Re: A very interesting point my dad and I came upon
Hi all,
Well, there are a number of reasons why Microsoft has consistently stayed ahead of Apple as far as the market goes, and it doesn't really have anything to do with one being better than the other. Most of it comes down to smarter and shrewder business tactics.
To begin with let's remember back in the 80's when IBM was looking for a software firm to develop software for their evolving PC market they chose Microsoft Dos as that platform. Since IBM made their PC hardware an open specification various other companies got in on it like HP, Compaq, Del, etc and they also purchased Microsoft Dos for their PCs. As a result practically over night Microsoft, who was an unknown company, became the industry standard. Apple who built their own custom computers and software for it just couldn't compete with the overwhelming number of brands and manufacturers who were running Microsoft software on them.
As a result of Microsoft's early success in getting their Dos operating system and accompanying software onto the majority of PCs anyone who bought one weather it was a business or home user probably ended up running Microsoft Dos with a number of apps and games to go with it.
Fast forward a few years into the 90's. Although, Apple actually had a full blown graphical user interface like Windows long before Microsoft did it didn't catch on with the majority of PC users because home users as well as many businesses had already invested heavily in the Microsoft bandwagon. Who wanted to purchase a Mac when all the programs they were running like Lotus, Word Perfect, and so on all required Microsoft Dos?
So its not too surprising when Microsoft Windows came out and ran as a graphical shell over top of Dos that it would be a big hit. Home users and businesses could gradually migrate from Dos to Windows and that lead up to Microsoft's biggest success yet which was Windows 95.
When Windows 95 came o ut it was a huge success with consumers for two reasons. One, it was a simpler alternative to Dos because it had a good point and click interface that was far superior to that of Windows 3.1 and so forth. Second, with Windows 95 Microsoft began a huge multimedia campaign aimed at average every day home users. They introduced Windows Media player for playing mp3s, wav files, avis, and many other media files. They created DirectX for cutting edge games for Windows. They began shipping Internet Explorer and Internet Mail with the operating system rather than something Windows users had to purchase separately. Plus something Microsoft began doing during the mid 90's they had deals going where if a person purchased a new PC with Windows 95 they would get a years discount on MSN for dial-up Internet access. Those and other shrewd marketing tactics made Microsoft who they are today.
So to sum up my first point Microsoft made a big name for themselves early on, and managed to han g onto that do to Apple having less of an influence on the PC market at the time. Microsoft was able to capitalize on that success by a marketing campaign aimed at younger home users who wanted to use their computers for games, downloading and sharing music, playing movies, etc.
The second thing that has contributed to Microsoft's success is over all cost. Since the 90's many PC manufacturers like HP, Del, Compaq, Gateway, etc have been in a war to outsell the competition. One way in which they did this was by purchasing cheaper parts and lowering the price of their desktops and laptops to increase the number of sales. Obviously, this has worked in favor of many of those manufacturers as in a very short period of time computers went from being a luxury item owned by middle class and upper class citizens to being a standard household item along with the TV set and DVD player. Considering the price difference between a new Windows PC and a new Mac PC it should not come as such a surprise why almost everyone has one now.
While Apple's new Macs are in many ways superior in terms of hardware specifications to that of cheaper Windows PCs a lot of people just don't care about that. For many consumers the price is the bottom line, and when that is the only serious consideration being made its not surprising why Microsoft continues to hold onto the lion's share of the market.
Take for example a young college or university student. Now, obviously he or she is going to need a computer for doing term papers, doing Internet research, managing finances, etc and in today's college/university environment not having one is a serious disadvantage. However, this college student probably works at a part time job making minimum wage and has a number of bills to pay like a car payment, pay for car spam?, pay for their cell phone service, and pay on the loan for their schooling too. Not much money to go out and buy a fairly expensive c omputer. Considering that here in the States most stores like Walmart offer Windows laptops and netbooks for under $500 which are adequate for a college student I don't think someone in that position is going to fork over $1000 or more when a new laptop running Windows 8 costs half the price.
Another good example is I know plenty of older senior citizens who purchased computers so they can keep in touch with their kids and grand kids over Facebook, Twitter, or exchange recipes via email. As many of them are on retirement benefits like social security they aren't going to go out and pay$1000 for a Mac, no matter how good it is, just to keep in touch with their relatives when a cheap laptop running Windows will do the same thing for a lot less money.
Bottom line, as long as the price to own a Mac continues to remain high the average high school/college student, grand parent on social security, or average user just isn't going to pay the price. Microsoft has continued to benefit by running on lower priced hardware and by having the bigger name brand.
Finally, compatibility is also a concern for customers. If a user already has dozens of games, office programs, and various other software collected after having owned a Windows computer for years buying a Mac seems less desirable. Sure there is programs like wine that can ease the transition from Windows to Mac, but just buying a new Windows computer is the path of least resistance for a lot of people. Using virtual machines or windows emulators is not as desirable as actually owning and using the actual hardware and software required by all of the person's existing programs. So it is just one more strike against Apple.
So to sum up my thoughts for a lot of consumers it doesn't matter if Apple or Microsoft are better. Things like cost, compatibility,and familiarity count for a lot more than technical concerns. We recently had a similar debate on the Audyssey list of Windows XP verses Windows 8, and those same issues were foremost in people's decision to upgrade or not. Many XP users were happy with what they already have, are not happy about switching to an unfamiliar user interface, not happy about potential compatibility issues, and not happy of having to buy new hardware and software to upgrade. Those same issues and concerns effect Apple and its not an easy problem for Apple to resolve without charging a lot less for people to invest in their platform.
I know Apple knows this, and it is probably why they have branched out into other areas like smart phones, tablets, and portable media like the iPod. Microsoft doesn't have as much control over those markets, and are having to play catch up and losing to Apple. So who knows where this will all lead in the next few years, but we do see a trend where people are using PCs a lot less in favor of someone's smart phone, tablet, or other portable computer device, and in th at Apple is exacting a bit of revenge for all the years they were playing second fiddle to Microsoft.
URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=148598#p148598
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