>> I'd agree with you- I'm in the camp that believes OSX is awesome but that >> apple shipped a beta quality product. Free updates (or $19.95) until OSX was >> just plain kick ass would be awesome in terms of customer relations. > If I had purchased 10.1, I would be even willing to pay 49.95 or maybe > even 99.95 - and for new, I might be willing to go 99 bucks, but there's > a psychological resistance in me once system software goes above 2 digits > (No way I would pay 200 or even close to that for Wincr*p anything).
There's actually a pseudo-science built around people and numbers- and how it affects buying decisions. The biggest one I'm sure you've heard of is the reason why nothing is $20, but rather $19.95. :) There's one built around 7's in prices too. > Anyone else note the difference between how Slick Steve first streamlined the > hardware choices when he came in, and the complexity of choices currently? Now > we have two iBook models (not counting drive variations), TiBook, two iMac > versions, XServe, PowerMac, eMac (and three slight variations on iPod) - this > is progress??? Maybe Steve needs to simplify things again, especially with the > personal computer biz in the shape it generally is now. It's not a bad idea, but you hit some nastiness, and all of the people who get nasty do have a point. Ie, audio professionals and some other industries went berzerk when they cut out large towers. PB2400 users still pine for it. You basically have a bunch of different stuff going on: namely market segmentation, Product overlap, capitalized markets + neglected markets. These apply to any business, really. Market Segmentation: Basically in any product category (lets say notebooks) you can segment the market into different areas of products consumers want to buy. Some might want a laptop that is a desktop replacement- just kicks ass and takes names but does so at the price of portability/battery life. Others want something small and easily portable, with great battery life. Some might want a combination of the two. Product Overlap: This is bad. Really bad. This happens when in doing the above, you create products whose features aren't fill that niche but don't differentiate the product enough from your others. Customers get confused and frustrated. So sometimes it can be better to leave a niche unfilled just to keep the KISS principle. It can get even worse though- as to avoid neglected markets you want to try to keep your product lines close to each other, but just so close. Capitalized markets + Neglected markets: A corporation is a public entity- shareholders buy pieces of the company and the company's job is to make money any way possible, and to go into profitable segments. So part of that company's job is capitalizing (deriving revenue) from any segment it can. A neglected market is one that is perceived as just waiting to be harvested, and due to a lot of factors shareholders hate them. The problem is that what can sometimes look like a neglected market can end up being a quagmire or causing product overlap to occur if you're not careful. This is a really, really hard thing to get right and often to the people in charge you don't realize you have a problem until it's too late. Ie, if you look at apple's notebook line you could be well justified in saying that it is getting confusing, and product overlap is starting has set in. You can buy 4 models from apple, 2 with a 14" screen, the others are 12". That 14" model is dangerously overlapping with the powerbook. All that really sets it apart are the G3 vs G4, 1" more screen, and looks. At the same time though a lot of people want what the ibook has in its price range (better battery life, no heat/fan problems, ruggedness) but want a larger screen... Plus most PC laptops in it's price range have 14-15" screens. So what to do? Only offer 12" screens, and miss out on the people who don't want to pay $2500 for a laptop but want more? Or drop the 12" version, and miss out on all the people who love how small it is? Damn, people on digest must hate my posts. Michael Bryan Bell ------------------ ICQ: 16106263 Yahoo: mhbell1 No Link for you! AIM: drunkenbatman -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
