Thursday, September 22, 2005

Users will like the changes they see [in Windows Vista and Office 12] that the developers are already excited about. Most users don't use Linux and the market moved from Apple PCs years ago. Better reliability, security, and a more appliance-like experience are all good things and we can only imagine what might have been had Microsoft not delayed this product two years. As always, and particularly in this case, the best experience for users of this new OS will be had on new hardware which is becoming both more attractive and less expensive year after year.

This suggests that 2006, at least after August, will be great time for buyers and sellers of PC hardware and that has to be a good thing for everyone -- except Apple.

Apple will have to improve its game sharply to compete. However, given the strength at the back end, strength that Apple has never had, the exposure now goes well beyond Apple's available resources. This means Apple will have to partner to avoid what may be the most damaging competitive threat the company has ever faced. While possible, Apple's one prevailing weakness has been their inability to partner and unless that changes we should be able to call the outcome of this competition relatively easily -- and it isn't positive for Apple.