I've come across quite a few articles/posts about Apple lately. The reason for the media activity is because of the new venture in the world of Windows with the Safari web browser and, of course, the iPhone. So, I've been pondering about Apple and how the company fits into the software industry landscape.
Apple is actually an interesting company. They have a open source operating system, but you can only run it on Apple branded hardware. So Apple seems to be positioned somewhere between Microsoft (closed but any hardware) and Sun (open and any hardware). However, the Apple strategy seems to be very different from both. It's very controlled (via hardware) and consumer end-user centric (ex: ipod).
That position and strategy leads to two questions: who are Apple's competitor's? and how long can they sustain a controlled model?
The answer to the first question is: anyone who has in interest in the home desktop user. So that's Microsoft and the Linux camp. However, the threat is limited because Mac OS only runs on Apple hardware. If a person can buy a desktop from Dell for $450 and put Linux (for free) or Windows (for whatever Vista costs) on it, why buy Apple? The only potential attraction is belief that the MacOS is better, on some level, than both of the alternatives.
The answer to the second question is: indefinitely, as long as they have major successes outside of the traditional OS space like the iPod and iPhone. The strategy appears to be attacking the end points first to create an interest in the central PC component. Once an Apple branded device is in a user hands it's easier to upsell them to an Apple branded PC.
The strategy has its advantages. Potentially, Apple can be the "everything" company by selling the entire experience: hardware (laptops, desktops), software (Mac OS, iTunes) and consumer devices (iPod, iPhone). The downside is that personalization and choice are getting popular again so vendor lock-in is a tough sell. Growth will be slow.
It would be interesting to see a strategy shift from Apple. With all of their recent successes they could definitely shake things up. For example, what if a user could install the OS on any brand of hardware?
Apple Open Source - http://www.apple.com/opensource/
OSI Approved Licenses - http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical
Apple patches Safari beta browser a second time - computerworld.com
Apple Product Evolution - http://tofslie.com/work/apple_evolution.html
Apple picks a fight it can't win - computerworld.com
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