For young companies getting up and going, there's so much work to be done that politics takes a back seat to the job at hand. |
Frankly it was Apple -like. Microsoft generally cannot muster one-tenth of the stealth marketing Apple does, because they just have so many OEM partners that it is almost impossible to keep anything secret. |
Having lots of partners together is actually one of their key strengths. Actually, I fault Apple for not doing that sort of thing. |
Home buyers want PCs primarily for communications and entertainment. That is, I think, why Media Center functionality is a space that wants to be filled. It's because home users, whether they watch TV with it or not, are entertaining themselves with a PC, |
How much they cost has been an issue all along. These things are not cheap. |
I do know that they had people working through Christmas and staying up late, |
I do think that the issue is that Intel, at its size, can't produce the kind of upside surprise that some other companies can. It's a really big boat and can't turn very quickly. |
I don't have any independent confirmation on that, but I'd say it's a pretty good bet. |
I see the move as largely defensive. A cell phone is not the optimal device for listening to music. Among other things, you need two headsets, one for phone (one ear, with mike) and one for music (stereo phones, no mike). |
I suspect that the HP surge ... is essentially the result of it moving forward smartly in the U.S. consumer space and taking up the share left by IBM, and also by the other vendors that left U.S. retail in 1999, |
I suspect that the HP surge ... is essentially the result of it moving forward smartly in the U.S. consumer space and taking up the share left by IBM, and also by the other vendors that left U.S. retail in 1999. |
I think it's still a little early to say they're entirely out of the woods. |
I think one of the key features is the ability to get on the Windows network. That means you're not penalized any more for bringing a Mac into that environment. With Office, you'll even get compatibility at the document level. |
I think the issue now is that growth may have stalled, and a campaign like this may be designed to reinvigorate it. |
I think there is a very good possibility for consolidation, and it has been in the works for a long time. There is a lot of pressure on these companies, and you have the sense that it is in the cards. It's time to start looking at who are the weakest ones. |