History repeats itself 101.
Back in the 1990s, computers powered by Intel’s Pentium processor and Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system were taking over the world. Sales of Macs were tumbling, and in response, Apple allowed a selected number of WinTel computer makers to install its System 7 on their hardware. Although it increased Apple’s market share and gave the company higher visibility, it also cannibalised its own sales. When Steve Jobs returned in 1997, he quickly ordered an end to this initiative.
Flash forward to 2008, when Apple sells 2.3 million Macs in Q1, a whopping 51% increase over the last quarter, and a growth rate 3 times faster than the rest of the industry.
Two main reasons for this.
One, the iPod. The halo effect of the iPod cannot be measured. At a time when IPod sales have started to flatten – the shifting of 10.3 million iPods in Q1 representing only a 1% increase over Q1 2006 – Apple’s magic touch has extended to its other products. Sales of Macs and iPhones are up. It has enabled it to launch a new product (category) – the iPod Touch, and it has helped to cement Apple’s position as the top online music retailer in America.
Two, Vista. Although it’s too early to say it spells curtains for Windows, Vista has proven bane and boon to Microsoft. In some ways Microsoft has stumbled with the product, and long-time users have chosen to remain with XP or to move to an alternative system.. Such as Apple’s Mac OS.
So this time round it’s the success of Apple’s Macs which has led to the resurgence of Mac clones.
The first salvo has come from American computer manufacturer Psystar, which has begun selling a new computer that runs the Mac OS X Leopard.
The company calls it an “open computer” and the basic US$399 configuration provides a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor; 2GB of DDR2 667 memory, an integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics processor, a 250GB hard drive, and 4 USB Ports. Operating systems available include Ubuntu, XP Pro, Vista, and OS X 10.5.
(An OpenPro version which features the Core Quad processor starts from US$999.)
This is US$200 cheaper than Apple’s entry level Mac mini desktop, which comes with a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB memory; and an 80GB hard drive.
It remains to be seen if this represents the tip of the Mac clone iceberg.
US online advertising revenues reached nearly $10 billion in the first half of 2007, up 27 % over the first half of last year.
Figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) – an independent body which recommends standards and practices – and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), show that the second quarter of 2007 witnessed a record-breaking US$5.1 billion of advertising sold.
Search ads dominated, garnering 41 % of the market, followed by display-related ads such as ad banners and rich media with 32 %. Classified ads held the third spot with 17 %.
Significantly, the most popular pricing model is now based on performance deals, with 50 % market share, followed by the traditional cost per thousand impressions (CPM) model with 45 %. Last year, CPM led performance-based deals by 1 percentage point – it held 48 % of the market, compared to performance’s 47 %
At 54 %, consumer-related advertisers spent the most on web advertising, followed by the financial industry at 15 % and technology companies at 11 %.
The full copy of the report can be found at www.iab.net/pwc_half_year_2007.
Advertising Formats (Revenue figures in brackets in US$ millions)
|
|
FH 2006 |
FH 2007 |
|
Search |
40% ($3,164) |
41% ($4,097) |
|
Classifieds |
20% ($1,582) |
17% ($1,699) |
|
Referrals/Lead Generation |
7% ($592) |
8% ($799) |
|
|
2% ($158) |
2% ($200) |
|
Display Related: |
31% ($2,413) |
32% ($3,198) |
|
– Rich Media (Includes Video) |
6% ($475) |
8% ($799) |
|
– Ad Banners / Display Ads |
21% ($1,622) |
21% ($2,099) |
|
– Sponsorships |
4% ($316) |
3% ($300) |
|
– Slotting Fees |
<1% (<1$) |
<1% (<$1) |
Pricing Models (Revenue figures in brackets in US$ millions)
|
|
FH 2006 |
FH 2007 |
|
CPM |
48% ($3,797) |
45% ($4,497) |
|
Performance Deals |
47% ($3,717) |
50% ($4,997) |
|
Hybrid |
5% ($395) |
5% ($499) |
A new study by Net Applications, a provider of web tools, shows that 6.6 % of all web surfers worldwide used Macs in September. The study which was released on 1st October shows a surge of 4.7 % over September last year, and compares well with August’s 6.15 %. Apple’s trendsetting iPod has paved the way for the success of its iPhone and the spillover is now evident in the sale of its Mac computers. Net applications explained the base for the figures was Internet users, and the results were analysed from web traffic on half a million sites. Not surprisingly 91 % of net users ran on Windows computers – with 79 % on XP, 7.4 % on Vista and the rest on other Windows flavours. As expected Microsoft’s Internet Explorer ruled web browsers, with 77.9 % dominance while Mozilla’s Firefox placed second at 14.9 %. Tellingly, half of the Apple converts were running on the newer Intel-based Mac machines, and the Cupertino-headquartered company’s Safari browser logged 5.1 % market share, up from 3.5 % a year ago. This confirms what market watchers have been saying for the last few months. One executive from a software application developer, who had transitioned from Windows to Mac, told me that one out of every two Macs were being bought by a Windows user. Another sign of Apple’s resurgence is the appearance of unbricked iPhones – ie hacked for use with any telco operator – in Sim Lim Square and People’s Park. Current selling price - $950! Apple will launch its Leopard operating system later this month, and is expected to follow up with new notebooks
Remember Excel and Word macros?
Now you can create scripts that take the tedium out of your normal web tasks, like checking e-mail, the weather, currency rates, etc.
IBM released a new scripting tool CoScripter at the end of last week that records web processes step by step into a script. The script can then be replayed at any time to repeat those steps. Users will now be able to perform the tasks they do regularly with a single click.
It was developed at IBM's Almaden Research Centre, and is supposed to be easy to use.
CoScripter is available for download on alphaWorks - at http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/coscripter/browse/about - an IBM online community for early adopters.
The scripts are integrated with a wiki, so they can be shared with other users. A check today shows there are 695 scripts available for sharing.
Currently there is only one version of CoScripter available and it's for the Firefox browser.
When can we expect the Internet Explorer version, IBM?
When BK asked me which new inkjet printer to go for, I named the usual HP, Canon, Lexmark and Brother printers. Each has outstanding models, and some of them have gone wireless and can support camera CF and SD cards. Plus many of them are now multi-function, meaning they print, scan, copy and even fax. But the niggling thought at the back of my mind was how they all adopt the razor blade gambit – giving away the razor at a low price to make money back on the blades. I hear that Eastman Kodak has chosen a different strategy as it enters this crowded market with its EasyShare multi-function printers. It is selling its ink cartridges at almost half of what the others are charging. If Kodak succeeds, it will shake up a market where vendors may well be selling printers at cost, and making profits on ink supplies. It remains to be seen if consumers are willing to pay for Kodak’s higher-priced printers and if they can take the long-term view that ultimately supplies will cost more than the printer itself. Here in Singapore, it remains to be seen how well Kodak printers will be received - there has been little in the way of publicity for its EasyShare printer range.
IBM announced a new desktop office suite called IBM Lotus Symphony today.
The software will be offered free of charge, and can be downloaded from its website.
IBM had a failed office productivity suite in the 1990s called SmartSuite which competed with Microsoft's Office.
This time round, its offerings are its own versions of the open-source software developed in the OpenOffice.org consortium.Sun bought the software from its original German owners Star Division, and has developed it into StarOffice, which is now available from both Sun and Google.
IBM's engineers worked on the OpenOffice.org's version and the Symphony products will be able to access Microsoft Office files.
In releasing open-source OpenOffice, IBM is joining forces with Google and Sun, as they now support the same document format, the OpenDocument Format.
It is a strategic move which parallels its championing of Linux, the open-source operating system.
A brave move, but an uphill task, as Office is extremely entrenched, boasting some 500 million users worldwide.
Much will depend on how OpenOffice can provide the same functionality as Office, and how well it reads Office document formats.
The New York Times will end its paid TimesSelect web service today.
It will make most of its website content free, and rely on advertising to support the service.
TimesSelect has 227,000 subscribers who currently pay US$7.95 a month for content marked with 'T', typically analysis or review pieces.
The service pulled in US$10 million in revenue in 2006.
The move is seen as an acknowledgement that making subscribers pay will not support the service nor bring in as much revenue.
This leaves The Wall Street Journal as the only subscribtion-based service.
But the long term problem remains for NYT and other newspaper publishers of how to provide content online, instead of just moving stories from their print editions.
Back from a month-long break and it looks like Apple's been really busy.
It's put out new very new stylisth plastic and aluminium Mac computers which they are marketing cleverly by downplaying the Mac factor, so as to pull in Windows troopers.
It's also refreshed its entire iPod line, with the new 1GB iPod Shuffle, 4GB and 8GB iPod Nanos (with video) and the video iPod is now the iPod Classic and comes in 80GB and 160GB flavours.
The new product, iPod Touch, looks like the iPhone but performs like the Nokia N800 Internet tablet device. It is essentially an Internet browser with iPod MP3 playing capability. Unlike the Nokia, it does not handle Skype phone calls. It is expected in Singapore on Sep 28th and will retail for $498 (8GB) and $698 (16GB).
Finally, just yesterday, Apple announced the launch of the iPhone in the UK on November 9, through O2, now owned by Spanish Telefonica. Similar deals are expected in Germany with the T-Mobile subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and in France, with the France Telecom's Orange.
The iPhone which is now retailing at US$399 in the US, down $200 from its launch price of US$599, will cost 269 pounds in the UK, somewhat pricey as most high-end phones are subsidised by telcos. Contract price plans will be 35, 45, and 55 pounds per month.
Technically, the phone is similar to the one in the US, and will sport EDGE capability, but 3G support will not be available until next year. Unlimited data is provided, although this will be limited for practical reasons to 1,400 web pages a day.
In a survey done by the UK-based silicon.com of 700 of its readers, one in three said they would switch to the new iPhone.
Apple's original plan was to launch the iPhone in Europe next year, similar to its rollout schedule for Asia.
It now remains to be seen when it will debut in Asia.
Those of us who've been waiting to try out StarOffice, Sun Microsystems' answer to Microsoft Office, can now download it for free from Google.
It is offered as part of Google Pack, which includes Google Earth, RealPlayer, Norton Security Scan, Adobe Reader and Skype amongst others.
Sun will continue to sell StarOffice for US$69.95, and those who buy from Sun will get free software updates and technical support.
StarOffice was first introduced in 2001 by Sun, and the free version offered by Google is the result of a 2005 agreement between the two companies to promote each other's products.
Users will be able to view, edit and save Microsoft Office files but it remains to be seen if this will erode Microsoft's dominance in the corporate world.
Smaller companies are likelier to defect but larger corporations will likely remain on Office unless there are more compelling reasons to switch
VMware released its virtualisation software VMWare Fusion for Apple's Intel Mac computer last week on Aug 6.
It allows the Mac OS X to run more than 60 operating systems, amongst them Windows, Linux and Solaris.
The demo I saw today was pretty cool with PowerPoint, Outlook and Internet Explorer running in their own Mac windows under XP under Fusion.
It looks like a real winner for VMware who are pricing this at US$79.99 to give Parallels Desktop's software - already in Version 3 - a run for their money.
Images and data can be copied and pasted seamlessly from/to Windows to/from Mac, and multiple processors are supported.
It also recognises Boot Camp partitions and offers complete USB 2.0 support.
Other neat features include SnapShots, which takes a backup image (checkpoint) of the virtual machine, and at any point of time, the entire machine can be "rolled back" to that checkpoint.
Packaging an entire software and system can be done using Converter and this virtual machine can then be moved to any Mac and restored for use.
The software has been in beta since Dec 2006, and more than 250,000 downloads have been made.
Available now from all VMware resellers, the Apple store and vmware.com/mac.
Links
After iPod and iPone, Apple...
A new study by Net Applications, a provider of web tools,...
