One of my favorite expressions, or favorite sayings, is ‘time always wins. I have no idea who said this, or when it was first said. Heck, I don’t even remember when I first heard it. I just know that I like it. I like it because I don’t think more true words were ever spoken. As time passes, things, people, and situations change, sometimes dramatically, and sometimes, not for the better. Case in point: The economy.
Think back to ten years ago. The economy was booming along. New technology companies were sprouting up, seemingly overnight. Companies were actually having trouble keeping workers, as better paying jobs, complete with high and mighty sounding titles, were always ‘just down the street. (‘Assistant vice president of product development, anyone?) Here in Massachusetts, dot-com companies and companies that specialized in optical networking gee-gaws were the order of the day. Toss in all the companies that supplied those companies with office equipment, furniture, computers and expensive test equipment, and you’ve got lots of happy people. Lots of people, many surprisingly young, had lots of money. Or, at least they did on paper. The smart ones cashed out fast and got out. And the not-so-smart ones? I think they may still be hiding from the bill collectors and repo men, in their parents’ basements.
Of course, not everything was great. Those were dark times for Apple Computer, Inc. and us Mac fans. For what seemed like a long time, the company was indeed in serious trouble. Now, compare all this to today: Unless you’ve been living like a hermit for the past year, you know that our economy is pretty much in the dumper. Long gone are the high tech startups with catchy names, all seemingly owned and staffed by young, bright people. (But venture capital funded by older, more conservative types, who, sooner or later, wanted something to show for their investment, besides ‘atomic skate boards) Unemployment is on the rise, and the dreaded ‘L word, as in ‘layoffs, is again being spoken with increasing frequency. Oh yes, HR departments are ‘up to their old tricks again, no surprises there. But, at least these are good times for Apple, the dramatic drop in the stock not withstanding. Ouch! It’s quite a turnaround, isn’t it? The Mac market share is growing, as people realize that yes, there are alternatives to the Windows operating system. Many people are switching to the Mac, and loving it. Some are switching to Linux and loving that OS as well. Oh yes, the iPhone is one hot product, and I’m seeing iPods everywhere, despite the rants of various Bozos, who keep insisting that the iPod is on its way out. (Yawn.)
Perhaps the most dramatic thing though, is this: In 1997, when asked what he would do if he were CEO of Apple Computer, Dell CEO Mike Dell answered by saying ‘What would I do? I’d shut it down, and give the money back to the shareholders. Uh-huh. Well, well, well…. Time has certainly won hasn’t it?
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/18841/
According to this report, Apple presently has no debt, and about 24.5 billion in cash. That’s enough to buy Dell, according to the report. Dell has gone through their own internal turmoil as of late as well. Payback stinks, doesn’t it?
Now, before the Dell fanboys start slamming down their cans of Red Bull, and start storming in here, screeching and yelling, let me set the record straight: I like a lot of Dell’s products. Seriously, I do. The Latitude D610 is a fine laptop for business. It’s a laptop that I would consider buying myself. I know it’s been replaced by now, but I’ll bet the replacement is just as good. I also like Dell’s equipment racks. I consider them to be some of the best thought-out. When you have to spend afternoons racking heavy equipment you learn to appreciate this sort of thing. Dell’s equipment racks make life a little easier.
Are we good, Dell fan boys? Moving right along,,,
Some time ago, I asked whether or not Vista was a flop. I asked this, when I started reading all these reports of various Government agencies and businesses who were not permitting Vista to be deployed on their networks, or to their employees. I asked if Microsoft just might be in a little bit of trouble. I was immediately told (with gusto) that Microsoft’s revenue stream was strong, that a licensed copy of Vista shipped with each new PC that went out the door. I was told that ‘It’s normal! for companies not to adopt a new OS right away, that it took time. Indeed. How long as Vista been in the market now?
According to Dell’s website, you can still purchase a lot of Dell’s products with Windows XP installed, instead of Vista. Vista has even become a punchline for late-night TV comics. Last night, (October 31, 2008) Jay Leno explained during his monolog that he wanted to send Bill Gates an e-card for his birthday, ‘but I couldn’t get my Microsoft Vista to work. This drew a hearty round of laughter from the studio audience.
I’ll ask again, is Vista a flop?
As everyone knows by now, Microsoft has embarked on a $300 million dollar ad campaign to polish up Vista’s bad image problem. Like most people, I must ask whether or not it might be better to spend this wad of cash on fixing the problems with Vista. But, I’m not a marketing type. Oh, uh, as near as I can figure, the ad campaign isn’t working. The ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld are pretty much forgotten already, and the new ads, the ones that depict people who do all sorts of creative, smart things and announce that ‘I’m a PC just don’t seem to be catching on. Three hundred million bucks? Yikes!
So, what other changes does time have in store for us? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
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