbers don't lie/exaggerate, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
the interpretation can.
For example: $1k invested in 2000, AAPL vs. MSFT. What about 1985? 1990? 1995? Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. Apple has had success with some of it's more recent Jobs products. But nobody KNEW that would happen before-hand. Apple has gone up and down; has Microsoft done the same? Was MSFT less of a gamble with a smaller potential benefit, whereas Apple was a gamble with large potential benefit? (I don't know, I'm only asking questions that could color the interpretation of these "infallible numbers" ....)
Or, how about this one: revenue vs. profits. MSFT is still beating Apple in profit. So ... which is more important? Total stock price? Profit? Total revenue? ...
Or how about diversity of revenue? If suddenly iPhones and iPads went out of style, where would Apple be? If Windows phones went out of style, where would Windows be?
Interpretation of numbers is a big deal in comparing two companies... and there's a lot more to a company vs. company debate than revenue, profit, stock price/market cap, and phone sales... especially when products come and go as trends, and when one company has already shown that it falls apart without a certain CEO.
AAPL overpriced? Are you on crack? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The Old New Thing (Score:5, Insightful)
He's as out of touch and greedy as he ever was only this time instead of storming out in a blaze of publicity he's signed up to getting an authorised biography done.
Lol, wut? Out of touch? Really? Did you happen to notice the iPod? Apple cornered the marked on portable, digital music players and everyone else had to play catch up. Which none of them ever managed to do.
Have you seen the iPad? Again, Apple has cornered the market and yet again the competitors are racing to catch up with Apple having already launched its 2nd gen iPad.
From the other side he'll be madly laughing to himself as the seeds of his own arrogance caused Apple to miss the boat on getting an affordable OS X out to the masses and someone carries the blame again.
Affordable OS X? Go to any computer store that sells Apple products. The disk for OS X costs about $30. 30 DOLLARS. How farking much does cheapest hobbled version of Windows 7 cost?
Kinect. (Score:4, Insightful)
We're all still so besotted with shiny iThings and Microsoft bashing groupthink that we've kind of ignored this revolutionary human computer interface. Things being done with Kinect by hackers are seriously cool and ultimately this is the technology that is going to be the technology that the forthcoming consumer robot revolution will see the world with.
Microsoft is hardly old news, it just isn't a news media and Wall Street darling like Apple. Microsofts been sinking billions into user interface R&D over the last little while, too much criticism, yet they now have something pretty revolutionary and record breaking to show for it.
As soon as they stick Kinect in a smartphone they'll have a hit on their hands.
""It's a matter of opinion which company makes the better operating system or is likely to grow its smartphone market share. But numbers don't lie â" or exaggerate."
Yeah numbers don't lie - Apple still has a niche desktop install base, and a smaller market share of mobiles than Android, and growth has plateaued in each area. Tablets are where Apple will inevitably dethroned, but I'd bet they hold out longer since their lead in this area is bigger. Historically Apple having any kind of lead has been a temporary thing.
why does anyone take Wall Str numbers seriously ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Wall Str is where one number can come out, and suddenly a company is worth 10, or even 20% less then yesterday
I could go on, but this blind faith in the "market" - which is really a relatively small # of conservative white guys who all live suburbs that are the same across the country - this faith is silly.
Re:Meh (Score:2, Insightful)
The lead people at MS are killing the company. I have no doubt about it.
Have you ever read the e-mails from Bill Gates to his top guys at MS? The e-mails where he describes his intent to use windows movie maker and ended up in an hours-long fiasco of installing all kinds of crap and encountering dysfunction along the entire path? If not it is worth googling.
I had this EXACT same experience, except I wasn't a former owner writing e-mails... I was just a guy laughing at how ridiculous it was.
I attempted to get windows messenger for windows xp. Normally to update messenger, it offers an update. But this was not working at all (lol). So I decided to go to www.microsoft.com and dig up the software. Even though their website detected my OS, it gave me the download to Windows Live Messenger that was *NOT* for XP. I downloaded and attempted to install twice, only to be faced with a 'corrupted file' error.... funny.. because it wasn't corrupted.. it just didn't run on XP.
So after bumbling around a bit and curiously wondering why the regular update didn't work and their site's download didn't work... I stumble upon the fact that there is a separate messenger for XP. When I get to that page, which is on microsofts site, it doesn't render well. The page, viewed in MS internet explorer, was dilapidated and you couldn't actually hit the SELECT LANGUAGE box!
Funnily, I just checked, and its STILL screwed up! http://explore.live.com/windows-live-Messenger-XP [live.com] This was months ago I saw this and it is STILL screwed up! Notice how the "Download Windows Media Player Plugin" text overlaps the "Choose Language" box and you can't actually click the box!
I had to dork around with this page for a good 15 minutes before I somehow got to select a language.... from there I finally got my download and got windows messenger for XP installed.
THE TOTAL PROCESS TOOK ABOUT 55 MINS. And I've been a nerd since 1992 if that gives you any reference to how fast I can usually solve problems.
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I was laughing the whole time, yet outrageously irritated. I was laughing because it is clear to me that the people running microsoft are clearly and without any question trying to kill the company. They are by neglect or deliberate act, ignoring every important thing that matters in software. Bill Gates complained a lot, and in his fervor, you can sense he wanted his software to operate like Apple's does.
Re:Meh (Score:5, Insightful)
Judging purely from the financials, it's almost as if Apple were a hybrid software/hardware company or something.