Lately there has been a lot of tention between Microsoft and Apple. Apple seems to be edging into the spotlight but Microsoft is close and still dominating in several ways. Several new products, however, to believe that Apple may one day dominate the market of computers, MP3 players, and phones. Crushing the curent giant Microsoft has become.
Apple released the iPod in the begining of the new millinium and since them many companies have joined the MP3 revolution. But recently Microsoft released an “iPod compeditor”, The Zune ( www.zune.net ) and has attempted to captivate the general public into loving Microsoft and the Zune. But the revolution doesn’t seem to be going over as planed, and with the current iPod sales (seen below) sky-rocketing it seems that Apple will continue to hold its %70 of the MP3 market.
The Zune is cool, but can it stand against the all too popular iPod? And what is with that Brown Zune color?..
Anyway, that is beside the point. Apple has resently released the iPhone also. This amazing device shakes up the cell phone industry and blows away anything I have ever seen from Microsoft. The technology is inovative and amazingly cool.
If you haven already, check it out ( www.apple.com)
Apple has also alowed its computers to appear in many TV shows and comercials lately, bringing them more into public eye. The are presented as clean, new, up-to-date technology. Plus they have intigrated the ability to install Windows into the Macs. Why would you not want this two-for-one?
Now, for all you Windows fans out there, I am not saying that Apple is all good. They do have high prices and some hardware problems. I currently have a Gatway pc, but thats not to say I dont want to make the switch to Apple. In short, I want to hear everyone elses thoughts on this.
also appleTV, it doesnt support true HD (as far as i can remember), but it does support 720P and 802.11N, it looks really nice the specs on it and it is like a rival to xbox360’s streaming capabilites, but with this one you dont need media centre and you have a really nice interface on the TV
just thought of this setup,
24" imac for leasure, Mac pro qaud core for work, HD TV for chilling, apple tv for streaming movies around the home, iphone for talking and surfing the net on the go and keeping contact, macbook pro for work on the go and an ipod with docking speakers and airport for connecting them all together…maybe an xserve as well 
my, my, my… a good guestion well if the price wouldnt be what it is, id sure make the switch from windows… tho, as far as the os part goes, im still thinking of linuxing :3
Fuck the iPhone
Why in God’s name would ANYONE spend $600 on a phone with a TWO YEAR contract?
It’s Apple people though, I’m sure they’re used to being raped financially, but I think they’re gonna go the way of the PS3, i.e., waaaaaay too expensive for the average consumer with alternatives that are much better for the money.
edit:
Oh ya, and even thought I think the Zune is shit, the brown color kicks major ass. Much better than iPod.
Apple dominating the mp3 player market? They already are.
Apple dominating the cell phone market? Just maybe.
Apple dominating the computer market? Extremely small chance.
I’m definately investing in Apple sometime soon.
If I made more, I’d buy an iPhone too. It looks sweet.
Lol, Valarking, what an immature answer. Anyway, all that aside, it appears to be tied at the moment, interesting. Well I gotta be honest I put my vote in for Apple. They may not dominate the computer market right now as stated, but, if they find themselves lowering the prices a bit the could sweep the market.
Just my theory 
Anyway, fun to hear this nice poll debate. I have been doing a lot of online review research before this poll and I have leaned for Apple. Plush I have used both and I find Apple astonishing, esp. for computer graphic work.
Thanks to those of you who have taken the poll so far and I look forward too hearing more!What you do alone with your hardware is your own business, we don’t need to know.
Yeah, no kidding, when you have to decide between an iPhone or a PS3, the logical choice is neither.
Martin
technically speaking, the question was if they would beat out Microsoft. personally, i think Apple is truly an innovative company, and the only way Microsoft could compete is if they had a clean sweep. Get rid of 70% of the work force, and bring in new faces. the only way to create new technology is to use fresh people with fresh ideas.
now, considering their current standings, i don’t think the Zune will defeat the iPod, simply because of the iPod’s cultural standings (it’s practically the mp3 player). the Zune’s interface seems interesting, and it does have a variety of colors, but everything about it’s OS screams “lock down”. it’s very limited, especially it’s file sharing capabilities (what is it? something like, you share a song with a friend and they only have it for 3 days or a certain amount of plays, then the file deletes itself?). a hack is guaranteed, but will hacks be compatible with the windows interaction software? this is a question that also arises with the iPod, but as far as i know, there are less restrictions, and a hack is not as necessary.
the iPhone, in concept, is a fabulous device, and if it’s interface is really as intuitive as it looks, an iPhone per large-business employee would streamline the workplace, even for those who don’t normally use a “computer”. unfortunately, that’s what this is: a computer. not really a phone, but a hand-held computer with the ability to converse with people through phone lines and VOIP. an innovation, yes, but as a phone, it’s completely over done. it’s excessive. and, more importantly, expensive. if someone is just looking for something to call a friend/coworker/partner, why shell out $600 for a phone, when there are cheaper alternatives? the only way they could really sell this, is if they market it as a cheap, portable, high-end computer, instead of a phone.
then there’s their computers. they rock. really they do. they’re sleek, modern, and more recently, fast. the OS is simple and colorful, pleasing to the eye, and secure enough for the most perverted web surfers (meaning, they don’t get viruses half as often as a Windows compy). what’s more is, with remote desktop enabled, they become the perfect computers for the workplace. An employer can see what his employees are doing, or even open up a chat with many workers, as a more comfortable alternative to the board room (made even more comfortable with the inclusion of webcams in the newer models, which would allow for “face to face” conversations).
the major problem though, is if you’re going all out, it’s gonna cost you a bundle. i still have nightmares about a completely maxed-out Mac system from their website, that ended up costing over $16,000 (don’t even ask if i bought it, you already know the answer). other than that, they’re pretty spiffy, though there is the occasional screw up, especially with their laptops. as a student tech aid at my school, i’ve seen more than my fair share of messed up laptops, and a lot of them aren’t because of kids screwing with the keyboards. sometimes there are genuine manufacturing errors, but stuff like this happens all the time to every major company, so i’m not placing Apple in the wrong.
so, my final review: Microsoft is a bit too old fashioned for the consumer electronics industry, and unless they hire some new thinkers, Apple is gonna p’wn them. it might not be for a few years, but it’s almost nearly guaranteed. that’s my take on it at least.
Oh wow, ya, I’m sorry I’m not mature enough to buy a $600 phone. What a waste of money. America at its worst.
Take the fanboy level DOWN.
Theeth:
That was my point.
:rolleyes: I wasent the phone, lol, it was the redneck, lets chalk it full of strong opinions and cuss words answer. Made me laugh. But hey, move on. 
Your post was the same thing, I just felt like saying it directly rather than weaseling it out through fanboy posts…
Fair enough, truce. Now on with the poll! We cant have a tie! lol
consumers are fickle. Apple is MS 2… in that they will get anti-trust slapped on their asses and use the same business pracitces.
infact its really interesting, i have quicktime… and “quictime+iTunes” is listed as a “crucial update” with no option of unclicking itunes. this is in an auto updater… WTF is that. is that just a little bit to close to what MS does with bundling all the stuff extra built into itself so other manufactures couldn’t get it.
they are all just big names, all wanting you money, thats what people need to learn. they also need to learn that “it just doesn’t matter”
i use a 9 year old mobile phone… its so old infact that they are shutting down the cellphone network that it uses. its so old infact that its cool again. set a trend use a MD player, which was the big thing only a few years ago. or better yet use a Casset walkman… if you really want to make a fashion statement.
Alltaken
Very true. Apple, is just as strong on their proprietary ownership as MS. The fact that they own their hardware and software means that they could never have the same market share as MS has in the pc world. If they had to release their os for the pc market, they would kill themselves, since their own hardware is so expensive.
Don’t think because their market share has grown a lot, that is is anywhere near MS’s market share. Apples’ market share is aroung 12%, not much. Remember, Linux has the fastest market share growth for the past 3 years or so, but it is still just around 7%.
Lol
I always use a cassette walkman!
Doesn’t itunes use quicktime for viewing m4v? I don’t know why people have such an objection to getting a free media player. I take it you don’t have Flash player installed if you are against people forcing proprietary solutions on you?
On the subject of the thread, no I don’t think Apple will reign supreme for a number of reasons.
The iphone is a smartphone and targets a small number of users. It has various issues and most certainly will not dominate the mobile phone industry by a long shot. They are aiming for 1% or 10 million units. In the smartphone industry, that equates to a 20% share but is by no means a majority.
Mac and OS X will never take a majority lead because Apple tie OS X to their hardware. Apple’s hardware, although competitive, is not everyone’s cup of tea and they have unreasonable limitations in them. For example, the cheapest headless mac you can buy with a dedicated GPU is a £1300 Mac Pro, which is completely stupid when practically every PC no matter the cost has upgradable graphics cards. Apple will always fail on this front.
They won’t allow their system to run on other hardware because people will rightly buy other hardware and they will lose a lot of money.
I believe they will remain dominant in the music industry for one of the reasons that Windows dominates the desktop. They’ve reached an overwhelming majority and people have built huge collections of locked AAC music that won’t work anywhere else. It’s bad tactics but Microsoft have shown that’s the only way to go. People aren’t honest enough to be fair in business so if you don’t act as badly as the competition, you lose. I don’t really know what they were thinking releasing the pooPod but I guess they want a piece of every market without having to do any real innovating of their own.
Apple bring out the first personal computer with a GUI, Microsoft copy it
Sony, Nintendo bring out the most popular consoles, Microsoft copy them
Apple bring out a fancy, secure OS, Microsoft copy them for the second time
Apple bring out the ipod and music store, Microsoft release the pooPod and Urge
They are nothing but thieves and they shouldn’t have the status they do but I don’t think that Apple will take over. Linux can’t take over either because although it is not restricted to particular hardware, it has little standardization and low commercial support.
I think things will remain largely the same but the market shares will vary slightly. Apple are doing pretty well and were at the top of Amazon for sales this Christmas and Leopard looks like it will bring some nice features (I’m looking forward to system-wide Python application scripting instead of Applescript) but the hardware limitations are quite far reaching so we’ll just have to wait and see.
The point that you miss, is the fact that one is forced to install iTunes with qt. Its not the same as Flash at all.
I would say that Microsoft will continue to dominate the PC market, but that apple will stay ahead in music. The ipod is expensive, but its become a sort of a fashion statement. However, apple computers cost twice to 3 times the price of an equivalent pc! Also, mac os is not much more secure than windows. It is a simple issue of math. 90% of the people in the world use windows, so almost all virus writers write against windows. If mac os became amazingly popular and apple sold as many copies as windows, then the virus authors would start writing viruses for macs instead. However, the macs are slightly more user-friendly and they do look cooler. But, thats not enough for me to justify paying double for the same machine.